Robert and Clara Schumann’s life and work converged at the piano. They witnessed and influenced the enormous evolution of piano manufacturing in their various roles as composer, music critic, virtuoso, and teacher. Their creative work demonstrates how advances in instrument-making are a result of craftsmanship coupled with artistic demands. What can modern pianists and listeners learn from the Schumanns’ involvement with the piano? Their activities – improvising, practising, teaching, performing, and composing – were intricately interwoven. Their explorations of pianistic possibilities were always supported by inborn curiosity and artistic aspirations. Stepping back in history and experimenting with historic pianos or replicas renders one sensitive to the interrelation between the art of composition and the instrument. For the modern-day performer, knowledge of historical piano manufacturing is indispensable and can lead to fresh ways of interpreting the Schumanns’ music.