Schumann’s Compositions a Study in Innovation
Robert schumann compositions number in the hundreds. In one year alone, he wrote more than 150 songs for the piano alone. He was as prolific as he was inventive, and he is largely credited with many of the changes that marked the Romantic era of Classical music. All of this he accomplished before age 46, when his life ended with suicide. His famed was shared with his wife Clara Schumann, a pianist and composer of great renown as well. And he also left behind a considerable body of well-regarded musical criticism. His suicide was but the final chapter in a lifelong battle against mental illness, a fate suffered by at least one of his children as well.
Schumann Masterpiece Influenced by Wife, Clara
Robert Schumann had a prolific career as a composer. One of his more famous works was the Piano Concerto in A Minor, Opus 54, which was completed in 1845, at the age of 35. The composition began in 1841, when Schumann wrote Phantasie. It was his wife, Clara, also a famous composer of the time, who suggested he expand the piece to a full piano concerto. So, with the addition of the Schumann intermezzo, the full work was completed. The work was premiered in January of the following year. The joint effort was one of several between Clara and Robert Schumann.