The History of Clara Schumann - Essay Example

Clara Schumann (Wilson) Clara Schumann was one of the famous German composer and musician of the nineteenth century. Clara was the most successful and distinguished pianists of the romantic era. She was born on 13 September 1819 in Leipzig, Germany. Her parents divorced when she was only four years old which forced her to live under her father’s guidance and control. She has started her sixty one year prolonged musical career at the age of eight years. During such a long career in music, she succeeded in changing some of the traditional concepts about music and the tastes of the listening public. In fact she has made a unique world of music which was unknown to the public till that time. The contributions of Clara Schumann to the world of music remain unique, especially when we consider the fact that most of the ancient musicians were from the dominant male community and females had many restrictions in the society during her life period. “In an era when women, apart from singers, almost never performed in public or composed, Clara Schumann did both” (Clara Schumann (1819-1896)). This paper analyses the life and contributions of Clara Schumann and answer the question "Why did Clara Schumann have great success during a time when women had many restrictions in society?" As in the cases of other regions and countries, the conditions of German women in the nineteenth century were not so encouraging. German women forced to work hard for finding livelihood, especially poor women. German women forced to work in domestic services and in shops during this period and it was difficult for them to concentrate on recreational areas like music because of the over burden of looking after their family and the male dominance in the society. Historically, German women faced severe discrimination in the society mainly because of the Christian prejudice against women. They were excluded even from church participation in till the beginning of the nineteenth century.  “As late as 1700, women were not allowed to sing in churches. In the Middle Ages, women were still subordinate to men. They could not be active in the political life of the society” (Gordeeva). However, Clara Schumann’s father was a brave person who had liberal views about social life. He never believed in traditions and customs even though he studied theology. He was a musician by profession and did everything needed to encourage his daughter Clara to learn music. However, Clara’s father was cruel at times which forced her to concentrate fully on her profession and learn more and more topics in piano playing. Clara slowly gained popularity and started to mesmerize the audience with her immense talents on Piano. She was able to play piano from her memory which was a rare sight during that period. In 1830’s, she met several famous musicians of that time, including Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, and Robert Schumann. The meeting with Robert Schumann made lot of changes in her life. “By 1836, Clara had become completely infatuated with Robert Schumann and her father’s concern over the suitability of the match was apparent” (Clara Schumann (1819-1896)). But her father was against this relationship. Robert Schumann was comparatively an unknown composer while Clara was already a famous and accomplished performer. “On March 15, 1838, at the age of 18, she received the greatest honor Austria could bestow: She was named Royal and Imperial Chamber Virtuosa, even though she was a protestant, foreigner and a female” (Reich, p.3). In other words, Clara’s popularity and fame was not limited to the boundaries of Germany alone. She became world famous even at the age of 18 which forced her father to try and break her love affair with Robert Schumann. Clara’s father tried to prevent Clara from meeting Schumann, but they strengthened their love affair through secret romantic letters. German laws during that period prevented a woman from marrying without her father’s consent. The battle between Clara’s father and Schumann extended to the courts, and after a year long legal battle, the court approved their marriage proposal against the will of Clara’s father. Clara and Schumann wed on September 12, 1840, one day before her twenty-first birthday and settled in Leipzig”(Clara Schumann (1819-1896)). “Robert and Clara Schumann had seven children together. This too affected their musical careers in that it opened a new dimension for composition - songs "about children" and songs "for children."” (Robert and Clara Schumann: A Biography). Clara enjoyed married life very much in the company of Robert. In fact their association was a blessing to the musical world. They composed many rare musical themes which were unknown to the public till that time. Clara’s married life with Schumann was a happy one till Schumann started to suffer some mental illness in the 1850’s. “Schumann had had a long standing fear of madness, for years he had read widely about mental illness. He was also an