POSTLUDE

Clara Schumann (1819-1896) had a 61-year career as a concert pianist. She also composed works for solo piano, chamber groups, choral groups, solo songs, and a piano concert. Of composing, she said “…there is nothing that surpasses the joy of creation, if only because through it one wins hours of self-forgetfulness, when one lives in a world of sound.”

The child of accomplished musicians, Ms. Schumann was born in Leipzig, Germany, and exhibited her talents at a very young age. Under the tutelage (and, some say, tight control) of her father, she had her first public performance at age nine, and began concert tours of Europe when she was 11 years old. She married composer Robert Schumann over her father’s objections, and premiered many compositions by Robert and their friend, Johannes Brahms, in her public performances. The couple had eight children.

In her later years, Ms. Schumann taught piano at a conservatory in Frankfurt, Germany, attracting international students.