Robert Schumann (SHOO-mahn)

Born  June 8, 1810 Zwickau, Germany

Died  July 29, 1856

Nationality: German

Period/Style: Romantic

About the composer:

Robert Schumann was the son of a bookseller.  His father really wanted him to study law and become an attorney, but after a few years of doing that, Schumann decided that he really had to be a musician.  He played the piano and wanted to be the very best player possible, so found a way to make his fourth finger stronger.  The bad news was that it hurt his hand forever, so he couldn't play the piano any more.  Another important thing to know about him is that he married a woman who also played the piano and was a "concert pianist".  Her name was Clara.  Mr. Schumann was very sad toward the end of his life and spent the last two years in a hospital because he was sick.

About the music:

Kinderszenen (KIN-dare-ZAY-nen) (16-20 min)

Schumann wrote music for just about every performing group you can think of: symphonies, music for small groups of players, songs, and little piano pieces.  His Kinderszenen  (Scenes from Childhood) were written for his own children as they were learning to play the piano.  They are simple pieces and fairly easy to play.  You may have heard some of them before.

Suggested activities:

Find out if your fourth ringer really is the weakest by placing your hand on the desk with fingers curled.  Try to lift just that one finger and keep all the others down!

Locate the Rhine River on a map, which is close to where Mr. Schumann lived.