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Period: to
Robert Schumann(1810—1856), in full Robert Alexander Schumann's lifespan
Robert Schumann, in full Robert Alexander Schumann, (born June 8, 1810, Zwickau, Saxony [Germany]—died July 29, 1856, Endenich, near Bonn, Prussia [Germany]), German Romantic composer renowned particularly for his piano music, songs (lieder), and orchestral music. Many of his best-known piano pieces were written for his wife, the pianist Clara Schumann. -
Period: to
Clara Schumann(1819—1896), née Clara Josephine Wieck's lifespan
Born Sept. 13, 1819, Leipzig, Saxony Germany—Died May 20, 1896, Frankfurt am Main, Ger. -Child prodigy
-Pianist
-German pianist
-Composer
-wife of composer Robert Schumann. Grew up in Leipzig, where both her father Friedrich Wieck and her mother Mariane were pianists and piano teachers. In addition, her mother was a singer. -
Clara's parents were divorced
Wieck were divorced with Mariane in 1824 later marrying Bargiel in between 1825-1841. -
Clara began her piano lesson
Encouraged by her father, she studied piano from the age of 5. Five-year-old Clara remained with her father while Mariane and Bargiel eventually moved to Berlin, limiting contact between Clara and her mother to written letters and occasional visits. -
Robert met Wieck, heard Clara played, and applied to have 2 years lesson with Wieck
Robert Schumann met Friedrich Wieck and heard Clara play. Impressed by the child's musicality and technical prowess, he applied to Wieck for piano lessons and studied with him until the following year. The Carus home remained the center of his musical and social life. pp.38 -
Clara's official debut and first met Robert Schumann
Clara Wieck made her official debut on 28 October 1828 at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, at age nine. The same year, she performed at the Leipzig home of Ernst Carus, director of the mental hospital at Colditz Castle. There, she met another gifted young pianist who had been invited to the musical evening, Robert Schumann, who was nine years older. -
Letter to Robert's mother to choose music over the law
In July he wrote to his mother, "My whole life has been a struggle between Poetry and Prose, or if you like call music and the law... now I am standing at the crossroads and the questions "Which way?" With her permission, by Christmas he was back in Leipzig, at age 20 taking piano lessons from his old master Friedrich Wieck, who assured him that he would be a successful concert pianist after a few years' study with him. -
Clara toured EU with her father and played with Paganini
From September 1831 to April 1832
- In Weimar, she performed a bravura piece by Henri Herz for Goethe, who presented her with a medal with his portrait and a written note saying: "For the gifted artist Clara Wieck".- During that tour,Niccolò Paganini, who was also in Paris, offered to appear with her.
- Her Paris recital was poorly attended because many people had fled the city due to an outbreak of cholera.
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Clara and Wieck left Leipzig for concert
In 1832, when Clara and her father had left Leipzig for a concert trip, Robert wrote: "You can hardly believe how I long for her (Clara) and both of you." -
Robert wrote to Wieck when Clara and him were on the concert toured
In June 1832, he wrote to Wieck, " Every day in which I cannot speak with you or Clara is a blank in my Leipzig life" pp.41 -
Twenty-second Birthday of Schumann was special
Paganini Caprices op.3 For his twenth-second birthday, Clara played two of his Paganini Caprices op.3 for him and also gave him a small gift she had brought from Paris. He was pleased by her attention but valued her performance above all, for by the time Papillons came out, Robert had given up the thought of a concert career, resolved to become a composer, and was turning to the young girl for performances of his work. -
Ernestine von Fricken study and board with Wieck and briefly engaged with Schumann briefly engaged to her
Ernestine von Fricken first came to Leipzig to study and board with Wieck in April 1834, Clara enjoyed the thought of another friend close to her age. Schumann briefly engaged to her on July 2, 1834. pp.44 -
Celebrated 16-years-old Clara
Early in the fall of 1835, Clara celebrated her sixteenth and, accprding to her diary, " most brilliant" birthday with a group of her father's friends, and severla of them, to her joy, young. One of them is Felix Mendelssohn, the newly appointed director of the Gewandhaus Orchestra. -
Clara's first kiss
"...the first kiss in November, Then her trip to Zwickau at the end of November. I follow...Complete separation from Ernestine" Clara was deliriously happy. She wrote to him later. "When you gave me that first kiss, I thought I would faint; everything went blank and I could barely hold the lamp that was lighting your way out"
The kisses continued when they met in Zwickau in December on a concert tour Wieck arranged. pp.47 -
Piano Concerto in A minor, Op.7 : Clara's Composition in 1833
Concerto in A minor Op.7 The Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 7, was composed by Clara Wieck, better known as Clara Schumann after her later marriage to Robert Schumann. She completed her only finished piano concerto in 1835, and played it first that year with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, conducted by Felix Mendelssohn. -
Wieck's rage erupted at Clara for the first time
Now, in February 1836, Wieck's range erupted at Clara for the first time. He threatened to shoot Schumann if she should meet him again. Wieck scheduled another long concert trip to keep her away from Leipzig and, except for a maid, was her sole companion on a concert tour to Dresden, Gorlitz, and Breslau from February to April. It was a miserably unhappy tour, with Wieck in a rage from beginning to end. -
First long separation of Clara from Schumann was hard
For Clara, Touring with her father, shut up with for days on end in slow coaches and rehearsal halls, closeted in uncomfortable inns, she was forced to endure his attacks on Robert...Wieck expected his daughter to carry on her concert career as she had always done, Her only contact with Robert was through his music; Toccata and First Piano Sonata for small private musical circles only.
