Robert Schumann[1] (German:[ˈʃuːman]; 8June 1810–29July 1856) was a German composer and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career as a virtuoso pianist. His teacher, Friedrich Wieck, a German pianist, had assured him that he could become the finest pianist in Europe, but a hand injury ended this dream. Schumann then focused his musical energies on composing.
In 1840, after a long and acrimonious legal battle with Wieck, who opposed the marriage, Schumann married Wieck's daughter Clara. Before their marriage, Clara—also a composer—had substantially supported her father through her considerable career as a pianist. Together, Clara and Robert encouraged, and maintained a close relationship with, Johannes Brahms.
Until 1840, Schumann wrote exclusively for the piano. Later, he composed piano and orchestral works, many Lieder (songs for voice and piano). He composed four symphonies, one opera, and other orchestral, choral, and chamber works. His most famous works include Carnaval, Symphonic Studies, Kinderszenen, Kreisleriana, and the Fantasie in C. His writings about music appeared mostly in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik (New Journal for Music), a Leipzig-based publication that he co-founded.
Schumann suffered from a mental disorder that first manifested in 1833 as a severe melancholic depressive episode—which recurred several times alternating with phases of "exaltation" and increasingly also delusional ideas of being poisoned or threatened with metallic items. After a suicide attempt in 1854, Schumann was admitted at his own request to a mental asylum in Endenich near Bonn. Diagnosed with psychotic melancholia, he died two years later in 1856 at the age of 46 without recovering from his mental illness.
Biography
Early life

Schumann was born in Zwickau, in the Kingdom of Saxony, the fifth and last child of Johanna Christiane (née Schnabel) and August Schumann.[2] Schumann began to compose before the age of seven, but his boyhood was spent in the cultivation of literature as much as music – undoubtedly influenced by his father, a bookseller, publisher, and novelist.[3]
At age seven, Schumann began studying general music and piano with Johann Gottfried Kuntzsch, a teacher at the Zwickau high school. The boy immediately developed a love of music, and worked on his own compositions, without the aid of Kuntzsch. Even though he often disregarded the principles of musical composition, he created works regarded as admirable for his age. The Universal Journal of Music 1850 supplement included a biographical sketch of Schumann that noted, "It has been related that Schumann, as a child, possessed rare taste and talent for portraying feelings and characteristic traits in melody, — ay, he could sketch the different dispositions of his intimate friends by certain figures and passages on the piano so exactly and comically that everyone burst into loud laughter at the similitude of the portrait."[4]
At age 14, Schumann wrote an essay on the aesthetics of music and also contributed to a volume, edited by his father, titled Portraits of Famous Men. While still at school in Zwickau, he read the works of the German poet-philosophers Schiller and Goethe, as well as Byron and the Greek tragedians. His most powerful and permanent literary inspiration was Jean Paul, a German writer whose influence is seen in Schumann's youthful novels Juniusabende, completed in 1826, and Selene.
Schumann's interest in music was sparked by attending a performance of Ignaz Moscheles playing at Karlsbad, and he later developed an interest in the works of Beethoven, Schubert, and Mendelssohn. His father, who had encouraged his musical aspirations, died in 1826 when Schumann was 16. Thereafter, neither his mother nor his guardian encouraged him to pursue a music career. In 1828, Schumann left school, and after a tour during which he met Heinrich Heine in Munich, he went to Leipzig to study law (to meet the terms of his inheritance). In 1829, he continued his law studies in Heidelberg, where he became a lifelong member of Corps Saxo-Borussia Heidelberg.

1830–34

During Eastertide 1830, he heard the Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer Niccolò Paganini play in Frankfurt. In July he wrote to his mother, "My whole life has been a struggle between Poetry and Prose, or call it Music and Law." By Christmas he was back in Leipzig, at age 20 taking piano lessons from his old master Friedrich Wieck, who assured him that he would be a successful concert pianist after a few years' study with him.[5]
During his studies with Wieck, some stories claim that Schumann permanently injured a finger on his right hand. Wieck claimed that Schumann damaged his finger by using a mechanical device that held back one finger while he exercised the others—which was supposed to strengthen the weakest fingers.[6] Clara Schumann discredited the story, saying the disability was not due to a mechanical device, and Robert Schumann himself referred to it as "an affliction of the whole hand." Some argue that, as the disability appeared to have been chronic and have affected the hand, and not just a finger, it was not likely caused by a finger strengthening device.[7]
Schumann abandoned the idea of a concert career and devoted himself instead to composition. To this end he began a study of music theory under Heinrich Dorn, a German composer six years his senior and, at that time, conductor of the Leipzig Opera. About this time Schumann considered composing an opera on the subject of Hamlet.
Papillons
The fusion of literary ideas with musical ones—known as program music—may have first taken shape in Papillons, Op. 2 (Butterflies), a musical portrayal of events in Jean Paul's novel Die Flegeljahre. In a letter from Leipzig dated April 1832, Schumann bids his brothers, "Read the last scene in Jean Paul's Flegeljahre as soon as possible, because the Papillons are intended as a musical representation of that masquerade." This inspiration is foreshadowed to some extent in his first written criticism—an 1831 essay on Frédéric Chopin's variations on a theme from Mozart's Don Giovanni, published in the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung. In it, Schumann
creates imaginary characters who discuss Chopin's work: Florestan (the embodiment of Schumann's passionate, voluble side) and Eusebius (his dreamy, introspective side)—the counterparts of Vult and Walt in Flegeljahre. They call on a third, Meister Raro, for his opinion. Raro may represent either the composer himself, Wieck's daughter Clara, or the combination of the two (Cla<b data-parsoid='{"dsr":[9917,9925,3,3]}'>ra + Ro</b>bert).
In the winter of 1832, at age 22, Schumann visited relatives in Zwickau and Schneeberg, where he performed the first movement of his Symphony in G minor (without opus number, known as the "Zwickauer"). In Zwickau, the music was performed at a concert given by Clara Wieck, who was then just 13 years old. On this occasion Clara played bravura Variations by Henri Herz, a composer whom Schumann was already deriding as a philistine.[8] Schumann's mother said to Clara, "You must marry my Robert one day."[9] The Symphony in G minor was not published during Schumann's lifetime, but has been played and recorded in recent times.
The 1833 deaths of Schumann's brother Julius and his sister-in-law Rosalie in the worldwide cholera pandemic brought on a severe depressive episode.

Neue Zeitschrift für Musik
By spring 1834, Schumann had sufficiently recovered to inaugurate Die Neue Zeitschrift für Musik ("New Journal for Music"), first published on 3 April 1834. Schumann published most of his critical writings in the journal, and often lambasted the popular taste for flashy technical displays from figures whom Schumann perceived as inferior composers. Schumann campaigned to revive interest in major composers of the past, including Mozart, Beethoven, and Weber. He also promoted the work of some contemporary composers, including Chopin (about whom Schumann famously wrote, "Hats off, Gentlemen! A genius!")[10] and Hector Berlioz, whom he praised for creating music of substance. On the other hand, Schumann disparaged the school of Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner. Among Schumann's associates at this time were composers Norbert Burgmüller and Ludwig Schuncke (to whom Schumann dedicated his Toccata in C).
During the summer of 1834 Schumann became engaged to 16-year-old Ernestine von Fricken, the adopted daughter of a rich Bohemian-born noble. In August 1835, he learned that Ernestine von Fricken was born illegitimate, which meant that she would have no dowry. Fearful that her limited means would force him to earn his living like a "day-labourer," Schumann made a complete break with her toward the end of the year. He felt a growing attraction to 15-year-old Clara Wieck. They made mutual declarations of love in December in Zwickau, where Clara appeared in concert. His budding romance with Clara was disrupted when her father learned of their trysts during the Christmas holidays. He summarily forbade them further meetings, and ordered all their correspondence burnt.
Carnaval
Carnaval, Op. 9 (1834) is one of Schumann's most characteristic piano works. Schumann begins nearly every section of Carnaval with a musical cryptogram, the musical notes signified in German by the letters that spell Asch (A, E-flat, C, and B, or alternatively A-flat, C, and B; in German these are A, Es, C and H, and As, C and H respectively), the Bohemian town in which Ernestine was born, and the notes are also the musical letters in Schumann's own name. Eusebius and Florestan, the imaginary figures appearing so often in his critical writings, also appear, alongside brilliant imitations of Chopin and Paganini. The work comes to a close with a march of the Davidsbündler—the league of King David's men against the Philistines—in which may be heard the clear accents of truth in contest with the dull clamour of falsehood embodied in a quotation from the seventeenth century Grandfather's Dance. The march, a step nearly always in duple meter, is here in 3/4 time (triple meter). The work ends in joy and a degree of mock-triumph. In Carnaval, Schumann went further than in Papillons, by conceiving the story as well as the musical representation (and also displaying a maturation of compositional resource).
1835–39
On 3 October 1835, Schumann met Felix Mendelssohn at Wieck's house in Leipzig, and his enthusiastic appreciation of that artist[11] was shown with the same generous freedom that distinguished his acknowledgement of the greatness of Chopin and other colleagues, and later prompted him to publicly pronounce the then-unknown Johannes Brahms a genius.

