June 8, 1810:
22:30 Robert Schumann is born in a house at 15 Am Markt, on the corner of Münzstraße (today Hauptmarkt 5) in Zwickau, Kingdom of Saxony, 30 km southwest of Chemnitz, fifth and last child of August Schumann, a bookseller, publisher and author, and Johanna Christiane Schnabel, daughter of the chief surgeon to the city of Zeitz.
November 6, 1821:
Robert Schumann (11) plays the piano part for a performance of Friedrich Schneider's oratorio Die Welgericht in the Marienkirche, Zwickau.
January 25, 1828:
Robert Schumann (17) plays the last of several performances at the Gymnasium in Zwickau. Today it is a d minor piano concerto by Friedrich Kalkbrenner (42).
March 15, 1828:
Robert Schumann (17) receives a diploma “with honor” from Zwickau Gymnasium.
March 29, 1828:
According to his mother’s wishes, and against his own, Robert Schumann (17) matriculates in law at the University of Leipzig.
March 31, 1828:
Tonight marks the probable first meeting of Robert Schumann (17) and the Wieck family, at a musical evening at the home of Dr. Ernst August Carus in Leipzig. Clara Wieck (8) plays the piano. Schumann asks her father for piano lessons.
May 8, 1828:
Robert Schumann (17) and fellow law student Gisbert Rosen, present themselves to Heinrich Heine in Munich. Contrary to their fears, they find him to be charming and spend several hours traversing the city.
May 27, 1828:
Robert Schumann (17) describes in his diary his first bout with mental illness. “I was agitated, but I don’t know by what. It seems to me that I will go mad one day.” He goes on to describe an anxiety attack.
May 29, 1828:
Robert Schumann (17) once again describes an episode of mental illness. “But on the way back to Leipzig I seemed to be losing my mind: I did have my mind, yet I thought I had lost it. I had actually gone mad.”
December 1, 1828:
Robert Schumann (18) confides to his diary, “Schubert is dead--dismay.” His University of Leipzig roommate hears “him sobbing the whole night long.”
May 14, 1829:
While traveling from Leipzig to Heidelberg to attend the university, Robert Schumann (18) passes through Frankfurt. He walks into a piano store, tells the proprietor he is the valet of an English nobleman interested in buying an instrument, and plays the piano for three hours.
May 21, 1829:
Robert Schumann (18) arrives in Heidelberg from Mannheim, having traveled on foot. Since he exceeded his budget, he has no money for a coach. “My lodgings face the asylum on the right and the Catholic church on the left, so that I’m really in doubt whether one is supposed to go crazy or become a Catholic.”
July 13, 1829:
Robert Schumann (19) officially matriculates at Heidelberg University.
August 20, 1829:
Robert Schumann (19) departs from Heidelberg on a journey to Switzerland and Italy.
October 20, 1829:
Robert Schumann (19) arrives back in Heidelberg after a tour of Switzerland and northern Italy.
January 24, 1830:
Law student Robert Schumann (19) gives a very successful performance of Moscheles’ Alexander Variations in Heidelberg. Despite the public approval, he will descend into depression for the next few months.
March 18, 1830:
Robert Schumann (19), for the first time, mentions thoughts of suicide in his diary. He desires to throw himself into the Rhine.
April 11, 1830:
While in Frankfurt, Robert Schumann (19) witnesses a performance by Nicolò Paganini (47) for the first time. Schumann is impressed, but wonders if Paganini might “lack that great, noble, priestly serenity characteristic of the genuine artist.”
July 30, 1830:
Robert Schumann (20) writes to his mother, telling her of his decision to give up the study of law and asking her to write to Friedrich Wieck requesting his opinion of his future as a pianist.
September 10, 1830:
Robert Schumann (20) receives a certificate of study from the University of Heidelberg.
September 24, 1830:
Robert Schumann (20) leaves Heidelberg and the study of law for Leipzig and the study of music.
October 20, 1830:
Robert Schumann (20) moves into the Leipzig home of his teacher, Friedrich Wieck, which includes Wieck’s daughter, Clara (11).
May 11, 1831:
Robert Schumann (20) mentions for the first time a condition that may be syphillis.
June 8, 1831:
Robert Schumann, writing in his diary on his 21st birthday, mentions one of his alter-egos, Florestan, for the first time. Having come of age, he receives the inheritance his father left him and is able to settle his debts.
July 1, 1831:
Robert Schumann (21), writing in his diary, mentions his other alter-ego and twin to Florestan, Eusebius, for the first time.
July 12, 1831:
Robert Schumann (21) begins his studies in thoroughbass with Heinrich Dorn, conductor of the Leipzig Theatre.
August 14, 1831:
Robert Schumann (21) plays through the first movement of a piano concerto in F major for friends in Leipzig. They are very supportive, but he will never finish the work. “This seems to me like the first thing written in my style that inclines toward the romantic.”
August 20, 1831:
Feeling neglected by his teacher Friedrich Wieck, Robert Schumann (21) writes to Johann Nepomuk Hummel (52) asking to be his pupil. Nothing will come of it.
December 7, 1831:
Robert Schumann’s (21) review of Fryderyk Chopin’s (21) Variations on La ci darem op.2 appears in the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung. Florestan and Eusebius declare, “Hats off gentleman, a genius!”
April 25, 1832:
Having not heard from his letter of last 20 August, Robert Schumann (21) writes a second letter to Johann Nepomuk Hummel (53), enclosing his Papillons op.2.
May 24, 1832:
Johann Nepomuk Hummel (53) in Weimar writes to Robert Schumann (21) in Leipzig. Schumann wrote twice to Hummel asking for a critique of his opp.1 and 2. Hummel finds Schumann talented but says he is “trying too hard to achieve originality, by which I mean something strange.” (Kroll 286) He encourages Schumann but says nothing about taking him as a pupil.
June 14, 1832:
Robert Schumann (22) notes in his diary that “the third finger is completely stiff.”
November 6, 1832:
Robert Schumann (22) writes to his mother, “I have become fully resigned and consider my hand incurable.” His loss of one hand is attributed either to a device intended to strengthen his hand or to mercury poisoning which is part of a treatment for syphilis.
November 18, 1832:
The first movement of Robert Schumann’s (22) Symphony in g minor is performed for the first time, in Zwickau. The symphony is not a success but Clara Wieck (13), on the same program, decidedly is. See 12 February 1833.
January 13, 1833:
Clara Wieck (13) plays her Caprices en forme de valse pour le piano op.2 for the first time, in a private concert given in her father’s house. She also plays what might be the first performance of any solo piano music by Robert Schumann (22), two of the op.3 studies after Paganini (50). See 27 January 1835.
February 12, 1833:
The revised and completed Symphony in g minor by Robert Schumann (22) is performed completely for the first time, in Schneeberg, 20 km southeast of Zwickau.
