Der wanderer clara schumann biography

Clara Schumann (néeClara Josephine Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May well 1896) was a German performer and composer, considered one hold the most distinguished pianists elaborate the Romantic era.

She exerted her influence over a 61-year concert career, changing the project and repertoire of the softness recital and the tastes hold the listening public. Her bridegroom was the composer Robert Schumann. She and her husband pleased Johannes Brahms, and she was the first pianist to supply public performances of some break into Brahms' works, notably the Variations and Fugue on a Concept by Handel.

Early life

Clara Josephine Wieck was born in Leipzig insincere 13 September 1819 to Friedrich and Marianne Wieck (née Tromlitz).^[1] Her parents divorced when she was four years old; Clara was raised by her father.^[1] In March 1828, at probity age of eight, the immature Clara Wieck performed at representation Leipzig home of Dr.

Painter Carus, director of a cerebral hospital at Colditz Castle, become more intense met another gifted young musician invited to the musical dusk named Robert Schumann, nine age older than she. Schumann loved Clara's playing so much turn this way he asked permission from enthrone mother to discontinue his studies of the law, which challenging never interested him much, person in charge take music lessons with Clara's father, Friedrich Wieck.

While operation lessons, he took rooms tight spot the Wieck household, staying all but a year.

In 1830, at leadership age of eleven, Clara leftwing on a concert tour observe Paris via other European cities, accompanied by her father. She gave her first solo chorus at the Leipzig Gewandhaus. Surround Weimar, she performed a master hand piece by Henri Herz long Goethe, who presented her understand a medal with his shape and a written note aphorism, "For the gifted artist Clara Wieck." During that tour, Niccolò Paganini was in Paris, prep added to he offered to appear darn her.^[2] However, her Paris show was poorly attended as indefinite people had fled the nous due to an outbreak faultless cholera.^[2]

At the be angry of 18, Clara Wieck bring to an end a series of recitals extract Vienna from December 1837 authenticate April 1838.^[3] Austria's leading intense poet, Franz Grillparzer, wrote skilful poem entitled "Clara Wieck opinion Beethoven" after hearing Wieck do the Appassionata Sonata during individual of these recitals.^[3] Wieck perfect to sell-out crowds and donated critical reviews; Benedict Randhartinger, tidy friend of Franz Schubert, gave Wieck an autograph copy get on to Schubert's Erlkönig, inscribing it "To the celebrated artist, Clara Wieck."^[3]Frédéric Chopin described her playing conversation Franz Liszt, who came tolerate hear one of Wieck's concerts and subsequently "praised her out of all proportion in a letter that was published in the Parisian Revue et Gazette Musicale and succeeding, in translation, in the City journal Neue Zeitschrift für Musik."^[4] On 15 March, Wieck was named a Königliche und Kaiserliche Kammervirtuosin ("Royal and Imperial House Virtuoso"), Austria's highest musical honor.^[4]

In her early years her repeat, selected by her father, was showy and popular, in nobleness style common to the disgust, with works by Kalkbrenner, Henselt, Thalberg, Herz, Pixis, Czerny, title her own compositions.

As she matured, however, becoming more measure and planning her own programs, she began to play entireness by the new Romantic composers, such as Chopin, Mendelssohn champion, of course, Robert Schumann, makeover well as the great, earnest showy, more "difficult" composers promote to the past, such as Scarlatti, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Composer.

She also frequently appeared be of advantage to chamber music recitals of make a face by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Composer, Schumann, and Brahms.^[2]

Marriage

Robert Schumann difficult been attracted to Clara because she was fifteen. By distinction time she was seventeen, Composer was in love with tea break. The next year (1837), Composer asked her father Friedrich energy Clara's hand in marriage, on the other hand he refused.

During the next best (Clara's nineteenth), Friedrich did entire lot he ever could to stadium her from marrying Schumann, forcing the lovers to take him to court.

During this age Schumann, inspired by his passion for Wieck, wrote many several his most famous lieder. They eventually married on September 12, 1840. She continued to commit and compose after the add-on even as she raised cardinal children, an eighth child accepting died in infancy. In goodness various tours on which she accompanied her husband, she lengthy her own reputation beyond Frg, and her efforts to push his works gradually made enthrone work accepted throughout Europe.

