Clara Schumann

Hello! My name is Clara, and I want to tell you my story. I was born Clara Wieck on September 13th, 1819, in a German city called Leipzig. My father, Friedrich Wieck, was a famous piano teacher, and he decided I would become a great musician. From the time I was a little girl, my life was filled with music. He was a very strict teacher, but I loved the piano. I practiced for hours every single day, and by the time I was nine years old, in 1828, I performed in public for the first time.

Soon, I wasn't just playing at home. My father took me on concert tours all across Europe. Imagine a young girl traveling by carriage to big cities like Paris and Vienna to play for kings and queens! On November 8th, 1830, when I was only eleven, I gave my first full solo concert in Leipzig. People called me a child prodigy, which is a special name for a child with amazing talent. I didn't just play other people's music; I started writing my own, too. I composed my first big piece, a Piano Concerto, when I was a teenager.

When I was growing up, a talented young man named Robert Schumann came to study piano with my father. We became great friends and loved making music together. As we got older, we fell in love. But my father did not want us to get married. He thought Robert would get in the way of my music career. We were heartbroken, but we knew we belonged together. We had to go to court to ask a judge for permission to marry. Finally, the judge agreed, and we were married on September 12th, 1840, the day right before my 21st birthday.

Being married to Robert was wonderful. Our home was always filled with music, friends, and our eight children! It was a busy life, but I found a way to be a mother and still be a concert pianist. In fact, I became one of the most famous performers in all of Europe. I loved playing the beautiful music Robert wrote. But our life had sad times, too. Robert became very ill, and he passed away in 1856. I was so sad, but I knew I had to be strong for our children and keep his music alive.

To support my family, I went back to touring and performing all over Europe. I was also one of the first people to perform music from memory, without any sheets in front of me! I wanted to make sure Robert’s music was never forgotten, so I played his pieces in my concerts. I also became close friends with another wonderful composer, Johannes Brahms. In 1878, I took a job as the main piano teacher at a famous music school, the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt. After a long and wonderful career, I gave my very last public concert on March 12th, 1891.

I lived a long and very full life, and I lived to be 76 years old. Looking back, I am proud that I was not only a performer, but also a composer and a teacher who shared my love of music with the world. Today, my compositions are still played by musicians, and I am remembered as one of the most important female musicians and greatest pianists of the Romantic era. I showed everyone that a woman could be a mother, a wife, and a world-famous artist all at the same time.