What do you think?
Rate this book
Great Masters: Robert And Clara Schumann Their Lives And Music
In this course by Professor Robert Greenberg you meet the Schumanns—brilliant, gifted, troubled, and unique in the history of music. Robert Schumann (1810–1856) and his wife Clara Wieck Schumann (1819–1896) have earned a distinct place in the annals of Western music. As a couple with a two-career marriage—he as a pioneering critic and composer, she as one of the leading concert pianists of Europe—they were highly exceptional in their own time though they seem very contemporary in ours.
Audio CD
First published January 1, 2002
6 people are currently reading
90 people want to read
About the author
Robert Greenberg
156 books217 followersRobert M. Greenberg is an American composer, pianist and musicologist. He has composed more than 50 works for a variety of instruments and voices, and has recorded a number of lecture series on music history and music appreciation for The Teaching Company.
Greenberg earned a B.A. in music, magna cum laude, from Princeton University and received a Ph.D. in music composition from the University of California, Berkeley. He has served on the faculties of UC Berkeley, Californiz State University, East Bay, and the San Franciso Conservatory of Music, where he was chairman of the Department of Music History and Literature as well as Director of the Adult Extension Division. Dr. Greenberg is currently Music Historian-in-residence with San Francisco Performances.
Greenberg earned a B.A. in music, magna cum laude, from Princeton University and received a Ph.D. in music composition from the University of California, Berkeley. He has served on the faculties of UC Berkeley, Californiz State University, East Bay, and the San Franciso Conservatory of Music, where he was chairman of the Department of Music History and Literature as well as Director of the Adult Extension Division. Dr. Greenberg is currently Music Historian-in-residence with San Francisco Performances.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 31, 2024
Another fantastic lecture-turned-audiobook by Robert Greenberg!
Robert Greenberg was completely unknown to me. In fact, I only found out these book-versions of his lectures existed thanks to a GR-friend reading them last year. Since this year's motto is reading and music, my buddy-reader and I decided to read one of these every month, if possible.
This month was about Clara and Robert Schumann. Why? Well, for one because they played a pretty big role in Brahm's life, of which we learned in February, and also because I went to the Clara-Schumann-Gymnasium (school). This, plus the fact that she was the only woman to ever grace a German banknote, had me curious.
So yes, I'm sorry, but most of this review will be about her and not her rather boring husband. *lol* It's like with the Shelleys - I care more about Mary than her wanna-be genius husband. ;)
Robert was supposed to be a lawyer but - like a number of other composers - preferred a career in the arts, much to his mother's dismay. His father died when he was young, so did his sister. All of which did NOT help with Robert's already frail mental state. Add to that the fact that he was bi-sexual and VERY promiscuous and you won't be surprised to learn that he eventually died of or at least with syphilis in a mental institution where he was brought to after a failed suicide attempt years before.
Yes, tragic. But I have to admit that I didn't care overly much. He was a dandy and while definitely not untalented, I think he only got as much spotlight as he did on account of him being a man. So let's move on to the main attraction, shall we?
Clara was driven to learning to play the piano by her VERY ambitious father. A father who didn't want her to "waste time" playing with other children or going out with friends (at least not too late in the evening) in favor of practicing. She played for and in front of none other than Goethe, was introduced to and became friends with Niccolò Paganini, played music with and became a friend of Franz Liszt, exchanged compositions (which she had started writing aged 10-11) with Frédéric Chopin (both respected each other very much, apparently) and became a protegé of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy with regards to playing the piano and composing. From a very young age, she gave concerts in many cities in Germany and other countries.
In 1838, when she was only 18 years old, she was named an imperial-royal chamber music virtuoso by the then Austrian emperor in Vienna.
Clara knew Robert (a student of her father's) from when she was 9 years old. When she was about 16 years, they started getting romantically involved, which Clara's father hated. Later, he even tried to prevent them from getting married but lost in court.
The problem? Well, Clara devoted herself to being a wife first and foremost so her music pretty much suffered, especially when she became a mother as well. It didn't help that Robert didn't like to see his wife giving concerts - probably knowing she was more talented that he. At least she managed to use the time to educate herself further, which is also how she eventually set to music numerous poems.
One highly interesting fact is that the couple had a diary which they both filled alternately. It was their way of allowing Robert to express wishes and Clara to give her husband her view on things. These diaries have been made public so we have a pretty good idea of their daily life, which is awesome.