In 1837 Schumann published his Symphonic Studies, a complex set of étude-like variations written in 1834–1835, which demanded a finished piano technique. These variations were based on a theme by the adoptive father of Ernestine von Fricken. The work—described as "one of the peaks of the piano literature, lofty in conception and faultless in workmanship" [Hutcheson] – was dedicated to the young English composer William Sterndale Bennett, for whom Schumann had had a high regard when they worked together in Leipzig.
The Davidsbündlertänze, Op.6, (also published in 1837 despite the low opus number) literally "Dances of the League of David", is an embodiment of the struggle between enlightened Romanticism and musical philistinism. Schumann credited the two sides of his character with the composition of the work (the more passionate numbers are signed F. (Florestan) and the more dreamy signed E. (Eusebius)). The work begins with the "motto of C.W." (Clara Wieck) denoting her support for the ideals of the Davidsbund.  The Bund was a work of Schumann's imagination, members of which were kindred spirits (as he saw them) such as Chopin, Paganini and Clara, as well as the personalized Florestan and Eusebius.
Kinderszenen, Op. 15, completed in 1838 and a favourite of Schumann's piano works, depicts the innocence and playfulness of childhood. The "Träumerei" in F major, No. 7 of the set, is one of the most famous piano pieces ever written, and has been performed in myriad forms and transcriptions. It has been the favourite encore of several great pianists, including Vladimir Horowitz. Melodic and deceptively simple, the piece is "complex" in its harmonic structure.[12]

Kreisleriana, Op. 16 (1838), considered one of Schumann's greatest works, carried his fantasy and emotional range deeper. Johannes Kreisler was a fictional musician created by poet E. T. A. Hoffmann, and characterized as a "romantic brought into contact with reality." Schumann used the figure to express emotional states in music that is "fantastic and mad." According to Hutcheson ("The Literature of the Piano"), this work is "among the finest efforts of Schumann's genius. He never surpassed the searching beauty of the slow movements (Nos. 2, 4, 6) or the urgent passion of others (Nos. 1, 3, 5, 7) […] To appreciate it a high level of aesthetic intelligence is required […] This is no facile music, there is severity alike in its beauty and its passion."
The Fantasie in C, Op. 17, composed in the summer of 1836, is a work of passion and deep pathos, imbued with the spirit of the late Beethoven. Schumann intended to use proceeds from sales of the work toward the construction of a monument to Beethoven, who had died in 1827. The first movement of the Fantasie contains a musical quote from Beethoven's song cycle, An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98 (at the Adagio coda, taken from the last song of the cycle). The original titles of the movements were Ruins, Triumphal Arch, and The Starry Crown. According to Franz Liszt,[13] who played the work for Schumann and to whom it was dedicated, the Fantasie was apt to be played too heavily, and should have a dreamier (träumerisch) character than vigorous German pianists tended to impart. Liszt also said: "It is a noble work, worthy of Beethoven, whose career, by the way, it is supposed to represent".[14] Again, according to Hutcheson: "No words can describe the Phantasie, no quotations set forth the majesty of its genius. It must suffice to say that it is Schumann's greatest work in large form for piano solo."

After a visit to Vienna, during which he discovered Franz Schubert's previously unknown Symphony No. 9 in C, in 1839 Schumann wrote the Faschingsschwank aus Wien (Carnival Prank from Vienna). Most of the joke is in the central section of the first movement, which makes a thinly veiled reference to La Marseillaise. (Vienna had banned the song due to harsh memories of Napoleon's invasion.) The festive mood does not preclude moments of melancholic introspection in the Intermezzo.
1840–49
From 1832 to 1839, Schumann wrote almost exclusively for piano, but in 1840 alone he wrote at least 138 songs. Indeed, 1840 (the Liederjahr or year of song) is highly significant in Schumann's musical legacy, despite his earlier deriding of works for piano and voice as inferior.
After a long and acrimonious legal battle with her father, Schumann married Clara Wieck on 12 September 1840, at Schönefeld, the day before her 21st birthday. Had they waited another day, they would no longer have required her father's consent. Their marriage supported a remarkable business partnership, with Clara  acting as an inspiration, critic, and confidant to her husband. Despite her delicate appearance, she was an extremely strong-willed and energetic woman, who kept up a demanding schedule of concert tours in between bearing several children. Two years after their marriage, Friedrich Wieck at last reconciled himself with the couple, eager to see his grandchildren.
Prior to the legal case and subsequent marriage, the lovers exchanged love letters and rendezvoused in secret. Robert often waited for hours in a cafe in a nearby city just to see Clara for a few minutes after one of her concerts. The strain of this long courtship and its consummation may have led to this great outpouring of Lieder (vocal songs with piano accompaniment). This is evident in Widmung, for example, where he uses the melody from Schubert's Ave Maria in the postlude in homage to Clara. Schumann's biographers attribute the sweetness, doubt, and despair of these songs to the emotions aroused by his love for Clara and the uncertainties of their future together.
Robert and Clara had eight children, Emil (1846–1847), who died at 1 year; Marie (1841–1929); Elise (1843–1928); Julie (1845–1872); Ludwig (1848–1899); Ferdinand (1849–1891); Eugenie (1851–1938); and Felix (1854–1879).

His chief song-cycles in this period were settings of the Liederkreis of Joseph von Eichendorff, Op. 39 (depicting a series of moods relating to or inspired by nature); the Frauenliebe und -leben of Chamisso, Op. 42 (relating the tale of a woman's marriage, childbirth and widowhood); the Dichterliebe of Heine, Op. 48 (depicting a lover rejected, but coming to terms with his painful loss through renunciation and forgiveness); and Myrthen, a collection of songs, including poems by Goethe, Rückert, Heine, Byron, Burns and Moore. The songs Belsatzar, Op. 57 and Die beiden Grenadiere, Op. 49, both to Heine's words, show Schumann at his best as a ballad writer, although the dramatic ballad is less congenial to him than the introspective lyric. The Opp. 35, 40 and 98a sets (words by Justinus Kerner, Chamisso and Goethe respectively), although less well known, also contain songs of lyric and dramatic quality.

In 1841 he wrote two of his four symphonies, No. 1 in B-flat, Op. 38, Spring and No. 4 in D minor (the latter, a pioneering essay in 'cyclic form', was performed that year but published only much later after revision and extensive re-orchestration as Op. 120). He devoted 1842 to composing chamber music, including the Piano Quintet in E-flat, Op. 44, now one of his best known and most admired works; the Piano Quartet and three string quartets. In 1843 he wrote Paradise and the Peri, his first essay at concerted vocal music, an oratorio style work based on Lalla-Rookh by Thomas Moore. After this, his compositions were not confined to any one form during any particular period.
The stage in his life when he was deeply engaged in setting Goethe's Faust to music (1844–53) was a critical one for his health. He spent the first half of 1844 with Clara on tour in Russia. On returning to Germany, he abandoned his editorial work and left Leipzig for Dresden, where he suffered from persistent "nervous prostration". As soon as he began to work, he was seized with fits of shivering and an apprehension of death, experiencing an abhorrence of high places, all metal instruments (even keys), and drugs. Schumann's diaries also state that he suffered perpetually from imagining that he had the note A5 sounding in his ears.
His state of unease and neurasthenia is reflected in his Symphony in C, numbered second, but third in order of composition, in which the composer explores states of exhaustion, obsession and depression, culminating in Beethovenian spiritual triumph. Also published in 1845 was his Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54, originally conceived and performed as a one-movement Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra in 1841. It is one of the most popular and oft-recorded of all piano concertos; according to Hutcheson "Schumann achieved a masterly work and we inherited the finest piano concerto since Mozart and Beethoven".

