Clara Josephine Schumann ( / ˈ ʃ uː m ɑː n / ; German: [ˈklaːʁa ˈʃuːman] ; née Wieck ; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and teacher who began learning music at a very young age. She is considered one of the most important pianists during the Romantic era. Over a career that lasted 61 years, she performed in concerts and helped change how piano recitals were planned and what music was played. She also wrote music for the piano, a piano concerto, chamber music, choral pieces, and songs.

Clara was born in Leipzig, where her father, Friedrich Wieck, and mother, Mariane, were both pianists and teachers. Her mother also sang. Clara was a child prodigy, meaning she showed extraordinary talent at a young age. She was trained by her father and began performing in concerts when she was 11 years old. She was successful in cities like Paris and Vienna. She married the composer Robert Schumann on 12 September 1840, and the couple had eight children. Together, they supported the work of Johannes Brahms and kept a close relationship with him. Clara performed the first public performances of many of her husband’s and Brahms’ compositions.

After Robert Schumann died early in his life, Clara continued performing concerts across Europe for many years. She often performed with the violinist Joseph Joachim and other musicians. Starting in 1878, she taught piano at Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium in Frankfurt, where students from around the world came to learn. She also helped prepare her husband’s music for publication. Clara died in Frankfurt but was buried in Bonn next to her husband.

Several films have been made about Clara Schumann’s life. The first was Träumerei (Dreaming) in 1944. A film titled Geliebte Clara (Beloved Clara) was released in 2008 and directed by Helma Sanders-Brahms. A drawing of Clara Schumann from 1835 by Andreas Staub appeared on the 100 Deutsche Mark banknote from 1989 to 2002. Interest in her music grew in the late 20th century, and the 200th anniversary of her birth in 2019 led to new books and exhibitions about her life and work.

Life

Clara Josephine Wieck was born on September 13, 1819, in Leipzig, Germany. Her parents were Friedrich Wieck and Mariane Tromlitz. Her mother was a well-known singer who performed piano and soprano solos weekly at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig. Clara’s parents had serious disagreements, partly because her father was very stubborn. After her mother had an affair with Adolph Bargiel, a friend of her father, the Wiecks divorced in 1825. Mariane later married Bargiel, and five-year-old Clara stayed with her father while her mother and stepfather moved to Berlin. Clara only saw her mother through letters and occasional visits.

From a young age, Clara’s father planned her life and career carefully. At four, she began piano lessons with her mother. After her mother left, Clara took daily piano lessons from her father, who taught her piano, violin, singing, music theory, harmony, composition, and counterpoint. She practiced for two hours each day. Her father used his own book, Wieck's Piano Education for a Delicate Touch and a Singing Sound, to guide her training. Her music lessons took time away from other school subjects, though she still studied religion and languages under her father’s supervision.

Clara made her official debut on October 28, 1828, at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, when she was nine years old. That same year, she performed at the home of Ernst Carus in Leipzig. There, she met Robert Schumann, a talented pianist who was nine years older. Schumann admired Clara’s playing so much that he asked his mother for permission to leave his law studies and take music lessons with Clara’s father. During his lessons, Schumann lived in the Wieck household for about a year.

From September 1831 to April 1832, Clara toured Paris and other European cities with her father. In Weimar, she performed a showy piece by Henri Herz for Johann Goethe, who gave her a medal with his portrait and a note saying, “For the gifted artist Clara Wieck.” During the tour, the violinist Niccolò Paganini offered to perform with her. However, her Paris recital was poorly attended because many people had left the city due to a cholera outbreak. This tour marked Clara’s transition from a child prodigy to a young woman performer.

From December 1837 to April 1838, at age 18, Clara performed a series of recitals in Vienna. Franz Grillparzer, Austria’s leading dramatic poet, wrote a poem called “Clara Wieck and Beethoven” after hearing her play Beethoven’s Appassionata sonata. She performed to full audiences and received praise from critics. Benedict Randhartinger, a friend of Franz Schubert, gave her an autographed copy of Schubert’s Erlkönig, writing, “To the celebrated artist, Clara Wieck.” Chopin told Franz Liszt about Clara’s playing, and Liszt praised her in a published letter. On March 15, Clara was named a Königliche und Kaiserliche Österreichische Kammer-virtuosin (“Royal and Imperial Austrian Chamber Virtuoso”), Austria’s highest musical honor.

