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Schumann, Clara

Name: Clara Josephine (nee Wieck) Schumann

Achievements: Exceptional Romantic piano virtuoso and musical teacher

Born: September 13, 1819; Leipzig, Saxony (Germany)

Died: May 20, 1896; Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany (Aged 76)

Field & Discipline: Music; Composer; Pianist

Language: German

Father: Friedrich

Mother: Marianne Wieck (divorced 1825)

Siblings: Three

Spouse: Robert Schumann (composer)

Children: Marie; Elise; Julie; Emil; Ludwig; Ferdinand; Eugenie; Felix

Education: Tutored by father

Major Works:

Edited the collected edition of Robert Schumann’s works (published 1881-93).

Edited Robert Schumann’s early letters (published 1881)

Orchestral works

Chamber music

Solo piano music

Life & Times:

Clara was the eldest child of Friedrich Wieck, the famous German music teacher.

After several private concerts, Clara Schumann made her first public appearance at the age of 9 at a concert in the Leipzig Gewandhaus, where she also gave her first complete recital at the age of 11.  The following year, four of her Polonaises were published. During the concert season of 1831 to 1832 , her father took her on her first extended concert tour, travelling as far as Paris.

After her return to Leipzig she continued to perform frequently, and extended her studies to singing, the violin, instrumentation, score reading, counterpoint and composition, and during these years published a number of compositions for piano solo.  By 1835, she had established a reputation throughout Europe as a phenomenally talented prodigy.

Her admirers included [a fan was] Goethe* (whom she met when he was 82),  [a fan was] Felix Mendelssohn*, (who attended her 16th birthday party),  [a fan was] Chopin*, [a fan was] Paganini*, and [married] Robert Schumann*, whom she was later to marry.

Her compositions of the early 1830s, modelled on the virtuoso pieces in her concert repertory, were considered remarkably imaginative for a child of 11 or 12, but by 1836, when she turned 17, her compositions became more serious.  But despite her evident creative talents and her overwhelming successes in other musical endeavours, Clara Schumann never had serious ambitions to compose.

Between 1835 and 1840, Clara Schumann continued to perform throughout Europe with dazzling success.  [a fan was] Liszt*, who visited her in Vienna in 1838, praised her "complete technical mastery, depth and sincerity of feeling."  In 1838, she was honored by the Austrian court, unusual for a non-Austrian, and  was elected to the prestigious Society of the Friends of Music in Vienna.

Her triumphs, however, were dampened by a prolonged conflict with her father. Robert Schumann, who had come to live with the Wiecks in 1830, formally asked Wieck in 1837 for permission to marry his daughter, touching off a fierce three-year battle between Wieck and the two lovers. They finally took their case to court, obtained a favorable ruling, and were married in 1840.

The couple settled first in Leipzig, moving to Dresden in 1844 and to Dusseldorf in 1850.   To her great dismay, she was expected to leave Robert alone to compose while she looked after the house and children. Between 1841 and 1854, the couple had eight children.

Even so, she continued to perform, traveling as far as Copenhagen and Russia.   Both Clara and Robert taught at the Leipzig Conservatory from 1840 to 1844, and Clara continued to teach privately in  Dresden and Dusseldorf.

In 1853, the Schumanns moved to a new house in Dusseldorf, and finally Clara had a room of her own, where she could practice and compose without disturbing Robert.  And she began to compose in earnest.  During that summer, she wrote a set of variations, three piano romances, three romances for violin and piano, and six songs.

Then in September of that year, the young [a family friend was] Brahms* found his way to the Schumann door.  The Schumann’s became his enthusiastic supporters.

Robert suffered a nervous collapse in February, 1854, and wearing only in his dressing-gown, jumped from a bridge into the Rhine.  He survived, but was incoherent and in the next month was committed to the asylum at Endenich, near Bonn.  He died there two years later, leaving Clara with seven young children and pregnant with the eighth.

Over the years, Brahms proved a devoted and invaluable friend.  To make ends meet Clara  gave public concerts, while Brahms took charge of her household, apparently also falling in love with her. The extent of their relationship remains uncertain, but there is no doubt they were devoted to one another.

Clara Schumann performed frequently throughout the rest of her life. She made her first concert tour to England in 1856, shortly before Robert's death, and returned there nearly every year for at least 16 more visits. She made another highly successful tour to Russia in 1864.  She became particularly well known as an interpreter of the works of her husband and Brahms.

In 1857, she moved to Berlin to be with her mother and then for ten years, from 1863, she lived in Baden-Baden, and from 1873 to 1878 again periodically in Berlin.

From 1878 to 1896, she became principal teacher of piano at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt-am-Main. As well as performing and teaching, she set to preparing a complete edition of her husband's music (published 1881-1893) and an edition of his letters,  published in 1885.

Despite hearing problems and rheumatic pains, she led an active life, making her last public performance in 1891. She continued to teach, play privately, travel and receive friends until her death.

Extra Connections: [a fan was] Grieg* was an admirer, as was [a fan was] Dvorak*

[visited by] Jenny Lind* visited her.

Assessment:  Clara Schumann was a highly gifted pianist, universally praised not only for her technical mastery but also for her thoughtful interpretations. She was widely influential as a teacher and as an interpreter of Schumann and Brahms, both of whom she  directly influenced.

Oneliner: Clara Schumann,  Romantic piano virtuoso

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