The Life And Death Of Composer Robert Schumann

In addition to throwing himself into writing and editing the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik during the 1830s, Schumann also turned his attention towards composition. It was also during this time that Schumann stopped seeking outside lessons, believing that "my entire being rebels against every external influence, and I have to discover things on my own for the first time, in order to assimilate them and put them in their proper place," per EIR Culture.

During this decade, Schumann wrote only pieces for piano and composed what he later considered his best works: Kreisleriana, Fantasiestücke, Novelletten, and Romanzen. But despite being a prolific composer, Schumann struggled to be recognized by contemporary audiences, and his work was frequently considered too radical and avant-garde. Even Hungarian composer Franz Liszt deemed some of Schumann's early works "too difficult for the public to digest," according to "Robert Schumann" by John Daverio. Unfortunately, this view persisted throughout Schumann's life, even from his own publishers, who stated in 1848 that "the market for your compositions is, by and large, rather limited–more limited than you could believe."

In 1840, Schumann briefly moved away from piano compositions and embarked on what became known as his Liederjahr, or year of song, during which time he composed over 160 vocal compositions. His second Liederjahr would come in 1850.

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