Robert Schumann

1810 – 1856 · died at about 46^[1][2]

Music

Fun Facts About Robert Schumann

• Robert Schumann had to go to court to marry Clara Wieck: it took four years of bitter legal actions to win the right to wed her without her father's consent.^[1]
• Schumann's first published article on music was a review of Chopin in which he declared: "Hats off, gentlemen! A genius."^[3][4]
• A paralyzed finger ended Schumann's hopes of a career as a virtuoso pianist, but it also exempted him from military service because he could not fire a rifle.^[1]
• Schumann's first published work, the Abegg Variations, was dedicated to a Countess Pauline von Abegg who was almost certainly imaginary.^[1]
• Visiting Franz Schubert's brother, Schumann found the manuscript of Schubert's Great C major Symphony, arranged its premiere, and praised its "heavenly length".^[1][5][6]
• When 20-year-old Johannes Brahms played for him, Schumann rushed out to fetch his wife, saying "Now, my dear Clara, you will hear such music as you never heard before".^[1]
• Robert Schumann was alive at the same time as Oscar Wilde — their lives overlapped for 2 years (1854–1856).^[1][2][7][8]
• Robert Schumann shares a birthday with Frank Lloyd Wright: both were born on June 8.^{[1][2][9][10]}

Robert Schumann was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber groups, orchestra, choir and the opera. His works typify the spirit of the Romantic era in German music.^[1]

Contemporaries

Jacob Grimm

46 yr overlap

Michael Faraday

46 yr overlap

Charles Babbage

46 yr overlap

Victor Hugo

46 yr overlap

Hans Christian Andersen

46 yr overlap

Abraham Lincoln

46 yr overlap

Charles Darwin

46 yr overlap

Ralph Waldo Emerson

46 yr overlap

George Sand

46 yr overlap

Arthur Schopenhauer

46 yr overlap

Alexandre Dumas

46 yr overlap

Heinrich Heine

46 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Robert Schumann

When was Robert Schumann born?

Robert Schumann was born on June 8, 1810, and died on July 29, 1856.

How old was Robert Schumann at death?

Robert Schumann was born on June 8, 1810, and died on July 29, 1856, at age 46.

What was Robert Schumann known for?

Robert Schumann was known for: Romantic composer and influential music critic. Robert Schumann was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber groups, orchestra, choir and the opera. His works typify the spirit of the Romantic era in German music.

Who was alive at the same time as Robert Schumann?

Robert Schumann's closest contemporary was Jacob Grimm. Their lives overlapped for 46 years.