In 1846, he felt he had recovered. In the winter, the Schumanns revisited Vienna, traveling to Prague and Berlin in the spring of 1847 and in the summer to Zwickau, where he was received with enthusiasm. This pleased him, since until that time he was famous in only Dresden and Leipzig.
His only opera, Genoveva, Op. 81, premiered in Spring 1850.[15] In it, Schumann attempted to abolish recitative, which he regarded as an interruption to the musical flow (an influence on Richard Wagner; Schumann's consistently flowing melody can be seen as a forerunner to Wagner's Melos). The subject of Genoveva – based on Ludwig Tieck and Christian Friedrich Hebbel –was not an ideal choice. The text is often considered to lack dramatic qualities; the work has not remained in the repertoire. As early as 1842 the possibilities of German opera had been keenly realized by Schumann, who wrote, "Do you know my prayer as an artist, night and morning? It is called 'German Opera.' Here is a real field for enterprise ... something simple, profound, German". And in his notebook of suggestions for the text of operas are found amongst others: Nibelungen, Lohengrin and Till Eulenspiegel.
The music to Byron's Manfred was written in 1849, the overture of which is one of Schumann's most frequently performed orchestral works. The insurrection of Dresden caused Schumann to move to Kreischa, a little village a few miles outside the city. In August 1849, on the occasion of the centenary of Goethe's birth, such scenes of Schumann's Scenes from Goethe's Faust as were already completed were performed in Dresden, Leipzig and Weimar. Liszt gave him assistance and encouragement. The rest of the work was written later in 1849, and the overture (which Schumann described as "one of the sturdiest of [his] creations") in 1853.
After 1850

From 1850 to 1854, Schumann composed in a wide variety of genres. Critics have disputed the quality of his work at this time; a widely held view has been that his music showed signs of mental breakdown and creative decay. More recently, critics have suggested that the changes in style may be explained by "lucid experimentation".[16]
In 1850, Schumann succeeded Ferdinand Hiller as musical director at Düsseldorf, but he was a poor conductor and quickly aroused the opposition of the musicians. According to Harold C. Schonberg, in his 1967 The Great Conductors: "The great composer was impossible on the platform ... There is something heartrending about poor Schumann's epochal inefficiency as a conductor."[17] His contract was eventually terminated. By the end of that year he completed his Symphony No. 3, "Rhenish" (a work containing five movements and whose 4th movement is apparently intended to represent an episcopal coronation ceremony). In 1851 he revised what would be published as his fourth symphony. From 1851 to 1853 he visited Switzerland, Belgium and Leipzig.
On 30 September 1853, the 20-year-old composer Johannes Brahms arrived unannounced at the door of the Schumanns carrying a letter of introduction from violinist Joseph Joachim. (Schumann was not at home, and would not meet Brahms until the next day.) Brahms amazed Clara and Robert with his music, stayed with them for several weeks, and became a close family friend. (He later worked closely with Clara to popularize Schumann's compositions during her long widowhood.)
During this time Schumann, Brahms and Schumann's pupil Albert Dietrich collaborated on the composition of the F-A-E Sonata for Joachim; Schumann also published an article, "Neue Bahnen" ("New Paths") in the Neue Zeitschrift (his first article in many years), hailing the unknown young Brahms from Hamburg, a man who had published nothing, as "the Chosen One" who "was destined to give ideal expression to the times."[18] It was an extraordinary way to present Brahms to the musical world, setting up great expectations that he did not fulfill for many years.[19] In January 1854, Schumann went to Hanover, where he heard a performance of his Paradise and the Peri organized by Joachim and Brahms. Two years later at Schumann's request, the work received its first English performance conducted by William Sterndale Bennett.

Schumann returned to Düsseldorf and began to edit his complete works and make an anthology on the subject of music. He suffered a renewal of the symptoms that had threatened him earlier. Besides the single note sounding in his ear (possibly evidence of tinnitus), he imagined that voices sounded in his ear and he heard angelic music. One night he suddenly left his bed, having dreamt or imagined that a ghost (purportedly the spirit of either Schubert or Mendelssohn) had dictated a "spirit theme" to him. The theme was one he had used several times before: in his Second String Quartet, again in his Lieder-Album für die Jugend, and finally in the slow movement of his Violin Concerto. In the days leading up to his suicide attempt, Schumann wrote five variations on this theme for the piano, his last completed work, today known as the Geistervariationen (Ghost Variations).[20] Brahms published it in a supplementary volume to the complete edition of Schumann's piano music. In 1861 Brahms published his Variations for Piano Four Hands, Op. 23, based on this theme.

Final illness and death
In late February 1854, Schumann's symptoms increased, the angelic visions sometimes being replaced by demonic ones. He warned Clara that he feared he might do her harm. On 27 February, he attempted suicide by throwing himself from a bridge into the Rhine River (his elder sister Emilie had committed suicide in 1825, possibly by drowning herself). Rescued by boatmen and taken home, he asked to be taken to an asylum for the insane. He entered Dr. Franz Richarz's sanatorium in Endenich, a quarter of Bonn, and remained there until he died on 29 July 1856 at the age of 46. During his confinement, he was not allowed to see Clara, although Brahms was free to visit him. Clara finally visited him two days before his death. He appeared to recognize her, but was able to speak only a few words.[21]
Given his reported symptoms, one modern view is that he died from syphilis, which he could have contracted during his student days, and which could have remained latent during most of his marriage.[22] According to studies by the musicologist and literary scholar Eric Sams, Schumann's symptoms during his terminal illness and death appear consistent with those of mercury poisoning; mercury was a common treatment for syphilis and other conditions. Another possibility is that his neurological problems were the result of an intracranial mass. A report by Janisch and Nauhaus on Schumann's autopsy indicates that he had a "gelatinous" tumor at the base of the brain; it may have represented a colloid cyst, a craniopharyngioma, a chordoma, or a chordoid meningioma.[23] In particular, meningiomas are known to produce musical auditory hallucinations such as Schumann reported.[24] It has also been hypothesised that he suffered from either schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and bipolar II disorder.[25] Other sources have supported a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, citing his mood swings and changes in productivity.
Schumann heard a persistent A-note at the end of his life. It was a form of tinnitus, or perhaps an auditory hallucination related to his major depressive episode. At times, he had musical hallucinations that were longer than just the single A, but his diaries include comments about hearing that annoying single note.[26][27][28][29]
After Robert's death, Clara continued her successful career as a concert pianist, which supported the family. From mid-career on, she mainly performed music by leading composers. A hired cook and housekeeper tended to the children while she traveled. In 1856, she first visited England. The critics received Robert's music coolly, with Henry Fothergill Chorley being particularly harsh. She returned to London in 1865 and made regular appearances there in later years, often performing chamber music with the violinist Joseph Joachim and others. She became the authoritative editor of her husband's works for Breitkopf & Härtel. It was rumoured that she and Brahms destroyed many of Schumann's later works, which they thought were tainted by his madness, but only the Five Pieces for Cello and Piano are known to have been destroyed. Most of Schumann's late works, particularly the Violin Concerto, the Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra and the Violin Sonata No. 3, all from 1853, have entered the repertoire.
Legacy

Schumann had considerable influence in the nineteenth century and beyond, despite his adoption of more conservative modes of composition after his marriage. He left an array of acclaimed music in virtually all the forms then known. Partly through his protégé Brahms, Schumann's ideals and musical vocabulary became widely disseminated. Composer Sir Edward Elgar called Schumann "my ideal."
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.

Compositions
List of compositions by Robert Schumann
Category:Compositions by Robert Schumann
Media portrayals
Dreaming (1944) is a UFA movie starring Mathias Wieman as Schumann, Hilde Krahl as Clara Wieck, Ullrich Haupt as Johannes Brahms, and Emil Lohkamp as Franz Liszt.
Song of Love (1947) is an MGM film starring Paul Henreid as Schumann, Katharine Hepburn as Clara Wieck, Robert Walker as Johannes Brahms, and Henry Daniell as Franz Liszt.[30]
Peter Schamoni's 1983 movie Frühlingssinfonie (Spring Symphony) tells the story of Schumann and Wieck's romance, against her father's opposition. Robert was played by Herbert Grönemeyer, Clara by Nastassja Kinski, and Clara's father by Rolf Hoppe. The role of Niccolò Paganini was played by the violinist Gidon Kremer. The score was written by Grönemeyer and conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch.
The Andrew Crumey novel Mobius Dick has a chapter depicting Schumann at Endenich.
Seinfeld: Robert Schumann is mentioned in a 1991 episode of Seinfeld "The Jacket".
Geliebte Clara ("Beloved Clara") was a 2008 Franco-German-Hungarian film about the lives of Clara and Robert.[31]
Notes

Sources
Berthold Litzmann, Clara Schumann, an Artist's Life, based on material found in diaries and letters, transl. and abridged from the fourth ed. by Grace E. Hadow, MacMillan, London, Breitkopf and Härtel, Leipzig, 1918
Beate Perrey, Ed., The Cambridge Companion to Schumann, Cambridge University Press, 2007
Wilhelm Joseph von Wasielewski, Robert Schumann, Dresden, 1858.
The Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and General Information, 1911

Daverio, John, Robert Schumann, Herald of a "New Poetic Age", Oxford University Press, 1997
Daverio, J, "Robert Schumann," Grove music online, L Macy (ed), accessed 24 June 2007
Scholes, Percy A, The Oxford Companion to Music, Tenth Edition, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1970 ISBN0193113066.
Fuller-Maitland, John Alexander. (1884). Schumann. S. Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington (reissued by Cambridge University Press, 2009; ISBN978-1-108-00481-7)

CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
Rice-See, Lynn (2008). The Piano Teaching of Walter Hautzig with 613 Examples from the Works of Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, and Chopin, Edwin Mellen Press. ISBN0-7734-4981-7

 The author argues that the composer was mentally normal all his life, until the sudden onset of insanity near the end resulting from tertiary syphilis.

