Schumann's creativity is briefly the most important thing. Schumann - who is he? Failed pianist, brilliant composer or sharp music critic? Coins and postage stamps

The famous German composer Robert Schumann, a romantic, a dreamer with a tender and vulnerable soul, brought progress and innovation to the traditional classical dimension of world musical art. Combining poetics, harmony and philosophy in his work, he ensured that his works were not just melodic and beautiful in sound, but were an external reflection of a person’s inner worldview, his desire to express his state of mind. Schuman can rightfully be considered an innovator who sought to progress in European classical music of the 19th century.

Years of life

Schumann lived a not too long life, marked by the seal and suffering of a severe and painful illness. He was born June 8, 1810 and died July 29, 1856. His family of origin was completely non-musical. He was born into a family of booksellers, where in addition to him there were four older children. From the age of seven, the boy began to study music with a local organist, and at the age of 12 he tried to create his own piece of music.

Parents dreamed that their son would become a lawyer and Robert spent several years studying to please them, but it turned out that his vocation for music is much stronger than the desire to please his parents and arrange a prosperous future for himself. Studying in Leipzig at the Faculty of Law, she devoted all her free time to music.

His acquaintance with Franz Schubert, a trip to the Italian Mecca of art - Venice, the delight of attending Paganini concerts, strengthened in him the desire to devote himself to music. He begins to take piano lessons from Friedrich Wieck, where he meets his future wife Clara, who became his faithful companion and companion for the rest of his life. The hated jurisprudence is left aside, and Schumann devotes himself entirely to music.

His ambition to become a pianist ended almost tragically. To increase the fluency of the fingers, which is very important for the performer, Schumann underwent an operation that was unsuccessful, and he lost the opportunity to make a career as a musician. But now he devoted all his time to composing musical works. Together with other young musicians, Schumann begins publishing the New Musical Newspaper magazine. For this magazine, Schumann writes a large number of critical articles on contemporary musical art.

The works of Robert Schumann, starting from the very first works, are full of romanticism, idyllic dreaminess and filled with echoes of his own feelings. But, despite the touch of sentimentality so fashionable for his time, he developed a desire for material success. This was especially evident when Schumann decided to start a family. His chosen one was Clara Wieck, the daughter of his music teacher and mentor. Clara was a gifted and very successful pianist, so the union of these two musically talented people was very harmonious and happy.

Almost every year, another child appeared in the family of Robert and Clara, there were eight in total. But this did not prevent the spouses from successfully touring European cities. In 1844 they visited Russia with concerts, where they were given a very warm welcome. His wife was an amazing woman! An excellent pianist herself, she, realizing the extraordinary talent of her husband, tried to protect him from everyday difficulties, and Schumann was able to devote himself entirely to writing.

Fate gave Schumann sixteen happy married years, and only severe mental illness overshadowed this happy union. In 1854, the disease worsened, and even voluntary treatment in an advanced clinic did not help. In 1856, Schumann died.

The composer's work

Robert Schumann left behind a huge musical legacy. Starting with the first printed works "Butterflies", "Davidsbündlers", "Fantastic plays", "Kreislerian" such airy, delicate, transparent miniatures filled with air and light, and ending with the operas "Faust", "Manfred", symphonies and oratorios, he always remained true to his ideal in music.

Robert Schumann is undoubtedly a subtle and talented master, brilliantly conveys all shades of feelings and moods, therefore his famous lyrical cycles “Circle of Songs”, “Poet's Love”, “Love and Life of a Woman” are still extremely popular among performers and listeners. . Many, like his contemporaries, consider his works difficult, difficult to perceive, but Schumann's works are an example of the spirituality and nobility of human nature, and not just the glitz and glamor tinsel.

Robert Schumann's brief biography of the German composer is set out in this article.

Biography and work of Robert Schumann

Robert Schumann was born June 8, 1810 in the small town of Zwickau, in an absolutely non-musical family. His parents were publishing books. They also wanted to addict the child to this business, but being at the age of seven, Robert showed a passion for music.

He enters the University of Leipzig in 1828 at the faculty of jurisprudence. While in Leipzig, Robert meets Wieck, the best piano teacher, and begins taking lessons from him. A year later, realizing that a lawyer is far from the profession that he wants to master, Schumann moves to Heidelberg University. He returned to Leipzig in 1830 and continued to take piano lessons from Wieck. In 1831 he was injured in his right hand and the career of the great pianist came to an end. But Schumann did not even think about giving up music - he began to write musical works and mastered the profession of music critic.