April 5, 1833:
Robert Schumann (22) writes to a friend reporting “I have a numb, broken finger on my right hand…I can hardly use the hand at all for playing.” The situation has been getting worse for over a year and may be the result of using a homemade device for strengthening certain fingers, or the ingestion of mercury, the treatment for syphilis.
July 13, 1833:
The first mention of an emotional bond between Robert Schumann (23) and Clara Wieck (13) comes today when Schumann writes to her, “a chain of sparks now attracts us or reminds us of one another.”
August 18, 1833:
Robert Schumann (23) presents his teacher, Friedrich Wieck, with Impromptus sur un thème de Clara Wieck op.5 on Wieck’s birthday.
October 17, 1833:
The death of Robert Schumann’s (23) sister-in-law Rosalie precipitates an acute anxiety attack through this night. “I was seized by an idee fixe : the fear of losing my mind.” Later, when seeking medical advice, he will be told “Find yourself a woman; she’ll cure you in no time.”
December 7, 1833:
The first installment of a three part article called Der Davidsbündler appears in Der Komet. It is written by Robert Schumann (23) and includes his cast of fictional characters personifying different ideas about art, Florestan, Eusebius, Raro et.al.
April 3, 1834:
Robert Schumann’s (23) periodical Neue Leipziger Zeitschrift für Musik is published for the first time, in Leipzig.
April 21, 1834:
16-year-old Ernestine von Fricken arrives in Leipzig to take lessons with Friedrich Wieck. She will form an emotional relationship with Robert Schumann (23).
April 28, 1834:
For the first time, Robert Schumann (23) mentions the music of Hector Berlioz (30) in the Neue Leipziger Zeitschrift für Musik.
October 2, 1834:
While in Leipzig, Felix Mendelssohn (25) visits Friedrich Wieck who presents his daughter Clara (14). She plays some of her own music, some Chopin (24) and some music by a student of Wieck, Robert Schumann (24). Mendelssohn is favorably impressed by Clara.
December 24, 1834:
Robert Schumann (24) buys all publication rights to the Neue Leipziger Zeitschrift für Musik making him the sole owner.
January 2, 1835:
With today’s issue, the Neue Leipziger Zeitschrift für Musik becomes the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik and Robert Schumann (24) becomes the sole editor. “Our aim ... is simply this: ... to oppose the recent past as an inartistic period ... [and] to prepare for and facilitate the advent of a fresh poetic future.”
April 24, 1835:
Robert Schumann (24) comments on four songs by Josephine Lang (20) in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik. He is generally negative. It is perhaps the first published review of the music of Lang.
August 31, 1835:
Felix Mendelssohn (26) attends a rehearsal of the Gewandhaus orchestra for the first time since becoming its director. At this rehearsal he is introduced to Robert Schumann (25).
September 27, 1835:
Frédéric Chopin (25) arrives in Leipzig and spends the day making music with Mendelssohn (26). During his stay, he visits Robert Schumann (25) and the Wiecks, and declares that Clara Wieck (16) is the only person in Germany to properly play his compositions.
October 3, 1835:
Robert Schumann (25) attends a party at the home of his teacher, Friedrich Wieck in Leipzig and there meets the new musical presence in the city, Felix Mendelssohn (26).
October 16, 1835:
After a stressful, emotional trip of two months to Karlsbad, Cieszyn, Dresden, Leipzig, and Heidelberg, where he saw his parents, former students, met Felix Mendelssohn (26), Robert Schumann (25), and Clara Wieck (15), Frédéric Chopin (25) returns to Paris.
November 9, 1835:
Felix Mendelssohn (26), Clara Wieck (16), and Louis Rakeman perform J.S. Bach’s (†85) Concerto in d minor for three keyboards and orchestra for the first time in the composer’s home city of Leipzig since his death. The performance is very successful and continues Mendelssohn’s dedication to reviving the music of Bach. This day also sees the first complete performance of Clara Wieck’s Concerto for piano and orchestra in a minor, orchestrated by Robert Schumann (25), with the composer as soloist, Mendelssohn conducting. See 5 May 1834.
November 28, 1835:
Robert Schumann (25) visits Clara Wieck (16) at the Wieck house in Leipzig before she leaves on a concert tour. At the end of the evening, as she is showing him out, they kiss for the first time. “I thought I was on the point of fainting...everything went black in front of my eyes; I could barely hold the lamp that was supposed to light your way,--I thought I was dreaming.”
January 1, 1836:
A letter from Robert Schumann (25) breaking their engagement reaches Ernestine von Fricken at Schloss Buldern. He asks her to send his ring back, which she will do.
January 14, 1836:
After forbidding his daughter Clara (16) to have any contact with Robert Schumann (25), Friedrich Wieck carries her off to Dresden to forget about him.
February 7, 1836:
While in Zwickau on account of his mother’s death, Robert Schumann (25) secretly visits Clara Wieck (16) in Dresden. Over the next week he will open his heart to her and profess his love. She reciprocates.
March 29, 1836:
Richard Wagner’s (22) grosse komische Oper Das Liebesverbot, oder Die Novize von Palermo to the composer’s words after Shakespeare is performed for the first time, in the Magdeburg Stadttheater, conducted by the composer. On the same day, an anonymous article appears in Robert Schumann’s (25) Neue Zeitschrift für Musik in support of Wagner’s opera. It is written by Wagner.
June 8, 1836:
Robert Schumann’s Piano Sonata op.11 “dedicated to Clara by Florestan and Eusebius” is published on the composer’s 26th birthday.
September 12, 1836:
A surprise visit by Frédéric Chopin (26) to Robert Schumann (26) today in Leipzig inspires Schumann to complete his Études symphoniques. Chopin presents Schumann with a copy of his new Ballade in g minor. Chopin, Schumann, and Clara Wieck (15) spend most of the day at the piano.
January 22, 1837:
Robert Schumann (26) visits Felix Mendelssohn (27) in Leipzig. Mendelssohn plays through his new Preludes and Fugues op.35. This inspires Schumann to investigate further the music of JS Bach (†86).
August 13, 1837:
Robert Schumann (27) writes to Clara Wieck (17) asking her to give her father a letter asking him to bless their union.
August 14, 1837:
Clara Wieck (17) writes to Robert Schumann (27), responding affirmatively to his request of 13 August. They consider themselves engaged. It is St. Eusebius Day.
September 5, 1837:
After seeing the German version of Giacomo Meyerbeer’s (46) Les Huguenots, Robert Schumann (27) publishes his review. Although he finds a few things to admire, these are nothing next to “the vulgarity, distortion, abnormality, immorality, un-music of the whole.” (Jackson, 128)
September 13, 1837:
Friedrich Wieck receives the letter from Robert Schumann (27) asking for his daughter’s hand. Wieck will be evasive.
