Even his critical writing, which is as fantastic, subjective, and lyrical as his early music, constitutes a valuable document of the trend and period. Robert Schumann - Composer, Romanticism, Music: As a composer Schumann was first and most naturally a miniaturist.
In 1842 Schumann focused on chamber music, composing three string quartets, the often heard Piano Quintet in E-flat, and the wonderful Piano Quartet in E-flat. Such feverish concentration on a single genre at a time can be seen as typical manic behavior.
Schumann has often been confused with Austrian composer Franz Schubert; one well-known example occurred in 1956, when East Germany issued a pair of postage stamps featuring Schumann's picture against an open score that featured Schubert's music. The stamps were soon replaced by a pair featuring music written by Schumann.
Schuman later served as Minister of Justice before becoming the first President of the European Parliamentary Assembly (the successor to the Common Assembly ), which bestowed on him by acclamation the title 'Father of Europe'. He is considered one of the founding fathers of the European Union.