Thomas Tapper

“ Much of his music shows his high regard for that writer of fairy stories.
6. Schumann was twenty-one years old when he injured his hand and learned that therefore he could not hope to be a pianist. It was then that he made up his mind to be a composer.
7. Schumann had enough means to live in comfort. He was not poor, as were Mozart, Schubert, and some others.
8. Robert and Clara Schumann had eight children, and some of Schumann's best music was written to interest his children. ”

“ Pictures in Music.
When Robert Schumann was a boy he used to amuse his friends by playing their pictures on the piano. He could make the music imitate the person.
One day he said to them: This is the way the farmer walks when he comes home singing from his work.
THE HAPPY FARMER. Listen
Some day you will be able to play a lot of pieces by Schumann that picture the pleasantest things so clearly that you can see them very plainly indeed. In one of his books there is a music picture of a boy riding a rocking horse. ”