An anonymous music critic described Clara’s Vienna recitals as “epoch-making,” saying her performances gave even ordinary music new meaning and color.

Robert Schumann was nine years older than Clara. In 1837, when Clara was 18, he proposed to her, and she accepted. Robert then asked her father for permission to marry her, but Friedrich Wieck refused. Robert and Clara decided to go to court, and the judge allowed the marriage. They married on September 12, 1840, the day before Clara’s 21st birthday, when she became an adult. Afterward, the couple kept a shared diary of their lives.

In February 1854, Robert Schumann had a mental breakdown, tried to commit suicide, and was admitted to a sanatorium in Endenich, near Bonn, where he lived for two years. In March 1854, Johannes Brahms, Joseph Joachim, Albert Dietrich, and Julius Otto Grimm visited Clara to comfort her. Brahms wrote private piano pieces for her, including four piano pieces and a set of variations on a theme by Robert Schumann. These pieces were not meant to be published but were later released as Brahms’s Four Ballades, Op. 10 and Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 9. Brahms dedicated the variations to both Schumanns, hoping Robert would recover and reunite with his family.

For two years, Clara could not visit Robert at the sanatorium, but Brahms visited him regularly. When Robert was near death, Clara was finally allowed to see him. He recognized her but could only speak a few words. Robert Schumann died on July 29, 1856.

Clara and Robert first met Joseph Joachim in November 1844, when he was 14 years old. In 1845, Clara wrote in her diary that Joachim played a new violin concerto by Felix Mendelssohn, which she called “wonderful.” In May 1853, Clara heard Joachim perform Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and described his playing as “so ideal that I have never heard violin-playing like it.” Clara and Joachim remained close friends for over 40 years.

Clara performed with Joachim in over 238 concerts in Germany and Britain, more than with any other artist. They were especially known for their performances of Beethoven’s violin sonatas.

In early 1853, the 20-year-old Johannes Brahms met Joachim and made a strong impression. Joachim introduced Brahms to Robert Schumann, and Brahms played some of his piano pieces for the Schumanns, who were deeply impressed. Robert wrote an article praising Brahms, and Clara wrote in her diary that Brahms “seemed as if sent straight from God.”

During Robert Schumann’s final years in the asylum, Brahms remained a close presence for the Schumann family. Brahms’s letters showed his deep respect for Clara, and their relationship was seen as a mix of friendship and love. Brahms always honored Clara as both a woman and a talented musician.

Brahms played his First Symphony for Clara before its premiere. She gave advice about the Adagio movement, which he followed. She praised the symphony overall but noted her concerns about the endings of the third and fourth movements. Clara was the first to perform many of Brahms’s works publicly.

Family life

Robert Schumann gave his wife a diary on their wedding day. His first entry said the diary should be a record of their family’s personal lives, especially the couple’s, and their goals and achievements in the arts. It also kept track of their artistic work and growth. Clara Schumann agreed to share the diary, as shown by her many entries. This shows her love for her husband and her wish to unite their lives artistically, even though this goal had risks.

The couple worked together in both family life and their careers. Clara performed many of his compositions, including piano pieces and her own versions of his orchestral works. She managed the family’s finances and daily tasks. Part of her job was to earn money by giving concerts. She continued to play music throughout her life, not only for income but because she was trained as an artist. Over time, family responsibilities limited her ability to focus on her own artistic work. As a composer’s wife, she had fewer opportunities to explore her own ideas.

Clara was the main provider for her family and became the sole one after her husband was hospitalized and later died. She gave concerts, taught students, and organized her own tours. She hired a housekeeper and a cook to manage the home while she traveled.

Clara and Robert had eight children over 13 years:
• Marie (1841–1929)
• Elise (1843–1928)
• Julie (1845–1872)
• Emil (1846–1847)
• Ludwig (1848–1899)
• Ferdinand (1849–1891)
• Eugenie (1851–1938)
• Felix (1854–1879)

Clara faced many challenges. Her husband was placed in a mental institution after a breakdown. Her oldest son, Ludwig, also suffered from mental illness like his father and was eventually placed in an institution. She lost her hearing later in life and often used a wheelchair. Her husband died before her, as did four of their children. Their first son, Emil, died at age 1 in 1847. Their daughter Julie died in 1872, leaving two young children to be raised by their grandmother. In 1879, their son Felix died at age 24. In 1891, their son Ferdinand died at age 41, leaving his children to Clara’s care.

