Robert and Clara had 8 living children and at least one, or possibly two, miscarriages. The living children were Marie (1841), Elise (1843), Julie (1845), Emil (1846), Ludwig (1848), Ferdinand (1849), Eugenie (1851) and Felix (1854). Robert never met his son, Felix, because he was institutionalized before his son was born. Eugenie published her memories, which give a very interesting account of her life and her family's life.
I finally have a possible answer for this one! As I mentioned, William Shakespeare wore an earring in his left ear, and in 1828, there was a major Shakespeare revival across Europe, including by Goethe in Germany. Since Schumann loved Goethe, and consequently, Shakespeare, it is very likely he was on the cusp of a fashion inspired by the Shakespearian revival! Thanks to Alison Star, Ph.D. candidate at University of Victoria, for this suggestion.
Thanks for a very interesting question that is of great personal interest to me! Robert created Florestan and Eusebius in 1831. Florestan was "born" on June 8, 1831, Schumann's 21st birthday, as a reaction to Jean Paul Richter's use of twins to express the duality of a man's personality. (In his book, Flegeljahre, Jean Paul uses this technique via twins, Vult and Walt.) On July 1, 1831, Schumann completed this double personality he imagined for himself. Florestan represented Schumann's masculine side, and Eusebius his feminine characteristics. From this, Schumann continued creating a "parallel universe" (collectively called "The Davidsbuendler") filled with fictional representations of his real-life friends (and enemies!). This world existed in his diaries and letters to friends for a time before it moved into Schumann's actual work, namely in his "Neue Zeitschrift fuer Musik." The fictional characters, in particular Florestan, Eusebius and Meister Raro (formerly this personality belonged to Friedrich Wieck, and later he represented the two united personalities of Florestan and Eusebius) became writers and editors of the Neue Zeitschrift articles. They critiqued music by many important composers of Schumann's day, and as a group they were able to discuss the many different sides of a piece of music. Leon Plantinga (author of "Schumann as Critic") says that this use of different personalities in his writing did not indicate a mental disorder on Schumann's part, rather he was just extremely creative and such criticism was typical for his time. These personalities helped him to cope and complete his job effectively without fear of reprisal when he gave a bad review of a piece. He did sign his own name to many of the articles in the Neue Zeitschrift, but usually he counted on one of his fictional personalities for any negative reviews as a form of self-protection. Eusebius made his last appearance in 1836, and Florestan was laid to rest in 1842.
The answer to this question came a few days later from the same person who asked the question in the first place, Kurt Matthies. Kurt sent me the following answer to his question:
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Three songs in his Album for the Young have this marking, Nos. 21 (C minor), 26 (F major) and 30 (C Major). Once, the asterisks appear as:
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When asked by Eugenie about the meaning of the asterisks, Clara responded enigmatically, "Perhaps your father wanted the stars to indicate parents' thoughts about their children." (From Bernhard Appel, "Family Life: Robert Schumann's Album fuer die Jugend" in R. Larry Todd, Schumann and His World, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994.)
Jerry: What is that song?
George: Oh, it's from Les Miserables. ["Master of the House" is the tune he was humming.] I went to see it last week. I can't get it out of my head. I just keep singing it over and over. It just comes out. I have no control over it. I'm singing it on elevators, buses. I sing it in front of my clients. It's taking over my life.
Jerry: You know, Schumann went mad from that.
George: Artie Schumann? From Camp Hatchapee?
Jerry: No, you idiot.
George: Who are you, Bud Abbott? What, are you calling me an idiot?
Jerry: Don't you know Robert Schumann, the composer?
George: Oh, Schumann. Of course.
Jerry: [trying to scare George] He went crazy from one note. He couldn't get it out of his head. I think it was an A. He kept repeating it over and over again. He had to be institutionalized.
George: Really? What if it doesn't stop? [Jerry gestures, "That's the breaks." George gasps.] Oh, that I really needed to hear. That helps a lot! All right, just say something. Just start talking. Change the subject...
Is that true what they said about Schumann?
Thank you for sending me your question. I love that Seinfeld episode, although I refer to it as "The Schumann episode", rather than "The Jacket" episode! To answer your question, there is some truth in Jerry's comments. Schumann did indeed hear an "A" at the end of his life. It was a form of tinnitus, or perhaps an auditory hallucination related to his major depressive episode. At times, he had musical hallucinations which were longer than just the single "A", but his diaries include lots of comments from him about hearing that annoying single note. However, he didn't go mad from hearing it; he was suffering from a major depressive episode and he experienced problems with his mental health long before he mentioned the tinnitus.
Thanks for the great question. The piece you're referring to is Schumann's "Variations on an Original Theme" (WoO), which he jotted down one night in February 1854 shortly before he attempted suicide. This theme is also known as the "Ghost Variations". Schumann claimed that the angels sang the theme to him in a dream. Clara, his wife, was very disturbed by it and its "other-worldly origins" and would never allow the piece to be published. Some years later, however, Johannes Brahms, a family friend, published his Opus 23, a piece for four hands called "Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann" in honour of this composer who he admired so much. Theodor Kirchner published a solo piano version as well, and both versions have since been recorded with some frequency.
Robert was born in this house on June 8, 1810. Today, the house is the "Robert-Schumann-Haus Museum."