September 15, 1837:
Robert Schumann (27) reviews Clara Wieck’s (18) Soirées musicales op.6 in the issue of the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik dated today.
November 12, 1837:
Robert Schumann’s (27) Impromptus op.5 and Piano Sonatas opp.11&14 are given favorable reviews in the Paris Gazette musicale. While he is cheered by the news, he is unfamiliar with the author, Franz Liszt (26).
April 18, 1838:
Clara Wieck (18) plays Robert Schumann’s (27) Carnaval for Franz Liszt (26) in Vienna, as well as Liszt’s own Divertissement sur la cavatine de Pacini ‘I tuoi frequenti palpiti’. Clara notes that Liszt made motions as if he were playing along, and moved his body with the music.
April 23, 1838:
Clara Wieck (18) writes to Robert Schumann (27) about Franz Liszt (26), “He is an artist whom one must hear and see for oneself...He rates your work extraordinarily highly, far above Henselt (23), above everything he has come across recently. I played your Carnaval, which quite enchanted him. ‘What a mind!’ he said; ‘that is one of the greatest works I know.’ You can imagine my joy.” (Williams, 103)
May 15, 1838:
Clara Wieck (18) returns from her triumphs in Vienna to Leipzig, where she finds that Robert Schumann (27) has entered another depressive phase.
May 22, 1838:
In an effort to get citizens to use the first rail line in Russia, a new station is opened at the end of the line, Pavlovsk. It includes a new ballroom where concerts will be held. Robert Schumann (27) and Franz Liszt (26) will both perform there.
June 8, 1838:
Clara Wieck (18) is able to escape unnoticed from her father’s house in Leipzig and meet Robert Schumann at his lodgings on his 28th birthday.
June 25, 1838:
In the midst of exteme depression, Robert Schumann (28) attends a concert by the singer Pauline Garcia (16) in the Leipzig Gewandhaus. He dissolves into tears "within the first few minutes of her starting to sing." (Geck, 110)
July 31, 1838:
Business anxieties, Clara Wieck’s (18) departure for Dresden, her father’s refusal to assent to their union, and too much alcohol combine to cause an emotional collapse in Robert Schumann (28). He will recover.
August 1, 1838:
Composer and pianist Stephen Heller sends some of the songs of Josephine Lang (23) to Robert Schumann (28), asking that he publish them. See 18 August 1838.
August 18, 1838:
Robert Schumann (28) writes back to Stephen Heller revising his previously negative opinion of Josephine Lang’s (23) songs. He will publish Traumbild in November. See 1 August 1838.
September 27, 1838:
Robert Schumann (28) departs Leipzig for Vienna, to explore the possibilities of moving there with Clara Wieck (19).
October 1, 1838:
Friedrich Wieck tells his daughter Clara (19) that he will never consent to her marriage with Robert Schumann.
October 3, 1838:
Robert Schumann (28) arrives in Vienna from Leipzig to explore the possibilities of moving there.
October 28, 1838:
In Vienna, Sigismond Thalberg (26) tells Robert Schumann (28), “there is nothing more to be done with the combination of piano and orchestra.”
December 14, 1838:
In an issue of the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik dated today, Robert Schumann (28) writes glowingly of the soon to be published Impromptus D. 935 of Franz Schubert (†10).
December 18, 1838:
Robert Schumann (28) once again suffers terrible bouts of depression, repeated 19 and 25 December.
January 1, 1839:
Robert Schumann (28) discovers the score of Franz Schubert’s (†10) Great C Major Symphony at the home of Schubert’s brother, Ferdinand. See 21 March 1839.
January 6, 1839:
Robert Schumann (28) writes to Raimund Härtel from Vienna, informing him that he has had several meetings with Ferdinand Schubert and has found many unpublished or unknown works of Franz Schubert (†10): “operas, four grand Masses, four or five symphonies, and much else.”
March 21, 1839:
Symphony in C major “Great” D.944 by Franz Schubert (†10) is performed for the first time, in the Gewandhaus, Leipzig, conducted by Felix Mendelssohn (30). The score was found three months ago when Robert Schumann (28) visited Schubert’s brother Ferdinand in Vienna. See 1 January 1839.
April 4, 1839:
Robert Schumann (28) departs from Vienna to go to Zwickau. He has learned of the grave illness of his brother Eduard.
April 9, 1839:
Robert Schumann (28) arrives in Zwickau from Vienna. His brother Eduard died three days ago.
April 14, 1839:
Robert Schumann (28) arrives back in Leipzig from his home town of Zwickau, where his brother recently died.
June 15, 1839:
Clara Wieck (19) signs the formal statement in Paris leading to legal proceedings for the setting aside of the need for her father’s consent to marry Robert Schumann (29), should he not agree to it.
June 24, 1839:
Robert Schumann (29) contacts Wilhelm Einert, a Leipzig attorney, to begin legal proceedings to marry Clara Wieck (19) without her father’s consent.
July 2, 1839:
Robert Schumann’s (29) lawyer, Wilhelm Einert, attempts to negotiate with Friedrich Wieck over Clara (19). This fails, precipitating litigation.
July 16, 1839:
Robert Schumann (29) files his complaint against Friedrich Wieck in Leipzig, asking the court of appeal for permission to marry Clara Wieck (19).
July 19, 1839:
A Leipzig court orders an attempt to arbitrate between Friedrich Wieck and Robert Schumann (29) in the case of Clara Wieck (19).
August 18, 1839:
Robert Schumann (29) meets Clara Wieck (19) for the first time in over a year, in Altenburg, near Leipzig. It is also the first time they have met since asking her father’s consent to marry. They will spend a few days together and go to Leipzig separately. When Clara arrives, she finds that she is no longer welcome in her father’s house.
August 31, 1839:
Robert Schumann (29) and Clara Wieck (19) appear for their meeting with Friedrich Wieck and the court-appointed mediator Archdeacon RR Fischer, in Leipzig. Wieck does not show up.
September 24, 1839:
Robert Schumann (29) meets Friedrich Wieck privately over the marriage issue. It does not go well.
December 12, 1839:
A second performance of Schubert's (†11) Great C Major Symphony D.944 takes place in the Leipzig Gewandhaus conducted by Felix Mendelssohn (30). Robert Schumann (29) is in attendance to review it for his journal.
December 18, 1839:
Friedrich Wieck presents an eleven-page appeal in court, attacking both his daughter Clara (20) and her suitor Robert Schumann (29) who are present. He calls Schumann incompetent as a musician, composer, and editor, that he has lied about his finances, that he is vain and egotistical, that he is an excessive drinker, and that he only wants Clara so he can live off her career. Wieck’s worst epithet against Clara is that she is incapable of running a home. Wieck’s unbridled behavior in court seriously hurts his case. Judgment is reserved until 4 January.
December 25, 1839:
Robert Schumann (29) and Clara Wieck (20) spend Christmas together at her mother’s house in Berlin.