Robert Schumann founded the New Musical Journal in Leipzig, and until 1844 was its editor, principal author and publisher. He paid special attention to writing musical works for the piano. The most significant cycles are Butterflies, Variations, Carnival, Davidsbüdler Dances, Fantastic Pieces. In 1838, he wrote several real masterpieces - Novels, Children's scenes and Kreisleriana.

When it was time to get married, in 1840 Robert married Clara Wieck, the daughter of his music teacher. She was known as a talented pianist. During the years of his marriage, he also wrote a number of symphonic works - Paradise and Peri, Requiem and Mass, Requiem for Mignon, scenes from the work "Faust".

To shed light into the depths of the human heart - such is the vocation of the artist.
R. Schumann

P. Tchaikovsky believed that future generations would call the 19th century. Schumann's period in the history of music. Indeed, Schumann's music captured the main thing in the art of his time - its content was the "mysteriously deep processes of the spiritual life" of a person, its purpose - penetration into the "depths of the human heart."

R. Schumann was born in the provincial Saxon town of Zwickau, in the family of the publisher and bookseller August Schumann, who died early (1826), but managed to pass on to his son a reverent attitude towards art and encouraged him to study music with the local organist I. Kuntsch. From an early age, Schumann loved to improvise on the piano, at the age of 13 he wrote a Psalm for choir and orchestra, but no less than music attracted him to literature, in the study of which he made great strides during his years at the gymnasium. The romantically inclined young man was not at all interested in jurisprudence, which he studied at the universities of Leipzig and Heidelberg (1828-30).

Classes with the famous piano teacher F. Wieck, attending concerts in Leipzig, acquaintance with the works of F. Schubert contributed to the decision to devote himself to music. With difficulty overcoming the resistance of his relatives, Schumann began intensive piano lessons, but a disease in his right hand (due to mechanical training of the fingers) closed his career as a pianist for him. With all the greater enthusiasm, Schumann devotes himself to composing music, takes composition lessons from G. Dorn, studies the work of J. S. Bach and L. Beethoven. Already the first published piano works (Variations on a theme by Abegg, "Butterflies", 1830-31) showed the independence of the young author.

Since 1834, Schumann became the editor and then the publisher of the New Musical Journal, which aimed to fight against the superficial works of virtuoso composers who flooded the concert stage at that time, with handicraft imitation of the classics, for a new, deep art, illuminated by poetic inspiration . In his articles, written in an original artistic form - often in the form of scenes, dialogues, aphorisms, etc. - Schumann presents the reader with the ideal of true art, which he sees in the works of F. Schubert and F. Mendelssohn, F. Chopin and G Berlioz, in the music of the Viennese classics, in the game of N. Paganini and the young pianist Clara Wieck - the daughter of her teacher. Schumann managed to gather around him like-minded people who appeared on the pages of the magazine as Davidsbündlers - members of the "David Brotherhood" ("Davidsbund"), a kind of spiritual union of genuine musicians. Schumann himself often signed his reviews with the names of fictitious Davidsbündlers Florestan and Eusebius. Florestan is prone to violent ups and downs of fantasy, to paradoxes, the judgments of the dreamy Eusebius are softer. In the suite of characteristic plays "Carnival" (1834-35), Schumann creates musical portraits of the Davidsbündlers - Chopin, Paganini, Clara (under the name of Chiarina), Eusebius, Florestan.

The highest tension of mental strength and the highest ups of creative genius (“Fantastic plays”, “Dances of the Davidsbündlers”, Fantasia in C major, “Kreisleriana”, “Novelettes”, “Humoresque”, “Viennese Carnival”) brought Schumann the second half of the 30s. , which passed under the sign of the struggle for the right to unite with Clara Wieck (F. Wieck in every possible way prevented this marriage). In an effort to find a wider arena for his musical and journalistic activities, Schumann spends the 1838-39 season. in Vienna, but the Metternich administration and censorship prevented the journal from being published there. In Vienna, Schumann discovered the manuscript of Schubert's "great" Symphony in C major, one of the pinnacles of romantic symphonism.

1840 - the year of the long-awaited union with Clara - became for Schumann the year of songs. An extraordinary sensitivity to poetry, a deep knowledge of the work of contemporaries contributed to the realization in numerous song cycles and individual songs of a true union with poetry, the exact embodiment in music of H. Heine's individual poetic intonation (“Circle of Songs” op. 24, “The Poet's Love”), I. Eichendorff (“Circle of Songs”, op. 39), A. Chamisso (“Love and Life of a Woman”), R. Burns, F. Ruckert, J. Byron, H. X. Andersen and others. And subsequently, the field of vocal creativity continued to grow wonderful works (“Six poems by N. Lenau” and Requiem - 1850, “Songs from“ Wilhelm Meister “by I. V. Goethe” - 1849, etc.).

