Clara Wieck (1819 -1896) Germany
- andreachamizoalber
- Aug 31
- 2 min read
Composer, pianist, and teacher. Considered one of the most outstanding pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence throughout a 61-year concert career. She wrote piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, songs, and a Piano Concerto, Op. 7, which I present below. As you know, the link to download the score is below.
Clara gave her first concert at age 9. That same year, she met 18-year-old Robert Schumann, who was amazed by her playing. Robert requested permission to study piano with Clara's father, and during that time, he rented a room in the Wieck house, where he lived for approximately a year. When Clara was 18, she was named a Royal and Kaiserliche Österreichische Kammer-virtuosin ( Royal and Imperial Chamber Virtuoso), Austria's highest honor.
Here are her 3 Romances, Op. 21, with a link to download the score.
Clara and Robert married in 1840, when she was just 21. From that moment on, they maintained a musical life together until 1854, when Robert collapsed, attempted suicide, and was confined to a mental asylum for two years. Throughout this time, and even afterward, Brahms was a great support to Clara, becoming very close friends.
Here is her Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 17, and the link to download the score.
Clara wrote, "Composing gives me great pleasure; nothing surpasses the joy of creation." Most of her music was never played by anyone but her and was largely forgotten until a revival of interest in it in the 1970s. Today, her compositions are increasingly performed and recorded. Here is the third of the 3 Preludes and Fugues, Op. 16, with a link to download the score.
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