January 4, 1840:
A Leipzig court of appeals dismisses all of Friedrich Wieck’s objections to his daughter’s (20) marriage to Robert Schumann (29) save that Schumann is a heavy drinker. Wieck must provide proof of this within six weeks. Shortly, Wieck begins to circulate the official statement about Schumann’s drinking to theatre managers and critics.
January 26, 1840:
Friedrich Wieck attempts to show a Leipzig court that Robert Schumann (29) is unfit to marry his daughter because of his financial instability.
February 13, 1840:
Robert Schumann (29) rebuts Friedrich Wieck’s charges about his financial instability before a Leipzig court. He uses inflated figures.
February 28, 1840:
In Leipzig, Robert Schumann (29) receives a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Jena. It was awarded four days ago. He sought the degree to strengthen his court case against Friedrich Wieck.
March 14, 1840:
Franz Liszt (28) and Robert Schumann (29) arrive in Dresden on the same day. Liszt is there to give some concerts, Schumann to meet Liszt and review his concert.
March 16, 1840:
Robert Schumann (29) hears Franz Liszt (28) perform in Dresden, then accompanies him to Leipzig. The concert takes place before several members of the royal family.
March 17, 1840:
After months of dazzling successes in Vienna, Pest, Prague, and Dresden, Franz Liszt (28) receives whistles from a Leipzig audience for his transcription of the Sixth Symphony of Beethoven (†12). Friedrich Wieck, who sees Liszt as a friend of Robert Schumann (29), has been savaging Liszt in the Leipzig newspapers. Clara (20) takes her father’s side. The Leipzigers also blame him for raising ticket prices and canceling complimentary tickets.
March 18, 1840:
Franz Liszt (28) cancels his second concert in Leipzig scheduled for today. He suffers an attack of “violent shuddering” in the afternoon. He is attended by Felix Mendelssohn (31), Robert Schumann (29), and Ferdinand Hiller.
March 22, 1840:
Clara Wieck (20) writes to Robert Schumann (29) from Berlin, “When I heard Liszt (28) for the first time, at Graf’s in Vienna, I was overwhelmed and sobbed aloud, it so shook me. Don’t you feel the same, that it is as though he wanted to be absorbed by the piano? And then again, how heavenly it is when he plays tenderly...” (Williams, 126)
March 28, 1840:
A higher court in Dresden upholds the ruling of 4 January in the Schumann-Wieck case. But it also gives Friedrich Wieck an extension to prove Robert Schumann’s (29) drunkenness.
June 1, 1840:
Robert Schumann (29) files motions with the court in Dresden, charging Friedrich Wieck with defamation of character for his document of last 14 December and suing him for all the money that Clara (20) has earned on tour. The suit for the money will be settled out of court, but next April Wieck will be found guilty of slander, sentenced to 18 days in jail required to pay damages and court costs. (It is not known whether Wieck spends any time in jail.)
July 7, 1840:
Friedrich Wieck files a declaration with the court which concedes that he can not substantiate his charge of drunkeness against Robert Schumann (30).
August 1, 1840:
As Friedrich Wieck is unable to substantiate Robert Schumann’s (30) drunkeness, legal consent to the marriage of Schumann to Clara Wieck (20) is granted by a Leipzig court. Wieck is given ten days to appeal.
August 11, 1840:
Since Friedrich Wieck has failed to appeal the decision of the Leipzig court of 1 August, Robert Schumann (30) declares this his “happiest of days.” He and Clara Wieck (20) are now free to marry.
September 11, 1840:
In Leipzig, Robert Schumann (30) presents Clara Wieck (20) with a volume of his songs, Myrthen, op.24, bound in red velvet as a wedding present.
September 12, 1840:
10:00 After more than a year of legal wrangling with Friedrich Wieck, Robert Schumann (30) and Clara Wieck are married at the Gedächtniskirche in Schönefeld, near Leipzig, before a small group of family and friends. Today is the eve of Clara’s 21st birthday, at which time she will not require her father’s consent to marry.
March 31, 1841:
Symphony no.1 “Spring” by Robert Schumann (30) is performed for the first time, in the Leipzig Gewandhaus, directed by Felix Mendelssohn (32). Also premiered today is Mendelssohn’s Allegro brillant op.92 for piano duet, and a song by Clara Schumann, Am Strande to words of Burns. Overshadowing all the music is the return to the Leipzig stage of Clara Schumann (21) for the first time since her marriage. She receives thunderous and lasting applause after each piece. And she is four months pregnant.
August 13, 1841:
The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra plays through Robert Schumann’s (31) Phantasie for piano and orchestra, Clara Schumann (21) at the keyboard at a rehearsal, two weeks before going into labor. He will make revisions in the music.
December 6, 1841:
Two orchestral works by Robert Schumann (31) are performed for the first time, in Leipzig: Symphony no.4 (first performed as Symphony no.2) and Overture, Scherzo and Finale op.52. Franz Liszt’s (30) Studentenlied aus Goethes Faust for male chorus is performed for the first time on the same program. Clara Schumann (22) plays duets with Liszt, who is the star of the evening.
March 10, 1842:
In Hamburg on his wife’s concert tour, Robert Schumann (31) leaves his “undignified situation” and returns to Leipzig. Clara Schumann (22) continues on to give performances in Copenhagen. According to her, this is “the most miserable day of our marriage up to now; we parted, and it seemed to me that I would never see him again.”
April 18, 1842:
As he passes through Leipzig, Richard Wagner (28) seeks out Robert Schumann (31) at his home. Wagner does most of the talking.
September 13, 1842:
Robert Schumann presents the manuscript of the three op.41 string quartets to his wife Clara on her 23rd birthday.
January 8, 1843:
Quintet for piano and strings by Robert Schumann (32) is performed for the first time, in a private morning concert in the Leipzig Gewandhaus. Clara Schumann (23) plays the piano part. See 9 February 1843.
January 30, 1843:
Hector Berlioz (39) meets Robert Schumann (32) for the first time, in Leipzig. Schumann is there for his job at the Conservatory. Since neither is fluent in the other’s language they do not speak much.
February 4, 1843:
Hector Berlioz (39) performs at the Gewandhaus, Leipzig, including the King Lear Overture and the Symphonie Fantastique. Felix Mendelssohn (34) plays the harp part on piano. The audience, which includes Robert Schumann (32) is appreciative, the critics unimpressed.
February 9, 1843:
Quintet for piano and strings by Robert Schumann (32) is performed publicly for the first time, in Leipzig. See 8 January 1843.
February 23, 1843:
Hector Berlioz (39) performs for a second time in the Gewandhaus, Leipzig in a very successful benefit for the poor. Robert Schumann (32) attends and shakes Berlioz’ hand saying “This offertoire (from the Requiem ): It surpasses everything!”