Clara’s oldest daughter, Marie, helped her mother by working as a cook. Marie also convinced Clara not to destroy letters she had received from Brahms, as he had asked. Another daughter, Eugenie, wrote a book called Erinnerungen (Memoirs), published in 1925, about her parents and Brahms.

During the May Uprising in Dresden in 1849, Clara rescued her children from danger. On May 3, Robert and Clara learned that a revolution against King Frederick Augustus II of Saxony had begun in Dresden. Most family members left and hid with a group for safety. On May 7, Clara bravely returned to Dresden to save her three children, who had been left with a maid. She faced armed men but walked through the city to rescue them, then returned safely to the group.

Music

Clara Schumann was a famous pianist who performed concerts around the world. More than 1,300 programs from her performances in Europe between 1831 and 1889 have been saved. She supported the music of her husband and other composers like Brahms, Chopin, and Mendelssohn.

Clara and her husband admired Chopin’s Variations on "Là ci darem la mano". She played this piece herself. When she was 14 and her future husband was 23, he wrote to her.

In her early years, Clara’s father chose her music, which was flashy and popular at the time. She played works by composers like Friedrich Kalkbrenner, Adolf von Henselt, and Carl Czerny, as well as her own pieces. Later, she included music by Baroque composers like Domenico Scarlatti and Johann Sebastian Bach. She also performed modern works by Chopin, Mendelssohn, and her husband, whose music became popular in the 1850s.

In 1835, Clara played her Piano Concerto in A minor with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, led by Mendelssohn. In 1845, she premiered Robert Schumann’s Piano Concerto in Dresden. After Brahms advised her, she performed Mozart’s Piano Concerto in C minor at the Hanoverian court and in Leipzig.

Clara was one of the first women to perform Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata publicly. She did this twice before 1856. Her busiest years as a performer were from 1856 to 1873, after her husband’s death. During this time, she gained fame in Britain, especially for her 1865 performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto in G major, which received loud applause. She often performed chamber music with violinist Joachim and accompanied singers in recitals.

Clara learned to compose from her father. She created many works from childhood until middle age. She wrote, “Composing gives me great pleasure… it brings joy and helps me forget myself in a world of sound.” Her first published work, Quatre Polonaises, was written in 1831. She also composed her Piano Concerto in A minor at 14, with help from her future husband. She planned a second piano concerto, but only a piece called Konzertsatz in F minor from 1847 survived.

After her marriage, Clara focused on lieder and choral music. She and her husband published a joint work in 1841, setting poems by Friedrich Rückert. Her chamber music includes the Piano Trio in G minor and Three Romances for Violin and Piano, inspired by her husband’s birthday. These pieces were performed for George V of Hanover, who called them “marvelous, heavenly pleasure.”

As Clara grew older, she found it harder to compose regularly. She wrote, “I once believed I had 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.” Her husband also worried about her reduced output.

Clara created one to eight compositions yearly from age 11 until 1848, when she only wrote a choral piece for her husband’s birthday and left her second piano concerto unfinished. These works were not published. In 1853, when she was 34, she composed 16 pieces, including variations on a piece by her husband, eight Romances, and seven songs. These were published as her Op. 20 through 23 after her husband’s illness.

For the next 43 years, Clara only composed piano transcriptions of her husband’s and Brahms’ works. She made 41 transcriptions of Robert Schumann’s lieder and a short piano duet for a friend’s wedding in 1879. In her final year, she left sketches for piano preludes and published cadenzas for Beethoven and Mozart concertos.

Most of Clara’s music was not performed by others and was forgotten until the 1970s. Today, her compositions are performed and recorded more often.

Clara was the main editor of her husband’s works, with help from Brahms and others. She also edited 20 sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti, her husband’s letters, and his piano works with instructions.