Thankfully, the financial situation of the young family meant that Clara HAD to give concerts again. And, surprise surprise (not really), she was the main provider for the family. Ok, admittedly it might ALSO have had to do with her husband having a mysterious feeble right hand (some say it was just one finger, some say it spread) so he couldn't play the paino any more. Ironically, Clara's interpretations of her husband's piano compositions was what made her husband famous, especially after his death.
And when I say Clara was famous, I mean FAMOUS. She not only toured European cities with her husband anymore, but even far-away places like Russia (back then, quite a distance). Coming home from THAT must have been hard, but her husband's ever worsening mental illness made it worse. Even her friendship with none other than Johannes Brahms couldn't help much with that.
After Robert's death, several friends helped Clara (yes, including Brahms, and no, we don't know how far they went since they destroyed their correspondence but at least Brahms himself was VERY MUCH in love with Clara). One friend even took care of her children whenever Clara was on tour. But don't think she was a bad mother because of that: the reason she still worked so hard was not only that they needed money but that she wanted her children to have a good education, opening all kinds of doors for them!
Eventually, Clara moved to Baden-Baden (close to where I live) because she fell in love with another musician, Kirchner. Sadly, the guy was a gambler, so Clara ended the relationship (they hadn't been married).
Once she felt she was too old for the constant travel, she settled down in Frankfurt and became the first female (and "foremost") piano teacher at the music conservatory there. She also published her own and her husband's compositions as well as other pieces (youth diaries and such).
She gave her last concert aged 71.
Shortly later, she started suffering from an illness that made it impossible to hear instruments, except for the piano. She also had terrible headaches.
On March 26, 1896, Clara had a stroke. She died on May 20 of the same year, aged 76, following another stroke.
To think of what she accomplished despite the time she lived in while still conforming to society's expectations (and even surpassing them) ... I might not be too much a fan of the Romantic Era, but I do respect the hell out of her life and career.
The lecture itself, as were the other two, was absolutely fantastic and I'm pretty much in love with Greenberg for the way he presents the material. From the presentation of the respective person to the wonderful 360°-view on what life was like in any given period to the music excerpts as perfect examples and to further illustrate ... I know I'm repeating myself, but I wished I could have sat in on those lectures and have these as books, too.
Robert Greenberg was completely unknown to me. In fact, I only found out these book-versions of his lectures existed thanks to a GR-friend reading them last year. Since this year's motto is reading and music, my buddy-reader and I decided to read one of these every month, if possible.
This month was about Clara and Robert Schumann. Why? Well, for one because they played a pretty big role in Brahm's life, of which we learned in February, and also because I went to the Clara-Schumann-Gymnasium (school). This, plus the fact that she was the only woman to ever grace a German banknote, had me curious.
So yes, I'm sorry, but most of this review will be about her and not her rather boring husband. *lol* It's like with the Shelleys - I care more about Mary than her wanna-be genius husband. ;)
Robert was supposed to be a lawyer but - like a number of other composers - preferred a career in the arts, much to his mother's dismay. His father died when he was young, so did his sister. All of which did NOT help with Robert's already frail mental state. Add to that the fact that he was bi-sexual and VERY promiscuous and you won't be surprised to learn that he eventually died of or at least with syphilis in a mental institution where he was brought to after a failed suicide attempt years before.
Yes, tragic. But I have to admit that I didn't care overly much. He was a dandy and while definitely not untalented, I think he only got as much spotlight as he did on account of him being a man. So let's move on to the main attraction, shall we?
Clara was driven to learning to play the piano by her VERY ambitious father. A father who didn't want her to "waste time" playing with other children or going out with friends (at least not too late in the evening) in favor of practicing. She played for and in front of none other than Goethe, was introduced to and became friends with Niccolò Paganini, played music with and became a friend of Franz Liszt, exchanged compositions (which she had started writing aged 10-11) with Frédéric Chopin (both respected each other very much, apparently) and became a protegé of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy with regards to playing the piano and composing. From a very young age, she gave concerts in many cities in Germany and other countries.
In 1838, when she was only 18 years old, she was named an imperial-royal chamber music virtuoso by the then Austrian emperor in Vienna.
Clara knew Robert (a student of her father's) from when she was 9 years old. When she was about 16 years, they started getting romantically involved, which Clara's father hated. Later, he even tried to prevent them from getting married but lost in court.
The problem? Well, Clara devoted herself to being a wife first and foremost so her music pretty much suffered, especially when she became a mother as well. It didn't help that Robert didn't like to see his wife giving concerts - probably knowing she was more talented that he. At least she managed to use the time to educate herself further, which is also how she eventually set to music numerous poems.