For Robert, he threw himself into work—composing, studying, writing—and an active social life. -
The eighteen-year-old Clara declared her love for Robert and break with Wieck
The effort to break with her father engendered extremely anguish. Wieck viewed the trip to Vienna as his greatest artistic and financial triumph. Clara's success exceeded anything he had ever dreamed of. Yet during the trip to Vienna which began in October 1837, a psychological separation from her father began to seem possible. Clara was gaining an independent identity. pp.55-56 -
The midst of battle with Wieck over Clara.
Many years later, Robert wrote a soul-searching letter to his beloved. Ge confided that he had "terrible hours of self-doubt" because of the way Wieck treated him. But he admitted "I love and honor your father for his many great and noble qualities..." He was already an established editor, critic, and composers, but his need for Wieck have been stronger. -
Wieck before Clara's marriage
Wieck had given up his Leipzig piano business and resettled as a voice and piano teacher in Dresden almost a year before his daughter's marriage, ostensibly because he wished to work with Johann Aloys Miksch, who was nearing the end of his long career as a voice teacher.
Wieck ignored the birthday greetings Clara sent him in August -
Clara declared Marriage
The wedding on September 12, 1840, the day before twenty-first birthday, settled the conflict between father and lover. Filled with both joy and trepidation, she was not the wife of Robert Schumann. On September 13, 1840, she made the last entry in her diary:
Now a new life is beginning, a beautiful life, a life in which love for him is greater than all else... -
Schumann as a thoughtful husband
Schumann was, by and large, a devoted and thoughtful husband. He was generous and left the administration of the household to Clara: his household books record gifts and "extra" money for his wife almost every month; he registered his love and great pride in her playing and musicianship in the diary and in letters to friends. -
Quarter of a year in marriage
On December 5, 1840, Clara declared in the marriage diary, "We have been married a quarter of a year today, and it is the happiest quarter of a year of my life." There was, however, one "but" expressed: her sadness about the continued break with her father. The only contact between 2 families was through lawyers, courts, and go-betweens. -
My wife requested that her maiden name be omitted
The concerts in nearby Weimar in November 1841, in which Clara played solos in the first half and his new symphony was performed in the second, were gratifying to both. In accepting the invitation, Robert proudly wrote to the conductor, "My wife requests that her maiden name be omitted from the announcement of the concert; she wants to be called by my name, But the decision to accept invitations from Bremen and Hamburg involved more problems. -
The court ruled against Wieck
The court ruled against Wieck on February 27, 1841.lara's piano was delivered to her. The result of distressful negotiations conducted by a go-between. In August 1841, however, just before her first child, Marie, was born, Clara was forced to ask their old friend Ernst Adolph Becker to intercede in order to collect the 43 taler Wieck had agreed to pay for the shipping of the piano.* pp.82 -
Fear of losing Schumann
Yet her discomfort expressed itself in many ways: she was jealous of Robert's attentions to Amalie Rieffel, a student of his and the daughter of a friend; she was annoyed by her aunt Emilie Carl, her mother's sister, who she felt interfered in the running of the Schumann household; most distressing, and in the face of all evidence to the contrary, she had recurrent fears of losing Robert's love. -
One other conflict ruffled early months of marriage
One other conflict ruffled the idyllic early months of the marriage, and the emotions aroused led to much discomfort and suppressed anger. Clara craved and for the most part received from Robert love, warmth, approval, and musical and intellectual inspiration, but he could not give her what had been part of her life for many years-full participation in the musical world, the opportunity for self-expression that making music provided, the adoration and admiration of
in the audience. -
Full-scale renewal of Clara's solo career from January to April 25, 1842
She accepted all invitations to perform at least fifteen concerts. In those years a woman, even a married woman, could not travel alone. Robert had to accompany her on most of the tours. He did not relish the role of traveling companion and manager, and though his works for both piano and orchestra were always performed on her programs, he was uncomfortable about leaving home and child, his editorial responsibilities, and the peace and quiet required for creative work. -
Clara's reunion with her father in Dresden
Finally, in December 1843, more than a year after Clara's reunion with her father, Schumann reluctantly agreed to meet with him, and after the Peri performances in Dresden, Clara and Robert spent Christmas with the Wiecks. The reunion was cool, however, and the relationship remained perfunctory. Clara never regained her trust in her father, and both she and Robert suspected bad faith for years after the reconciliation. -
Clara's Russian tour in Midwinter
Chara with her amazing stamina, had no difficulty with the rigors of a Rise sea tour in midwinter. She described several weeks of cold...They almost Froze, but Clara, exhilarated and fulfilled, pressed on... Clara earned a great deal of money close to 6,000 taler, of which almost 3,000 was clear profit- and was much acclaimed on the Russian tour. pp.97 -
Clara joined Robert on the faculty of Leipzig Conservatoiry
Clara joined Robert on the faculty of the Leipzig Conservatory, but their teaching was interrupted when Robert suffered a severe physical and mental breakdown. Several other cures were attempted; he had pains, he trembled, he wept, he could not sleep.