Life and works
 at the Encyclopædia Britannica
 – text by Robert Schumann

 – edition of letters written by Robert and Clara Schumann

 at Internet Archive (texts)
Sheet music
Free scores by Robert Schumann at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
Free scores by Main Page in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
 at the Mutopia Project
 at Project Gutenberg
Recordings and MIDI
, from the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara Library.
 at Internet Archive (audio and video)

Kunst der Fuge
 on YouTube


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In the 1970s the Burntisland yard switched from shipbuilding to prefabricating modules of superstructure for offshore oil platforms, but orders were intermittent and by the 1980s the yard was largely idle. In 1990 new owners returned the yard to production as Burntisland Fabrications or BiFab, resuming the manufacture of superstructure modules for oil platforms. Under a management buyout in 2001 the Burntisland yard returned to being an independent company.[2]
Founding and early years
Brothers Amos and Wilfrid Ayre founded Burntisland Shipbuilding Co. in 1918 as a First World War emergency shipyard.[1] Its yard at Burntisland West Dock had four berths and capacity to build ships up to 450 feet (140m) long[1] and up to 59 feet (18m) beam.[3] However, until the 1950s Burntisland built relatively few vessels more than about 425 feet (130m) long and 57 feet (17.4m) beam.[3]
The yard was connected to the North British Railway by an extensive internal rail network that carried steel to various parts of the yard.[1]
Burntisland's first three vessels were standard "C" type cargo ships[1] of just over 3,100 GRT each for the UK Government's wartime Shipping Controller, laid down in 1918 as hull numbers 101, 102 and 103.[3] They were launched in 1919 after the Armistice: hull 101 in June as War Brosna, 102 in September as War Dodder and 103 in November as War Tolka.[3]
Burntisland's first peacetime order was for a pair of 2,300 GRT cargo steamers for Compagnie Lasry of Oran, Algeria.[3] Hulls 104 and 105 were launched in 1920 as Nelly Lasry and Sidney Lasry.[3] In the 1920s the yard built merchant ships ranging from coasters of about 600 tons to ocean-going cargo ships of up to 4,700 tons GRT.[3] Most common were ocean-going four- or five-hold[1] tramp steamers of 1,500 to 2,500 tons.[3]
The yard also built a number of arch-deck colliers[3] from 900 to 2,300 tons GRT.[3] Burntisland built numerous flatiron colliers with low superstructures, hinged funnel and hinged or telescopic mast(s) to fit under bridges upriver from the Pool of London on the River Thames.[1] Burntisland's first flatiron was hull 119, launched in 1922 as the 932 GRT coastal collier Wandle for the Wandsworth, Wimbledon and Epsom District Gas Company.[3] From 1923 to 1946 Burntisland built a further 11 colliers for the same customer, which from 1932 was called the Wandsworth and District Gas Company.[3]
Surviving the Great Depression
Being built in 1918 the yard was modern, well-equipped and thus well-placed to compete during the Great Depression. In 1929 the company introduced its
"Burntisland Economy" ship design, intended for maximum fuel efficiency.[1] The concept was popular with ship-owners during the depression and Burntisland continued the design with a succession of developments during the 1930s.[1]
Some ships that Burntisland built for shipping companies went on to become Empire ships under the Ministry of War Transport in the Second World War. Hull 164, launched in 1935 as Roxburgh, became Empire Tower in 1942. Hull 207, launched in 1937 as Ginnheim, became Empire Ouse in 1945.[3]
Burntisland continued to build numerous colliers. Hulls 171 and 172, launched in 1932 as Alexander Kennedy and Ferranti, were a pair of 1,315 GRT flatirons for the London Power Company,[3] which operated Battersea Power Station and Deptford Power Station. Burntisland went on to build six further colliers for the LPC between 1933 and 1945.[3]

Hull 173 was launched in 1932 as Wandle, a 1,482 GRT flatirons for the Wandsworth, Wimbledon and Epsom District Gas Company.[3] She replaced the previous Wandle that Burntisland had built for the same owner in 1922 (see above).[3]
Hull 174 was launched in 1933 as London Queen, a 781 GRT coaster for the London and Channel Islands Shipping Company.[3] Her owners became British Channel Islands Shipping Co, for whom Burntisland launched a further seven ships between 1937 and 1948.[3]
Hulls 178 and 179, launched in 1933 and 1934 as Pulborough and Petworth, were for Stephenson, Clarke and Associates.[3] Burntisland went on to build eight ships for Stephenson, Clarke spread over nearly 30 years, the last being hull 398 launched in 1961 as MV Gilsland.[3]
Hull 184, launched in 1934 as MV<i>Charles M, was Burntisland's first diesel ship.[3] She was a 403 GRT coaster with a Humboldt-Deutz engine and was built for T.J. Metcalf of London.[3] Burntisland built a second Humboldt-Deutz-engined motor coaster for Metcalf, hull 196, that was launched in 1936 as MV<i>Daniel M.[3]
Hulls 191 and 192, launched in 1935 as Corbrae and Corburn, were for William Cory & Son.[3] Over the next 21 years Burntisland went on to build a total of 17 colliers for Cory, the last two being hulls 376 and 378 launched in 1956 as MV Corstar and MV Corsea.[3]
Hulls 193–195 were a trio of flatirons launched in successive years as Fulham in 1935, Fulham II in 1936 and Fulham III in 1937.[3] They were built for the Metropolitan Borough of Fulham[3] to supply Fulham Power Station. Burntisland went on to build six further flatirons for Fulham between 1938 and 1948.[3]
Hull 213, launched in 1938 as MV Derrymore, was a 4,799 GRT cargo ship for McCowen and Gross of London.[3] Burntisland went on to build a further five ships for McCowen and Gross between 1938 and 1951.[3]
Second World War

