Robert Schumann Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career as a virtuoso pianist. His teacher, Friedrich Wieck, a German pianist, had assured Schumann that Robert could become the finest pianist in Europe, but a hand injury ended this dream. Schumann then focused his musical energies on composing. In 1840, after a long and acrimonious legal battle with Wieck, who opposed the marriage, Schumann married Wieck's daughter
Michael Wieck named after Otto Hirsch (1885-1941), a German-Jewish lawyer and politician from Stuttgart who was imprisoned by the Nazis and ultimately tortured to death at Mauthausen Concentration Camp in German-annexed Austria. On Nov. 17, 2016, Wieck was awarded Germany's prestigious Order of Merit. In presenting the award on behalf of German President Joachim Gauck, Stuttgart Mayor Fritz Kuhn said that, in his life and work, "Wieck combines cultural, social, political and musical commitment. His commitment to an open, tolerant and equitable society is impressive." Michael Wieck Michael Wieck (born 19 July 1928) is a German violinist and author. Wieck's memoir, "Zeugnis