Clara

Schumann:

Queen of the piano

Clara Weick
Born: 1819 in Leipzig, Germany
Clara means: Clear, bright famous
Parents: Friedrich Weick and
Marianne Tromlitz
Kept a diary that reveals much about
her daily life

Early Life
Tragedies
My Father who had long hoped
Parents divorce at age 4, Clara loses
her mother
Fredrich dominating and
controlling father
Clara keeps none of the money she
makes at concerts
Clara stays on a strict schedule of
lessons and practicing
Clara falls in love with Robert and
he gets engaged to another woman

in vain for a change of

disposition on my part noticed
again today that I am still lazy,
careless, disorderly, obstinate
and disobedient, and that I play
as badly as I study ... he tore up
the copy[music] before my eyes,
and from this day onwards will
not give me another hour, and I
am to play nothing but scales.

- Excerpt from Claras diary after

a very successful concert at the
Gewandhaus

Early Life
At her 4th performance (ageSuccesses
10),
At 18 years old, Clara was named
applause brought her back to the
stage 13 times
First pianist to memorize her
pieces for performance
Given jewels and other gifts from
princes and barons after playing
for them
Performs for Goethe who
presented her with a medal with his
portrait and a written note saying,
"For the gifted artist Clara Wieck.

Royal and Imperial Chamber Virtuosa

of Vienna- the youngest to receive
the title and also a foreigner.

Early Life
Successes
Shes a veritable marvel, for the first time in my life I caught myself admiring

with enthusiasm a precocious talent: perfect execution, irreproachable measure,

force, clarity, difficulties of all sorts successfully surmounted- here are rare things
at any age- but she is a musician, she feels what she plays and knows how to
express it; under her fingers the piano takes on color and life; one takes interest in
her without wanting to she owes perhaps a part of her fine talent to this
inclination to melancholy; in examining closely the traits of the Muses, one could
almost always find there are some traces of tears.
-Duke Weimar describing one of Claras first performances

Later Life
Tragedies
Clara and Robert file a lawsuit against
Friedrich in order to marry
Robert and Clara endure many years
of slander and libel from Friedrich,
trying to destroy their fame
Clara bears 8 children and loses half
of them in their later years of life
Clara continues to perform and is the
main provider of the family
Clara is not allowed to practice when
Robert is composing

Later Life
Successes

Intimate relationships with multiple

notable musicians:
Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn,
Frydryk Chopin, Johannes Brahms
Towering above all others stands
Mendelssohn - Clara

Clara made Roberts music successful

with her performances
I have heard anew that we should be
man and wife Every thought of yours
comes from my soul, just as I have you
to thank for all my music.
Robert Schumann

Compositions

Composed about 50 musical works,

only half of them published:
piano pieces and songs
choral pieces
duets for piano/violin
1 piano concerto.

"I once believed that I possessed

creative talent, but I have given up this
idea; a woman must not desire to
compose there has never yet been
one able to do it. Should I expect to
be the one?

Clara stopped composing at age 36.

Compositions

Clara Schumanns Notturno from her Opus 8, written in 1835

Influences from Chopin and Mendelssohn

Singing melody, a lot of chromatisism, Italian influence in the 2nd section
Robert Schumanns Novelletten written in 1838 quotes opening melody from
Claras piece Notturno