During the Second World War Burntisland continued to concentrate on building merchant ships.[1] However, in 1943 it also built three Loch-classfrigates:[1] HMS<i>Loch Fyne, HMS<i>Loch Killin and HMS<i>Loch Glendhu.[3]
In May 1941 Burntisland launched hull 233 as Merton, the first of several large standard-design 7,195 GRT cargo ships for the Carlton Steam Ship Co of Newcastle upon Tyne.[3] War shipping needs and losses called for an unprecedented rate of shipbuilding.[3] In July, August and October 1941 Burntisland launched three further large ships of the same standard design for Carlton.[3] They included Earlston, which was torpedoed and sunk off the North Cape in July 1942 less than a year after her launch.[3] Burntisland launched a further two large ships per year for Carlton in 1942–44.[3]
Also in 1941, Burntisland started to build colliers for the Gas Light and Coke Company to supply Beckton Gas Works in east London. Hull 235 was launched in April as the 2,816 GRT Adams Beck.[3] Burntisland went on to build five further colliers for the GL&CC in the 1940s.[3]
In 1942 Burntisland launched hull 264 as the 7,043 GRT cargo ship MV Highland Prince for Prince Line.[3] In 1944 hull 280 was launched as the 7,150 GRT MV Scottish Prince.[3] Burntisland went on to build eight further merchant ships for Prince line between 1946 and 1960.[3]
Burntisland built a number of war standard ships for the Ministry of War Transport, including the 7,290 GRT hulls 261 and 266 launched as Empire Rosalind and Empire Glory in 1942 and 1943.[3] Other MoWT orders included two merchant aircraft carriers: hull 268 launched in 1942 as MV<i>Empire MacAlpine and hull 277 launched in 1943 as MV<i>Empire MacKendrick.[3] Hulls 291 to 294 were launched in February and March 1944 as CHANT 66 to CHANT 69: part of the large CHANT fleet of 400 GRT prefabricated coastal tankers.[3]
Wartime demand rose so high that in 1944–45 Burntisland subcontracted orders for five coasters to Hall, Russell & Company of Aberdeen: hulls 270, 273, 274, 276 and 281.[3]
In April 1945 Burntisland launched hull 290, the 7,541 GRT Padana for the British-India Steam Navigation Company.[3] BI ordered two more cargo ships from Burntisland after the war (see below).
Completion of MoWT orders continued after the surrender of Germany with the launches of hull 298 in May 1945 as the 1,337 GRT coaster Empire Pacific and finally hull 289 in July as the 7,134 GRT cargo ship MV Empire Calshot.[3]
Post-war production
Burntisland continued to build colliers after the war. Hulls 295 and 301, launched in 1946 as Chessington and Mitcham, were the last two flatirons for the Wandsworth and District Gas Co. Hull 328 was launched in 1948 as MV Adams Beck for the GL&CC.[3] Under the Gas Act 1948 the Wandsworth and District Gas Co became part of South Eastern Gas Board, whom Burntisland supplied with five further flatirons between 1949 and 1956.[3]
Hulls 307 and 308, launched in 1947 and 1948 as the 1,776 GRT MV Fulham VIII and 1,759 GRT MV Fulham IX,[3] were the last two flatirons for Fulham Borough Council before the Electricity Act 1947 nationalised Britain's electricity supply industry. Burntisland supplied one collier for the new state-owned British Electricity Authority: hull 341, launched in 1951 as the 1,837 GRT Brimsdown,[3] named after Brimsdown Power Station in north London.
Burntisland maintained its reputation for high quality tramps and cargo-liners.[1] By 1945 a majority of orders were for motor vessels.[3] Hulls 316 and 317 were a pair of 3,668 GRT sister ships for British-India S.N. Co launched in 1948 as MV<i>Warora and MV<i>Warla.[3] Each had a Barclay Curle-Doxford three-cylinder diesel engine.[3]
Hulls 319–321 were launched for the newly founded Christensen Canadian African Lines as the 3,623 GRT MV Thorshall in May 1948, 3,632 GRT MV Thorstrand in December 1948 and 3,713 GRT MV Thorsisle in March 1949.[3] Each ship had a Hawthorn Leslie-Doxford four-cylinder diesel engine.[3]
Hull 330 was launched in 1949 as MV Sycamore, a 3,343 GRT cargo ship for Johnston Warren Lines of Liverpool.[3] Further orders from Johnston Warren Lines were hulls 353 and 355 launched in 1954 as the 3,596 GRT MV Beechmore and 3,597 GRT MV Pinemore, and hull 385 launched in 1958 as the 6,659 GRT cargo ship MV Mystic.[3]
Hulls 334 and 335 were a pair of 3,364 GRT cargo liners for Prince line, launched in 1950 as MV<i>Afric Prince and MV<i>Egyptian Prince.[3] Each ship had a 300 BHP Hawthorn Leslie four-cylinder diesel engine, a top speed of 14 knots (26km/h) and accommodation for 12 passengers.[3]
Hull 337 was launched in February 1951 as MV Derrymore, a 5,678 GRT cargo ship that replaced one of the same name that Burntisland built for the same customer in 1938.[3] Before the end of 1951 the new Derrymore passed to O. Gross's Power Steam Ship Co as MV Huntsmore.[3] Burntisland built three further ships for Power S.S. Co between 1954 and 1958.[3]
Hull 349 was launched in September 1952 as MV Master Nicos, an 8,453 GRT cargo ship for Motores Maritimos Compañía Limitada, a Greek-owned company registered in Costa Rica.[3] From February 1952 until her launch the resident engineer supervising Master Nicos' construction was Victoria Drummond MBE, the first British woman to have qualified as a marine engineer.[4]
During and after the Second World War the demand for larger cargo ships increased. Burntisland's slipways and berths were limited in size, but in the 1950s the yard managed to build a number of ships of more than 450 feet (140m) length and 60 feet (18.3m) beam.[3] Hull 347, launched in 1954 as the 6,515 GRT MV<i>Huntsland for Power S.S. Co, had a length and beam of 477 feet (145m) and 64 feet (19.5m).[3] Hull 362, launched in 1956 as the 8,390 GRT (11,850 DWT) MV<i>Capetan Cardemalitis for the Tramp Chartering Corporation of Piraeus, had a length, beam and draught of 479 feet (146m), 63 feet (19.2m) and 28 feet (8.5m).[3]
Hull 367, launched in October 1956 as the 1,873 GRT MV Kingston, was the final flatiron collier for the South Eastern Gas Board. She also turned out to be the last of 28 flatirons that Burntisland had built for various customers over a period of 34 years.[3]
In the 1950s The Scottish and Mercantile Investment Co bought a majority shareholding in the company.[1] However, the Ayre brothers continued to manage the business.[1]
By the mid-1950s orders were sufficient for Burntisland to subcontract two coasters to Hall Russell in Aberdeen. In 1956 Hall Russell launched hull 378 as the 3,373 GRT MV Corsea for Wm. Cory.[3] Hull 379 was launched in Aberdeen as Winga for Glen and Company of Glasgow and completed in 1957.[3] Winga proved to be Burntisland's last steam-powered ship.[3]
Turbine steamers
In the 1950s there were far fewer orders for ships with reciprocating steam engines. However, geared steam turbines are more compact, more powerful and less vibratory than reciprocating engines. Early in the 1950s Burntisland took two orders for steam turbine cargo ships.
The first order was for a pair of ore carriers for the Panamanian Pan Ore Steam Ship Co, Inc.[3] Hull 352 was launched in 1953 as the 5,000 GRT TSS<i>Dispatcher.[3] Her sister ship hull 351 was launched in 1954 as the 4,952 GRT TSS<i>Discoverer.[3] David Rowan and Company of Glasgow, part of Lithgows Limited,[5] built the turbines and reduction gearing for both ships.[3]
The second turbine order was hull 377, launched in 1956 as TSS<i>Sunvictor for Skibs A/S Geirulv (Gjeruldsen & Tambs) of Arendal, Norway.[3] Her turbine was built by Scotts of Greenock on the River Clyde.[3]
Cancellations and redundancies
In the 1950s Burntisland suffered a number of cancelled orders. Hull 365 was cancelled in 1954 and hull 368 in 1955, but worse came with the cancellation of six hulls in 1959–60.[3] The first three cancelled hulls were all for Power S.S. Co. in about 1959.[3] The last cancellation was hull 396 for Prince Line in about 1960.[3] This left hull 395, launched as the 4,800 GRT MV Lancastrian Prince, as Burntisland's last completed order for Prince Line.
By 2 July 1959 Burntisland Shipbuilding had laid off 100 workers and it was rumoured in the House of Commons that the company was to close down.[6] On 30 October 1959 a new Labour MP, Harry Gourlay, whose Kirkcaldy Burghs constituency included Burntisland, made his maiden speech to the House of Commons.[7] In it he reported that in 1957 about 1,700 people had been employed in shipyards in Kirkcaldy and Burntisland but this workforce had now been reduced to about 800.[7]
On 26 July 1962 Harry Gourlay again expressed concern in the Commons that Burntisland Shipbuilding had made a number of its employees redundant.[8] However, the Conservative MP Frederick Erroll, President of the Board of Trade, replied that the redundancies had not increased unemployment in Burntisland.[8]
On 5 November 1962 Gourlay told the Commons that he blamed the Conservative Government's economic policy for the decline of shipbuilding in the United Kingdom.[9] William Whitelaw MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour, denied this and replied that the Ministry of Labour planned to create a centre in Fife to retrain redundant workers for alternative employment.[9]
On 14 March and 27 May 1963 and Gourlay told the Commons that Burntisland Shipbuilding had cut its workforce from about 1,500 in 1961 to just over 500 in 1963.[10][11] (An alternative source states that in 1961 Burntisland had 1,000 employees.)[1] On 14 March Gourlay pleaded for small shipyards on the east coast of Scotland such as Burntisland to be awarded War Department contracts[10] and on 27 May he claimed in the Commons that the Local Employment Act had not led to the creation of any new jobs in Burntisland.[11] Whitelaw conceded that the number of shipyard workers unemployed in Burntisland had risen from six in May 1961 to 116 in May 1963.[11]
In 1963 Sir Wilfrid Ayre retired after 45 years at the head of the company.[1]
1960s production
Metcalf Motor Coasters renewed its relationship with Burntisland by ordering five new coastal tankers: hull 399 launched in 1961 as MV Ann M, hull 404 launched in 1962 as MV John M, hull 410 launched in 1964 as MV Frank M, hull 411 launched in 1965 as MV Nicholas M and finally hull 417 launched in 1966 as MV Eileen M.[3]
Burntisland succeeded in securing orders from notable customers. Hull 402, launched in 1962 as MV Montreal City and hull 406, launched in 1964 as MV Halifax City were sister ships of just over 6,500 GRT for Bristol City Line.[3] Hull 403, launched in 1962 as MV Beaverpine, was a 4,514 GRT cargo ship for Canadian Pacific Steamships.[3] Hulls 407 and 408, launched in 1964 as MV Newfoundland and MV Nova Scotia, were a pair of 6,660 GRT sister ships for Furness Withy.[3]
Hulls 414 and 415 were also coastal tankers, built as specialist liquid gas carriers.[3] The sister ships were launched for the Nile Steam Ship Co as MV Teviot in 1965 and MV Traquair in 1966 respectively.[3] Burntisland also built a larger tanker, hull 416, launched in 1965 as the 3,971 GRT MV Olau Mark for Olau Line of Denmark.
MV Ohrmazd and receivership
Hull 418 was launched in April 1967 as the 11,046 GRT MV<i>Ohrmazd, a fast passenger and cargo liner for the East & West Steamship Company of Karachi, Pakistan.[12] However, protracted negotiations with Ohrmazd's owners over the ship's specification delayed her completion until November 1968.[12] This activated a penalty clause in the building contract from which Burntisland Shipbuilding proved unable to recover,[12] and the company went into receivership in 1968.[1]
On 20 December 1968 the Burntisland yard was facing closure and a Conservative MP, James Prior, told the Commons that he hoped it could be averted,[13] but on 22 January 1969 the announcement was made that the yard would close.[14] The next day, 23 January, the Commons debated the Labour Government's Shipbuilding Industry Bill. The Labour MP Gerald Fowler, Joint Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Technology, told the House:
"We in the Ministry of Technology have spared no effort to find, if we can, a commercial solution to this problem to keep this yards in shipbuilding, and the hon. Member for Kirkcaldy Burghs (Mr. Gourlay) has made as strenuous an effort to save this yard, as could be expected of any constituency Member, and all credit is due to him for that, and I hope that his efforts and ours will be rewarded with success."[14]
Under the Shipbuilding Act 1967 the Labour Government offered credit to help the shipbuilding industry. Therefore, during 23 January debate Edward Garrett, Labour MP for Wallsend asked the Minister of Technology, Tony Benn MP, about Burntisland Shipbuilding, "Is it true that since the credit facilities became available little attempt has been made by management, and, I fear, by the Minister, to ascertain whether the medium and small yards are being helped to become more economic?"[14]
A day later, 24 January, the Scottish National Party MP Winnie Ewing asked in the Commons if the Ministry of Technology would form a government holding company to buy the Burntisland yard and keep it and all its employees at work.[15] Gerald Fowler said that it would not, and "the best hope of a long-term solution would be if a shipbuilding undertaking which can find orders capable of being carried out profitably at this yard were to take it over".[15]
On 29 January in the Commons Willie Hamilton, Labour MP for West Fife, called for a public enquiry into the causes of the Burntisland yard's closure.[16] In his reply, Gerald Fowler said:
"I hope that we can reach a commercial and viable solution which will enable the yard to stay in production. However, I must point out that the assistance voted by this House in the Shipbuilding Industry Act was meant to be used not to save uneconomic yards but to assist reorganisation with a view to promoting competitiveness in the industry. If the Burntisland yard fits that pattern, I shall be pleased, but I do not think that an inquiry would help us as of now."[16]
Final ships
Burntisland launched four more ships after launching Ohrmazd. Hull 419, launched in 1967 as MV Peter Schröder and hull 420, launched in 1968 as MV Paul Schröder, were a pair of cargo ships each of just over 5,000 GRT for Reederei Richard Schröder of Hamburg, Germany. Hull 421, launched in 1968 as MV Christiane Bolten, was a similar cargo ship for another Hamburg customer, the long-established August Bolten William Miller's Nachfolger. Hull 422 was the yard's final vessel, another cargo ship similar to the Peter Schröder and Paul Schröder. She was launched in April 1969 as MV<i>Helen Miller[3] for the St. Vincent Shipping Co. of Liverpool and completed ahead of schedule that July.[12] The yard then made about 800 of its remaining workers redundant.[17]
On 30 April 1970, during another Shipbuilding Bill debate in the Commons, the Liberal MP Jo Grimond asked "Is there any news about the site at Burntisland? ... I understand that it is out of shipbuilding. Is it out of the industry altogether? Is it being used on prefabrication or for any other purpose?"[18] Harold Lever MP, Paymaster General, replied that the Burntisland yard "is now satisfactorily in the East Scotland Group and quite active." Grimond immediately asked "Will it build again?", to which Lever replied "I think it is building now. It is functioning well in another reasonably successful group."[18]
Burntisland's new owner was Robb-Caledon Shipbuilders of Leith and Dundee. On 31 January 1972 Gourlay told the Commons "Now there are only 80 persons employed there [i.e. at Burntisland yard], and even their jobs are in jeopardy unless something is done very soon."[17] His Labour colleague Dick Douglas MP added:
"My hon. Friend indicates a specific problem. It may be that the good offices of the Department can be used to ensure that some of the work that Robb Caledon takes on board is dispersed not only to the Burntisland yard but to the Dundee yard, in view of the present high level of unemployment. The male rate is running at 12.3 per cent., and the local figure is 9.8 per cent. of the insured population of Dundee and Broughty Ferry."[17]
Burntisland still built no more ships, and on 11 February 1972 Robb-Caledon made another 10 workers at Burntisland redundant[19] In the Commons on 6 March 1972 Gourlay again pleaded for Government money to help keep the yard open.[20] The Conservative MP Nicholas Ridley replied that the Department for Trade and Industry had no proposals to help Robb-Caledon.[20] Robb-Caledon eventually removed Burntisland's equipment to its other yards.[1][12]
Offshore oil and gas fabrications
Robb-Caledon eventually succeeded in attracting orders to build structures for Scotland's North Sea oil and natural gas industry. By December 1972 Burntisland was building a structure for Shell's Auk oilfield.[21] This was followed in 1973 by an order for modules for North Sea oil platforms.[22] By November 1974 Robb-Caledon had formed a Burntisland Engineering Fabricators (BEF) subsidiary and the yard was building modules for the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, but Gourlay complained in the Commons that the yard had lost a potential order for an oil rig to an overseas competitor for reasons of cost and "the geographical conditions on the site".[23]
In April 1975 John Smith MP, Under-Secretary of State for the Department of Energy told the Commons that BEF was one of the UK's two largest constructors for the offshore oil and gas industry.[24] It had not secured orders for offshore platforms but had become the UK's leading builder of modules to fit on them.[24] In December 1975 Gregor Mackenzie MP, a minister at the Department of Industry told the Commons that his department had lent BEF £450,000 under the Industry Act 1972, had given its parent company Robb-Caledon a £400,000 loan and almost £1.1 million in grants and the company was also eligible for grants under the Local Employment Act.[25]
Nationalisation and closure