In the 1840s, the Schumanns were interested in Franz Liszt and his friends, but later became critical of Liszt’s music. Clara and her husband believed in more traditional music, while Liszt and others promoted new ideas. This led to a conflict called the “War of the Romantics.”

Liszt and his followers, including Richard Wagner, wanted to move away from Beethoven’s style and create new forms of music. Clara and Brahms, along with others, defended traditional music, believing it should be “absolute music,” not tied to stories or ideas.

Clara disagreed with Liszt’s performance style, which was very expressive and physical. She believed musicians should hide their personalities to let the composer’s vision shine through.

Clara and others campaigned against Liszt’s group through public events, writings, and criticism. In 1861, Brahms published a statement signed by Clara and others, condemning Liszt’s music as “contrary to the innermost spirit of music.” A group centered around Liszt held a celebration in Zwickau, but ignored Clara and her allies.

Legacy

Clara Schumann was not widely known as a composer for many years after she died, but she had a lasting influence as a pianist. Her father taught her to play by ear and to memorize music, and she performed publicly from memory as early as age thirteen. This was considered unusual at the time. She was one of the first pianists to perform without sheet music, and this became a common practice for concerts. She also helped change the types of music that concert pianists were expected to play. In her early career, before she married, she performed showy pieces that highlighted the performer’s skill, often arranged or rewritten from popular opera themes by skilled musicians like Thalberg, Herz, or Henselt. It was common to include one’s own compositions in performances, so she always included at least one of her own works, such as Variations on a Theme by Bellini (Op. 8) or the Scherzo (Op. 10). As she grew more independent, she focused more on music written by famous composers.

Clara taught pianists how to express emotion and create a singing tone, placing the composer’s intentions above technical skill. One of her students, Mathilde Verne, brought her teaching methods to England, where she taught others, including Solomon. Another student, Carl Friedberg, shared her approach at the Juilliard School in America, where he taught Nina Simone, Malcolm Frager, and Bruce Hungerford.

Clara also helped bring the music of Robert Schumann into the spotlight. She promoted his works throughout her life, ensuring they were recognized and included in concert programs.

Clara Schumann has been shown in many films. Träumerei (Dreaming), the oldest known film about her, was first shown in Zwickau on May 3, 1944. A well-known film is Song of Love (1947), in which Katharine Hepburn played Clara, Paul Henreid played Robert, and Robert Walker played Johannes Brahms. In 1954, Loretta Young portrayed Clara in a television episode titled The Clara Schumann Story, where she supported her husband’s composing career. Two more recent German films, Frühlingssinfonie (Spring Symphony) (1983) and Geliebte Clara (Beloved Clara) (2008), feature her story, with Nastassja Kinski and Martina Gedeck playing Clara, respectively.

Clara’s life has also been explored in operas and plays. A chamber opera titled Clara by Victoria Bond and Barbara Zinn-Krieger, and a two-act opera called Ghost Variations by Tony Manfredonia and Aiden K. Feltkamp, both focus on her life. A live theatrical performance called Twin Spirits also tells her story. In 1982, Elfriede Jelinek wrote a play titled Clara S, musikalische Tragödie, which imagines a fictional meeting between Clara and Gabriele D’Annunzio.

An image of Clara from a 1835 lithograph by Andreas Staub appeared on the 100 Deutsche Mark banknote from 1989 until the euro was introduced in 2002. The back of the note showed a grand piano she played and the exterior of Dr. Hoch’s Konservatorium. The great hall of the conservatory’s new building is named after her.

Clara’s music is not often used in movies or soundtracks, except in documentaries and educational films. In Geliebte Clara, only a few of her compositions, such as Three Romances, Op. 11, are played. A musical theme called the “Clara” motif, originally written by her husband in his Romance Varie, was used by both Robert and Johannes Brahms. This theme is strongly connected to Clara and Robert’s love and appears in Song of Love (1947). A similar musical theme is used for the character Clara Oswald in the British science fiction series Doctor Who.

Clara’s music is included in educational materials to highlight her importance as a female composer in a field dominated by men. In the 21st century, artists like Lara Downes have recorded and compiled her work, such as in her 2019 album For Love Of You, which celebrates the 200th anniversary of Clara’s birth.