Robert Schumann was a German composer of the Romantic era, particularly well known for his piano music and songs, but a significant contributor across all genres. An intellectual, Schumann was deeply interested in literature, and during his lifetime he was at least as well-known for his music criticism as for his own compositions. Schumann was a pianist himself, and many of his works for the instrument were also performed by his wife, Clara, a successful concert pianist with an interest in composing, too.

A major proponent of Romanticism, Schumann is widely acknowledged for his influence on subsequent composers, including Brahms, Wolf, Bruckner, Mahler and even Berg. From the tonal planning of his large-scale works to his setting of texts in lieder or his fondness for musically encoded messages, many of the techniques Schumann introduced were influential to a diverse set of later composers.