Under the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977 the Labour Government nationalised the UK's shipbuilding industry. Robb-Caledon became a wholly owned subsidiary of British Shipbuilders, which thereby held a 52% share in BEF.[26]
On 7 January 1979 Burntisland was nearing completion of its current order and Gourlay asked in the Commons whether the Secretary of State for Industry "will hold discussions to ensure the continuing operation of the yard at Burntisland when the present contract is completed".[27] Les Huckfield MP replied on behalf of the Secretary of State "Although there are no further orders in prospect for the yard, British Shipbuiders is using its best endeavours to sell the yard as a going concern, thereby preserving employment".[27]
On 24 October 1979 Gourlay told the Commons of the closure of the Burntisland yard and asked what George Younger MP, Secretary of State for Scotland would do to help the unemployed to find to re-employment.[28]
Revival
In 1990 under new owners Burntisland West Dock resumed the production of major offshore oil and gas fabrications. In 2001 a management buyout took over the yard as Burntisland Fabrications or BiFab. The company now also owns a yard at Methil[2] in Fife and a facility at Arnish on Lewis in the Outer Hebrides.[29]
Football club

In 1919 a recreation fund was established, funded by a weekly subscription from the workers' wages. The fund created a cricket team, bowls team and two football teams. In 1925 the football teams were constituted as Burntisland Shipyard Amateur F.C., and since 1929 the club has competed in the qualifying stages of the Scottish Cup. The club is a member of the Kingdom Caledonian Football League.

Further reading

Photograph of  on Picasa web albums
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What was the largest ship built by the Burntisland Shipbuilding Company?


Menstruation, also known as a period or monthly,[1] is the regular discharge of blood and mucosal tissue (known as menses) from the inner lining of the uterus through the vagina.[2] The first period usually begins between twelve and fifteen years of age, a point in time known as menarche.[1] However, periods may occasionally start as young as eight years old and still be considered normal.[2] The average age of the first period is generally later in the developing world, and earlier in the developed world.[3] The typical length of time between the first day of one period and the first day of the next is 21 to 45 days in young women, and 21 to 31 days in adults (an average of 28 days).[2][3] Bleeding usually lasts around 2 to 7 days.[2] Menstruation stops occurring after menopause, which usually occurs between 45 and 55 years of age.[4] Periods also stop during pregnancy and typically do not resume during the initial months of breastfeeding.[2]

Up to 80% of women report having some symptoms prior to menstruation.[5] Common signs and symptoms include acne, tender breasts, bloating, feeling tired, irritability, and mood changes.[6] These may interfere with normal life, therefore qualifying as premenstrual syndrome, in 20 to 30% of women.[5] In 3 to 8%, symptoms are severe.[5]

A lack of periods, known as amenorrhea, is when periods do not occur by age 15 or have not occurred in 90 days.[2] Other problems with the menstrual cycle include painful periods and abnormal bleeding such as bleeding between periods or heavy bleeding.[2] Menstruation in other animals occur in primates (apes and monkeys).[7][8]

