Click here for in-class notes 

Clara (Wieck) Schumann was the wife of famous composer Robert Schumann. She was born in Germany on September 13th, 1819. She began playing and composing music very early in life and played concerts as early as age 11. She was a very gifted piano player who became very famous for her talents. People from all over Europe were fans of Clara Schumann's concerts.

When she was 19 she married Robert Schumann. He was a very talented composer as well, and together they wrote Leiders (German songs) and piano pieces. Robert Schumann wrote many songs about Clara as well. Clara and Robert Schumann had 7 children together and Clara took care of them while she played concerts and continued to write music. 

At the time, (the 1800s) it was expected that music was written by men and not by women. Clara often thought that it was wrong of her to write music, but many of her composer friends (mostly men) loved to here her play the music that she wrote. Her and Robert were friends with Brahms, Mendelssohn, Chopin, and Franz Liszt.

Clara Schumann died on May 20th, 1897 after a long life of performing. She only composed for the first half of her life because people weren't willing to accept a female composer. Robert Schumann wrote this in his diary:

"Clara has composed a series of small pieces, which show a musical and tender ingenuity such as she has never attained before. But to have children, and a husband who is always living in the realm of imagination, does not go together with composing. She cannot work at it regularly, and I am often disturbed to think how many profound ideas are lost because she cannot work them out."