August 19, 1843:
Andante and Variations for two pianos by Robert Schumann (33) is performed for the first time, in Leipzig by Clara Schumann (23) and Felix Mendelssohn (34). The concert is interrupted by a fire alarm.
December 4, 1843:
Das Paradies und die Peri for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra by Robert Schumann (33) to translated words of Moore is performed for the first time, in Leipzig directed by the composer in his conducting debut. It is so successful that another performance is scheduled for 11 December.
December 15, 1843:
Friedrich Wieck writes a letter to his son-in-law, Robert Schumann (33), inviting the couple to Dresden for a reconciliation.
August 14, 1844:
Robert Schumann (34) suffers an attack of colic, perhaps caused by anxiety, which will confine him to his home for three days.
November 20, 1844:
According to the terms of sale, Robert Schumann (34) gives up ownership of the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik.
December 8, 1844:
The Piano Quartet by Robert Schumann (34) is performed for the first time, at a farewell party for the Schumann family in Leipzig. Clara Schumann (25) plays the piano part.
December 27, 1844:
After visiting the grave of Weber (†18) in Dresden, Robert Schumann (34) is overcome with grief and suffers a “violent nervous attack.” He will seek medical help for his psychological condition.
January 1, 1845:
The sale by Robert Schumann (34) of the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik to Franz Brendel becomes effective.
January 3, 1845:
Robert Schumann (34) consults Dr. Carl Gustav Carus in Dresden about his “nervous disorder.” Carus suggests Dr. Carl Helbig, an adherent of hypnotism and magnetism.
January 20, 1845:
In the middle of an ongoing bout with depression, Robert Schumann (34) begins wearing an amulet to ward off evil spirits. Coincidentally, he is working on his Scenes from Goethe’s Faust.
August 1, 1845:
One day after departing Dresden for the Beethoven festival in Bonn, Robert Schumann (35), accompanied by his wife Clara (25), suffers an attack of “anxiety and dizziness.” They abandon the trip and travel instead to his family in Zwickau.
October 19, 1845:
Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg, a grosse romantische Oper by Richard Wagner (32) to his own words, is performed for the first time, in the Dresden Hoftheater, conducted by the composer. The reception is friendly but lukewarm. Robert Schumann (35) is in the audience. He is not impressed. See 1 August 1847, 13 March 1861 and 1 August 1867.
November 22, 1845:
Robert Schumann (35) sees Tannhäuser again and changes his previously hostile view of the score. He writes to Mendelssohn (36) that he will have to retract most of what he wrote about it.
December 4, 1845:
Concerto for piano and orchestra op.54 by Robert Schumann (35) is performed for the first time, in the Hotel de Saxe, Dresden, Clara Schumann (26), seven months pregnant, at the keyboard. See 1 January 1846.
December 17, 1845:
In the Engelklub, Dresden, Richard Wagner (32) reads the libretto of Lohengrin to colleagues, including Ferdinand Hiller and Robert Schumann (35).
January 1, 1846:
Concerto for piano and orchestra op.54 by Robert Schumann (35) is performed publicly for the first time, in the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Clara Schumann (26) at the keyboard, conducted by Felix Mendelssohn (36). Clara is eight months pregnant. See 4 December 1845.
February 8, 1846:
A fourth child, a son named Emil, is born to Clara Schumann (26) and Robert Schumann (35).
July 8, 1846:
Felix Mendelssohn (37) gives Robert Schumann (36) a copy of Tristan und Isolde by Karl Librecht Immerman, rekindling his interest in opera.
November 5, 1846:
Symphony no.2 by Robert Schumann (36) is performed for the first time, in Leipzig directed by Felix Mendelssohn (37). The response is lukewarm. Some in the press blame Mendelssohn.
April 1, 1847:
After considering over 40 subjects for an opera over the last 17 years, Robert Schumann (36) reads Genoveva by Friedrich Hebbel. Within a week he sketches an overture.
July 27, 1847:
Playwright Friedrich Hebbel arrives at the Dresden home of Robert Schumann (37). Schumann asked the author of Genoveva to help with his opera, of which he has completed two acts. Although enthusiastic about the project, the two do not get along.
September 13, 1847:
At a birthday party for Clara Schumann (28), Piano Trio no.1 op.63 by Robert Schumann (37) is performed for the first time. See 13 November 1848.
November 5, 1847:
Upon hearing the news of Mendelssohn’s death, Robert Schumann (37) immediately travels from Dresden to Leipzig.
November 7, 1847:
Thousands accompany the body of Felix Mendelssohn from his home to the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig. There, a funeral service takes place. Among the pallbearers are Robert Schumann (37) and Ignaz Moscheles. At 22:00 thousands accompany the mortal remains to the train station, there to be placed upon a train bound for Berlin.
January 5, 1848:
The Dresden Verein für Chorgesang, organized by Robert Schumann (37), meets for the first time.
March 19, 1848:
Robert Schumann (37) notes the “great news from Berlin” in his Haushaltbuch.
June 8, 1848:
The Dresdener Chorgesangverein performs Three Mixed Choruses for the first time, composed by their accompanist, Clara Schumann (28) as a birthday present for their conductor, Robert Schumann (38). Clara and the chorus have rehearsed the music secretly in order to surprise him.
June 8, 1848:
Franz Liszt (35) and Richard Wagner (35) spend an evening with Robert Schumann (38) at his home in Dresden. Unfortunately, Liszt and Schumann argue over the abilities of Mendelssohn (†0) and Meyerbeer (56). Soon, Wagner will ask Liszt for money.
June 25, 1848:
The final section of Scenes from Goethe’s Faust for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra by Robert Schumann (38) is performed for the first time, in a private performance directed by the composer.
July 29, 1848:
Robert Schumann (38) reads Byron’s Manfred, in translation. He begins to conceive of a musical treatment of it.
September 1, 1848:
Robert Schumann (38) presents the first seven pieces of the Album für die Jugend op.68 to his daughter Marie on the occasion of her seventh birthday.
November 13, 1848:
The Piano Trio no.1 op.63 by Robert Schumann (38) is performed publicly for the first time, in Leipzig. See 13 September 1847.
August 28, 1849:
Tasso: lamento e trionfo, a symphonic poem by Franz Liszt (37), is performed for the first time, in Weimar, directed by the composer along with the Festmarsch zur Goethejubiläumsfeier. It is all part of celebrations surrounding the centennial of Goethe’s birth, during which he also conducts Beethoven’s (†22) Symphony no.9 and parts of Robert Schumann’s (39) Faust.
August 29, 1849:
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Goethe’s birth, the final section of Robert Schumann’s (39) Scenes from Goethe’s Faust is performed publicly for the first time, simultaneously in Dresden, Weimar, and Leipzig. The composer conducts in Dresden.
November 17, 1849:
Robert Schumann (39) receives a proposal from Ferdinand Hiller that he succeed Hiller as municipal director at Düsseldorf.
