Clara Schumann, Nocturne No 2, Op 6

A pianist, composer and mother of eight children

Although it may seem strange in our day, Clara Schumann was one of the few pianists of her time who performed in public playing from memory. Born in Leipzig in 1819, she made her formal debut at the age of eleven, in the famous Gewandhaus Hall, and by eighteen she had already toured Germany, France and Austria. On the death of her husband Robert, she had to assume the role of "family provider" and thus became one of the very few women – if not the only one – who could develop a successful international career as a concert pianist in the mid-19th century.

Clara was the daughter of Friedrich Wieck, a talented piano teacher from Leipzig. To Wieck's house the future composer Robert Schumann came to stay, as was the custom, to attend daily classes with the teacher. Clara was eleven years old, Robert twenty. Ten years later they will marry, after overcoming the countless pitfalls arranged by Friedrich. Afterwards, as a result of a self-inflicted injury to a finger of his right hand, Robert abandoned his career as an interpreter forever. So, Clara had to take the task of publicizing the work of her husband in Europe, along with her own, in addition to that of Bach, Doménico Scarlatti, Beethoven, Schubert and, of course, Johannes Brahms.

Despite both developing an intense musical career, the couple had eight children who, upon returning from their tours – which could last several months – had to care for and, simultaneously, resume their piano lessons and sit down to compose. These circumstances, which could have weakened the partner relations, were nevertheless beneficial for both: Robert urged Clara to compose, and she transcribed Robert's orchestral works on the piano to make them known on tour. In return for such dedication, Robert included in his own work several quotes from passages born from Clara's inventiveness.

Six of the eight children of Clara
and Robert Schumann

With Robert's passing in 1856, the composer-pianist was widowed at age 37. She resumed her tours, which she had suspended as a result of her husband's long and painful mental illness, reconquering her audience and becoming the most brilliant concert player of the 19th century. But she stopped composing. Since then, her aim was the disclosure of her husband's work, focusing on the publication and reissue of his music. Clara's last public performance was in 1891, although she continued to teach at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt until her death on May 20, 1896.

Clara Schumann's work is not fully known to us. We know that it contains pieces for solo piano, songs for voice and piano, chamber music, orchestra and choral music. The piece we are listening to, made up by 15-year-old Clara, bears the number 2 of her opus 6, a set of short pieces titled Soirees Musicales.
The rendition is by the Danish pianist Bart von Oort.

Generally speaking, Clara's output remained practically unknown during her life, although after 1870 some interest arose in publishing her works. It was not until the second half of the twentieth century that part of her work was published, but much of it is not yet public knowledge because it belongs to private collections. Inexplicably, too, the Encyclopedia Britannica, 1984 edition, does not contain an exclusive entry for Clara in its macropedia.