Richard Kogan Explores the Genius of Composer Robert Schumann

Throughout history, there have been countless prominent people who could be described as “troubled geniuses”—individuals who had both great creativity and mental illness.

In the realm of classical music, perhaps no one better exemplifies this association than 19th century German composer Robert Schumann (1810-1856), according to Richard Kogan, M.D., a clinical professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College, artistic director of the Weill Cornell Music and Medicine Program, and co-director of the Weill Cornell Human Sexuality Program.

Kogan, who is also an award-winning pianist who studied at the Juilliard School, will delve into the mind of Schumann, who likely was dealing with bipolar disorder. The session is part of his “Music and the Mind” series, which combines insightful discussion with musical selections of the subject.

In the case of Schumann, Kogan will present pieces that he believes served as a window into Schumann’s psyche and provided some cathartic relief.

“Schumann did almost no composing when he was depressed, but he remembered the pain of the depression during his prolific manic periods and put that pain into his compositions,” Kogan said. “Schumann largely disdained traditional musical forms and thought rather that music was a means to express one’s inner thoughts.”

For example, Kogan told Psychiatric News that several of Schumann’s works reflect the racing thoughts and flights of ideas that are common during manic episodes.

Some pieces were even written in response to urgings Schumann received from imaginary companions he created during his manic periods, which Schumann (very self-aware of his illness) wrote about in his diaries and letters.

That unconventional style unfortunately made Schumann ahead of his time. Even as he died from self-starvation in an asylum in 1856 after years of failed psychiatric and other therapies, his music was not accepted by his contemporaries.

If there is a silver lining, Schumann’s wife Clara—a brilliant pianist herself—continued to play his music for decades after his death, and eventually he received the recognition he deserved.

The story of Schumann reverberates today when considering people diagnosed with bipolar disorder. “It is still challenging for clinicians to get some patients to comply with treatment regimens because they don’t want to give up the creative highs or productivity associated with hypomania,” Kogan said.

Exploring the case of this troubled 19th century genius can help today’s mental health professionals reflect on the complicated relationship between artistic creativity and psychiatric illness, he continued. ■