THE MUSIC OF ROBERT SCHUMANN: CORRELATION WITH HIS MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH

Authors

Cari Elizabeth O'Neil, Brigham Young University
Dr. Stephen D. Lindeman, Brigham Young University

Keywords

Robert Schumann, mental health, physical health, music, composer

College

Fine Arts and Communications

Department

Music

Abstract

The lives of famous artists in every genre are dissected again and again. What inspires them to create extraordinary works of art such as the Mona Lisa, Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, and the operas of Mozart? Popular psychology commonly links genius with various forms of mental and physical ailments. To what extent, if at all, does an illness help to inspire an artist? I chose to analyze the life and compositions of Robert Schumann to see if physical and mental illness impacted his musical compositions in both number and in style. After a review of literature, biographies, compositions, analysis of composition, medical literature, and a review of the DSM-IV, I graphed a time line of his life correlated with his music compositions and illness (Fig. 1).

Recommended Citation

O'Neil, Cari Elizabeth and Lindeman, Dr. Stephen D. (2013) "THE MUSIC OF ROBERT SCHUMANN: CORRELATION WITH HIS MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2013: Iss. 1, Article 2276.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2013/iss1/2276