February 14, 1850:
Introduction and Allegro Appassionato for piano and orchestra by Robert Schumann (39) is performed for the first time, in Leipzig, Clara Schumann (30) at the keyboard. The work is not successful.
February 25, 1850:
Robert Schumann’s (39) Conzertstück op.86 for four horns and orchestra is performed for the first time, on a program with the Overture to Genoveva at an orchestra pension fund concert in Leipzig.
March 16, 1850:
Robert Schumann (39) conducts his Genoveva Overture and Clara Schumann (30) plays Robert’s Piano Concerto in Hamburg. It is highly likely that Johannes Brahms (16) attends this concert.
March 31, 1850:
Robert Schumann (39) writes to Düsseldorf, accepting the post of director of subscription concerts.
June 25, 1850:
Genoveva, an opera by Robert Schumann (40) to words of Reinick after Tieck and Hebbel, is performed for the first time, in Leipzig, directed by the composer. The work is a moderate success with the audience.
August 25, 1850:
Sechs Gedichte for voice and piano by Robert Schumann (40) to words of Lenau are performed for the first time, in Dresden before a small group of friends gathering to wish farewell to the Schumanns as they leave for Düsseldorf. The composer believed that the poet is dead so he added a Requiem at the end to a Latin poem attributed to Heloise. This day, however, news reaches Schumann of the death of Lenau three days ago.
September 7, 1850:
Five days after his arrival in Düsseldorf, Robert Schumann (40) is celebrated with a concert consisting entirely of his own works.
October 24, 1850:
Robert Schumann (40) conducts his first concert in Düsseldorf. It features Clara Schumann (31) as soloist in Mendelssohn’s (†2) g minor concerto.
November 21, 1850:
Robert Schumann’s (40) Requiem für Mignon for solo voices, chorus and orchestra to words of Goethe is performed for the first time, in Düsseldorf.
January 11, 1851:
Neujahrslied op.144 for chorus and orchestra by Robert Schumann (40) to words of Rückert is performed for the first time, in Düsseldorf.
February 6, 1851:
Symphony no.3 “Rhenish” by Robert Schumann (40) is performed for the first time, in Düsseldorf, directed by the composer.
March 13, 1851:
Two new works by Robert Schumann (40) are performed for the first time, in Düsseldforf: Nachtlied op.108 for chorus and orchestra to words of Hebbel, and the overture Die Braut von Messina. The overture is not successful and Schumann’s originally warm reception in Düsseldorf is beginning to erode with criticisms of his conducting.
July 6, 1851:
Der Rose Pilgerfahrt for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra by Robert Schumann (41) to words of Horn is performed for the first time, privately, at the Schumann home in Düsseldorf. See 5 February 1852.
August 25, 1851:
A meeting of the Düsseldorf Gesangverein criticizes the conducting of Robert Schumann (41) calling him uncommunicative.
February 5, 1852:
Der Rose Pilgerfahrt for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra by Robert Schumann (41) to words of Horn is performed publicly for the first time, in Düsseldorf. See 6 July 1851.
March 14, 1852:
Robert Schumann’s (41) overture Manfred is performed for the first time, in Weimar. See 13 June 1852.
March 21, 1852:
The Violin Sonata no.1 op.105 and the Piano Trio no.3 op.110 by Robert Schumann (41) are performed for the first time, in the Leipzig Gewandhaus, Clara Schumann (32) at the keyboard. Franz Liszt (40) is in attendance.
May 20, 1852:
Spanisches Liederspiel op.74, a song cycle by Robert Schumann (41), is performed for the first time, in Düsseldorf.
June 8, 1852:
On his 42nd birthday, Robert Schumann suffers a fit of convulsive coughing, in Düsseldorf.
June 13, 1852:
Incidental music to Byron's (tr.Suckow) play Manfred by Robert Schumann (42) is performed for the first time, in Leipzig conducted by Franz Liszt (39). The composer is too ill to attend. See 14 March 1852.
June 26, 1852:
Robert Schumann (42) goes to Godesberg for a cure of his affliction which manifests itself in slow speech and movement.
July 6, 1852:
Robert Schumann (42) returns from the “cure” at Godesberg to Düsseldorf feeling worse than when he left.
August 3, 1852:
Robert Schumann’s (42) overture Julius Cäser is performed for the first time, in Düsseldorf.
October 28, 1852:
Robert Schumann (42) misses the first concert of his third year in Düsseldorf with a “nervous disorder.” His place is taken by his young deputy, Julius Tausch.
November 21, 1852:
Robert Schumann (42), in Düsseldorf, reports new symptoms which he calls “unusual aural disturbances.”
December 3, 1852:
Vom Pagen und der Königstöchter for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra by Robert Schumann (42) to words of Geibel is performed for the first time, in Düsseldorf, directed by the composer. Since his doctor ordered him to avoid exertion, this is his first conducting since August.
December 14, 1852:
Robert Schumann (42) receives a letter from Deputy-Mayor of Düsseldorf Wilhelm Wortmann, a ranking member of the Allgemeiner Musikverein, requesting that Schumann limit his conducting activities.
December 15, 1852:
Robert Schumann (42) receives a vote of confidence by 22 members of the Düsseldorf Allgemeiner Musikverein, who object to Wilhelm Wortmann’s letter of yesterday. Nevertheless, Schumann agrees to hand over choral rehearsals to Julius Tausch.
December 30, 1852:
The revised version of Symphony no.4 by Robert Schumann (42) is performed for the first time, in Düsseldorf. This is the first complete concert he has conducted since the end of last season. See 6 December 1841.
May 17, 1853:
The first performance of Robert Schumann’s (42) Fest-Overture op.123 for tenor, chorus and orchestra to words of Müller and Claudius, closes the Lower Rhine Music Festival in Düsseldorf.
June 8, 1853:
As a present for his 43rd birthday, Clara Schumann (33) presents Robert Schumann with the manuscript to her Piano Variations in f sharp minor.
July 30, 1853:
Robert Schumann (43) suffers what is probably a stroke during a visit to Bonn.
August 28, 1853:
Joseph Joachim shows up on the doorstep of Robert Schumann (43) in Düsseldorf, precipitating 48 hours of chamber music.
September 30, 1853:
Johannes Brahms (20) arrives at the door of Robert Schumann (43) in Düsseldorf, but is informed by twelve-year old Marie Schumann that her parents are not at home. She suggests he return tomorrow.
October 1, 1853:
The Schumann family is visited in Düsseldorf by a young friend of Joseph Joachim, Johannes Brahms (20). Brahms plays extensively for them, astounding his hosts. Robert Schumann (43) records in his diary, “Visit from Brahms, a genius.” Brahms will appear in Schumann’s diary almost every day for the next month.
