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Madison Woodard
Listen To the Music
Erik Paffett
December 7, 2014
Clara Wieck Schumann
In an era when women, apart from singers, almost never performed in public or
composed, Clara Schumann did both (Clara Schumann). Ever since her childhood, people
recognized her brilliant musical talent and although it was uncommon for a girl to have such an
excellent musical education, she received personal training and performed for the first time at
just nine years old. Clara was such an impactful person to the society and even took interest in
her works more so than her husband Roberts. Clara was the first of many other women to begin
tours and playing concerts while society respected her and she has become an icon for many
women composers.
Clara Wieck was born on September 13, 1819 in Leipzig, Germany. Her father was an
extraordinary piano player who took Clara under his wing and taught her how to play at the age
of five (Clara Wieck Schumann). Though, her father put an immense amount of pressure on
his young daughter to become a musical prodigy and had her learn musical theory and other
classes rather than the traditional classes for children. Claras mother and father divorced when
she was only six and this event did affect Clara but seemed to have benefitted her musical career
with emotion and passion. Clara made her formal public appearance in a recital in Leipzig at the
age of 11 (Bourne). Clara was loved by all those in her town and her father continued her piano

lessons and teachings. He also began to teach Robert Schumann piano, who rented a room in
their house to stay with them. Clara and Robert began playing piano together and conversing in
her own home and this is when their romance started. But Claras father did not approve of her
life with Robert. He believed that his work was below hers and that he was simply a composer
unknown while she was on her way to fame. Claras father even sent her to Dresden at the age of
17 for tours lasting seven months in order to keep them away from each other. But Clara could
not stay away from Robert long and so they wrote back and forth to each other in secrecy while
she was gone (Clara Schumann). Robert proposed to Clara in 1837 but her father did not
approve because he was a struggling composer and had severe depression. The young couple
took Fredrick Wieck to court and it was a long, messy wait until the court finally granted Robert
and Clara marriage rights in 1840, one day before her 21st birthday (Bourne).
Clara did not compose much in the early years of her and Roberts marriage. He wrote
many pieces for her to perform and sometimes quoted her in his pieces. They had eight children
who all lived into adulthood. Robert was influenced by the ideals of society at this time that
women were meant to raise the children and stay in the house. He persuaded her into domesticity
and she rarely ever was able to perform unless their financial troubles made it necessary for her.
But when she did perform, everyone absolutely loved her and Robert could not deny that. He
wanted to show his power in the relationship and always prioritized his needs over Claras. Soon
Robert became delusional and threatened to hurt his own family so he institutionalized himself
(Bourne). Roberts doctors forbid her to visit him for two and a half years and during this time
she began to form a close bond with the composer Johannes Brahms. He complimented her

composing and playing and inspired her with new passion (Clara Schumann). Robert died on
July 29, 1856 from suicide and Clara committed herself to understanding his works. She visited
England where Roberts pieces received a large amount of criticism (Clara Wieck Schumann).
She moved to Berlin and thrived upon her new independence becoming a well-known elite
pianist. Clara toured England and Russia and was known for her depth and her amazing ability
of playing pieces of Beethoven and other famous composers. She ended up moving to Germany
and teaching piano at the Hoch Conservatory. She died on May 20, 1896 in Frankfurt from
rheumatism, which caused her physical pain when performing.
This time period Clara was composing in was the early romanticism era. Over time she
had written 66 pieces and was influenced by a number of people including Beethoven, Bach,
Chopin, Liszt, Schubert and more. Twenty of these pieces were piano solos that she enjoyed
performing herself (Clara Schumann- the Concert Pianist). But many of her compositions
remained private until around 1872 when Clara had a creative outburst and committed herself to
interpreting and finishing Roberts work and editing one of his volumes (Clara Schumann).
She wrote beautiful romances with the violin and piano in honor of Roberts birthday. There was
a movie written in 1947 about Clara and Roberts life called Song of Love directed by Clarence
Brown. Katherine Hepburn played Clara and trained intensively on the piano so that she could be
filmed playing the piano. The movie was designed to show Claras life and how she thrived even
with the strain of Robert by her side (Clara Schumann- the Concert Pianist).

In the stressed, gender-conflicted culture of the late twentieth century, many people
found Schumann an extremely compelling figure (Bourne). Clara was a mother of eight
children married to a mentally ill husband as a loved composer and performer. She denied the
men expectations of a women in these days and did what she loved even when it was not the
normality in society. The other women saw her as a role model to follow their dreams no matter
what may bring them down. But Clara was not always so confident and sure of herself; she had
her years of doubt and putting her husbands career first. Clara found her strength later and life
and remembered her passion of playing piano. She used her talents to teach others the piano and
even continued to perform when it was painful to her. Clara Schumann is still an inspiring
woman to girls in society today especially when women are able to do more things in society that
used to be mens jobs. And even when there were doubts she continued with her dream. Clara
Schumann herself said, 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 Schumann- the Concert Pianist).

Works Cited
"Clara Schumann." Music Academy. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
"Clara Schumann - the Concert Pianist, Composer and Wife of Robert in a Nutshell." 52
Composers. Paul Helm, 2008. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
"Clara Wieck Schumann." AllMusic. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.
"Clara Wieck Schumann Biography." Childhood, Life And Timeline. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Dec.
2014.
Bourne, Michael. "Schumann, Clara." Encyclopedia.com. HighBeam Research, 01 Jan, 2006.
Web. 6 Dec. 2014.