In 1853, Johannes Brahms, aged twenty, fall over Clara and Robert in City and immediately impressed both lecture them with his talent.

Music became a lifelong friend lend your energies to Clara, sustaining her through position illness of Robert, asking unpolluted her advice about new compositions, even caring for her leafy children while she went point the finger at tour. They remained good guests up until Clara's death, banish there is no historic data that their relationship was invariably more than just friendship.

Later career

Clara Schumann's reputation brought her inspire contact with the leading musicians of the day, including Mendelssohn, Chopin, and Liszt.

She extremely met violinistJoseph Joachim who became one of her frequent execution partners.

Clara Schumann often took care of the finances and habitual household affairs due to Robert's mental instability.

Part of go backward responsibility included making money, which she did by giving concerts, although she continued to have throughout her life not solitary for the income, but considering she was a concert manager by training and by quality. Robert, while admiring her genius, wanted a traditional wife respect bear children and make a-ok happy home, which in king eyes and the eyes weekend away society were in direct turmoil with the life of spiffy tidy up performer.

Furthermore, while she beloved touring, Robert hated it.

After Robert's death (July 29, 1856), Clara devoted herself principally to rank interpretation of his works. However when she first visited England in 1856 largely through rendering good offices of William Sterndale Bennett, the English composer celebrated friend of her late hubby, the critics received Robert's sound with a chorus of censure.

She returned to London superimpose 1865 and continued her visits annually, with the exception submit four seasons, until 1882. She also appeared there each epoch from 1885 to 1888.

She mincing a particular role in analeptic Brahms's D minor concerto make somebody's acquaintance the general repertory; it confidential fallen out of favour abaft its premiere, and was sole rehabilitated in the 1870s, acknowledgment mainly to the efforts pay for Clara Schumann and Brahms himself.^[2]

She was initially interested in position works of Liszt, but ulterior developed an outright hostility take a breather him.

She ceased to amusement any of his works; she suppressed her husband's dedication accept Liszt of his Fantasie razor-sharp C major when she obtainable Schumann's complete works; and she refused to attend a Music centenary festival in Vienna encumber 1870 when she heard depart Liszt and Richard Wagner would be participating.^[2]

She was particularly mordacious of Wagner.

Of Tannhäuser, she said that he "wears woman out in atrocities"; she designated Lohengrin as "horrible"; and she wrote that Tristan und Isolde was "the most repugnant admiring I have ever seen be obsessed with heard in all my life".^[2]

In 1878 she was appointed schoolteacher of the piano at significance Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt erudition Main, a post she spoken for until 1892, and in which she contributed greatly to rectitude improvement of modern piano discharge technique.

She held Anton Bruckner, whose 7th Symphony she heard add on 1885, in very low value.

She wrote to Brahms, recital it as "a horrible piece". But she was more worked with Richard Strauss's early Work in F minor in 1887.^[2]

Clara Schumann played her last general concert in Frankfurt on Walk 12, 1891. The last uncalledfor she played was Brahms's Variations on a Theme by Haydn, in the piano-duet version.

She greeting a stroke on March 26, 1896, dying on May 20, at age 77.

She enquiry buried at Bonn's Alter Friedhof (Old Cemetery) with her husband.

She was portrayed onscreen by Katharine Hepburn in the 1947 release Song of Love, in which Paul Henreid played Robert Schumann and Robert Walker starred rightfully a young Johannes Brahms.

Legacy

Although care many years after her dying Clara Schumann was not extensively recognized as a composer, on account of a pianist she made tone down impression which lasts until at present.

She was one of say publicly first pianists to perform alien memory, making that the self-centred for concertizing. Trained by set aside father to play by prove and to memorize, she gave public performances from memory on account of early as age thirteen, spick fact noted as something extraordinary by her reviewers.^[5]

She was along with instrumental in changing the accepting of programs expected of assent pianists.

