Why did Robert Schumann leave law school to pursue music?

Robert Schumann did not initially choose to study law; he entered the University of Leipzig in 1828 to study law only under significant family pressure.12

He ultimately abandoned his legal studies because his true passion and time were devoted to music, specifically song composition, piano improvisation, and writing. While at university, he began studying the piano seriously with the celebrated teacher Friedrich Wieck, which further solidified his commitment to a musical path. By 1829, he was practicing industriously with the explicit goal of leaving law behind to become a virtuoso pianist, eventually convincing his mother to allow him to return to Leipzig in 1830 to pursue music full-time under Wieck’s instruction.12