Zwickau
Ferdinand Schumann (1875–1954) was the only grandson of the great composer to complete a course of musical study. In the final years of Clara Schumann’s life, she raised her grandson in her home in Frankfurt and continued to give him piano lessons until the last weeks before her death. At the same time, however, he also trained as a pharmacist, and in this profession he was based in Reinsdorf near Zwickau from 1929 onward. Through photographs, letters, and documents, the special exhibition documents his varied life path and his relationship with his grandmother. Museum admission: 9 euros, reduced 7 euros
In Zwickau's partner city Volodymyr, 3,000 Jews were murdered on November 13/14, 1942. The film set in Ukraine in 1941, starring the Zwickau violinist Elin Kolev in the lead role as the Jewish child prodigy Abrascha, makes this dark period of German-Ukrainian history tangible in a particularly striking way.
Ferdinand Schumann (1875–1954) was the only grandson of the great composer to complete a music degree. In the final years of Clara Schumann’s life, she raised her grandson in her home in Frankfurt and continued to give him piano lessons until the last weeks before her death. At the same time, however, he also trained as a pharmacist, and from 1929 onward he lived in Reinsdorf near Zwickau in that profession. Through photographs, letters, and documents, the special exhibition presents his varied life path and his relationship with his grandmother. Museum admission: 9 euros, reduced 7 euros
Since July 2026, Prof. Dr. Alexis Smith from Hanover College in Indiana (USA) has been working at the Robert Schumann House on the first English edition of the diaries kept by Robert Schumann since his school days in Zwickau. Her lecture offers insights into how the young composer expressed himself in his private writings and demonstrates the possibilities of translation using individual examples. Thomas Synofzik frames the talk with pieces from Robert Schumann's *Papillons* and Clara Wieck's *Polonaises*.
The two Japanese musicians take their listeners into the world of romances with duo works and solo pieces by Robert and Clara Schumann. The musical voices of the artist couple enter into a poetic dialogue and mirror each other in expression, sound, and character. Admission: 10 euros, reduced 7.50 euros
The Robert Schumann House Zwickau is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its inclusion in the Blue Book of Cultural Landmarks: open house with free admission, a free guided tour (2 p.m.), an open Advent carol sing-along (3:30 p.m.) and a musical reading (5 p.m.). In the event hall, the 3-minute film clip about the Cultural Memory Sites can be seen from 1 to 3 p.m. Free admission Contact: Phone: 0375 834406, E-mail: [schumannhaus@zwickau.de](mailto:schumannhaus@zwickau.de)
Reading with music from Eberhard Hilscher’s newly published Schumann novel. The vividly realistic scenes revolve around the years 1843/44, when Robert Schumann had just completed his choral work “Paradise and the Peri” and turned to composing Goethe’s “Faust.” Thomas Synofzik performs from the piano reduction “without words” of “Paradise and the Peri.” Alexandra Beilharz and Dr. Volker Oesterreich (reading and commentary), Thomas Synofzik (piano)
In conjunction with the Priests' Houses Museum, the Robert Schumann House invites visitors to get to know Jewish Hanukkah customs. There are games for young and old, including the game “Bell and Hammer,” which used to be a regular part of Hanukkah evenings and which Robert Schumann also played with his children. Music and the typical oil pastries are also a must.
Everyone is invited to a Christmas carol singalong and festive music by Robert Schumann, Carl Reinecke and others. The famous Album for the Young, which Robert Schumann composed in Dresden in 1848, was originally intended to be called "Christmas Album." It includes pieces such as "Knecht Ruprecht," "Wintertime," and "New Year's Eve Song." Admission: 6 EUR, reduced 4 EUR
For once, it is not Strauss waltzes but Brahms waltzes that take center stage at a New Year’s concert. Brahms, a friend of Johann Strauss and an avowed fan of the Waltz King, also completed his 16 Waltzes for Piano Four Hands, Op. 39, in the waltz capital of Vienna. Works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, Isaac Albéniz and Sergei Rachmaninoff complete the program of the Dresden pianists Pia and Detlef Kaiser. Admission: 10 euros (reduced 7.50 euros)
The Robert Schumann House is presenting eight Sunday concerts under the motto “Schumann Plus.” The concert series has now been running for 15 years; it was launched during the Schumann Year 2010. - Schumann Plus I: Water, 17 January 2027 Songs by Gustav Mahler, Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Lili Boulanger, Rebecca Clarke, Edward Elgar, Claude Debussy, Gabriel Fauré and Franz Schubert Hagar Sharvit (mezzo-soprano), Tatjana Dravenau (piano) The Israeli mezzo-soprano Hagar Sharvit was a prizewinner at the International Robert Schumann Competition in 2016 and subsequently received, among other honors, first prize and the audience prize at the International Song Competition “Das Lied.” She has since released several CDs and performs as an opera, song and concert singer. The Zwickau program revolves around the theme of water, ranging from the beautiful Rhine, through the sound of the sea and the calm of the sea, to the beautiful blue Danube. - Schumann Plus II: Impressions, 21 February 2027 Robert Schumann, Four Fairy-Tale Narratives op. 132 Ludwig van Beethoven, Trio in B-flat major op. 11 Hilda Sehested, Funen Pictures Paul Juon, Trio Miniatures Trio Lentrias: Herbert Hackl (clarinet), Annekatrin Flick (cello), Stefanos Vasileiadis (piano) From Linz in Austria, Trio Lentrias is traveling to bring the repertoire of a recently produced CD featuring rarely heard works by Robert Schumann, Ludwig van Beethoven and the Danish composer and pianist Hilda Sehested, who, under the influence of Claude Debussy, turned to
Julia Drukh, clarinet; Gryta Tatoryte, piano “Albumblatt: Das ist Sehnsucht” is the title of a new program that the Russian clarinetist Julia Drukh is presenting together with the Lithuanian pianist Gryta Tatoryte in Zwickau. Musical autograph albums provided the inspiration for it. Admission: 10 euros (reduced 7.50 euros)
When Robert Schumann was admitted to the Endenich sanatorium in 1854, two young friends came to Düsseldorf to support and cheer up Clara Schumann there in the months that followed: Johannes Brahms and Julius Otto Grimm. Both were at the beginning of their careers as composers. The holdings of the Robert Schumann House include previously unknown letters, portraits, and printed sheet music from this period, which are being exhibited for the first time and shed new light on this eventful time in the lives of Clara and Robert Schumann. The exhibition runs from February 21 to April 25. Admission: 12 euros (reduced 9 euros)
When Robert Schumann was admitted to the Endenich sanatorium in 1854, two young friends came to Düsseldorf to support and cheer up Clara Schumann there in the months that followed: Johannes Brahms and Julius Otto Grimm. Both were at the beginning of their careers as composers. The holdings of the Robert Schumann House include previously unknown letters, portraits, and printed sheet music from this period, which are being exhibited for the first time and shed new light on this eventful time in the lives of Clara and Robert Schumann. The exhibition runs from February 21 to April 25. Admission: 12 euros (reduced 9 euros)
