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Born June 8, 1810 in Zwickau, Germany,
Schuman showed early ability as a pianist and composer. In 1821, he
went to Leipzig to study law but instead spent his time in musical,
social and literary activities, during which time, he wrote some
piano music and took lessons from Friedrich Wieck. After a short
stay in Heidelberg, ostensibly studying law but actually music, he
persuaded his family that he should give up law in favor of a career
as a pianist. However, he soon had trouble with his hands (allegedly
due to a machine to strengthen his fingers, but more likely through
remedies for a syphilitic sore). Composition, however, continued as
he scored several piano works from this period. |
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In 1834, Schumann
founded a music journal, the Neue Zeitschrift für
Musik; he was its editor and leading writer for
ten years. He was a brilliant and perceptive critic:
his writings embody the most progressive aspects of
musical thinking in his time, and he drew attention to
many promising young composers. Sometimes he wrote
under pseudonyms, Eusebius (representing his lyrical,
contemplative side) and Florestan (his fiery,
impetuous one). He used these in his music, too. His
compositions at this time were mainly for piano: they
include variations on the name of one of his lady
friends, Abegg (the musical notes A-B-E-G-G), the
character-pieces Davidsbündlertänze ('Dances of
the league of David', an imaginary association of
those fighting the Philistines), Carnaval
(pieces with literary or other allusive meanings),
Phantasiestücke (a collection of poetic pieces
depicting moods), Kreisleriana (fantasy pieces
around the character of a mad Kapellmeister) and
Kinderszenen ('Scenes from Childhood').
By 1835, he was in love with Wieck's
young daughter Clara, but Wieck did his best to
separate them. They pledged themselves in 1837 but
kept apart and Schumann went through deep depressions.
In 1839, they took legal steps to make Wieck's consent
unnecessary, and after many further trials, they were
able to marry in 1840.
In 1841 Schumann turned to
orchestral music: he wrote symphonies and a poetic
piece for piano and orchestra for Clara that he later
reworked as the first movement of his Piano Concerto.
Then in 1842, when Clara was away on a concert tour
(he disliked being in her shadow and remained at
home), he turned to chamber music, and wrote his three
string quartets and three works for piano. In 1843, he
turned to choral music. He also took up a teaching
post at the new conservatory in Leipzig of which
Mendelssohn was director. However, he was an
ineffectual teacher; and he had limited success as a
conductor too. He and Clara moved to Dresden in 1844,
but his deep depressions continued, hampering his
creativity.
Not until 1847 was he again
productive, writing his opera Genoveva (given
in Leipzig in 1850 with moderate success), chamber
music and songs. In 1850, he took up a post in
Düsseldorf as town musical director. He was at first
happy and prolific, writing the eloquent Cello
Concerto and the Rhenish Symphony. However, the post
grew into conflict because of his indifferent
conducting. In 1852, his health and spirits
deteriorated and he realized that he could not
continue in his post. In 1854 he began to suffer
hallucinations; he attempted suicide (he had always
dreaded the possibility of madness) and entered an
asylum, where he died in 1856, almost certainly of the
effects of syphilis, cared for at the end by Clara and
the young Brahms. |
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