Robert Schumann, the quintessential Romantic

Robert Schumann was born in the small Saxon city of Zwickau on June 8, 1810. His father August Schumann was a book merchant, publisher, author and translator who introduced the English authors Lord Byron and Sir Walter Scott to German readers. August was an adherent of the "Sturm und Drang" (Storm and Stress) movement upholding the ideals of genius, innocence and the sanctity of love and nature.

The young Robert Schumann was of a cheerful disposition. His mother, Johanna Christiane, called him her "bright spot." Hearing a recital by the pianist Ignaz Moscheles at age nine, he demanded a piano — and was soon improvising on it as though possessed. He was equally talented in poetry and music. At age 15, he suffered his first serious bout of depression.

After studying law for two years in Leipzig and Heidelberg and traveling to Italy, the 20-year-old Robert decided to dedicate himself to music and moved into the household of the notoriously strict piano instructor Friedrich Wieck in Leipzig. To strengthen individual fingers, he devised a contraption that would hold other fingers up in the air. As a result, his hand was paralyzed.

That was the end of the dream of becoming a piano virtuoso. A bout of depression resulted in his first suicide attempt in the autumn of 1833. Robert Schumann could only come to terms with his diverse interests and mood swings through creative work — by writing music. Even early works such as the "Abegg-Variationen" and "Papillons" showed a mastery of technique.

Also under Friedrich Wieck's tutelage was his daughter Clara; the gifted girl played concerts as a child. The love between Robert and Clara was first openly expressed in 1835 when she was 16 years old. Her father sought to prevent any contact between the two with every means at his disposal. They secretly got engaged in 1837 — but weren't able to marry until 1840 after a court decision.

The convivial young Schumann spent time with like-minded artists in "Kaffeebaum," a coffeehouse in Leipzig. Calling themselves "Davidsbündler," they railed against petty bourgeois artistic tastes and mediocrity. In 1834 Schumann founded the "Neue Zeitschrift für Musik" (New Music Journal) and wrote for the periodical for 10 years. His critiques had a major impact on the music world.

Schumann wrote mostly piano music at first. Then, after his marriage in 1840, he penned more than 130 Lieder in that year alone. Music in nearly every genre followed in the years to come: an opera, four symphonies, choral and chamber music. Clara wrote music as well, but was not permitted to enter the public eye as a composer. Robert even wanted her to discontinue her concert appearances at first.

The Schumanns had eight children — and for financial reasons, Clara soon found herself back on tour. Periods of high productivity during Schumann's time in Leipzig and Dresden alternated with phases of depression. Today his illness would likely be diagnosed as a bipolar disorder. An earlier syphilis infection may have contributed to his symptoms.

In 1850, the Schumann family moved to Dusseldorf, and Robert was warmly greeted as the city's new music director. Buoyed by the upbeat mood of his new surroundings, he composed his Third Symphony, the "Rhenish." Soon, however, he was at loggerheads with the municipal chorus and orchestra. He seemed unsuited for the organizational aspects of the job.

In 1853, Johannes Brahms visited the Schumanns in Düsseldorf — and Schumann promptly wrote an essay proclaiming the young man as the greatest composer in the years to come. Bolstered by optimism, Schumann had a brief surge of creativity, but professional conflicts erupted that same year — after which he withdrew from his conducting responsibilities and stopped composing.

In a downward spiral, sounds raging through his head robbed him of his sleep. On February 27, 1854 he leapt into the Rhine but was rescued and sent home. On March 4, at his own request, he was admitted to the Institution for the Treatment and Care of the Emotionally Ill and Insane in Endenich near Bonn — and died there two and a half years later on July 29, 1856.

Surviving her husband by 40 years, Clara Schumann remained a star of the music world. Johannes Brahms was more than a close friend to her, though their love most likely remained platonic. Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms destroyed late works by Robert Schumann, considering them to have been impaired by his illness. Musicologists have only recently come to see Schumann's work in a new light.

Clara and Robert Schumann lie interred at the Alter Friedhof (Old Cemetery) in Bonn. Funds for the ornate gravesite were raised at a major Schumann festival in 1873. The memorial was designed by sculptor Adolf von Donndorf and unveiled in 1880 at a festive ceremony with Clara and her children in attendance. Today it's a destination for those who love the music of Robert Schumann.

Until he was admitted to the Bonn hospital, Schumann lived from 1850 to 1854 in Düsseldorf, where he was a musical director. He composed about a third of his works in the city. The musician's former house has served as a memorial institute for years, but now it will be extended into a museum that is planned to open in October 2020.