One highly interesting fact is that the couple had a diary which they both filled alternately. It was their way of allowing Robert to express wishes and Clara to give her husband her view on things. These diaries have been made public so we have a pretty good idea of their daily life, which is awesome.
Thankfully, the financial situation of the young family meant that Clara HAD to give concerts again. And, surprise surprise (not really), she was the main provider for the family. Ok, admittedly it might ALSO have had to do with her husband having a mysterious feeble right hand (some say it was just one finger, some say it spread) so he couldn't play the paino any more. Ironically, Clara's interpretations of her husband's piano compositions was what made her husband famous, especially after his death.
And when I say Clara was famous, I mean FAMOUS. She not only toured European cities with her husband anymore, but even far-away places like Russia (back then, quite a distance). Coming home from THAT must have been hard, but her husband's ever worsening mental illness made it worse. Even her friendship with none other than Johannes Brahms couldn't help much with that.
After Robert's death, several friends helped Clara (yes, including Brahms, and no, we don't know how far they went since they destroyed their correspondence but at least Brahms himself was VERY MUCH in love with Clara). One friend even took care of her children whenever Clara was on tour. But don't think she was a bad mother because of that: the reason she still worked so hard was not only that they needed money but that she wanted her children to have a good education, opening all kinds of doors for them!
Eventually, Clara moved to Baden-Baden (close to where I live) because she fell in love with another musician, Kirchner. Sadly, the guy was a gambler, so Clara ended the relationship (they hadn't been married).
Once she felt she was too old for the constant travel, she settled down in Frankfurt and became the first female (and "foremost") piano teacher at the music conservatory there. She also published her own and her husband's compositions as well as other pieces (youth diaries and such).
She gave her last concert aged 71.
Shortly later, she started suffering from an illness that made it impossible to hear instruments, except for the piano. She also had terrible headaches.
On March 26, 1896, Clara had a stroke. She died on May 20 of the same year, aged 76, following another stroke.
To think of what she accomplished despite the time she lived in while still conforming to society's expectations (and even surpassing them) ... I might not be too much a fan of the Romantic Era, but I do respect the hell out of her life and career.
The lecture itself, as were the other two, was absolutely fantastic and I'm pretty much in love with Greenberg for the way he presents the material. From the presentation of the respective person to the wonderful 360°-view on what life was like in any given period to the music excerpts as perfect examples and to further illustrate ... I know I'm repeating myself, but I wished I could have sat in on those lectures and have these as books, too.
October 14, 2022
A wonderful and systematic approach dissecting the life of Robert and Clara Schumann and their music.
I've always torn between loving and questioning Robert Schumann's compositions. I absolutely love many of his works but some have left me unsure. Professor Robert Greenberg managed to explain the mindset of Robert Schumann behind his compositions and now everything makes more sense.
I knew enough about Clara Schumann but not enough to fully appreciate her. Thanks to the wonderful lectures prepared by Prof. Greenberg, I now have a better understanding of this remarkable woman. His lively presentation made the 6+ hours of lectures a blast to listen to.
Do not treat the lectures a biography. The lectures provide some background of the composers and how their experiences influenced and shaped their creative outputs. To me, the lectures are similar to college level music appreciation lessons that dive deeper into each composer and accompanied by excerpts of music as illustrations. Overall the chapters are easy to follow. No overwhelming of names or places, yet audience still needs some basic knowledge to be able to understand the who, where, and what.
I've always torn between loving and questioning Robert Schumann's compositions. I absolutely love many of his works but some have left me unsure. Professor Robert Greenberg managed to explain the mindset of Robert Schumann behind his compositions and now everything makes more sense.
I knew enough about Clara Schumann but not enough to fully appreciate her. Thanks to the wonderful lectures prepared by Prof. Greenberg, I now have a better understanding of this remarkable woman. His lively presentation made the 6+ hours of lectures a blast to listen to.
Do not treat the lectures a biography. The lectures provide some background of the composers and how their experiences influenced and shaped their creative outputs. To me, the lectures are similar to college level music appreciation lessons that dive deeper into each composer and accompanied by excerpts of music as illustrations. Overall the chapters are easy to follow. No overwhelming of names or places, yet audience still needs some basic knowledge to be able to understand the who, where, and what.
January 10, 2025
Greenberg (i) situates the Schumanns in the romantic age, (ii) shows Robert drew more on classical structures when he began composing for larger ensembles.
