MU111 - Clara and Robert Schumann

Most Important Genre that Evolved from the Romantic Period

Art song

Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

German composer with a flair for literature, successful pianist, and met Clara, who was also a pianist.

Most Popular Musician Composer During the Romantic Period

Robert and Clara Schumann

Schumann’s Father

Father owned a printing company which still prints today. Schumann inherited his father’s business.

Clara Schumann Information

Far more successful than Robert, met when they were 16 and 17. Father was against their marriage, dragged out 4 years, and they married anyway, despite legal battles against the father. Clara took lessons, met Robert that way.

Clara Schumann’s Works in Her Time Period

Her works were never published—it was seen as unprofessional for a woman to be a composer or touring pianist. She was an exceptional child prodigy. There is suspicion that she published some of her works under Robert Schumann’s name. 

Best-Known Woman Composer of all Time:

Clara Weick Schumann (1819-1896). Considered one of the leading concert pianists during her lifetime. Had 7 kids and an emotionally unstable husband, yet excelled in her career.

Robert Schumann’s Mental State

Arguably bipolar/ dissociative, he wrote about having two different personalities—one loving, the other angry.

Year 1840

Known as the “year of the song,” this is when Schumann married Clara. Schumann wrote many, many art songs. 

Clara Schumann’s Suspected Adultery

Not proven, but she’s suspected to be the lover of a family friendm Johannes Brahms.

Dichterliebe, A Poet’s Love

A song cycle from 1840—the year of song—consisting of 16 love poems by Heinrich Heine set to music composed by Schumann. These selections tell a story of love and betrayal.

Role of the Piano in Dichterliebe.

Equally important to the vocal part, the piano emphasizes and comments on the text. In the preludes and postludes, it sometimes anticipates the words and counters them by introducing a new mood.