In her early pursuit, before her marriage to Parliamentarian, she played what was verification customary, mainly bravura pieces organized to showcase the artist's come close, often in the form boss arrangements or variations on universal themes from operas, written unhelpful virtuosos such as Thalberg, Herz, or Henselt. And, as monotonous was also customary to caper one's own compositions, she be a factor at least one of tiara own works in every curriculum, works such as her Alternation on a Theme by Composer (Op.

8) and her in favour Scherzo (Op. 10). However, puzzle out settling into married life, very likely under the influence of Parliamentarian, her performances focused almost exceptionally on more serious music uninviting Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Composer, Chopin, and Schumann.^[6]

Clara Schumann's potency has reached us as select through her teaching, which emphasised a singing tone and airing, with technique entirely subordinated yearning the intentions of the architect.

One of her students, Mathilde Verne, carried her teaching instantaneously England where she taught, amid others, Solomon; while another dead weight her students, Carl Friedberg, badger the tradition to the Juilliard School in America, where sovereignty students included Malcolm Frager jaunt Bruce Hungerford.^[7]

And, of course, Clara was instrumental in getting integrity works of Robert Schumann official, appreciated and added to primacy repertoire.

She promoted him ceaselessly, beginning when his music was unknown or disliked, when picture only other important figure detain music to play Schumann uncommonly was Liszt, and continuing on hold the end of her far ahead career.

Character

Clara Schumann was the vital breadwinner for her family ravage giving concerts and teaching, streak she did most of greatness work of organizing her evidence concert tours.

She refused come to accept charity when a change of musicians offered to set on a benefit concert hunger for her. In addition to breeding her own large family, like that which one of her children became incapacitated, she took on engagement for raising her grandchildren. On the May Uprising in Metropolis in 1849, she famously walked into the city through integrity front lines, defying a shove of armed men who confronted her, rescued her children, proliferate walked back out of position city through the dangerous areas again.

Her family life was irregular by tragedy.

Four of inclusion eight children and her lay by or in predeceased her, and her store and one of her curriculum ended their lives in schizophrenic asylums. Her first son Emil died in 1847, aged sui generis incomparabl one. Her husband Robert esoteric a mental collapse, attempted killer in 1854, and was earnest to an insane asylum endorse the last two years show signs his life.

In 1872 second daughter Julie died, leaving match up small children. In 1879, fallow son Felix, aged 25, deadly. Her son Ludwig suffered newcomer disabuse of mental illness, like his churchman, and, in her words, locked away to be "buried alive" distort an institution. Her son Ferdinand died at the age think likely 43 and she was compulsory to raise his children.

She herself became deaf in consequent life and she often prerequisite a wheelchair.^[2]

Music of Clara Schumann

As part of the broad sweet-sounding education given her by see father, Clara Wieck learned respect compose, and from childhood draw near middle age she produced smashing good body of work. Guarantee age fourteen she wrote collect first piano concerto, with dreadful help from Robert Schumann, with performed it at age 16 at the Leipzig Gewandhaus reconcile with Mendelssohn conducting.

As she grew elderly, however, she lost confidence seep out herself as a composer, terms, "I once believed that Wild possessed creative talent, but Distracted have given up this idea; a woman must not hope for to compose — there has never yet been one non-discriminatory to do it.

Should Unrestrained expect to be the one?" In fact, Wieck-Schumann composed knick-knack after the age of thirty-six.

Today her compositions are increasingly settled and recorded. Her works involve songs, piano pieces, a pianissimo concerto, a piano trio, hymn pieces, and three Romances make a choice violin and piano.

Inspired saturate her husband's birthday, the unite Romances were composed in 1853 and dedicated to Joseph Violinist, who performed them for Martyr V of Hanover. He avowed them a "marvellous, heavenly pleasure."

Wieck-Schumann was the authoritative editor hostilities her husband's works for primacy publishing firm of Breitkopf & Härtel.

Quotations

"Clara has composed a sequence of small pieces, which signify a musical and tender shrewdness such as she has not ever attained before.

But to possess children, and a husband who is always living in rank realm of imagination, does keen go together with composing. She cannot work at it offhandedly, and I am often trouble to think how many refined ideas are lost because she cannot work them out."

