Why did Robert Schumann dedicate poetry to the Tsar Bell in Moscow?

At the end of Winter 1844, the Schumanns arrived in St. Petersburg at the height of the concert season. The musicians spent four weeks in the northern capital: Clara performed, including works by her husband, while Robert himself conducted the first performance of his ‘Symphony No. 1’ in Russia.

The pianist also performed for Empress Alexandra Feodorovna at the Winter Palace. Schumann himself was delighted with the residence of the Russian tsars: "It's like a fairy-tale from the ‘Arabian Nights’," he confessed in a letter to his father-in-law. He called St. Petersburg the most beautiful city in the world.

Clara admired the magnificent interiors of the Assembly of Nobility and the fashionable attire (the likes of which you wouldn't see even in Paris!) among the audience. Their next stop was Tver, where Robert Schumann's uncle lived, and Moscow. In the capital, the composer became obsessed with the Kremlin: he strolled "among magnificent churches, bell towers, old and new buildings of stone and wood". He attended a church service (Clara didn't like it – "the terrible church singing, in which there were only fifths and octaves"). He admired the views from the ancient fortress and reread everything he could find about the history of Moscow, including the events of the War of 1812 and the origins of the Tsar Bell.

Inspired by the city, Schumann wrote the poem ‘The Bell of Ivan the Great’. "It's hidden music! But, I had neither the time nor the peace for musical composition," he wrote, describing it to his father-in-law. Over 20 pages, he recounted not only the bell's history, but also the fire of 1812 and Napoleon's fate. At the poem's conclusion, the bell's caster and Bonaparte both die, atoning for their sin of pride with their own lives.

Four months later, the Schumanns returned home – Robert called his only trip to Russia the best memories of his life.