The life and work of Schumann in the 40-50s. flowed in an alternation of ups and downs, largely associated with bouts of mental illness, the first signs of which appeared as early as 1833. Upsurges in creative energy marked the beginning of the 40s, the end of the Dresden period (the Schumanns lived in the capital of Saxony in 1845-50. ), coinciding with the revolutionary events in Europe, and the beginning of life in Düsseldorf (1850). Schumann composes a lot, teaches at the Leipzig Conservatory, which opened in 1843, and from the same year begins to perform as a conductor. In Dresden and Düsseldorf, he also directs the choir, devoting himself to this work with enthusiasm. Of the few tours made with Clara, the longest and most impressive was a trip to Russia (1844). Since the 60-70s. Schumann's music very quickly became an integral part of Russian musical culture. She was loved by M. Balakirev and M. Mussorgsky, A. Borodin and especially Tchaikovsky, who considered Schumann the most outstanding contemporary composer. A. Rubinstein was a brilliant performer of Schumann's piano works.

Creativity of the 40-50s. marked by a significant expansion of the range of genres. Schumann writes symphonies (First - "Spring", 1841, Second, 1845-46; Third - "Rhine", 1850; Fourth, 1841-1st ed., 1851 - 2nd ed.), chamber ensembles (3 strings quartet - 1842, 3 trios, piano quartet and quintet, ensembles with the participation of the clarinet - including "Fabulous Narratives" for clarinet, viola and piano, 2 sonatas for violin and piano, etc.); concertos for pianoforte 1841-45), cello (1850), violin (1853); program concert overtures (“The Bride of Messina” by Schiller, 1851; “Hermann and Dorothea” by Goethe and “Julius Caesar” by Shakespeare - 1851), demonstrating mastery in handling classical forms. The Piano Concerto and the Fourth Symphony stand out for their boldness in their renewal, the Quintet in E flat major for the exceptional harmony of embodiment and the inspiration of musical thoughts. One of the culminations of the composer's entire work was the music for Byron's dramatic poem "Manfred" (1848) - the most important milestone in the development of romantic symphonism on the way from Beethoven to Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Brahms. Schumann does not betray his beloved piano either (Forest Scenes, 1848-49 and other pieces) - it is his sound that endows his chamber ensembles and vocal lyrics with special expressiveness. The search for the composer in the field of vocal and dramatic music was tireless (the oratorio "Paradise and Peri" by T. Moore - 1843; Scenes from Goethe's "Faust", 1844-53; ballads for soloists, choir and orchestra; works of sacred genres, etc.) . The staging in Leipzig of Schumann's only opera Genoveva (1847-48) based on F. Gobbel and L. Tieck, similar in plot to the German romantic "knightly" operas by K. M. Weber and R. Wagner, did not bring him success.

The great event of the last years of Schumann's life was his meeting with the twenty-year-old Brahms. The article "New Ways", in which Schumann predicted a great future for his spiritual heir (he always treated young composers with extraordinary sensitivity), completed his publicistic activity. In February 1854, a severe attack of illness led to a suicide attempt. After spending 2 years in a hospital (Endenich, near Bonn), Schumann died. Most of the manuscripts and documents are kept in his House-Museum in Zwickau (Germany), where competitions of pianists, vocalists and chamber ensembles named after the composer are regularly held.

Schumann's work marked the mature stage of musical romanticism with its heightened attention to the embodiment of the complex psychological processes of human life. Schumann's piano and vocal cycles, many of the chamber-instrumental, symphonic works opened up a new artistic world, new forms of musical expression. Schumann's music can be imagined as a series of surprisingly capacious musical moments, capturing the changing and very finely differentiated mental states of a person. These can also be musical portraits, accurately capturing both the external character and the inner essence of the depicted.

Schumann gave programmatic titles to many of his works, which were designed to excite the imagination of the listener and performer. His work is very closely connected with literature - with the work of Jean Paul (I. P. Richter), T. A. Hoffmann, G. Heine and others. Schumann miniatures can be compared with lyric poems, more detailed plays - with poems, short stories, fascinating romantic stories, where different storylines are sometimes bizarrely intertwined, the real turns into a fantastic one, lyrical digressions arise, etc. creatures. In this cycle of piano fantasy pieces, as well as in the vocal cycle on Heine's poems "The Love of a Poet", the image of a romantic artist arises, a true poet, capable of feeling infinitely sharp, "strong, fiery and tender", sometimes forced to hide his true essence under a mask irony and buffoonery, in order to later reveal it even more sincerely and cordially or plunge into deep thought ... Byron's Manfred is endowed by Schumann with sharpness and strength of feeling, the madness of a rebellious impulse, in whose image there are also philosophical and tragic features. Lyrically animated images of nature, fantastic dreams, ancient legends and traditions, images of childhood (“Children's Scenes” - 1838; piano (1848) and vocal (1849) “Albums for Youth”) complement the artistic world of the great musician, “a poet par excellence”, as V. Stasov called it.

