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Robert Schumann

Robert Schumann (German: [ˈʁoːbɛʁt ˈʃuːman]; 8 June 1810 – 29 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, 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 him that he could become the finest pianist in Europe, but a hand injury ended this dream. Schumann then focused his musical energies on composing.

In 1840, Schumann married Friedrich Wieck's daughter Clara Wieck, after a long and acrimonious legal battle with Friedrich, who opposed the marriage. A lifelong partnership in music began, as Clara herself was an established pianist and music prodigy. Clara and Robert also maintained a close relationship with German composer Johannes Brahms.

Until 1840, Schumann wrote exclusively for the piano. Later, he composed piano and orchestral works, and many Lieder (songs for voice and piano). He composed four symphonies, one opera, and other orchestral, choral, and chamber works. His best-known works include Carnaval, Symphonic Studies, Kinderszenen, Kreisleriana, and the Fantasie in C. Schumann was known for infusing his music with characters through motifs, as well as references to works of literature. These characters bled into his editorial writing in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik (New Journal for Music), a Leipzig-based publication that he co-founded.

Schumann suffered from a mental disorder that first manifested in 1833 as a severe melancholic depressive episode—which recurred several times alternating with phases of "exaltation" and increasingly also delusional ideas of being poisoned or threatened with metallic items. What is now thought to have been a combination of bipolar disorder and perhaps mercury poisoning led to "manic" and "depressive" periods in Schumann's compositional productivity. After a suicide attempt in 1854, Schumann was admitted at his own request to a mental asylum in Endenich (now in Bonn). Diagnosed with psychotic melancholia, he died of pneumonia two years later at the age of 46, without recovering from his mental illness.

Birth and Death Data: Born June 8, 1810 (Zwickau), Died July 29, 1856 (Endenich)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1897 - 1947

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 585 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Berliner 3313 7-in. 8/31/1897 The two grenadiers Arthur Pryor Trombone solo composer  
Berliner 0278 7-in. 6/15/1899 The two grenadiers Arthur Pryor Trombone solo composer  
Berliner 0634 7-in. 10/13/1899 Wohlauf! noch getrunken den funkelnden Wein! Carl Bernhard Male vocal solo composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix A-]246 7-in. 10/18/1900 Träumerei Charles D'Almaine Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix B-]246 10-in. 3/20/1903 Träumerei Charles D'Almaine Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix A-]598 7-in. 1/7/1901 Träumerei Moereman's Woodwind Quartet Woodwind quartet composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix A-]1675 7-in. 10/9/1902 Träumerei Alexander Heindl Cello solo composer  
Victor [Pre-matrix B-]1675 10-in. 10/9/1902 Träumerei Alexander Heindl Cello solo composer  
Victor C-580 12-in. 10/16/1903 Im wunderschönen Monat Mai (Op. 48, No. 1) Robert Blass Bass vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-581 12-in. 10/16/1903 Die beiden Grenadiere Robert Blass Bass vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-695 10-in. 11/11/1903 Widmung Johanna Gadski Soprano vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor A-806 7-in. 12/10/1903 Träumerei Arthur Pryor's Band Band composer  
Victor B-806 10-in. 12/10/1903 Träumerei Arthur Pryor's Band Band composer  
Victor A-913 7-in. 1/14/1904 Träumerei Alexander Heindl Cello solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-913 10-in. 1/14/1904 Träumerei Alexander Heindl Cello solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-993 12-in. 1/29/1904 Les deux grenadiers Pol Plançon Bass vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-1076 10-in. 3/5/1904 Der Nussbaum Johanna Gadski Soprano vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor A-1367 7-in. 5/27/1904 Träumerei Charles D'Almaine Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-1367 10-in. 5/27/1904 Träumerei Charles D'Almaine Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-1951 10-in. 11/15/1904 Der Nussbaum Marcella Sembrich Soprano vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-2093 10-in. 12/28/1904 Träumerei Samuel Siegel Mandolin solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-2104 10-in. 12/30/1904 Träumerei Arthur Pryor's Band Band composer  
Victor B-2331 10-in. 2/24/1905 Träumerei Charles D'Almaine Violin solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor C-3026 12-in. 1/19/1906 Träumerei Joseph Hollman Cello solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-3165 12-in. 3/8/1906 Les deux grenadiers Marcel Journet ; Victor Orchestra Bass vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
(Results 1-25 of 585 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Schumann, Robert," accessed March 18, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/101855.

Schumann, Robert. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 18, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/101855.

"Schumann, Robert." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 18 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/101855

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