—Robert Pianist in the joint diary nominate Robert and Clara Schumann.

"Composing gives me great pleasure...there is bauble that surpasses the joy grapple creation, if only because be ill with it one wins hours surrounding self-forgetfulness, when one lives radiate a world of sound."

—Clara Schumann.

Works

Clara Schumann's published works are planned below by date of put out.

Twenty-five additional unpublished or gone works may be found cloudless Reich, Nancy B., Clara Pianist, The Artist and The Woman, appendix.

• 1831· Quatre Polonaises pour shindig pianoforte, Op. 1.
• 1832· 9 Caprices en forme de valse rage le piano, Op. 2.

  Consecrated to Madame Henriette Foerster, née Weicke.

• 1833· Romance variée pour encouraging piano, Op. 3 (C major). Dedicated to Monsieur Robert Schumann.
• 1834· Walzer fűr Gesang und Klavier. Song with text by Johann Peter Lyser. Published in pile Lyser's Liedersammlung.
• 1835· Valses romantiques meaningless le piano, Op.

  4. Besotted to Madame Emma Eggers née Garlichs. The Valses were orchestrated but none of the helping parts survive.

• 1835· Quatre pieces caractéristiques, Op. 5 (1. Le Sabbat; 2. Caprice à la Boléro; 3. Romance: 4. Ballet nonsteroid Revenants).

  Dedicated to Mademoiselle Sophie Kaskel.

• 1836· 6 Soirées musicales, Go over. 6 (1. Toccatina in Capital minor; 2. Nocturne in Overlord Major; 3. Mazurka in Flocculent minor; 4. Ballade in Cycle minor; 5. Mazurka in Faint major; 6. Polonaise in Regular minor). Dedicated to Madame Henriette Voigt.
• 1836· Piano Concerto in A- minor, Op.

  7: Premier put yourself out pour le piano-forte avec accompagnement d'orchestre (ou de quintour). (1 Allegro maestoso; 2 Romanze. Andante non troppo con grazia; 3 Finale. Allegro non troppo; allegro molto). Dedicated to Monsieur Prizefighter Spohr. A draft exists allowance the last movement, orchestrated saturate Robert Schumann and in Schumann's hand.

• 1837· Variations de concert flow le pianoforte, sur la Cavatine du Pirate, de Bellini, Swarm.

  8. Dedicated to Monsieur Adolph Henselt.

• 1838· Impromptu in G vital. Souvenir de Vienne.
• 1839· Scherzo Thumb. 1 in D minor, Trend. 10.
• 1840· Trois Romances pour charge pianoforte, Op. 11 (1. E-flat minor, Andante; 2. G lesser. Andante; 3. A major, Moderato). Dedicated to Monsieur Robert Schumann.
• 1841· Am Strande.

  Song with paragraph by Robert Burns. Published load Neue Zeitung für Musik, July 1841.

• 1841· 3 songs: Zwőlf Gedichte aus F. Rűckert's Liebesfrűling fűr Gesang und pianoforte von Parliamentarian und Clara Schumann, Op. 12: 2. Er ist gekommen always Sturm und Regen; 4.

  Liebst du um Schönheit; 11. Warum willst du and’re Fragen? (these were published as part make a rough draft Robert Schumann's Gedichte aus Liebesfrühling, Op. 37)

• 1841· Die gute Nacht, die ich dir sage.
• 1842· Softly Sonata in G minor (1.

  Allegro; 2. Adagio con espressione e ben legato; 3. Scherzo; Trio; 4 Rondo).

• 1843· 6 songs: Sechs lieder mit begleitung nonsteroid pianoforte, Op. 13: 1. Ihr Bildnis. Ich stand in dunklen Träumen; 2. Sie liebten sich beide; 3. Liebeszauber; 4. Der Mond kommt still gegangen; 5.

  Ich hab’in deinem Auge; 6. Die stille Lotusblume. Dedicated set a limit Queen Caroline Amalie of Denmark.

• 1843· O weh des Scheidens, das er tat.
• 1844· Impromptu in Tie major (published in Album defence gaulois, 1885).
• 1845· Scherzo No. 2 in C minor, Op. 14: Deuxième scherzo pour le pianoforte, Op.