The menstrual cycle occurs due to the rise and fall of hormones.[2] This cycle results in the thickening of the lining of the uterus, and the growth of an egg, (which is required for pregnancy).[2] The egg is released from an ovary around day fourteen in the cycle; the thickened lining of the uterus provides nutrients to an embryo after implantation.[2] If pregnancy does not occur, the lining is released in what is known as menstruation.[2]

Onset and frequency

The first menstrual period occurs after the onset of pubertal growth, and is called menarche. The average age of menarche is 12 to 15.[1][9] However, it may start as early as eight.[2] The average age of the first period is generally later in the developing world, and earlier in the developed world.[3] The average age of menarche has changed little in the United States since the 1950s.[3]
Menstruation is the most visible phase of the menstrual cycle and its beginning is used as the marker between cycles. The first day of menstrual bleeding is the date used for the last menstrual period (LMP). The typical length of time between the first day of one period and the first day of the next is 21 to 45 days in young women, and 21 to 31 days in adults (an average of 28 days).[2][3]
Perimenopause is when fertility in a female declines, and menstruation occurs less regularly in the years leading up to the final menstrual period, when a female stops menstruating completely and is no longer fertile. The medical definition of menopause is one year without a period and typically occurs between 45 and 55 in Western countries.[4][10]:p. 381
During pregnancy and for some time after childbirth, menstruation does not occur. The average length of postpartum amenorrhoea is longer when breastfeeding; this is termed lactational amenorrhoea.
Health effects

In most women, various physical changes are brought about by fluctuations in hormone levels during the menstrual cycle. This includes muscle contractions of the uterus (menstrual cramping) that can precede or accompany menstruation. Some may notice water retention, changes in sex drive, fatigue, breast tenderness, or nausea. Breast swelling and discomfort may be caused by water retention during menstruation.[11] Usually, such sensations are mild, and some females notice very few physical changes associated with menstruation. A healthy diet, reduced consumption of salt, caffeine and alcohol, and regular exercise may be effective for women in controlling some symptoms.[12] Severe symptoms that disrupt daily activities and functioning may be diagnosed as premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Symptoms before menstruation are known as premenstrual molimina.
Cramps

Many women experience painful cramps, also known as dysmenorrhea, during menstruation.[13] Pain results from ischemia and muscle contractions. Spiral arteries in the secretory endometrium constrict, resulting in ischemia to the secretory endometrium. This allows the uterine lining to slough off.  The myometrium contracts spasmodically in order to push the menstrual fluid through the cervix and out of the vagina. The contractions are mediated by a release of prostaglandins.
Painful menstrual cramps that result from an excess of prostaglandin release are referred to as primary dysmenorrhea. Primary dysmenorrhea usually begins within a year or two of menarche, typically with the onset of ovulatory cycles.[14] Treatments that target the mechanism of pain include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and hormonal contraceptives. NSAIDs inhibit prostaglandin production. With long-term treatment, hormonal birth control reduces the amount of uterine fluid/tissue expelled from the uterus. Thus resulting in shorter, less painful menstruation.[15] These drugs are typically more effective than treatments that do not target the source of the pain (e.g. acetaminophen).[16] Risk factors for primary dysmenorrhea include: early age at menarche, long or heavy menstrual periods, smoking, and a family history of dysmenorrhea.[14] Regular physical activity may limit the severity of uterine cramps.[14]
For many women, primary dysmenorrhea gradually subsides in late second generation. Pregnancy has also been demonstrated to lessen the severity of dysmenorrhea, when menstruation resumes.  However, dysmenorrhea can continue until menopause. 5–15% of women with dysmenorrhea experience symptoms severe enough to interfere with daily activities.[14]
Secondary dysmenorrhea is the diagnosis given when menstruation pain is a secondary cause to another disorder. Conditions causing secondary dysmenorrhea include endometriosis, uterine fibroids, and uterine adenomyosis. Rarely, congenital malformations, intrauterine devices, certain cancers, and pelvic infections cause secondary dysmenorrhea.[14] Symptoms include pain spreading to hips, lower back and thighs, nausea, and frequent diarrhea or constipation.[17] If the pain occurs between menstrual periods, lasts longer than the first few days of the period, or is not adequately relieved by the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or hormonal contraceptives, women should be evaluated for secondary causes of dysmenorrhea.[10]:p. 379
When severe pelvic pain and bleeding suddenly occur or worsen during a cycle, the woman or girl should be evaluated for ectopic pregnancy and spontaneous abortion. This evaluation begins with a pregnancy test and should be done as soon as unusual pain begins, because ectopic pregnancies can be life‑threatening.[18]
In some cases, stronger physical and emotional or psychological sensations may interfere with normal activities, and include menstrual pain (dysmenorrhea), migraine headaches, and depression. Dysmenorrhea, or severe uterine pain, is particularly common for young females (one study found that 67.2% of girls aged 13–19 have it).[19]
The medications in the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) class are commonly used to relieve menstrual cramps. Some herbs are also claimed to help.[20]
Mood and behavior
Some women experience emotional disturbances starting one or two weeks before their period, and stopping soon after the period has started.[6] Symptoms may include  mental tension, irritability, mood swings, and crying spells. Problems with concentration and memory may occur.[6] There may also be depression or anxiety.[6]
This is part of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and is estimated to occur in 20 to 30% of women. In 3 to 8% it is severe.[5]
More severe symptoms of anxiety or depression may be signs of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Rarely, in individuals who are susceptible, menstruation may be a trigger for menstrual psychosis.
Extreme psychological stress can also result in periods stopping.[21]
Bleeding
The average volume of menstrual fluid during a monthly menstrual period is 35 milliliters (2.4 tablespoons of menstrual fluid) with 10–80 milliliters (1–6 tablespoons of menstrual fluid) considered typical. Menstrual fluid is the correct name for the flow, although many people prefer to refer to it as menstrual blood. Menstrual fluid contains some blood, as well as cervical mucus, vaginal secretions, and endometrial tissue. Menstrual fluid is reddish-brown, a slightly darker color than venous blood.[10]:p. 381
About half of menstrual fluid is blood. This blood contains sodium, calcium, phosphate, iron, and chloride, the extent of which depends on the woman. As well as blood, the fluid consists of cervical mucus, vaginal secretions, and endometrial tissue. Vaginal fluids in menses mainly contribute water, common electrolytes, organ moieties, and at least 14 proteins, including glycoproteins.[22]
Many mature females notice blood clots during menstruation. These appear as clumps of blood that may look like tissue. If there are questions (for example, was there a miscarriage?), examination under a microscope can confirm if it was endometrial tissue or pregnancy tissue (products of conception) that was shed.[23] Sometimes menstrual clots or shed endometrial tissue is incorrectly thought to indicate an early-term miscarriage of an embryo. An enzyme called plasmin – contained in the endometrium – tends to inhibit the blood from clotting.
The amount of iron lost in menstrual fluid is relatively small for most women.[24] In one study, premenopausal women who exhibited symptoms of iron deficiency were given endoscopies. 86% of them actually had gastrointestinal disease and were at risk of being misdiagnosed simply because they were menstruating.[25] Heavy menstrual bleeding, occurring monthly, can result in anemia.
Menstrual disorders
There is a wide spectrum of differences in how women experience menstruation. There are several ways that someone's menstrual cycle can differ from the norm, any of which should be discussed with a doctor to identify the underlying cause:

There is a movement among gynecologists to discard the terms noted above, which although they are widely used, do not have precise definitions.  Many now argue to describe menstruation in simple terminology, including:
Cycle regularity (irregular, regular, or absent)
Frequency of menstruation (frequent, normal, or infrequent)
Duration of menstrual flow (prolonged, normal, or shortened)
Volume of menstrual flow (heavy, normal, or light)[26]
Dysfunctional uterine bleeding is a hormonally caused bleeding abnormality.  Dysfunctional uterine bleeding typically occurs in premenopausal women who do not ovulate normally (i.e. are anovulatory). All these bleeding abnormalities need medical attention; they may indicate hormone imbalances, uterine fibroids, or other problems. As pregnant women may bleed, a pregnancy test forms part of the evaluation of abnormal bleeding.
Women who had undergone female genital mutilation (particularly type III- infibulation)  a practice common in parts of Africa, may experience menstrual problems, such as slow and painful menstruation, that is caused by the near-complete sealing off of the vagina.[27]
Premature or delayed menarche should be investigated if menarche begins before 9 years, if menarche has not begun by age 15, if there is no breast development by age 13, or if there is no period by 3 years after the onset of breast development.[3]
Sexual activity
Sexual intercourse during menstruation does not cause damage in and of itself, but the woman's body is more vulnerable during this time. Vaginal pH is higher and thus less acidic than normal,[28] the cervix is lower in its position, the cervical opening is more dilated, and the uterine endometrial lining is absent, thus allowing organisms direct access to the bloodstream through the numerous blood vessels that nourish the uterus. All these conditions increase the chance of infection during menstruation.[29]
Ovulation suppression
Birth control