It was no longer simply a "nervous" condition; he had pains, he trembled, he wept, he could not sleep. Clara got pregnant with her third child, abandoned plans for another concert trip and devoted herself to Robert and his health. pp.99 -
Dresden Years
Her public career slowed down during the Dresden years
Robert's health and her obligations as wife and mother, her continuous pregnancies (5 in all; one resulted in a miscarriage) during their five years in Dresden, the musical and political situation there, and her unfailing presence at and support of all Schumann's activities....but the concerts she gave were outstanding events and she premiered works of great significance. She performed Schumann's Piano Concerto for the first time in Dresden. -
Schumann's condition deteriorated rapidly!
In 1852 Schumann's condition deteriorated rapidly. He suffered great physical and mental anguish during the 1852-53 season, and although he conducted one concert at the Lower Rhine Music Festival in May 1853, it seemed clear to everyone except his wife--that he did not have the energy to continue as municipal music director and certainly did not have the strength to withstand the accusations and counter accusations, threats of dismissal, and charges of intrigue that were flying back and forth. -
Alarming symptoms in 1852
His symptoms were alarming: he was more taciturn and withdrawn than ever, he had attacks that resembled mild strokes, he had no strength or stamina, and worst of all, he suffered from auditory hallucinations in which certain tones sounded incessantly--torture to anyone and a special horror for a musician. Effective conducting was out of the question, though he continued to compose and write. -
Clara's 34-years birthday & 19 years wedding anniversary
Clara's birthday-her thirty-fourth - and their thirteenth wedding anniversary were celebrated in great style. After elaborate preparations, Schumann, who was feeling particularly well at this time, arranged an excursion and the following day presented his wife with a new piano, piled high with newly composed music.
She was frightened by the frenzied pace at which he had been working and by the great expense of the new piano. -
Clara Schumann: Drei Romanzen Op. 21 (1853)
Clara Schumann: Drei Romanzen Op. 21 (1853) She exerted her influence over a 61-year concert career, changing the format and repertoire of the piano recital and the tastes of the listening public. Her husband was the composer Robert Schumann. Together they encouraged Johannes Brahms. She was the first to perform publicly any work by Brahms. -
Brahms visited Schumann home
Brahms had turned at the Schumann home at the urging of Joachim... Robert loves him and takes great pleasure in him, both the man and the artist..Robert wrote a nice article about him, "Neue Bahnen". It appeared in Brendel's Zeitschrift. Brahms' presence may have helped the couple recapture the joy and excitement of their early days in Leipzig when they were at the center of new musical thought. pp.118 -
Schumann's last composition before going to asylum
Schumann: Ghost Variations, WoO 24
In the night of 17 February 1854, Schumann, suffering from severe aural hallucinations, claimed that he heard angels dictating a theme to him. From Clara Schumann’s diary, he immediately wrote down the theme...
This work is extraordinarily intimate. The variations cleave closely to the original theme..He did not seem to realize that the chorale theme that he wrote down was one he had used several times before -
Schumann was insisting that he must go to an insane asylum
By the night of February 26 Schumann was insisting that he must go to an insane asylum, "as he could no longer control his mind ..." Doctors were summoned, and for the first time in ten days and nights Clara did not sit with him. "The next moming...he got up but was so profoundly melancholy that I cannot possibly describe it. When I merely touched him, he said, 'Ah, Clara, I am not worthy of your love...to whom I had always looked up with the greatest" pp.120 -
Clara works to pay for Schumann's medical bills
Clara works to pay for Schumann's medical bills. About 23 concerts are given with 3 months.
Her art gave her more than solace: performing for audiences provided the love Schumann...On the one hand, she desperately wanted her husband back again; on the other, she could not face seeing him mentally ill. She was proud that she could earn the money to pay the doctors' bills promptly but found them a heavy burden and briefly considered sending Robert to a less expensive state institution pp.126-127. -
Schumann's death
Schumann's illness and the cause of his death have been subjects of much controversy. The symptoms he presented were puzzling and the medical diagnosis... Dr. Richarz or his assistant saw Schumann daily and noted his pulse, digestion, pupils, temperature, eating habits, medication, mental condition, and behavior. Visitors-Brahms, Joachim permitted at times when Schumann was calm, but the physician obviously believed that visits from Clara at any time would be too upsetting for both. pp.129-130 -
Schumann's illness and the cause of his death
Schumann's illness and the cause of his death have been subjects of much controversy...the document contains excerpts from the log kept by Dr. Franz Richarz, the psychiatrist saw Schumann daily and noted his pulse, digestion, pupils, temperature, eating habits, medication, mental condition, and behavior. Visitors Brahms, Joachim...were permitted at times when Schumann was calm, but the physician obviously believed that visits from Clara at any time would be too upsetting for both.
pp.129-130