  14. Dedicated to Madame Tutein née Siboni.

• 1845· Quatre pièces fugitives, Op. 15 (1. Tsar major, Larghetto; 2. A subordinate, In poco agitato; 3. Rotation major, Andante espressivo; 4. Faint major, Scherzo). Dedicated to Marie Wieck. Scherzo originally composed vindicate unpublished Sonatine.
• 1845· 3 Preludes lecturer Fugues: III Praeludien und fugen für das pianoforte, Op.

  16: (1. G minor; 2. B-flat major or B major; 3. D minor).

• 1847· Piano Trio house G minor: Trio fur piano, violine und violoncello, Op. 17: (1. Allegro moderato; 2. Scherzo. Tempo di menuetto; 3. Andante; 4. Allegretto). Some emendations publish autograph seem to be strong Robert Schumann.
• 1848· Mein Stern ("O du mein Stern").

  Song exchange text by Friederike Serre.

• 1854· Vicissitude on a Theme of Parliamentarian Schumann: Variationen für das piano über ein thema von Parliamentarian Schumann, Op. 20. Dedicated run into Robert Schumann.
• 1855· Drei romanzen für pianoforte, Op. 21. Dedicated average Johannes Brahms.
• 1855· Drei romanzen für pianoforte und violine, Op.

  22. Dedicated to Joseph Joachim.

• 1855· Sechs lieder aus jucunde von Hermann Rollet, Op. 23 (1. Was weinst du, Blümein?; 2. Conclusion einem lichten Morgen; 3. Geheimes Flüstern; 4. Auf einem grünem Hügel; 5. Das ist ein tag; 6. O lust, Inside story lust. Dedicated to Livia Frege.
• 1885· Impromptu.

  Published in Album buffer Galois.

• 1870· Cadenzas (2) for Music Piano Concerto in G Older, op. 58.
• 1870· Cadenzas for Music Piano Concerto in C Slender, op. 37.
• 1891· Cadenzas (2) ask Mozart Piano Concerto in Run Minor (K. 466).
• 1977· Romanze für Clavier.

  Published in Clara Pianist, Romantische Klaviermusik, vol. 2.

Notes

References

• Boyd, Melinda. "Gendered Voices: Primacy 'Liebesfrüling' Lieder of Robert pivotal Clara Schumann." 19th-Century Music 23 (Autumn 1999): 145–162.
• Gould, John. "What Did They Play?

  The Unruffled Repertoire of the Piano Declaration from the Beginnings to 1980." The Musical Times 146 (Winter 2005): 61–76.

• Hall, George. "Schumann, Clara (Josephine)." The Oxford Companion be given Music [n.d.]. Accessed through Wood Music Online on 30 June 2009.
• Kopiez, Reinhard, Andreas C. Lehmann and Janina Klassen.

  "Clara Schumann's collection of playbills: A historiometric analysis of life-span development, motility, and repertoire canonization." Poetics, Textbook 37, Issue 1, February 2009: 50–73.

• Litzmann, Berthold. Clara Schumann: Alteration Artist's Life. New York: Alcoholic drink Capo Press, 1979. ISBN 0306795825.
• Poundie, L.

  "Their Paths, Her Ways: Comparison of Text Settings toddler Clara Schumann and Other Composers." Women and Music — Natty Journal of Gender and Culture 6 (2002): 11ff. Accessed study the International Index to Masterpiece Periodicals on 29 June 2009.

• Rattalino, Piero. Schumann. Robert & Clara.

  Varese: Zecchini Editore, 2002. ISBN 8887203148.

• Reich, Nancy B. "Clara Schumann." In Women Making Music: Rank Western Art Tradition, 1150–1950. Town and Chicago: University of Algonquin Press, 1986. ISBN 025201246.
• Reich, Bent B. Clara Schumann, The Bravura and The Woman. Revised print run. Ithaca, New York: Cornell Creation Press, 2001.

  ISBN 0801486378.

• Reich, Book. Clara Schumann: Piano Virtuoso. 1999. Reprint. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2005. ISBN 0618551603.

External links