"Left, face! Forward, march!" Clear rang out the words of the little
commander. Quickly the straight ranks moved across the playground. Back
and forth they marched, every one in step. When the drill was over, the
little general dismissed his troops. Day after day the boy soldiers
drilled on the playground. Each day they chose a color bearer, but the
commander was always the same. Among all the boys, no other made so good
a general as Robert Schumann. Although his manner was gentle, the lads
knew that his orders must be obeyed.
[Illustration: ROBERT SCHUMANN]
Robert Schumann was born in a quaint little Saxon town in Germany. His
birthday was the 8th of June, 1810. His father, a studious man, kept a
bookstore in the town. His mother was a good woman, busy caring for her
five children, of whom Robert was the youngest. One of Robert's
grandfathers had been a surgeon and the other had been a minister, so
why it was that Robert cared for music no one knew. But care for it he
did with all his heart.
He was the happiest boy in all Saxony when his father told him that he
might study music with the organist at St. Mary's. He was seven years
old when he had his first lesson. By the time he was eight, he could
compose dances for his little friends. His teacher was proud of the lad
and often said: "Robert, God has given you a great talent, and very
precious is such a gift. Use it well."
Robert once thought of a new game, which afterward became a great
favorite with his playmates. The game was once carried on in this way.
Robert went to the piano and played for several minutes. Then, turning
about, he said, "Whom was I describing in that music?" All the children
shouted, "Franz!" That was the very person Robert had in mind, and the
music had told the children very well that it was none other than the
merry, laughing Franz. Then the young musician turned to the piano
again. The music was no longer bright and gay, but low and sweet. When
the last note had been played, the children clapped their hands and
exclaimed: "Robert, you are a capital player. You have told us as
plainly as can be that you were thinking of little Gretchen."
When Robert Schumann was nine years old, he attended a concert given by
a young English musician. The young Englishman played remarkably well.
Robert had never heard such music before. He wondered if he could ever
be so skillful. "At least," he said to himself, "I can try." From that
moment, the desire to become a musician never left his mind. He always
kept a programme which the pianist had touched, and every time he looked
at it he thought: "Each day I must do my best. I shall succeed in no
other way."
Sometimes Robert forgot his good resolutions. He had much rather play
pretty tunes than practice his scales. It was not so pleasant to toil
over his lesson as to play the songs that he liked. When he grew older,
he saw the mistake he had made and tried to make up lost time by working
at his music in earnest.
Robert Schumann was interested in his studies at school and in the games
on the playground, but most of all he was interested in music. He formed
an orchestra which consisted of two violins, two flutes, a clarinet, and
two horns. Robert was conductor of the orchestra and played the piano.
This piano was a fine instrument, a gift to Robert from his father.
When the little leader could find no music which his musicians could
play, he composed some for them himself.
"Let us do our best with this concerto," Robert often said to the boys
of the band, "that my father may be pleased when he comes." Then, so
interested did they become in the rehearsal, that they did not notice
the father as he came softly into the room. When the concerto was
finished, he said: "You have done well, my lads. Here is some new music
as a reward."
Once Robert's teacher gave a concert. A chorus of many voices sang a
beautiful piece of music. No orchestra played while the chorus sang;
their only accompaniment was a piano. The audience was amazed to see a
small boy take his place at the instrument and play the accompaniment
with skill. The boy was Robert Schumann.
While Robert was in the high school, he set the one hundred and fiftieth
Psalm to music. He composed not only the music for the singers, but also
an accompaniment for the orchestra. About this time, too, he often
appeared in public concerts.
In 1825 Robert's father died. The boy felt his loss keenly, for no one
else had encouraged him in his music as his father had done. His mother
loved him dearly, but she wished that he might become a lawyer rather
than a musician. She hoped that he might graduate with honors from the
law school. She dreamed that her boy might one day become the finest
lawyer in the empire.