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
Fantasie in C (Schumann) not spotted until 1910. The text of the passage quoted is: "Accept then these songs [beloved, which I sang for you alone]". Both the Schlegel stanza and the Beethoven quotation are appropriate to Schumann's current situation of separation from Clara Wieck. Schumann wrote to Clara: "The first movement may well be the most passionate I have ever composed – a deep lament for you". They still had many tribulations to suffer before they finally married four years later. Liszt was one of the few pianists capable of meeting the then-unparalleled demands of the "Fantasie", particularly the second movement coda's rapid