Liebst du um Schönheit (“If you love for beauty”), Op. 12, No. 4

• “Liebst du um Schönheit” (“If you love for beauty”) was one of Clara Schumann’s contributions to a joint publication of songs called Liebesfrühling (“Love in springtime”) with her husband, Robert Schumann.¹
• This song was composed in 1841 during the first year of the composer’s marriage and beautifully captures the intimacy of the poetry.²

Text by Friedrich Rückert

1. Wendy Thompson, “A Woman’s Life and Love: Songs by Robert and Clara Schumann,” in accompanying booklet, Schumann Lieder performed by Barbara Bonney and Vladimir Ashkenazy, London 452898, 1997, compact disc.
2. Carol Kimball, Song: A Guide to Art Song Style and Literature (Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 2005), 92.