Robert Schumann
![Schumann in 1839](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Robert_Schumann_1839.jpg)
Schumann was born in Zwickau, Saxony, to an affluent middle-class family with no musical connections, and was initially unsure whether to pursue a career as a lawyer or to make a living as a pianist-composer. He studied law at the universities of Leipzig and Heidelberg but his main interests were music and Romantic literature. From 1829 he was a student of the piano teacher Friedrich Wieck, but his hopes for a career as a virtuoso pianist were frustrated by a worsening problem with his right hand, and he concentrated on composition. His early works were mainly piano pieces, including the large-scale , , (Fantasy Pieces), and (Scenes from Childhood) (1834–1838). He was a co-founder of the (New Musical Journal) in 1834 and edited it for ten years. In his writing for the journal and in his music he distinguished between two contrasting aspects of his personality, dubbing these alter egos "Florestan" for his impetuous self and "Eusebius" for his gentle poetic side.
Despite the bitter opposition of Wieck, who did not regard his pupil as a suitable husband for his daughter, Schumann married Wieck's daughter Clara in 1840. In the years immediately following their wedding Schumann composed prolifically, writing, first, songs and song‐cycles including ("Woman's Love and Life") and ("Poet's Love"). He turned his attention to orchestral music in 1841, completing the first of his four symphonies. In the following year he concentrated on chamber music, writing three string quartets, a Piano Quintet and a Piano Quartet. During the rest of the 1840s, between bouts of mental and physical ill health, he composed a variety of piano and other pieces and went with his wife on concert tours in Europe. His only opera, ''Genoveva'' (1850), was not a success and has seldom been staged since.
Schumann and his family moved to Düsseldorf in 1850 in the hope that his appointment as the city's director of music would provide financial security, but his shyness and mental instability made it difficult for him to work with his orchestra and he had to resign after three years. In 1853 the Schumanns met the twenty-year-old Johannes Brahms, whom Schumann praised in an article in the . The following year Schumann's always-precarious mental health deteriorated gravely. He threw himself into the River Rhine but was rescued and taken to a private sanatorium near Bonn, where he lived for more than two years, dying there at the age of 46.
During his lifetime Schumann was recognised for his piano music – often subtly programmatic – and his songs. His other works were less generally admired, and for many years there was a widespread belief that those from his later years lacked the inspiration of his early music. More recently this view has been less prevalent, but it is still his piano works and songs from the 1830s and 1840s on which his reputation is primarily based. He had considerable influence in the nineteenth century and beyond. In the German-speaking world the composers Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Arnold Schoenberg and more recently Wolfgang Rihm have been inspired by his music, as were French composers such as Georges Bizet, Gabriel Fauré, Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. Schumann was a major influence on the Russian school of composers, including Anton Rubinstein and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Provided by Wikipedia
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421by Jeans, Krista-Lee, Dickinson, Danette, Read, Julia, Handel, George Frideric, 1685-1759, Faur�, Gabriel, 1845-1924, Schubert, Franz, 1797-1828, Snelgrove, Michael C., Boltz, Ray, Gershwin, George, 1898-1937, Berlin, Irving, 1888-1989, Purcell, Henry, 1659-1695, Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791, Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856, Vaughan Williams, Ralph, 1872-1958, Weill, Kurt, 1900-1950Get access
Published 2001
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422by Manuel, Kathleen, Keirstead Mills, Karen, Vaughan, Douglas, Brennan, Elizabeth, Caines, Dennis, Squires, Sherry, Ash, Susan, Rowsell, Sally, Bruckner, Anton, 1824-1896, Schubert, Franz, 1797-1828, Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856, Caldara, Antonio, 1670-1736, Carissimi, Giacomo, 1605-1674, Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791, Verdi, Giuseppe, 1813-1901, Purcell, Henry, 1659-1695, Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Felix, 1809-1847Get access
Published 1981
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423by Hauke, Petra, Charney, Madeleine, Sahavirta, Harri, Akullo, Winny Nekesa, Cardoso, Nathalice Bezerra, Chen, Si, Claesson, Lo, Colvin, Jenny, Huang, Qunqing, Jones, Louise, Kavuri-Mutuku, Purity, Koudjam Yameni, Simon Jules, Kutt, Konrad, Landes, Christopher, Leyrer, Katharina, Mulumba, Onan, Mwanzu, Arnold, Ochôa, Paula, Patron, Ira, Pinto, Leonor Gaspar, Rusakova, Lilia, Schumann, Tim, Seifert, Anja, Rogge, Stefan, Vučkovič, Ratka, Wong, WinkyGet access
