Robert Schumann

A romantic through and through, Robert Schumann battled depression and madness all his life, leaving a legacy of luminous works in the process. The son of a Zwickau bookseller, he was born on June 8, 1810, and took his first piano lessons at the age of ten with Marienkirche organist J. G. Kuntzsch. Although his mother was an excellent pianist and his father encouraged him in his musical endeavors, the latter had no wish for his son to become a musician. His sister's suicide and his father's death gave him new family responsibilities, and in 1828, the young Schumann studied law at Leipzig University, although he was more interested in philosophy. A lover of art, poetry and the observation of nature, he was an avid reader of Jean-Paul Richter, Novalis, Kleist, Byron and Hölderlin. However, his ambition to become a virtuoso continued, and in parallel with his studies, he took piano lessons with Friedrich Wieck, a demanding teacher who introduced him to Bach. On his return from a stay in Heidelberg, where he had begun to perform, the pupil moved back to Leipzig, this time to live with the Wiecks, also working on counterpoint with Heinrich Dorn. Author of several unfinished works, he dedicated his Variations Abegg to the Countess of the same name, whose patronymic letters form the musical motif, and composed the piano piece Papillons. His quest for virtuosity led him to experiment with a "finger stretcher", which resulted in paralysis of the index and middle fingers of his right hand. He tried a number of remedies, none of which enabled him to regain the necessary dexterity, and it was with regret that he turned to composing and writing. Hallucinations and phobias added to his depression, as his sister-in-law and brother Julius died. Syphilis, which he contracted during an affair at the same time, may also explain some of his suffering. After several months of coming to terms with his fate, he rediscovered his desire to take part in social life and to fight for ideas and artistic aesthetics. In 1834, together with a few friends, he founded the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, a journal that attacked the musical fashions of the day, and claimed to be a descendant of Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven. His group, which he christened Davidsbünddler ("David's Companions"), produced the Davidsbünddlertanze, a magnificent series of eighteen piano pieces. Schumann composed a great deal for the instrument, signing his articles with the names of his doubles, the dreamy Eusebius and the passionate Florestan, temperaments that can be found between the staves of the Fantasiestücke op. 12, which gave rise to three further developments. Engaged to Ernestine von Fricken, a native of Asch, he inserts the town's letters into the main theme of Carnaval op. 9, and uses a theme from her father, Baron von Fricken, for his Études symphoniques op. 13. His engagement broken off, he becomes aware of his love for Clara Wieck, his teacher's daughter, for whom he writes three sonatas (opp. 11, 14 and 22). The feeling is mutual, and leads to a passionate relationship underlined by exchanges of letters and musical declarations, for the sixteen-year-old is an accomplished pianist and promising composer. Opposed to this union, Friedrich Wieck stopped contributing to Schumann's magazine and organized a recital tour for his daughter to keep them apart. Distraught, the forsaken lover composed the Scènes d'enfants op. 15 with its famous "Rêverie", the magnificent Kreisleriana op. 16 with its contrasting moods, and the poignant and emblematic Fantaisie op. 17, all in the spirit of absolute Romanticism. Despite the obstacles, Clara and Robert are determined to get married. Wieck made two conditions: that the composer increase his income, and that they both leave Leipzig. Schumann then went to Vienna, where he wrote a series of piano pieces: Arabesque op. 18, Blumenstücke op. 19, Humoreske op. 20, Novellettes op. 21, Nachtstücke op. 23 and Carnaval de Vienne op. 26. At their wits' end, the couple resorted to the courts, which ruled in their favor. Their marriage was celebrated in Schönefeld on September 12, 1840. Over one hundred and thirty Lieder blossomed that same year, including Liederkreis op. 24 on poems by Heine and op. 39 after Eichendorff; Myrten op. 25; Frauenliebe und Leben op. 42 ("Love and the Life of a Woman"); Dichterliebe op. 48 ("The Poet's Loves"), and more. In the space of four days, this creative fever gave birth to Symphony no. 1, known as the "Spring" Symphony (1841), premiered by his friend Felix Mendelssohn, followed by three String Quartets op. 41, a remarkable Piano Quintet op. 44 and a Piano Quartet op. 47, as well as the oratorio Das Paradies un die Peri(Paradise and Perdition). Three more symphonies followed during the decade, as did a Fantasy for piano and orchestra, which was transformed into a grandiose Piano Concerto, completed in 1845. While Schumann took over the piano and all the composing duties at home, the couple wrote their two-part Diary together and, in 1844, set off on a four-month tour of Russia. The return proved difficult for Schumann, who had hoped to succeed Mendelssohn at the Leipzig Conservatory, but had to give way to the Dane Niels Wilhelm Gade. In Dresden, where the couple settled at the end of 1844, Clara had her own piano and music salon, and tours resumed, first to Vienna and then to Berlin. However, the news of Mendelssohn's death in 1847 plunged Schumann into a state of depression, exacerbated by the revolution of 1848, leading to a hasty departure for Kreischa. Although his only opera, Genoveva, premiered in Leipzig in 1850, did not meet with the success he had hoped for, the composer took off again with a Trio for piano and strings no. 1, the melodrama Manfred, the Scenes from Faust and, as the father of seven children (an eighth died in infancy), educational pieces including theAlbum pour la jeunesse op. 68. Schumann's appointment as Director of Music in Düsseldorf heralded a new lease of life, with the premiere of his Rhenish Symphony no. 3 (February 6, 1851), but his ability to conduct the orchestra was called into question, leading to conflict with the musicians. Between these setbacks, tinnitus problems and persistent rheumatism, his only satisfactions were the presence of his friends, Johannes Brahms, whose compositions delighted the couple, and violinist Joseph Joachim, who premiered the Fantaisie op. 131 in a final concert before Schumann's resignation, made official in 1854. In the meantime, the hallucinations returned, and on February 27, 1854, he left home in his slippers, crossed the city and threw himself into the Rhine. Rescued by fishermen, he was committed to the Endenich asylum, from which he never left, while Clara took refuge with their children at a friend's house. The couple stopped writing to each other, until Clara visited on July 23, 1856. Six days after their last outpouring, Robert Schumann, who had been eating very little, died of cachexia at the age of 46.