E. Tsareva

Schuman's words "to illuminate the depths of the human heart - this is the purpose of the artist" - a direct path to the knowledge of his art. Few people can compare with Schumann in the penetration with which he conveys the finest nuances of the life of the human soul with sounds. The world of feelings is an inexhaustible spring of his musical and poetic images.

No less remarkable is another statement by Schumann: "One should not plunge too much into oneself, while it is easy to lose a sharp look at the world around." And Schumann followed his own advice. At the age of twenty he took up the struggle against inertia and philistinism. (philistine is a collective German word that personifies a tradesman, a person with backward philistine views on life, politics, art) in art. A fighting spirit, rebellious and passionate, filled his musical works and his bold, daring critical articles, which paved the way for new progressive phenomena of art.

Irreconcilability to routinism, vulgarity Schumann carried through his whole life. But the disease, which grew stronger every year, aggravated the nervousness and romantic sensitivity of his nature, often hindered the enthusiasm and energy with which he devoted himself to musical and social activities. The complexity of the ideological socio-political situation in Germany at that time also had an effect. Nevertheless, in the conditions of a semi-feudal reactionary state structure, Schumann managed to preserve the purity of moral ideals, constantly maintain in himself and arouse creative burning in others.

“Nothing real is created in art without enthusiasm,” these wonderful words of the composer reveal the essence of his creative aspirations. A sensitive and deeply thinking artist, he could not help but respond to the call of the times, to succumb to the inspiring influence of the era of revolutions and national liberation wars that shook Europe in the first half of the 19th century.

The romantic unusualness of musical images and compositions, the passion that Schumann brought to all his activities, disturbed the sleepy peace of the German philistines. It is no coincidence that Schumann's work was hushed up by the press and did not find recognition in his homeland for a long time. Schumann's life path was difficult. From the very beginning, the struggle for the right to become a musician determined the tense and sometimes nervous atmosphere of his life. The collapse of dreams was sometimes replaced by a sudden realization of hopes, moments of acute joy - deep depression. All this was imprinted in the quivering pages of Schumann's music.

To Schumann's contemporaries, his work seemed mysterious and inaccessible. A peculiar musical language, new images, new forms - all this required too deep listening and tension, unusual for the audience of concert halls.

The experience of Liszt, who tried to promote Schumann's music, ended rather sadly. In a letter to Schumann's biographer, Liszt wrote: "Many times I had such a failure with Schumann's plays both in private homes and in public concerts that I lost the courage to put them on my posters."

But even among musicians, Schumann's art made its way to understanding with difficulty. Not to mention Mendelssohn, to whom the rebellious spirit of Schumann was deeply alien, the same Liszt - one of the most insightful and sensitive artists - accepted Schumann only partially, allowing himself such liberties as performing "Carnival" with cuts.

Only since the 1950s, Schumann's music began to take root in the musical and concert life, to acquire ever wider circles of adherents and admirers. Among the first people who noted its true value were leading Russian musicians. Anton Grigorievich Rubinstein played Schumann a lot and willingly, and it was precisely with the performance of Carnival and Symphonic Etudes that he made a huge impression on the audience.

Love for Schumann was repeatedly testified by Tchaikovsky and the leaders of the Mighty Handful. Tchaikovsky spoke especially penetratingly about Schumann, noting the exciting modernity of Schumann's work, the novelty of the content, the novelty of the composer's own musical thinking. “Schumann’s music,” wrote Tchaikovsky, “organically adjoining Beethoven’s work and at the same time sharply separating from him, opens up a whole world of new musical forms to us, touches strings that his great predecessors have not yet touched. In it we find an echo of those mysterious spiritual processes of our spiritual life, those doubts, despairs and impulses towards the ideal that overwhelm the heart of modern man.

Schumann belongs to the second generation of romantic musicians who replaced Weber, Schubert. Schumann in many respects started from the late Schubert, from that line of his work, in which lyrical-dramatic and psychological elements played a decisive role.

