Today, after a very exhausting week, I return to talk to you about women, and what a woman!
Clara Josephine Wieck (Leipzig, 1819 – Frankfurt am Main, 1896), a German pianist and composer among the most important of the Romantic era, was the wife of Robert Schumann.
Her father Johann Gottlob Friedrich Wieck, was an esteemed piano and singing teacher, founder of a renowned piano factory, and had as students his daughters from his first and second marriages - Clara and Maria - as well as Hans von Bülow and Robert Schumann.
Clara soon demonstrated her talents and, unfortunately for her, her father took her under his wing, which, rather than being protective, was oppressive. Wieck's pedagogical methods, which von Bülow and Schumann also had the opportunity to experience, made her an acclaimed concert artist; however, they did not care much about the needs of childhood, even though they produced remarkable musical results.
In Wieck's behavior, we can find many of the traits (tyranny, possessiveness, etc.) that some Mozart biographers (e.g., Maynard Solomon) attribute to his father Leopold.
As a very young girl, Clara traveled Europe for concerts, enchanting courts (at age 18 she was appointed chamber virtuoso to the Emperor of Austria) and prominent musicians, whose compositions featured in her first repertoire at her father's urging; among these Berlioz, Meyerbeer and Chopin. Only after her marriage and separation from her father did Clara include Bach or van Beethoven in her repertoire.
Extremely precocious also in compositions: her Op. 1 (Quatre Polonaises) was published when she was ten years old. Clara's compositional vein expressed itself for a long time, as did her interpretive one, despite the birth of no fewer than 8 children.
Having fallen in love with Robert Schumann, but opposed by her father, who was unconvinced of his pupil's mental stability, she married him on the day she came of age.
The first years of marriage were serene and very fruitful for both, as each encouraged the other's activity.
Unfortunately, over time Robert began to deteriorate, and Clara had to dedicate herself to his care.
After her husband's death, she spent some years with her mother, who had divorced Wieck, then moved to Frankfurt, cultivating a friendship with Brahms, who was devoted to her for many years, and interpreting his works, as well as those of her beloved husband, Beethoven and Chopin.
I finish by remembering that, mysteriously or perhaps naturally, her compositional vein ran dry with the death of her husband.
Today I propose to you the "Nocturne in F Major," from Op. 6 "Soirées Musicales" composed in 1835.
As you can see, Clara's feminine and romantic vein expresses itself intensely, with a piece of great and exemplary structural simplicity that enchanted me and which, I believe soon, will lead me to study it. Unfortunately, I have not found an adequate female performance, so I submit this one to you.
Happy reading and listening!