December 7, 2021
Once again, I am grateful to Professor Greenberg for this biography and the music that is included. I never new much about Robert and Clara Schumann.
December 14, 2021
I wish there had been more on / about the music but entertaining and informative as always
February 15, 2018
Wow! Professor Robert Greenberg is such an inspired lecturer that at first I even thought he was overdoing it. But it did not took long for me to be totally captivated by his passion for music and musicians and by his deep knowledge of the subject. Now to listen to more Robert Greenberg's courses -- fortunately, there are plenty.
July 16, 2015
Amazing! Incredible professor - entertaining and informative.
March 31, 2024
Robert Greenberg always delivers. His lectures on Musical masters never fails to enthrall and edify.
That being said, with no complaints about the lectures, I should say that I'm a bit... how should I describe this... ANNOYED with the whole Romantic ideology.
I'm not referring to modern romance. I mean the old, "Let's have it big and emotional and 'Oh, gosh' idealism." I'm talking about Percy Bysshe Shelly, but not Mary. One was AWESOME while one was Edgelord pretentious.
And so we get to Robert. Clara was pretty damn AWESOME while Robert, with his likely descent into Syphilis, had a decent enough pretentious career... where he eventually became a mentally-ill burden.
WHAT??? Am I dissing a mentally ill person? lol, no, but all things being equal, she was the one who wore the pants in the relationship.
Knowing what I know now about Brahms, I rather wish he had flitted away with Clara, leaving the Olympic masturbator Robert behind.
But then, maybe I'm just mean. It doesn't help that I was never that awed by any of Robert Schumann's works.
That being said, with no complaints about the lectures, I should say that I'm a bit... how should I describe this... ANNOYED with the whole Romantic ideology.
I'm not referring to modern romance. I mean the old, "Let's have it big and emotional and 'Oh, gosh' idealism." I'm talking about Percy Bysshe Shelly, but not Mary. One was AWESOME while one was Edgelord pretentious.
And so we get to Robert. Clara was pretty damn AWESOME while Robert, with his likely descent into Syphilis, had a decent enough pretentious career... where he eventually became a mentally-ill burden.
WHAT??? Am I dissing a mentally ill person? lol, no, but all things being equal, she was the one who wore the pants in the relationship.
Knowing what I know now about Brahms, I rather wish he had flitted away with Clara, leaving the Olympic masturbator Robert behind.
But then, maybe I'm just mean. It doesn't help that I was never that awed by any of Robert Schumann's works.
October 1, 2022
Maestro Greenberg shines as always, but holy schnikes is this bleak.
Chalk this up to a penchant for completeness (working my way though all of the Greenberg courses) and perhaps morbid curiosity. Morbid curiosity about Robert Schumann's music more than his life.
After listening to the course on Brahms, much of the history felt like a rerun. So we're left with the music. Which would be fine, if the music was of the highest order. But to my ears, it is... serviceable? If we want to examine the interplay of madness and genius, we must wait for a course on Scriabin.
Chalk this up to a penchant for completeness (working my way though all of the Greenberg courses) and perhaps morbid curiosity. Morbid curiosity about Robert Schumann's music more than his life.
After listening to the course on Brahms, much of the history felt like a rerun. So we're left with the music. Which would be fine, if the music was of the highest order. But to my ears, it is... serviceable? If we want to examine the interplay of madness and genius, we must wait for a course on Scriabin.
March 22, 2020
-1 star because I hoped Mr Greenberg would further analyse Schumann's music as he did in the course about Beethoven. Nevertheless it is a very good course indeed and I strongly recommend it if you just want to know more about the lives of the Schummans (as indeed stated in the tittle!).
February 14, 2018
Similar to other lectures by Prof. Greenberg, this is a well-researched and eloquently-written course, delivered by a great entertainer.
October 15, 2018
Fascinating story wonderfully told by Greenberg. He's the man when it comes to musical biographies! Funny, thorough and always interesting.
June 21, 2020
beautiful survey of lives touched both marvelously and tragically by the music of the spheres
Read
January 5, 2024Excellent and entertaining, like all Greenberg lectures
December 25, 2024
A lot more focused on Robert than Clara. It fits well with Greenberg's lectures on Brahams.
September 5, 2015
Amazing how the great artists suffered. Did this propel them into creativity?
September 27, 2016
Robert Greenberg taught me how tough this man's life was, and how brilliantly he wrote music and music reviews, with how little preparation or hesitation.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews