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Ashley Armstrong

ENGL 1010

16 November 2018

Mrs. Stump

The Life of Clara Schumann

In a letter to composer Johannes Brahms, Clara Schumann states, “Die Ausübung der

Kunst ist ja ein grosses Teil meines ichs, es ist mir die Luft, in der ich atme!” (“Clara Schumann

Née Wieck”). The English translation reads as follows: “Performing the art is a big part of my

life, it is the air that I breathe!” (“Clara Schumann Née Wieck”). Certainly, this statement is true

of the remarkable Schumann. During the 19th century, women were not accepted as either

instrumentalists or composers; Schumann was both. She is one of the most popular female

musicians from before the 20th century, as both a skilled pianist and composer. Schumann’s life

was an unusual one that led not only to her outstanding proficiency at piano and her ability to

compose beautiful works of music, but also to her popularity as a remarkable figure of her time

period.

Clara Wieck was born on September 13, 1819 in Leipzig, Germany (“Clara Schumann”

[Dallas Symphony Orchestra]). Both her parents and members of her extended family were

musically inclined; her father, Friedrich Wieck, was a piano teacher and purveyor of musical

instruments (“Clara Schumann” [Music Academy Online]). Clara Wieck’s mother, Mariane

Wieck-Bargiel, was a pianist and singer of high regard, but also a piano student of Wieck, which

only served to boost his renowned (“Mariane Wieck-Bargiel, Née Tromlitz”). Unfortunately, the

Wiecks’ marriage was not long-lasting; they divorced in 1825, and, per Saxon law, the father
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held custody of the three oldest children, including Clara Wieck (“Mariane Wieck-Bargiel, Née

Tromlitz”). At age five, Clara Wieck began piano lessons with her father, who “wanted her to

become a famous piano virtuosa, in which he succeeded without any doubt” (“Clara Schumann

Née Wieck”). Along with piano, Clara Wieck learned “violin, theory, and various areas of

composition with the best teachers in Leipzig, Dresden, and Berlin” (“Clara Schumann” [Music

Academy Online]). Furthermore, she attended concerts to learn about performance and studied

her father’s letters to learn about the business portion of music (“Clara Schumann” [Music

Academy Online]). In addition to her musical studies, Clara Wieck was also “educated by private

teachers,” learning English and French (“Clara Schumann Née Wieck”). Her father also put

emphasis on her physical education, and Clara Wieck took daily walks for most of her life

(“Clara Schumann Née Wieck”). Though her father was sometimes harsh, Clara Wieck

considered his strict teaching “a blessing because it made her a more solid musician” (“Clara

Schumann” [Music Academy Online]). Her strong musical education prepared Clara Wieck for a

lifetime of composing, teaching, and above all, performing music. The beginning of her

performing career was in 1828, when, at the age of nine, Clara Wieck performed publicly for the

first time in the Leipzig Gewandhaus (“Clara Schumann” [Music Academy Online]). After her

formal debut at age eleven, Clara Wieck toured France, Austria, and Germany under the

management of her father (“Clara Schumann” [Music Academy Online]). Her virtuosity is

underscored by the fact that she premiered several piano works by composers such as Schubert,

Beethoven, and, at age eleven, “Papillons” by Robert Schumann (“Clara Schumann” [Music

Academy Online]). Throughout her time as a performer, Clara Wieck made several prestigious

accomplishments. Several of these accomplishments include being “honoured by the Austrian

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court and also [being] elected to the prestigious Society of the Friends of Music (Gesellschaft der

Musikfreunde) in Vienna” (Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica). Clearly, she was fulfilling her

father’s dreams by becoming a well-known musician across Europe.

While Clara Wieck was gaining prestige and notoriety from an entire continent, the

relatively little-known composer Robert Schumann came to live with Wieck and his family for

the purpose of taking piano lessons (Abraham). Schumann had dropped out of law school to

pursue a career as a composer (Abraham). While living with her family, he was quickly taken by

Clara Wieck, and the two began a romantic relationship (“Clara Schumann” [Music Academy

Online]). Clara Wieck’s father, however, did not approve of their relationship, so he sent her to

Dresden (“Clara Schumann” [Music Academy Online]). Nonetheless, Schumann and Clara

Wieck kept in touch by writing letters and sending them through an intermediary (“Clara

Schumann” [Music Academy Online]). When she was nineteen, Clara Wieck went on a tour in

France without her father. This move showed her growing independence from her father’s

influence (“Clara Schumann Née Wieck”). When the two announced plans to marry, Wieck was

furious (“Clara Schumann” [Music Academy Online]). Clara Wieck could not acquire her

father’s approval to marry, as was required by German law, so Schumann took the matter to court

(“Clara Schumann” [Music Academy Online]). In retaliation, Wieck “prevented them from

meeting for long periods, tried to intercept their correspondence, filed lawsuits, impugned

Schumann’s reputation and eventually Clara’s as well, and refused to share the money she had

earned with her concert performances” (“Clara Schumann” [Yale University Library]).

