Chopin, Frédéric (1810 - 1849)

Frédéric Chopin (1810 – 1849)
Steel engraving by Froer
StadtMuseum Bonn

Since his first encounter with a work by this Polish-French composer, who was almost his age, Robert Schumann was fascinated by Chopin. The variations for “Là ci darem la mano” op. 2 published by Chopin in late 1830, inspired Schumann not only to the famous review "Hats off, gentlemen, a genius" (published in Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung of 7 December 1831) that made Chopin famous in Germany, but also to an intense study of this work. Robert Schumann met Chopin personally in Leipzig in 1835. His later wife, Clara Schumann, already made acquaintance with him during her concert tour to Paris. Although there is only one more meeting between the two artists - 1836, also in Leipzig - Robert Schumann as musician and as music critic kept an eye on the new releases of Chopin, which he reviewed in enthusiastic words until stepped back from his editorial activity for the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik.

(I.B., translated by Katharina Ma)