intensely emotional person” (Ostwald, p.2). He tried to commit suicide many times and exhibited violent characters. The doctors advised Clara to stay away from Schumann and they kept Schumann in a sanatorium for 2.5 years. Schumann died in 1856 and Clara became a widow at the age of 37. In 1853, Clara and Schumann met another musician Johannes Brahms, aged twenty at that time. At the first sight itself Clara and Schumann impressed by the musical capabilities of Brahms. Brahms became a lifelong friend of Clara family thereafter. He helped Clara a lot throughout the illness of her husband. He looked after her children also while she was on tour for musical concerts. Even though, they were good friends, till the death of Clara, there are no evidences to suggest anything beyond a normal friendship affair between them. Clara Schumann became a successful musician even though the society and the traditions raised many challenges to her. She had a strong personality and mental power to overcome all the resistances offered to her during her career as a musician. She dealt fire with fire rather than water which brought success in her personal life and musical life. She accepted the realities of life with both hands. For example, even though she loved her husband very much, she never tried to bring her husband back in her home or company even though his mental diseases were cured. It appears that Clara - who did not see her husband again until he was on his deathbed - could have brought him home when his condition improved, but chose not to. The writer Bettina von Arnim visited him in Endenich and found him in good health, but in the care of doctors who verged on the sadistic. Effectively imprisoned, Schumann lost the will to live; his death was the result of self-starvation (Clara Schumann: The troubled career of the pianist) Clara Schumann was more realistic in her approaches to life tragedies. She accepted her fate without any complaint. The nature of her relationship with Johannes Brahms is still debated in the musical world. Many people believe that Johannes Brahms was the second husband of Clara Schumann even though no evidences were collected yet. However, it is a fact that Clara never bothered much about her husband’s loss or the tragedies she faced in her life. “By the close of1856 September, Clara’s means were exhausted. ‘My money is at an end” she wrote in September” (Litzmann, p.81). After the death of her husband, Clara forced to take the responsibility of her children alone. Thus instead of worrying about the loss of her husband, she accepted the reality and continued her music composition and performances. In fact many people believe that Clara and Robert had contrasting personalities which resulted in the mental disease of Robert. “Robert was obviously sensitive, volatile and unstable; living with someone as tough and capable as Clara could have induced him to withdraw into himself even more"(Clara Schumann: The troubled career of the pianist). Clara Schumann was an important participant in the construction of social, aesthetic, and pedagogical frameworks that contributed to the solidification of the musical work as a conceptual entity. Close inspection of her life and personal views reveals a complex interplay of elements commonly seen as antithetical (for example, emotional experience and conceptual construction). Schumann's private, emotional relationship with music drove her to idealize the musical work itself as an autonomous entity (Pedroza) To conclude, Clara Schumann was a superwoman who rewrote the history of music in many ways. When most of the women in the nineteenth century confined within the walls of their home, Clara bravely came out of her home and wrote a new chapter in the musical history. Even though she faced lot of challenges from her father and husband during her life, she overcame all these challenges with the help of strong determination and character. In short, she is a great example of determination and will power and a great composer during the nineteenth century, especially when we consider the fact that women were only starting to fight for their rights in society during her era. Works Cited 1. “Clara Schumann (1819-1896)”. Web. 03 April 2011. 2. “Clara Schumann: The Troubled Career of the Pianist”. 2006. Web. 03 April 2011. 3. Gordeeva, Tatyana. “German Women and 3 K's”. Web. 03 April 2011. 4. Litzmann, Berthold. “Clara Schumann: An Artist’s Life”. 2007. Publisher: Litzmann Press (March 15, 2007) 5. Ostwald, Peter. “Schumann: The Inner Voices of a Musical Genius”.1987. Publisher: Northeastern (March 2, 1987) 6. Pedroza, Ludim R. “Music as Communitas: Franz Liszt, Clara Schumann, and the Musical Work.” Journal of Musicological Research 29 (2010): Abstract only Web. 03 April 2011. 7. “Robert and Clara Schumann: A Biography”. Web. 03 April 2011. 8. Reich, Nancy B. “Clara Schumann: The Artist and the Woman”. 2001. Publisher: Cornell University Press; Revised edition (June 2001) 9. Wilson, Pip. “Clara Schumann”. Web. 03 April 2011. Read More