Posted
on September 13, 2014
Clara
Wieck (born in Germany on this date in 1819) was a child prodigy and
musician who was taught piano, violin, singing, music theory,
harmony, composition, and counterpoint by her father. She took an
hour-long lesson every day, and she practiced two hours a day.
So
of course she got really good. I mean, anyone would, right?
Wieck
performed in a sort of piano recital at age 8, and there she met
another gifted young musician, Robert Schumann, age 17. Schumann
ended up taking lessons from Mr. Wieck as well.
Wieck
went on a concert tour to Paris and other European cities when she
was just 11 years old. (Her dad went with her.) By the time she was
18, she was performing for sell-out crowds and earning rave reviews.
Oh,
and I almost forgot to mention, when she was 18 she married Schumann!
When
Clara Schumann was young, her father chose the music she would
perform, and he chose popular music that was quite showy; when she
was older and making her own musical selections, she began to play
works by the new Romantic composers: Chopin, Mendelssohn, and her
husband! She also played music from the past, but instead of the
showy “pop” music, she played difficult pieces by people like
Bach and Mozart and Beethoven.
Apparently
Wieck-Schumann didn't feel confident with her own compositions and,
once she was older, she rarely played them; however, nowadays her
compositions are performed and enjoyed by many. Before she lost
confidence at around age 36, Wieck-Schumann wrote songs, piano
pieces, choral pieces, and pieces for violin and piano.
Clara
Schumann was one of the first pianists to perform from memory (rather
than having sheet music, and of course having the distraction of
someone turning the pages of the sheet music), and she shaped the
future of classical music because performing from memory became the
standard.
She
also promoted her husband's music, causing it to be much more known
and played and respected, no doubt, than if she hadn't.
She
also raised eight children and, later, some of her grandchildren. She
is famous for walking through the city of Dresden in 1849, when there
was an uprising, defying a group of armed men, rescuing her children,
and marching right back out of the city again, crossing the front
lines once again.
 |
| Google has honored Clara Schumann with a Doodle. |
 |
| Clara Schumann appeared on German money...before the euro! |
She
also was the main breadwinner for her family because of her teaching and her concerts.
I
mean, seriously, Clara Wieck-Schumann sounds like a pretty amazing
woman!
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