Schumann's main creative theme is the world of a person's internal states, his psychological life. There are features in the appearance of Schumann's hero that are akin to Schubert's, there is also much that is new, inherent in an artist of a different generation, with a complicated and contradictory system of thoughts and feelings. Artistic and poetic images of Schumann, more fragile and refined, were born in the mind, acutely perceiving the ever-increasing contradictions of the time. It was this heightened acuteness of reaction to the phenomena of life that created extraordinary tension and strength of the "impact of Schumann's ardor of feelings" (Asafiev). None of Schumann's Western European contemporaries, except for Chopin, has such passion and a variety of emotional nuances.

In the nervously receptive nature of Schumann, the feeling of a gap between a thinking, deeply feeling personality and the real conditions of the surrounding reality, experienced by the leading artists of the era, is exacerbated to the extreme. He seeks to fill the incompleteness of existence with his own fantasy, to oppose an unsightly life with an ideal world, the realm of dreams and poetic fiction. Ultimately, this led to the fact that the multiplicity of life phenomena began to shrink to the limits of the personal sphere, inner life. Self-deepening, focus on one's feelings, one's experiences strengthened the growth of the psychological principle in Schumann's work.

Nature, everyday life, the entire objective world, as it were, depend on the given state of the artist, are colored in the tones of his personal mood. Nature in Schumann's work does not exist outside of his experiences; it always reflects his own emotions, takes on a color corresponding to them. The same can be said about the fabulous-fantastic images. In the work of Schumann, in comparison with the work of Weber or Mendelssohn, the connection with the fabulousness generated by folk ideas is noticeably weakening. Schumann's fantasy is rather a fantasy of his own visions, sometimes bizarre and capricious, caused by the play of artistic imagination.

The strengthening of subjectivity and psychological motives, the often autobiographical nature of creativity, does not detract from the exceptional universal value of Schumann's music, for these phenomena are deeply typical of Schumann's era. Belinsky spoke remarkably about the significance of the subjective principle in art: “In a great talent, an excess of an inner, subjective element is a sign of humanity. Do not be afraid of this direction: it will not deceive you, it will not mislead you. The great poet, speaking of himself, of his I, speaks of the general - of humanity, because in his nature lies everything that humanity lives by. And therefore, in his sadness, in his soul, everyone recognizes his own and sees in him not only poet, But human his brother in humanity. Recognizing him as a being incomparably higher than himself, everyone at the same time recognizes his kinship with him.

Biography of Schumann - the great German composer - like the life of any famous person, was filled with both curious, anecdotal cases, and tragic twists of fate. Why did Schumann not become a virtuoso pianist, as he dreamed of in his youth, and why did he have to choose the composer's path? How did this affect his mental health, and where did the famous author end up?

Composer Schumann (biography): childhood and youth

Schumann was born on June 8, 1810 in Germany. Zwickau became his hometown. The father of the future composer was a book publisher, a non-poor man, so he sought to give his son a decent education.

From childhood, the boy showed literary abilities - when Robert studied at the gymnasium, then, in addition to composing poems, dramas and comedies, he also organized a literary circle on his own. Under the influence of Jean Paul, the young man even composed a literary novel. Given all these facts, Schumann's biography could have turned out quite differently - the boy could well follow in the footsteps of his father. But the world of music worried Robert more than literary activity.

Schumann, whose biography and work throughout his life were firmly connected with the art of music, wrote his first at the age of ten. Perhaps this was the first sign that another great composer was born.

Robert Schumann (short biography): career as a pianist

Schumann began to show interest in playing the piano from an early age. He was very impressed by the play of the pianist Moscheles, as well as Paganini. The young man was inspired by the idea of ​​becoming a virtuoso instrumentalist and spared no effort for this.

At first, the future composer took lessons from the organist Kunsht. Under the strict guidance of his first teacher, the boy began to create his own musical works - mostly sketches. After getting acquainted with the work of Schubert, Robert wrote several songs.

However, the parents insisted that their son had a serious education, so Robert went to Leipzig to study law. But Schumann, whose biography, it seemed, could not have turned out differently, is still drawn to music, so he continues to study piano under the guidance of a new teacher, Friedrich Wieck. The latter sincerely believed that his student could become the most virtuoso pianist in Germany.

But Robert pursued his goal too fanatically, so he overdid it with classes - he earned a sprained tendon and said goodbye to his pianist career.

Education

As mentioned above, Schumann studied law at and then at Heidelberg. But Robert never became a lawyer, preferring music.

