The World of Robert Schumann," the 13-part radio series produced by John Tibbetts, associate professor of theatre and film, has been picked up by the WFMT Radio Network of Chicago for international broadcast. It is being underwritten for $50,000 by Park University in Parkville, Mo.

Schumann's rocky life and musical legacy are dramatized in the series. The Romantic composer lived from 1810 to 1856, and the broadcasts, which will begin this summer, will commemorate the 150th anniversary of his death.

"'The World of Robert Schumann' is a new way of educating people about a composer and his music … It's not enough to read a biography or attend a concert. You have to try to fathom the subject in some three-dimensional or four-dimensional way. And I think that 'The World of Robert Schumann' is going to lead in that direction," said Peter Oswald, author of Robert Schumann: The Inner Voices.

Schumann was part of the 19th century movement in art, politics and philosophy known as "Romanticism." He worked as a composer, pianist and crusading journalist.

He battled mental illness throughout his life and eventually died in a mental institution.

The series uses narrative, commentary, music and dramatic re-enactments to trace Schumann's life.

"I have been working actively on this series for more than 20 years," Tibbetts said. "It has taken that much time to track down and interview the musicians, biographers, scholars and critics heard in the series and to write and produce the episodes.

"We all have artists in our lives who seem to 'speak' to us in special ways. Schumann has been that kind of composer for me and for millions of listeners."