Composer Study is simple. Pick a composer to listen to over a period of time. Every once in a while, play a composition by him or her. Listen to it. Think and talk about it. This month, we are listening to compositions by Robert Schumann.
Pieces by Composer:
Biography:
Robert Schumann was a Romantic Period composer who lived from 1810-1856. He was born in Zwickau, Germany. Schumann’s father was a bookseller and an author, so Schumann easily fell in love with reading and writing. He also studied the piano, flute, and cello as a child and began to compose. While at university, he studied piano with a new teacher who had a very talented daughter, Clara. Schumann fell in love with her, and eventually, they married, though the piano teacher was opposed to the idea. The wedding led to Schumann’s Year of Song, during which he composed constantly. While Clara was a concert pianist, Schumann was not. He had injured his hand in a way that forced him to focus on composition instead of performance.
Resources
Websites:
- Classics for Kids: https://www.classicsforkids.com/composer/?id=66
Books:
- Robert Schumann: The Story of the Boy who Made Pictures in Music by Thomas Tapper
- Robert Schumann and Mascot Ziff by Opal Wheeler
Audio:
Photos of Composer:
- By Johann Anton Völlner, Hamburg – http://welltempered.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/schumann-photo1850.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11603362
- Schumann and Clara: By Eduard Kaiser – Eduard Kaiser, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=720721
