Two extremes predominate in writing about the great composers: a tendency to romanticize and mythologize them into inspired demigods, and the current tendency to pull their statues down from their pedestals or perhaps their little composer busts from our pianos. This second view focuses on all of their human flaws, whether real or imagined on scant evidence. One thing is usually above guesswork, though, the concrete historical record in things such as birth certificates, deeds, and lawsuits. The romance of Robert and Clara Schumann involved legal proceedings that tell their own fascinating story, without any need for embellishment. First, the backstory: In 1828, at age 18, Robert was compelled by his family to matriculate at law school in Leipzig, but he had become increasingly enamored by the music of Franz Schubert and was already a fine pianist and composing some piano music and songs. Music eventually won out, of course, …