The beginning of composing

Robert Schumann, whose biography, after being injured, was completely devoted to composing, most likely was very worried about the fact that he would never be able to fulfill his dream and become a famous pianist. The character of the young man changed after that - he became taciturn, too vulnerable, stopped joking and playing his friends as soon as he knew how to do it. Once, while still young, Schumann went into a musical instrument store and jokingly introduced himself as the chamberlain of an English lord, who instructed him to choose a piano for playing music. Robert played all the expensive instruments in the salon, thus amusing onlookers and customers. As a result, Schumann said that in two days he would give the owner of the salon an answer about the purchase, and he, as if nothing had happened, left for another city on his own business.

But in the 30s. he had to say goodbye to his career as a pianist, and the young man devoted himself entirely to creating musical works. It was during this period that he flourished as a composer.

Music features

Schumann worked in the era of romanticism and, of course, this was reflected in his work.

Robert Schumann, whose biography was in a sense filled with personal experiences, wrote psychological music that was far from folklore motives. Schumann's works are something "personal". His music is very changeable, which reflects the fact that the composer gradually began to fall ill. Schumann himself did not hide the fact that duality is characteristic of his nature.

The harmonious language of his works is more complex than that of his contemporaries. The rhythm of Schumann's creations is quite whimsical and capricious. But this did not prevent the composer from gaining national fame during his lifetime.

Once, while walking in the park, the composer whistled under his breath a theme from Carnival. One of the passers-by made a remark to him: they say, if you have no hearing, then it’s better not to “spoil” the works of a respected composer.

Among the most famous works of the composer are the following:

• romance cycles "Poet's Love", "Circle of Songs";
• piano cycles "Butterflies", "Carnival", "Kreislerian", etc.

Musical newspaper

Schumann, whose brief biography would not have been without literature, did not give up his hobby, and applied his literary talent in journalism. With the support of his many friends connected with the world of music, Schumann founded the New Musical Gazette in 1834. Over time, it has become a periodical and quite influential publication. The composer wrote many articles for publication with his own hand. He welcomed everything new in music, so he supported young composers. By the way, Schumann was one of the first to recognize Chopin's talent and wrote a separate article in his honor. Schumann also supported Liszt, Berlioz, Brahms and many other composers.

Often in his articles, the hero of our story had to rebuff many music critics who spoke unflatteringly about his work. Schumann also "created" not quite in the spirit of the times, so he had to defend his views on the art of music.

Personal life

In 1840, closer to the age of 30, Robert Schumann married. His chosen one was the daughter of his teacher, Friedrich Wick.

Clara Wieck was a fairly well-known and virtuoso pianist. She was also related to composing and supported her husband in all endeavors.

Schumann, whose brief biography was full of musical activity by the age of 30, was never married, and it seemed that his own personal life did not bother him much. But before the wedding, he honestly warned his future wife that his character was very difficult: he often acts contrary to close and dear people, for some reason it turns out that he hurts exactly those he loves.

But these shortcomings of the composer did not frighten the bride very much. The marriage took place, and Clara Wieck and Robert Schumann lived in marriage until the end of their days, left behind eight children and were buried in the same cemetery.

Health problems and death

Schumann's biography was full of various events; the composer left behind a rich musical and literary heritage. Such an obsession with his work and life could not pass without a trace. Around the age of 35, the composer began to show the first signs of a serious nervous breakdown. For two years he did not write anything.

And although the composer was given various honors, invited to serious positions, he could no longer return to his former life. His nerves were completely shattered.

At the age of 44, for the first time after a bout of prolonged depression, the composer tried to commit suicide by throwing himself from a bridge into the Rhine. He was saved, but there were no significant changes in his state of health. Schumann spent two years in a psychiatric hospital and died at the age of 46. During all this time, the composer did not create a single work.

Who knows how the composer's life would have turned out if he hadn't injured his fingers and nevertheless became a pianist... Perhaps Schumann, whose biography was cut off at 46, would have lived a longer life and would not have lost his mind.

By the way, there is a version that the composer injured his fingers by creating a home-made simulator for them, similar to the instruments of Henry Hertz and Tiziano Poli. The essence of the simulators is that the middle finger of the hand was tied to a string, which was attached to the ceiling. This tool was designed to train endurance and amplitude of finger opening. But with inept use, it is possible to tear the tendons in this way.

There is another version according to which Schumann had to be treated for syphilis in the then fashionable way - to inhale mercury vapor, which caused a side effect in the form of paralysis of the fingers. But Schumann's wife did not confirm any of these versions.

International Composer Competition

Schumann's biography and his work are so popular in the music world that personal competitions and awards are often organized in honor of the famous composer. Back in 1956, the first competition for performers of academic music was held in Berlin, which is called the Internationaler Robert-Schumann-Wettbewerb.