Published 2021
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424by Hauke, Petra, Charney, Madeleine, Sahavirta, Harri, Akullo, Winny Nekesa, Cardoso, Nathalice Bezerra, Chen, Si, Claesson, Lo, Colvin, Jenny, Huang, Qunqing, Jones, Louise, Kavuri-Mutuku, Purity, Koudjam Yameni, Simon Jules, Kutt, Konrad, Landes, Christopher, Leyrer, Katharina, Mulumba, Onan, Mwanzu, Arnold, Ochôa, Paula, Patron, Ira, Pinto, Leonor Gaspar, Rusakova, Lilia, Schumann, Tim, Seifert, Anja, Rogge, Stefan, Vučkovič, Ratka, Wong, WinkyGet access
Published 2021
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425by Howlett, Debbie, Dawson, Gwen, Furey, Dianne, Knight, Pamela, Woodland, Wendy, Wells, Ellen, Purcell, Henry, 1659-1695, Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856, Faur�, Gabriel, 1845-1924, Bernstein, Leonard, 1918-, Donizetti, Gaetano, 1797-1848, Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750, Wolf, Hugo, 1860-1903, Debussy, Claude, 1862-1918, Handel, George Frideric, 1685-1759, Poulenc, Francis, 1899-1963, Granados, Enrique, 1867-1916Get access
Published 1990
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426by Raynes, Danielle, LeMessurier, Susan, Hibbs, Deidra, Spurvey, Donna, Lee, Michelle, Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856, Wilder, Alec, Brahms, Johannes, 1833-1897, Bozza, Eug�ne, 1905-1991, Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Felix, 1809-1847, Chopin, Fr�d�ric, 1810-1849, Schubert, Franz, 1797-1828, Gaubert, Philippe, 1879-1941, Marais, Marin, 1656-1728, Muczynski, Robert, 1929-2010, Barber, Samuel, 1910-1981, Arnold, MalcolmGet access
Published 1997
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427by Bella, Mary, Thomson, Heather, Yee, Thomas, Lawlor, Denis, Martin, Ross, Ross, Clark, Handel, George Frideric, 1685-1759, Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856, Poulenc, Francis, 1899-1963, Britten, Benjamin, 1913-1976, Ginastera, Alberto, 1916-1983, Chopin, Fr�d�ric, 1810-1849, Liszt, Franz, 1811-1886, Dowland, John, 1563?-1626, Debussy, Claude, 1862-1918, Somers, Harry, 1925-, Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791Get access
Published 1994
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428by Harding, Geraldine, Heys, Leslee, Borgaonkar, Maya, LeMessurier, Susan, Caldara, Antonio, 1670-1736, Handel, George Frideric, 1685-1759, Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856, Poulenc, Francis, 1899-1963, Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791, Gershwin, George, 1898-1937, Chopin, Fr�d�ric, 1810-1849, Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750, Scriabin, Aleksandr Nikolayevich, 1872-1915, Haydn, Joseph, 1732-1809, Ravel, Maurice, 1875-1937, Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990Get access
Published 1997
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429by Smith, Michelle, Heys, Leslee, Oliver, Kristen, Howe, Krista, Martin, Ross, Peddle, Zipporah, Handel, George Frideric, 1685-1759, Brahms, Johannes, 1833-1897, Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791, Archer, Violet, 1913-, Poulenc, Francis, 1899-1963, Fauré, Gabriel, 1845-1924, Schubert, Franz, 1797-1828, Barber, Samuel, 1910-1981, Puccini, Giacomo, 1858-1924, Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856, Debussy, Claude, 1862-1918, Gougeon, Denis, 1951-Get access
Published 1997
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430by Snow, Shannon, Heys, Leslee, Colbert, Andrea, Penney, Andrea, Willcott, Valerie, Martin, Ross, Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750, Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856, McDonald, Boyd, 1932-, Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791, Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827, Chausson, Ernest, 1855-1899, Poulenc, Francis, 1899-1963, Duncan, Chester, Puccini, Giacomo, 1858-1924, Sullivan, Arthur, 1842-1900, Gilbert, W. S. (William Schwenck), 1836-1911, Rossini, Gioacchino, 1792-1868Get access
Published 1996
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431by Miller, Jennifer, Stowe, Andrea, Tulk, Janice, Hillier, Heather, Smith, Moira, Power, Kimberley, Mooney, Brenda, Ali, Crystal, Reid, Andrew, Macey, Michelle, Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990, Handel, George Frideric, 1685-1759, Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791, Schubert, Franz, 1797-1828, Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856, Brahms, Johannes, 1833-1897, Faur�, Gabriel, 1845-1924, Satie, Erik, 1866-1925, Glick, Srul Irving, 1934-, Poulenc, Francis, 1899-1963Get access
Published 2001
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432by United States. Navy Department., Nichols, H. H. (Henry Hobart), 1816-1887, engraver., Morgan, Henry J. (Henry James), 1842-1913, illustrator., Smillie, T. W. (Thomas William), 1843-1917, illustrator., Schumann, Emil, illustrator., Bessels, Emil, 1847-1888, illustrator., Bryan, Richard W. D., contributor., Chester, Hubbard C., d. 1889?, contributor., Tyson, George E. (George Emory), 1829-1906, contributor., Davis, Charles Henry, 1807-1877, editor., Hall, Charles Francis, 1821-1871.Get access
