The composer

As a young man, Robert Schumann seemed set for a career as a virtuoso pianist, encouraged by his teacher Friedrich Wieck. However, an injury to his right hand – possibly caused by a home-made fingerstrengthening device – put an end to that and so he concentrated on composing. Schumann’s early works were written exclusively for the piano but in 1840, the year in which he married Wieck’s gifted daughter Clara, he devoted himself to song. The next year saw him embark on the first two of his four symphonies, with further orchestral, chamber and choral works following soon after.