Robert Schumann Popular Song Ranking [2026]

Myrthen (Song Cycle)Robert Schumann91rank/position

Schumann: Song cycle Myrtles Op. 25-1 Dedication (arr. Liszt)

Myrthen is the first set of songs composed by Schumann, a song cycle consisting of 26 pieces.

The texts are by various poets, including Goethe and Rückert.

The cycle was dedicated to his wife, Clara, and in 1840—the year of its composition—Schumann and Clara were married.

Song Cycle “A Poet’s Love”Robert Schumann92rank/position

Schumann: Dichterliebe (Heine)

A song cycle set to music by Schumann, based on poems by the German writer Heinrich Heine.

It is Schumann’s most famous collection of songs, and he became a leading composer of Lieder following Schubert.

Composed in 1840, known as the “year of song.” It is also extremely popular as a piano solo arrangement and remains a beloved masterpiece to this day.

“In the wonderful month of May,” from the song cycle “A Poet’s Love”Robert Schumann93rank/position

Im wunderschönen Monat Mai from Dichterliebe by Schumann

This work opens Schumann’s 1840 song cycle.

It delicately depicts the budding feelings of love that come with the arrival of spring.

It begins with a piano prelude, and is notable for the entry of the solo voice before the harmony resolves to the tonic.

Based on a poem by Heine, it skillfully merges the beauty of nature with human emotion.

In that year, Schumann was about to marry Clara Wieck and composed many songs.

This piece was written as part of that outpouring and reflects his love for Clara.

It’s a recommended track for those who want to feel romance and the coming of spring.

Flower Song in D-flat majorRobert Schumann94rank/position

Schumann / Flower Piece in D-flat major, Op. 19 / Performed by Takahiro Sonoda

A work composed under the influence of the literature of the German writer Jean Paul.

It is a piece where literature and music are fused, overflowing with Schumann’s distinctive emotion and sentimentality.

It is said that his wife, Clara, continued to use this piece as an encore in her concerts even after Schumann’s death.

Three RomancesRobert Schumann95rank/position

Three Romances / Yoshiko Kawamoto & Yuko Mifune

Throughout, this piece evokes the fragrance of Schumann’s “Träumerei,” and it’s not uncommon for violinists to select just one movement from it for use in concerts.

Schumann’s own works tend to have dramatic ups and downs, which can divide opinion, but this piece has an almost healing quality, making it recommendable even to those who are hesitant about Schumann.