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433by Skinner, Rose, Martin, Ross, Stoyles, Lynette, Rowsell, Sally, DeLay, Darlene, Handel, George Frideric, 1685-1759, Strauss, Richard, 1864-1949, Martin, Frank, 1890-1974, Lalo, Edouard, 1823-1892, Weber, Carl Maria von, 1786-1826, Martinů, Bohuslav, 1890-1959, Griffes, Charles Tomlinson, 1884-1920, Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990, Purcell, Henry, 1659-1695, Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856, Poulenc, Francis, 1899-1963, Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791Get access
Published 1995
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434by Rose, Kelly, Wells, Ellen, Head, Peggy, Rowsell, Sally, Deering, Jennifer, Dingle, Paul, Handel, George Frideric, 1685-1759, Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750, Wolf, Hugo, 1860-1903, Purcell, Henry, 1659-1695, Mercure, Pierre, 1927-1966, Haydn, Joseph, 1732-1809, Strauss, Richard, 1864-1949, Rodrigo, Joaqu�n, Snelgrove, Michael C., Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791, Somers, Harry, 1925-, Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856, Puccini, Giacomo, 1858-1924Get access
Published 1990
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435by Keels, Dan, Way, Brian, Noftall, Michelle, Martin, Ross, Dinn, Laura, Serocki, Kazimierz, McCarty, Patrick, 1928-, Larsson, Lars-Erik, 1908, Vivaldi, Antonio, 1678-1741, Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856, Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791, Debussy, Claude, 1862-1918, Bernstein, Leonard, 1918-, Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750, Pergolesi, Giovanni Battista, 1710-1736, Schubert, Franz, 1797-1828, Poulenc, Francis, 1899-1963, Head, Michael, 1900-1976, Telson, b.Get access
Published 1998
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436by Snow, Shannon, Feaver, Paul, Heys, Leslee, Fang, Katie, Stainer, John, 1840-1901, Purcell, Henry, 1659-1695, Carissimi, Giacomo, 1605-1674, Haydn, Joseph, 1732-1809, Donizetti, Gaetano, 1797-1848, Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856, Brahms, Johannes, 1833-1897, Hahn, Reynaldo, 1875-1947, Debussy, Claude, 1862-1918, Finzi, Gerald, 1901-1956, Floyd, Carlisle, Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750, Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827, Liszt, Franz, 1811-1886Get access
Published 1997
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437by Manuel, Kathleen, Ash, Susan, Cooper, Gloria, Caines, Dennis, Squires, Sherry, Billard, Kathie, Handrigan, Catherine, Martin, Ross, Strugnell, Sharon, Dingle, Paul, Bononcini, Giovanni, 1670-1747, Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856, Quilter, Roger, 1877-1953, Purcell, Henry, 1659-1695, Colonna, Giovanni Paolo, 1637-1695, Handel, George Frideric, 1685-1759, Poulenc, Francis, 1899-1963, Verdi, Giuseppe, 1813-1901, Strauss, Richard, 1864-1949, Faur�, Gabriel, 1845-1924, Strauss, Johann, 1804-1849Get access
Published 1980
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438by Fong, Mimi, Lemessurier, Janice, Mills, Trina, Keough, Valerie, Handrigan, Nancy, Hwang, Grace, Keough, Shanna, Fewer, Mark, Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685-1750, Lully, Jean-Baptiste, 1632-1687, Monk, William Henry, 1823-1889, Martini, Giovanni Battista, 1706-1784, Suzuki, Shin'ichi, 1898-1998, Bayly, Thomas Haynes, 1797-1839, Brahms, Johannes, 1833-1897, Paganini, Nicol�, 1782-1840, Dvor?a?k, Anton�n, 1841-1904, Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856Get access
Published 1981
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439by Schumann, U., Weinzierl, B, Reitebuch, O, Schlager, H., Minikin, A, Forster, C, Baumann, R, Sailer, T, Graf, K, Mannstein, H., Voigt, C, Rahm, S, Simmet, R, Scheibe, M, Lichtenstern, M, Stock, P, Ruba, H, Schauble, D, Tafferner, A, Rautenhaus, M, Gerz, T, Ziereis, H, Krautstrunk, M, Mallaun, C, Gayet, JF, Lieke, K, Kandler, K, Ebert, M, Weinbruch, S, Stohl, Andreas, Gasteiger, J, Gross, S, Freudenthaler, V, Wiegner, M, Ansmann, A, Tesche, M, Ólafsson, Haraldur, Sturm, KGet access
Published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (2016)
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Article in Journal/Newspaper -
440by Clarke, Penni, King, Gordon, Clarke, Diane, Rowsell, Sally, Zenker, Krista, Purcell, Henry, 1659-1695, Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791, Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827, Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856, Chopin, Fr�d�ric, 1810-1849, Poulenc, Francis, 1899-1963, Morawetz, Oskar, 1917-2007, Sullivan, Arthur, 1842-1900, Schubert, Franz, 1797-1828, Haydn, Joseph, 1732-1809, Blavet, Michel, 1700-1768, Debussy, Claude, 1862-1918, Honegger, Arthur, 1892-1955, Damase, Jean Michel, 1928-Get access
Published 1992
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