Nonetheless, the courts ruled in favor of Schumann and Clara Wieck (“Clara Schumann” [Music

Academy Online]). In 1840 the couple was married (“Clara Schumann” [Dallas Symphony
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Orchestra]). The Schumanns were immensely blissful. Together, they had eight children, seven

of whom lived to adulthood (Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica). Schumann continued to tour,

even with such a large family, but her husband’s composing career began to take priority over

hers (“Clara Schumann” [Music Academy Online]). That is not to say Schumann disapproved of

his wife’s composing. In fact, he says, “I am often disturbed to think how many profound ideas

are lost because she cannot work them out” (Wilson et al.). He encouraged Schumann to

compose, even helping her to publish some of her works (“Clara Schumann” [Music Academy

Online]). He also encouraged Schumann musically by echoing some of her themes in his own

work (“Clara Schumann” [Music Academy Online]). Schumann aided her husband by arranging

his pieces and even sometimes premiering his works, even as she had with “Papillons” before

they were married (“Clara Schumann” [Music Academy Online]). Their marriage, as composer

Johannes Brahms stated in a letter, was one that “could only exist in the imagination of the rarest

people” (Popova). Unfortunately, this wonderful marriage is not well remembered today, due to

its abrupt end. On February 27th, 1854, Mr. Schumann attempted suicide by jumping off a bridge

into the Rhine river (Popova). Though he fortunately survived, Schumann spent the last two

years of his life in a “private psychiatric institution” with mental health problems (Popova). This

event had a lasting impact on her; after the suicide attempt of her dearest friend, Schumann

generally ceased from composing (“Clara Schumann” [Music Academy Online]). The loss of her

husband broke her heart. During this time, Schumann found solace in her friendship with the

young Brahms, who was a close friend of both Schumanns (Popova). Schumann’s doctors

believed that visits from his wife would damage his already frail nervous state, so Brahms

became the Schumanns’ lifeline to each other (Popova). He would visit the ailing man and bring
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back news to Schumann (Popova). Schumann did not see her beloved husband until several days

before his death in 1856 (“Clara Schumann Née Wieck”).

After this tragic event in her life, Schumann became the breadwinner for her family

(Wilson et al.). She resumed her touring schedule and even began to teach at local music

conservatories (Wilson et al.). She was extremely strong and devoted to her family. In fact,

“when one of her sons died, she adopted his children” (Wilson et al.). But she did not face these

struggles alone. She continued corresponding with Brahms, and the pair wrote about music and

about their intense feelings for each other (Popova). Many researchers still debate how far their

relationship went, but it is known that Brahms’s letters helped Schumann cope with a terribly

difficult time (Popova). While teaching at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt, Schumann

“contributed numerous advances to modern piano technique” (Wilson et al.). Schumann taught at

the conservatory until shortly before her death (“Clara Schumann” [Music Academy Online]).

She also continued performing until 1891 (“Clara Schumann” [Music Academy Online]). On

May 20, 1896, Schumann died in Frankfurt, Germany (“Clara Schumann” [Dallas Symphony

Orchestra]).

Throughout her life, despite major struggles and hardships, Schumann made numerous

advances in music. Not only was she a wonderful composer and pianist, but she was a

phenomenal musician in a time when women neither composed nor performed instrumentally in

public. She was also a loving wife, caring mother, and devoted friend. Schumann lived an

immensely full and vibrant life - one that gave the beauty of music to later generations. She truly

is a very remarkable figure in music.

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Works Cited

Abraham, Gerald E.H. “Robert Schumann.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica,

Inc., 25 July 2018, www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Schumann.

“Clara Schumann.” Dallas Symphony Orchestra: Clara Schumann, Dallas Symphony Orchestra,

www.mydso.com/dso-kids/learn-and-listen/composers/clara-schumann.

“Clara Schumann.” Music Academy Online, Music Academy Online, Inc.,

http://musicacademyonline.com/composer/biographies.php?bid=51.

“Clara Schumann.” Yale University Library: Exhibits at the Irving S. Gilmore Music Library.

Robert Schumann: Composer, Critic, and Correspondent. Clara Schumann. Engraved

Portrait by Em. Raerentzen & Co., 1842, Yale University, 2010,

www.library.yale.edu/musiclib/exhibits/schumann/portrait_schumann_clara.html.

Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Clara Schumann.” Encyclopædia Britannica,

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 9 Sept. 2018,

www.britannica.com/biography/Clara-Schumann.

Nauhaus, Julia M. “Clara Schumann Née Wieck (1819 – 1896).” Translated by Katharina Ma,

Schumann-Portal, www.schumann-portal.de/Biography-Clara.html.

Nauhaus, Julia M. “Mariane Wieck-Bargiel, Née Tromlitz (1797–1872), Mother of Clara

Schumann.” Translated by Katharina Ma, Schumann-Portal,

www.schumann-portal.de/mariane-bargiel-mother.html.

Popova, Maria. “When a Friendship Is More Than Friendship: The Tender Letters of Clara

Schumann and Johannes Brahms.” Brain Pickings, Brain Pickings, 13 Apr. 2017,

www.brainpickings.org/2017/02/21/clara-schumann-johannes-brahms-letters/.
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Wilson, Brant, et al. “Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann: The Inspiring Composers Music

History Missed – Soundfly.” Soundfly, Soundfly, 17 Sept. 2018,

flypaper.soundfly.com/discover/fanny-mendelssohn-and-clara-schumann-composers-mus

ic-history/.