The Master & his Music... Schumman

Robert Alexander Schumann (1810-1856)

As a German composer, critic, and music journalist, Robert Schumann was one of the driving forces of the young Romantic movement in Germany. And like many in his generation, Schumann did not seem destined to become a composer, let alone one who would be so influential in the development of a new style. But music became all-important to Schumann, and he displayed multiple talents as a performer, composer, and literary exponent of Romanticism, championing new composers and their works and influencing the musical tastes of a generation.

Robert Schumann was born in Zwickau, Germany on June 8, 1810 as the son of a bookseller, Friedrich August Schumann. His mother's maiden name was Johanna Christiane Schnabel. Schumann spent his youth reading the imaginary Romantic tales of Byron and Sir Walter Scott, and he wanted to be a poet when he grew up. At the same time, he developed an interest for the organ and piano, studying with Johann Gottfried Kuntzsch, and with the encouragement of his father, he began at the age of seven to compose small pieces. Schumann's father made attempts to retain Carl Maria von Weber as a composition teacher for his talented son, but these efforts were fruitless, owing to the death of both August Schumann and Weber in 1826. However, for Schumann the expression of his creativity through words or through his musical compositions was really the same creative process in a way; the medium of expression was the only difference. This duality in his abilities and interests persisted throughout his life and was to prove to be a very fortunate circumstance in his mature years when he lost his ability to perform as a pianist.

About Strange Lands and People, No. 1 from "Scenes from Childhood"

Traumerei (or Reverie), No. 7 from "Scenes from Childhood"

Soldiers' March, No. 2 from "Album for the Young"

Song of the Reapers, No. 18 from "Album for the Young"

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