The first event was dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the composer's death, and the first winners of the competition were the representative of the GDR Annerose Schmidt in the "Piano" nomination, as well as representatives of the USSR: Alexander Vedernikov, Kira Izotova in the "Vocal" nomination. Subsequently, contestants from the USSR won prizes almost every year until 1985. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, only in 1996 the competition was won by a representative from Russia - Mikhail Mordvinov in the "Piano" nomination.

Robert Schumann Award

R. Schuman, whose biography and creative heritage have become the pride of world art, presented his name and prizes, which have been awarded to performers of academic music since 1964. The award was established by the administration of the composer's hometown - Zwickau. It is awarded only to those figures who promote the composer's music and bring it to the masses. In 2003, the material component of the award was equal to 10,000 euros.

Until 1989, the names of Soviet artists were often included in the list of prize winners. The representative from Russia then appeared in the list of laureates only in 2000. Olga Loseva became the laureate of the award that year, since then the prize has not been awarded to immigrants from the CIS countries even once.

Robert Schumann (1810-1856) was a German composer, music critic and teacher. One of the outstanding musicians of the era of such an artistic direction in art as romanticism. He was predicted the future of the best pianist in Europe, but Robert injured his hand and could no longer play a musical instrument, in connection with this he devoted his life to writing music.

Parents

Robert was born on June 8, 1810 in the German town of Zwickau, located in picturesque Saxony.

The head of the family, Friedrich August Schumann, was the son of an impoverished priest from Ronnenburg. He had a natural talent for poetry. However, the poverty in which his childhood and youth passed made the guy part with his dreams of poetry and engage in trading. After graduating from school, he entered the service of a merchant as an apprentice. But trade was extremely disgusting to him, while Friedrich August read books to the point of madness. In the end, he left the merchant, returned home to his parents and took up the literary business. The novel he wrote was not published, but became an occasion to get acquainted with booksellers. Schumann was invited to work as an assistant in a bookstore, and he gladly accepted.

Soon, Friedrich August met a charming girl, Johann Christiana Schnabel, whom he loved with all his heart. Their marriage was opposed by the bride's parents due to the extreme poverty of the groom. But the persistent Schumann worked so hard for a year that he saved up money not only for the wedding, but also to open his own bookstore. When the trading business went especially well, Friedrich August moved them to the city of Zwickau, where he opened a shop called the Schumann Brothers.

Robert Schumann's mother, Johann Christian, in contrast to her withdrawn and serious husband, was a cheerful, hot-tempered, sometimes quick-tempered, but very kind woman. She took care of the house and the upbringing of children, of whom there were five in the family - sons (Karl, Edward, Julius, Robert) and daughter Emilia.

The future composer was the youngest child in the family. After his birth, his mother fell into some kind of exalted delight and concentrated all her maternal love on Robert. She called the youngest child "a bright spot on her life path."

Childhood

Schumann grew up as a playful and cheerful child. The boy was very handsome, with a delicately shaped face, which was framed by long blond curls. He was not only his mother's favorite son, but also the darling of the whole family. Adults and children calmly endured Robert's pranks and whims.

At the age of six, the boy was sent to Dener's school. Among classmates, Schumann immediately began to stand out and excel. In all games, he was the leader, and when they played their favorite game - soldiers, Robert was certainly elected commander and led the battle.

It cannot be said that Schumann studied brilliantly at school, but his rich creative nature manifested itself immediately. Having discovered an excellent ear for music in the child, at the age of seven, his parents sent him to a local organist to learn to play the piano. In addition to musicality, paternal genes also appeared in Robert, the boy composed poetry, a little later, tragedies and comedies, which they learned with comrades and demonstrated, sometimes even for a moderate fee.

As soon as Robert learned to play the piano, he immediately began to improvise and write music. At first, he composed dances, which he painstakingly wrote down in a thick music notebook. The most unique thing that he managed to do on a musical instrument was to depict character traits with the help of sounds. This is how he painted his friends on the piano. It came out so great that the boys, gathered around the young composer, rolled with laughter.

Passion for music

Schumann hesitated for a long time, what should he devote his life to - music or literature? The father, of course, wanted his son to fulfill his unfulfilled dreams and become a writer or poet. But everything was decided by chance. In 1819, in Karlsbad, the boy got to the concert of Moscheles. The virtuoso's playing made an extraordinary impression on the young Schumann, he then kept the concert program for a long time, like a shrine. From that day on, Robert realized that his heart finally and irrevocably belonged to music.

