CLARA WIECK SCHUMANN

Romantic

Era

Composer

1824-1896

Photo courtesy of http://www.mfiles.co.uk/composers/Robert-Schumann.htm

thearchetypalconnection.com

CLARA’S EARLY YEARS, 1819-1824

Clara Wieck was born in 1819 in

Liepzig, Germany, the second child of

Friedrich Wieck, a music teacher, and

Marianne Tromlitz Wieck, soprano.

Clara’s parents divorced when she

was five.

She went to live with her father and

rarely saw her mother, who moved to

Berlin.

CHILDHOOD, 1824-1828

Young Clara suspected of disabilities

Continually exposed to great musicians

of the day through her father, Friedrich

Friedrich initiated Clara’s lifelong habit

of journaling

Clara Wieck at the age of 8 years. Colored miniature on ivory by an unknown artist, about 1827, Robert Schumann House, Zwickau. Retrieved from http://kammerton.blogspot.com/

ADOLESCENCE 1829-1835

Educated primarily by her father at home

Performed first concert in 1829, at age 9

Began touring at age 11, composing at age

12

Drawing of Clara Wieck by Elwine von Leysesr, 1835, retrieved from Geneva.edu Lithograph of Clara Wieck by Eduard Fechner, 1832

In Paris at age 13Age 16

COURTSHIP OF ROBERT AND CLARA, 1835-1840

“…I want to lead a life free from

worry and can see that I would be

unhappy if I could not always be

working with my art…Robert…Are

you in a position to offer me a life

free from care? Consider that

though I have been brought up

simply, I have never had a care.

Must I bury my art now? Love is all

very beautiful, but, but—“ (Reich,

2001)

Clara Awarded the title Royal

Imperial Virtuosa by emperor of

Austria in 1838

MARRIAGE & BABIES, BABIES, BABIES, 1841-

1854

Marie, 1841

Elsie, 1843

Julie, 1845

Emil, 1846

Ludwig, 1848

Ferdinand,

1849

Eugenie, 1851

Felix, 1854

INTERNAL MOMMY WARS

“A woman must not wish to

compose – there never was one able

to do it. Am I intended to be the one?

It would be arrogant to believe that…

May Robert always create; that must

always make me happy.” ( as quoted in Reich,

2001)Photograph of Elsie, Ludwig, Felix, Ferdinand, and Eugenie. Taken in approximately 1855, courtesy of geneva.edu

DRESDEN, 1844-1849

Clara, seven months pregnant with Ferdinand,

heroically evacuated family during 1849 uprising.

http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/history/1848/revolution_of_1848.html

DUESELDORFF, 1850-1857

1850 - Robert obtained job as music director and

finally made more money than Clara

They met Johannes Brahms here in 1853

http://www.classical-composers.org/comp/schumanr

One of the Shumann homes in Dusseldorf

F R I E N D S H I P W I T H J O H A N N E S B R A H M S, 1 8 5 3 -

1 8 9 6

Robert promoted Brahms by writing about him

Clara promoted Brahms by playing his compositions at her

concerts

Brahms remained a close friend of both Schumanns until

their deaths

No proof of romance between Johannes and Clara

Johannes Brahms at approximately 21 years, Creative Commons

LATE MARRIAGE

Robert’s health continued to decline, he attempted

suicide, and asked to be placed in a mental hospital

Clara continued to work

Robert died after two years in the hospital

The asylum Robert where spent his last years still stands.

Photos retrieved from http://www.coindumusicien.com/Schumann/folie_anglais.html

Clara in approximately 1853

POST MARRIAGE

Continued to promote and play Robert’s compositions

Never wrote another piece of music

Never remarried

Clara in her later years, creative commons

CLARA’S DEATH, MAY 20, 1896

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=1147&PIpi=91659 courtesy of Werner Farwick

PIANO CONCERT IN A MINOR, OP 7-1

TRIO IN G MINOR,OP 17-4

0:00 Violins, cello, and piano play melody together0:22 Repeat0:53 Piano gradually gets louder and takes over for the next thirty seconds1:09 Strings rejoin1:25 Brief piano solo, then string rejoin softly1:55 Becomes more moody, forte2:18 Theme repeats, but more moody, insistent, with strings imitating the piano’s bold notes2:57 Gentleness returns3:24 Melody same, but angrier tone, piano plays quickly, precisely, and bows bang quickly down on

strings

3:48 Brief piano solo returns piece to lovely, gently melody3:55 Repeat of gently theme at beginning and repeats4:31 Piano loud4:48 insistent5:01 Sounds like a quiet conversation between instruments5:18 Brief piano solo, then violins featured, then all three play together in harmony5:40 Piano sounds important, argues with violin5:55 Strings sound angry6:20 Theme played repeatedly, faster each time6:45 Sounds like the end of the song with violins insisting that it’s over6:50 Last words hurled by piano, then strings      

WORKS CONSULTED

Machlis, K. F. (2007). The Enjoyment of Music, tenth shorter ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Co.

Ostwald, P. (1993). The Marriage Diaries of Robert & Clara Schumann. Boston: Northeastern University Press.

Piano Society. (2004). Clara Schumann. Retrieved February 19, 2012, from Piano Society: http://pianosociety.com/cms/index.php?section=1350

Polmear, J. (2012, January). Clara Schumann. Retrieved February 19, 2012, from Women of Note: http://oboeclassics.com/~oboe3583/ambache/wSchumann.htm

Reich, N. B. (2001). Clara Schumann, the Artist and the Woman. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Schumann, C. (Composer). (2009). Clara Schumann: Piano Concerto, Piano Trio & 3 Romances. [B. S. Orchestra, V. Jochum, Performers, & J. Silverstein, Conductor] Zurich, Switzerland.