Hormonal contraception affects the frequency, duration, severity, volume, and regularity of menstruation and menstrual symptoms.
The most common form of hormonal contraception is the combined birth control pill, which contains both estrogen and progestogen. It is typically taken in 28-day cycles, 21 hormonal pills with either a 7-day break from pills, or 7 placebo pills during which the woman menstruates. Although the primary function of the pill is to prevent pregnancy, it may be used to treat some menstrual symptoms and syndromes which affect menstruation, such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, adenomyosis, amenorrhea, menstrual cramps, menstrual migraines, menorrhagia (excessive menstrual bleeding), menstruation-related or fibroid-related anemia and dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation).[30][31]  Using the combined birth control pill, it is also possible for a woman to delay or completely eliminate menstrual periods, a practice called menstrual suppression.[32] Some women do this simply for convenience in the short-term,[33] while others prefer to eliminate periods altogether when possible. This can be done either by skipping the placebo pills, or using an extended cycle combined oral contraceptive pill, which were first marketed in the U.S. in the early 2000s.
Injections such as depo-provera became available in the 1960s. When using progestogen implants, menstruation may be reduced to 3 or 4 menstrual periods per year.
Progestogen-only contraceptive pills (sometimes called the 'mini pill') are taken continuously without a 7-day span of using placebo pills, and therefore menstrual periods are less likely to occur than with the combined pill with placebo pills. However, disturbance of the menstrual cycle is common with the mini-pill; 1/3-1/2 of women taking it will experience prolonged periods, and up to 70% experience break-through bleeding (metrorrhagia). Irregular and prolonged bleeding is the most common reason that women discontinue using the mini pill.[34]
History
When the first birth control pill was being developed, the researchers were aware that they could use the contraceptive to space menstrual periods up to 90 days apart, but they settled on a 28-day cycle that would mimic a natural menstrual cycle and produce monthly periods.  The intention behind this decision was the hope of the inventor, John Rock, to win approval for his invention from the Roman Catholic Church. That attempt failed, but the 28-day cycle remained the standard when the pill became available to the public.[35]
There is debate among medical researchers about the potential long-term impacts of these practices upon female health. Some researchers point to the fact that historically, females have had far fewer menstrual periods throughout their lifetimes, a result of shorter life expectancies, as well as a greater length of time spent pregnant or breast-feeding, which reduced the number of periods experienced by females.[36] These researchers believe that the higher number of menstrual periods by females in modern societies may have a negative impact upon their health. On the other hand, some researchers believe there is a greater potential for negative impacts from exposing females perhaps unnecessarily to regular low doses of synthetic hormones over their reproductive years.[37]
Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding causes negative feedback to occur on pulse secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). Depending on the strength of the negative feedback, breastfeeding women may experience complete suppression of follicular development, follicular development but no ovulation, or normal menstrual cycles may resume.[38] Suppression of ovulation is more likely when suckling occurs more frequently.[39] The production of prolactin in response to suckling is important to maintaining lactational amenorrhea.[40] On average, women who are fully breastfeeding whose infants suckle frequently experience a return of menstruation at fourteen and a half months postpartum. There is a wide range of response among individual breastfeeding women, however, with some experiencing return of menstruation at two months and others remaining amenorrheic for up to 42 months postpartum.[41]
Menstrual management

Menstruation is managed by menstruating women to avoid damage to clothing or to accord with norms of public life. Menstrual management practices range from medical suppression of menstruation, through wearing special garments or other items, washing or avoidance of washing, disposal and laundry of stained materials, to separation of menstruators to particular places or activities.
Menstrual products (also called "feminine hygiene" products) are made to absorb or catch menstrual blood. A number of different products are available - some are disposable, some are reusable. Where women can afford it, items used to absorb or catch menses are usually commercially manufactured products.
There are disposable products:

Sanitary napkins (also called sanitary towels or pads) – Rectangular pieces of material worn attached to the underwear to absorb menstrual flow, often with an adhesive backing to hold the pad in place. Disposable pads may contain wood pulp or gel products, usually with a plastic lining and bleached.
Tampons – Disposable cylinders of treated rayon/cotton blends or all-cotton fleece, usually bleached, that are inserted into the vagina to absorb menstrual flow.
Disposable menstrual cups made of soft plastic – A firm, flexible cup-shaped device worn inside the vagina to collect menstrual flow.
Reusable products include:

Menstrual cups – A firm, flexible bell-shaped device worn inside the vagina to collect menstrual flow. Menstrual cups are usually made of silicone and can last 5 years or longer.
Reusable cloth pads – Pads that are made of cotton (often organic), terrycloth, or flannel, and may be handsewn (from material or reused old clothes and towels) or storebought.
Padded panties or period-proof underwear – Reusable cloth (usually cotton) underwear with extra absorbent layers sewn in to absorb flow. Some also use patented technology to be leak resistant, such as the brand THINX.
Sea sponges – Natural sponges, worn internally like a tampon to absorb menstrual flow.
Blanket, towel – (also known as a draw sheet) – large reusable piece of cloth, most often used at night, placed between legs to absorb menstrual flow.
In developing countries, many poor women cannot afford commercial feminine hygiene products.[42] Instead, they use materials found in the environment or other improvised materials. Absorption materials that may be used by women who cannot afford anything else include: sand, ash, small hole in earth,[43] cloth, whole leaf, leaf fibre (such as water hyacinth, banana, papyrus, cotton fibre), paper (toilet paper, re-used newspaper, pulped and dried paper),[44] animal pelt e.g. goat skin,[43] double layer of underwear, skirt or sari.[45]
Society and culture

Traditions, taboos and education

Many religions have menstruation-related traditions, for example: Islam prohibits sexual contact with women during menstruation in the 2nd chapter of the Quran. Some scholars argue that menstruating women are in a state in which they are unable to maintain wudhu, and are therefore prohibited from touching the Arabic version of the Qur'an. Other biological and involuntary functions such as vomiting, bleeding, sexual intercourse, and going to the bathroom also invalidate one's wudhu.[46] In Judaism, a woman during menstruation is called Niddah and may be banned from certain actions. For example, the Jewish Torah prohibits sexual intercourse with a menstruating woman.[47] In Hinduism, menstruating women are traditionally considered ritually impure and given rules to follow. During menstruation, women are not allowed to “enter the kitchen and temples", wear flowers, have sex, touch other males or females.”[48] Western civilization, which has been predominantly Christian, has a history of menstrual taboos.
Menstruation education is frequently taught in combination with sex education at school in Western countries, although girls may prefer their mothers to be the primary source of information about menstruation and puberty.[49] Information about menstruation is often shared among friends and peers, which may promote a more positive outlook on puberty.[50] The quality of menstrual education in a society determines the accuracy of people's understanding of the process.[51] In many Western countries where menstruation is a taboo subject, girls tend to conceal the fact that they may be menstruating and struggle to ensure that they give no sign of menstruation.[51] Effective educational programs are essential to providing children and adolescents with clear and accurate information about menstruation. Schools can be an appropriate place for menstrual education to take place.[52] Programs led by peers or third-party agencies are another option.[52]
Evolution
Most female mammals have an estrous cycle, yet only ten primates species, four bats species, the elephant shrew, and the spiny mouse have a menstrual cycle.[53][54] The relatedness of these groups suggests that four distinct evolutionary events have caused menstruation to arise.[55]
Some anthropologists have questioned the energy cost of rebuilding the endometrium every fertility cycle. It has proposed that the energy savings of not having to continuously maintain the uterine lining more than offsets energy cost of having to rebuild the lining in the next fertility cycle, even in species such as humans where much of the lining is lost through bleeding (overt menstruation) rather than reabsorbed (covert menstruation).[56][57]
Many have questioned the evolution of overt menstruation in humans and related species, speculating on what advantage there could be to losing blood associated with dismantling the endometrium, rather than absorbing it, as most mammals do.  Humans do, in fact, reabsorb about two-thirds of the endometrium each cycle. Some work asserts that overt menstruation occurs not because it is beneficial in itself.  Rather, the fetal development of these species requires a more developed endometrium, one which is too thick to reabsorb completely. There is a correlation between species that have overt menstruation to those that have a large uterus relative to the adult female body size.[56]
Recent reviews suggest that menstruation itself is not an evolved, adaptive trait. Rather, it is an inherent consequence of spontaneous decidualization evolving as a derived trait from non-spontaneous decidualization.[55]
The grandmother hypothesis is a hypothesis to explain the existence of menopause in human life history by identifying the adaptive value of extended kin networking.
Beginning in 1971, some research suggested that menstrual cycles of cohabiting human females became synchronized (menstrual synchrony). However, there is currently significant dispute as to whether menstrual synchrony exists.[58] A 2013 review concluded that menstrual synchrony likely does not exist.[59]
See also
Menstrual cycle
Menstrual Hygiene Day

Further reading

Is a break period necessary on birth control?