October 16, 1853:
In a performance of the Gesangverein in Düsseldorf, Robert Schumann (43) continues conducting well after the music stops. Members of the Gesangverein refuse to be led by Schumann in the future.
October 19, 1853:
The chairman of the Düsseldorf Allgemeiner Musikverein, Julius Illing, and another member, JE Heister, have an argument with Robert Schumann (43) most likely over Schumann’s ability as a conductor.
October 27, 1853:
The Düsseldorf Musikverein refuses to sing under Robert Schumann (43) owing to a “disasterous performance of a mass by Hauptmann at the Maximilian Church on 16 October.”
October 27, 1853:
Robert Schumann (43) conducts a concert in Düsseldorf which includes the premiere of his Phantasie op.131 for violin and orchestra, with Joseph Joachim as soloist. It is the last time he will conduct.
October 28, 1853:
Robert Schumann’s (43) article “Neue Bahnen,” extolling the virtues of the unheralded Johannes Brahms (20) appears in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik saying “Brahms is one of the elect.”
October 28, 1853:
At the Schumann home in Düsseldorf, Joseph Joachim and Clara Schumann (34) perform a violin sonata written by Albert Dietrich (first movement), Johannes Brahms (20) (scherzo) and Robert Schumann (43) (intermezzo and finale).
November 2, 1853:
Johannes Brahms (20) departs Düsseldorf with recommendations from Robert Schumann (43), making for Leipzig.
November 7, 1853:
The chairman, Julius Illing, and another member, Joseph Herz, of the Allgemeiner Musikverein Committee visit Clara Schumann (34) with the unanimous proposal that in future Robert Schumann (43) conduct only his own music.
November 9, 1853:
Robert Schumann (43) makes a formal reply to the Musikverein Committee demand of 7 November by claiming that this is a breach of contract.
November 10, 1853:
At a subscription concert in Düsseldorf, conductor Robert Schumann (43) fails to appear. His place is taken by his assistant Julius Tausch.
November 14, 1853:
The Düsseldorf Musikverein Committee replies courteously to Robert Schumann’s (43) statement of 9 November but implements its design.
November 16, 1853:
In Hannover, Johannes Brahms (20) writes to Robert Schumann (43) thanking him for the glowing article of 28 October.
November 26, 1853:
Introduction and Allegro op.134 for piano and orchestra by Robert Schumann (43) is performed for the first time, in Utrecht, by Clara Schumann (34).
December 9, 1853:
Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann op.20 for piano by Clara Schumann (34) is performed for the first time, in Rotterdam, by the composer.
December 15, 1853:
Clara Schumann (34) plays at a party given by the royal family at The Hague. No one pays much attention to her and after a few pieces she storms out. One guest asks Robert Schumann (43), ”And are you musical too?” (Macdonald, 1853, 178)
February 12, 1854:
Robert Schumann (43) suffers constant hallucinations, hearing heavenly instruments and JS Bach’s (†103) Ein feste Burg.
February 15, 1854:
Robert Schumann (43) tells Clara (34) that if the music he has been hearing for four days does not stop he will go mad. She summons a doctor.
February 17, 1854:
Robert Schumann (43) composes a melody which, he tells his wife, has been sung to him by angels.
February 18, 1854:
The angels heard by Robert Schumann (43) yesterday have been transformed into demons come to carry him off to hell. It takes two doctors to hold him down.
February 20, 1854:
Robert Schumann (43) has recovered enough to finish proofs of his Cello Concerto.
February 24, 1854:
Robert Schumann (43) tells Ruppert Becker, concertmaster of the Düsseldorf orchestra, that Franz Schubert (†25) appeared to him and sent him a melody.
February 26, 1854:
Fearful that he might be a threat to his wife, Robert Schumann (43) asks to be taken to a lunatic asylum but is persuaded by Clara (34) and a doctor to go to bed.
February 27, 1854:
While making a copy of some variations on a theme in E flat, Robert Schumann (43) runs out of his Düsseldorf home to the Rhine bridge and throws himself headfirst into the river. He is pulled from the water by fishermen who manage to bring him home, despite his attempts to jump out of the boat. Doctors do not allow Clara (34) to see him. Unable to live in the same house under those conditions, she moves to a friend’s house.
March 3, 1854:
After hearing of Robert Schumann’s (43) condition, Johannes Brahms (20) moves to Düsseldorf to aid Clara (34).
March 4, 1854:
Robert Schumann (43) is brought to Dr. Richarz’ asylum at Endenich, near Bonn. Clara (34) is prevented from seeing him off. She will not see him again until shortly before his death.
May 25, 1854:
A copy of the Sonata in b minor for piano by Franz Liszt (42), dedicated to Robert Schumann (43) (now in an insane asylum), arrives in Düsseldorf at the home of Clara Schumann (34). She calls it “merely a blind noise--no healthy ideas anymore, everything confused, one cannot find a single, clear harmonic progression...It really is too awful.”
October 1, 1854:
Robert Schumann's (44) contract with the Düsseldorf Allgemeiner Musikverein is cancelled. He presently resides in an insane asylum.
October 27, 1854:
Robert Schumann’s (44) Piano Concerto in a minor is performed in Weimar, Clara Schumann (35) at the piano and Franz Liszt (43) conducting.
December 24, 1854:
Joseph Joachim visits Robert Schumann (44) at the insane asylum near Bonn. He is heartened by what he finds and rushes to Düsseldorf to tell the good news to Clara Schumann (35) and Johannes Brahms (21).
January 11, 1855:
Johannes Brahms (21) makes his first visit to the insane asylum near Bonn where he finds Robert Schumann (44) in good spirits. Doctors still refuse admittance to Clara Schumann (35).
February 24, 1855:
Johannes Brahms (21) visits Robert Schumann (44) in the insane asylum near Bonn. They talk, and Schumann tells Brahms that he is writing music.
April 9, 1855:
Giacomo Meyerbeer (63) is awarded the Commander’s Cross of the Order of the Ernestine House (first class with star) by Duke Ernst II of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha personally. He then takes a train for Weimar to see Robert Schumann’s (44) opera Genoveva there. He tries to go to the theatre incognito in order to avoid meeting Franz Liszt (43) but is discovered by Peter Cornelius (30) who tells Liszt. He is obliged by his old nemesis to view the opera in the box of Princess Wittgenstein. He finds Genoveva “totally without melodies, badly written for the voices, unclear and ponderous; and yet with many interesting harmonic and orchestral details, and occasional flashes of genial conception.”
May 5, 1855:
In an insane asylum near Bonn, Robert Schumann (44) writes to his wife Clara (35) for the last time.
May 30, 1855:
Franz Liszt (43) and Joseph Joachim spend a musical evening at the home of Clara Schumann (35) in Düsseldorf. They play the music of Robert Schumann (44), presently in an insane asylum. Clara tells her diary of Liszt, “But it was so horrible, that my feelings could find an outlet only in tears. How he banged the piano, and what a tempo he took! I was beside myself that His work should be so desecrated in these rooms...” (Williams, 317)
September 10, 1855:
Doctors attending Robert Schumann (45) in an insane asylum near Bonn declare that he will never recover completely. He is becoming incoherent and delusional.
