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Schumann
Robert Schumann
1810-1856
There were few more important figures of the romantic era than Robert Schumann, massively influential during his life and long after his death. A composer, critic, virtuoso pianist and philosopher, he was the paradigm of the romantic individual, highly emotionally charged (and indeed unstable), and brilliantly talented.
For his time, Schumann was relatively progressive; his Papillons was one of the first instrumental pieces of its kind to be a representation of a literary subject. The composer continued this trend with the Fantasiestucke and Kinderszenen, two masterpieces for solo piano, arguably the ancestors of works such as Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition.
Schumann was perhaps the most well known practitioner of cryptography in music – using codes. Carnaval and the F-A-E sonata both equate musical notes with letters, words and names, giving a fascinating subtext to many of his pieces. Indeed, his works often make reference to his wife Clara, an interesting subject in itself given her debated relationship to Brahms.
Schumann’s emotional state was often in turmoil, to the point where he attempted suicide. In response he was eventually confined to an asylum, where he died two years later. The result of this tumultuous mental state was constantly changing music, almost schizophrenic in nature, featuring small contrasting sections of different speed and mood. His compositions are often genuinely beautiful and tuneful, particularly the pieces for piano.
Recommended Listening:
Kindersezen, Carnaval, Piano Concerto
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