In 1828, the young man graduated from the gymnasium, receiving a diploma of the first degree. The joy of this was slightly overshadowed by the upcoming choice of career and profession. By this time, his father had died, and Robert had lost all creative support. Mom insisted on further legal education. After listening to her persuasion, Robert became a student at the University of Leipzig. In 1829, he transferred to one of the most prestigious institutions of higher education in Germany - the University of Heidelberg.

But the heart of the young composer yearned for music, and in 1830 Schumann received permission from his mother to quit his law studies and engage in creative activities.

Creation

He returned to Leipzig, found good mentors and took up piano lessons. Robert wanted to become a virtuoso pianist. But during his studies, he suffered a paralysis of the middle and index fingers, because of which he had to give up his dream and focus on musical writing. Simultaneously with the composition, he took up music criticism.

In 1834 he founded an influential periodical, the New Musical Gazette. For several years he was its editor and published his articles there.

Robert wrote most of his works for the piano. Basically, these are “portrait”, lyrical-dramatic and visual cycles of several small plays, which are interconnected by a plot-psychological line:

• "Butterflies" (1831);
• "Carnival" (1834);
• The Davidsbündlers, Fantastic Fragments (1837);
• "Kreisleriana", "Children's Scenes" (1838);
• "The Love of a Poet" (1840);
• "Album for Youth" (1848).

In 1840, Robert was awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Leipzig. This year in general became the most fruitful for the composer in his work, inspired by his marriage to his beloved woman, he wrote about 140 songs.

In 1843, Felix Mendelssohn founded the Higher School of Music and Theater in Leipzig (now a conservatory), Schumann taught there composition and piano, and read scores.

In 1844, Robert interrupted his teaching and work in a musical newspaper, as he went with his wife on a tour to Moscow and St. Petersburg. They were received very warmly there. Clara played with the Empress herself, and Schumann made many useful contacts. The spouses were especially impressed by the luxury of the Winter Palace.

Returning from Russia, Robert refused to continue to publish a newspaper and devoted himself entirely to writing music. But such a diligent zeal for work began to have a detrimental effect on his condition. The composer was also upset by the fact that he was met everywhere as the husband of the famous pianist Clara Wieck. Traveling with his wife on tour, he became more and more convinced that his fame did not go beyond Leipzig and Dresden. But Robert never envied his wife's success, because it was Clara who was the first performer of all Schumann's works and made his music famous.

Personal life

In September 1840, Robert married the daughter of his musical mentor Friedrich Wieck. This marriage met many obstacles along the way. With all due respect to Schumann, Friedrich Wieck wanted a more suitable suitor for his daughter. The lovers even resorted to the last resort - they went to court with a request to decide their fate.

The court ruled in favor of the young, and they played a modest wedding in the village of Shenfeld. Schumann's dream came true, now his beloved Clara Wieck and the piano were next to him. A brilliant pianist joined with a great composer, they had eight children - four girls and four boys. The couple were insanely happy until Robert began to have mental disorders.

last years of life

In 1850, Schumann was invited to Dusseldorf to take the place of the city director of music. Arriving with his wife in this city, they were amazed at the warm welcome they received. Robert happily began to work in a new position: he led spiritual concerts in the church, worked with the choir every week, and managed symphony orchestras.

Under fresh impressions in Düsseldorf, the composer created the Rhine Symphony, the Bride of Messina, overtures to Shakespeare's drama Julius Caesar and Goethe's Hermann and Dorothea.

However, quarrels with the orchestra soon began, and in 1853 Schumann's contract was not renewed. He and his wife left to travel to Holland, but symptoms of mental illness began to appear there. Back in Germany, things didn't get any easier. On the contrary, apathy and signs of illness intensified. The consciousness of such a sad state prompted Robert to commit suicide, he tried to commit suicide by throwing himself into the Rhine River from the bridge. The composer was rescued and placed in a psychiatric clinic near Bonn.

At first, he was allowed to correspond with Clara and receive friends. But soon the doctors noticed that after the visits, Schumann was wildly excited, and his comrades were forbidden to come to the patient. Robert fell into a state of profound melancholy, in addition to auditory and visual hallucinations of smell and taste. Mental strength faded away, physical health dried up even faster, as the composer completely refused food. He passed away on July 29, 1856 as a result of exhaustion of the body.

When the skull was opened, it was found that the cause of the disease was right here: Schumann's blood vessels were overflowing, the bones at the base of the skull became thickened and let out a new bone mass, which broke through the outer brain cover with sharp tips.

The body of the great composer was transported to Bonn and interred with a huge crowd of people.