July 23, 1856:
Clara Schumann (36) is summoned to Endenich as Robert Schumann (46) is not expected to live much longer. The crisis, however, will pass and she will return to Düsseldorf unable to see him.
July 28, 1856:
Clara Schumann (36) and Johannes Brahms (23) begin a constant vigil outside the room of Robert Schumann (46) in Endenich. “He smiled, and put his arm round me with a great effort, for he can no longer control his limbs. I shall never forget it. Not all the treasures in the world could equal this embrace.”
July 29, 1856:
16:00 Robert Schumann dies at Dr. Richarz’ insane asylum at Sebastianstraße 182 in Endenich just outside Bonn, Kingdom of Prussia, aged 46 years, one month, and 21 days. No one is in the room at the moment of his death as Clara (36) has gone to town to meet the arrival of Joseph Joachim. Although the immediate cause of death is pneumonia, he has been suffering from tertiary syphillis. “All my feelings were absorbed in thankfulness to God that he was at last set free, and as I kneeled by his bed I was filled with awe, it was as if his holy spirit was hovering over me--Ah! if only he had taken me with him.”
July 30, 1856:
Dr. Franz Richarz carries out an autopsy on the body of Robert Schumann in Endenich, near Bonn.
July 31, 1856:
19:00 The mortal remains of Robert Schumann are laid to rest in the Alter Friedhof, Bonn in the presence of family members, Johannes Brahms (23), and Joseph Joachim, but without great ceremony. Clara Schumann (36) does not accompany the coffin to the cemetery, remaining in the chapel, weeping and praying. As the small funeral procession winds through Bonn, ordinary citizens stream towards the street. The poet Klaus Groth will remember, “…it was as if the people of Bonn, quite suddenly and involuntarily, had felt the message run through their minds that one of the noblest of Germans was on his last journey.”
June 9, 1860:
Concerto for cello and orchestra op.129 by Robert Schumann (†3) is performed for the first time, in Leipzig one day after what would have been the composer’s 50th birthday.
January 15, 1861:
The first two of the Twelve Songs and Romances op.44 for unaccompanied chorus by Johannes Brahms (27) are performed for the first time, in Hamburg: Der Holdseligen sonder Wank, to words of Voss, and Von allen Bergen nieder, to words of Eichendorff. Brahms’ Songs for female chorus, two horns, and harp op.17 are performed completely for the first time, conducted by the composer. This is part of a joint concert by Brahms, Joseph Joachim, and Clara Schumann (41) which includes Beethoven’s (†33) Kreutzer Sonata and Robert Schumann’s (†4) Variations for two pianos op.46.
January 13, 1862:
Scenes from Goethe’s Faust for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra by Robert Schumann (†5) to words of Goethe is performed completely for the first time, in Cologne. See 29 August 1862.
November 15, 1863:
The Vienna Singakademie gives its first concert under the direction of Johannes Brahms (30). The eclectic program includes Viennese premieres of the Cantata no.21 of Johann Sebastian Bach (†113), Requiem für Mignon by Robert Schumann (†7) as well as works by Isaac (†346) and Beethoven (†36) and folksong arrangements. It is well received.
May 21, 1875:
The Resurrection op.5, for tenor, chorus, orchestra, and organ by Charles Villiers Stanford (22) to words of Klopstock, is performed for the first time, in Cambridge. At this concert, Stanford also gives the British premiere of Part III of Faust by Robert Schumann (†19). This brings him to the attention of the musical world outside of Cambridge.
June 21, 1877:
Gustav Mahler (16) again wins the piano competition at the Conservatorium der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde. He plays Robert Schumann’s (†20) Humoreske op.20.
October 24, 1878:
Clara Schumann (59) is given a day of celebration in Leipzig, commemorating the 50th anniversary of her first public performance at the Leipzig Gewandhaus. In the morning she receives numerous presents, telegrams and flowers. At her concert, she plays Robert Schumann’s (†22) Piano Concerto. The orchestra presents her with a laurel wreath, with the names of composers whose music she performed during her career on the leaves. Later, she attends a party in her honor, serenaded by the Paulinerchor on her arrival.
December 12, 1879:
Variations on a theme by Robert Schumann for piano op.9 by Johannes Brahms (46) is performed for the first time, in Berlin, 25 years after it was composed.
May 2, 1880:
A Robert Schumann (†23) memorial sculpted by Adolf von Donndorf is unveiled in Bonn. The music for the three-day event is provided by Johannes Brahms (46) and Joseph Joachim. Clara Schumann (60) is somewhat disappointed. “We could not get to like the relief; the likeness is not bad but it lacks the spiritual expression.”
November 26, 1937:
Violin Concerto by Robert Schumann (†81) is performed for the first time, in Berlin. The owner of the manuscript, Joseph Joachim, willed that the work not be performed until 100 years after the composer’s death.
March 19, 1945:
World War II: American troops capture Bauang, Luzon south of San Fernando on Lingayen Gulf.
British troops capture Mogok, 115 km northeast of Mandalay.
The USS Franklin is heavily damaged by Japanese warplanes 80 km off Honshu. Around 800 of her crew are killed, almost 500 wounded, but the ship will survive.
American forces capture Saarlouis, 20 km northwest of Saarbrücken.
The house in Zwickau where Robert Schumann (†88) spent his childhood years from age seven to 17 is totally destroyed. It will not be rebuilt.
May 12, 1963:
The Robert Schumann (†106) Museum opens in Endenich, a suburb of Bonn, at the private clinic where Schumann spent his last days.
December 11, 1971:
Fantasy-Pieces on the Heine “Liederkreis” of Robert Schumann (†115) for 13 players by Robin Holloway (28) is performed for the first time, privately, at Oriel College, Oxford.
March 14, 1978:
Adieu, Robert Schumann for alto, orchestra, piano, and tape by R. Murray Schafer (44) is performed for the first time, in Ottawa.
November 10, 1979:
Anthony Braxton’s (34) album With Robert Schumann String Quartet is recorded in concert in Cologne, West Germany. It includes Comp.17, Comp.26E, Comp.26I, Comp.17, Comp.77D, Comp.77E, Comp.77B, and Comp.26B.
November 21, 1981:
The first three parts of Mitternachtsstük for speaker, solo voices, chorus and instruments by Mauricio Kagel (49) to words of Robert Schumann (†125) are performed for the first time, in the Théâtre Municipal, Metz.
June 28, 1988:
Mitternachtsstük IV for voices and instruments by Mauricio Kagel (56) to words of Robert Schumann (†131) is performed for the first time, in Union Chapel, London.