Clara Schumann was the Beyoncé of her day | Isata Kanneh-Mason
Ifirst discovered Clara Schumann’s work only a year ago. I was listening to music at the kitchen table with some friends, and her Scherzo No 2 came on. The fiery music drew me in immediately, but I didn’t recognise it and asked what it was. I was stunned to discover the answer. I had of course heard of Clara Schumann – the 19th-century German pianist and composer – but, like many people, simply saw her as the wife of Robert Schumann. I determined to learn more about her.
The more I read about Clara, the more inspiring she was to me. I like to think of her as the Beyoncé of her day: a successful artist, capable of balancing motherhood with touring, married to a fellow musician and a truly independent woman! What I found most astonishing was her strength. Researching her life, I couldn’t believe that she had managed to sustain such a long and busy concert career, spanning from childhood right into old age, along with having eight children, and a husband who slowly declined into severe mental illness, and eventually died in an asylum when still in his 40s. She also had a difficult childhood. Her father, Friedrich Wieck, a very overbearing man, was set on creating a concert pianist in Clara – something particularly tough given that it was a male-dominated world at that time. From a very young age she had to spend hours each day practising, and much of her childhood was spent on the road with her father, giving concerts.
She met Robert when he became a pupil of her father’s. The two fell in love; her father forbade them from marrying but they exchanged love letters and met in secret, and did marry in Leipzig in 1840 – the day before Clara’s 21st birthday. I am 23 now and find it mind-boggling to think that she had achieved so much at that age: she had already composed several works, including her Piano Concerto, and had been touring as a concert pianist for over half her life.
It seems that most of Clara’s compositions were actually gifts to her husband. He encouraged her to compose, and she in turn edited his works. In her music, I can definitely hear the influences of Robert, but she also has her own, unique voice. In fact, people are quick to suggest that Clara was also influenced by Brahms (another classical music hero of mine) but since she was composing long before she even met him, I think it is fairer to say that it was the other way round.
I decided that for my debut with Decca Classics I wanted to record an album exclusively of Clara Schumann’s music. I delved into her compositions via recordings and sheet music and found some incredible work – much of which I didn’t know – it’s so rarely played in modern concert halls. In shining a light on her music I hoped I might also inspire others to perform and programme it more. Perhaps her best known work is her Piano Concerto, which is of course on the album, as well as that that remarkable Scherzo No 2 – the piece which first hooked me into her musical world. There’s also her Piano Sonata in G Minor, a beautiful and fascinating work that was never published in her lifetime.
Hers was beautiful and fascinating music … Clara Schumann at the piano, circa 1870. Photograph: Franz Hanfstaengl/Getty Images
Recently, I had the fortune to visit Clara’s birthplace in Leipzig and the Schumann-Haus, where she and Robert spent the first four years of their marriage. It is not far from the famous Gewandhaus, where Clara made her concert debut at the age of nine, and from the balcony of their home, you would probably have been able to see the hall. There is a music school next door with a playground that has wind chimes – even now there is still music buzzing around.
Walking around the small space where Clara lived with Robert and their young family gave me a fascinating insight into her personal life and has really enhanced my understanding of her music. Their house – a museum, has items including a model of Clara’s hand, a piano built by one of her cousins, and a dress that she might have worn for travelling. I was intrigued to see that although she was a small, slender woman, she had very big hands – which explains the virtuosity of her music and why some parts are quite tricky to play. I find myself leaping about the piano to compensate for having slightly smaller hands than she did. Her Piano Concerto showcases this – not only is it very technically challenging and musically stimulating, it is amazing to think that she wrote it when she was 14. Being able to touch the actual piano that Clara played on also gave me a better idea of how it would have sounded to her – this historic piano is not as robust as our modern-day instruments so would probably have needed a more sensitive touch.
This Friday, on the 200th anniversary of Clara Schumann’s birth, I’m returning to Leipzig to perform on her “Wieck” piano at the gala reopening of the Schumann-Haus, following its renovation. That evening, Andris Nelsons is conducting music by Clara and Robert Schumann in a concert at the Gewandhaus. It would be wonderful if this anniversary brings her music to the fore, along with that of other female composers. Why is her music not performed more often? – it’s not because it lacks quality. The music of female composers is generally played far less than their male counterparts, and too often only by other women. I feel strongly that this needs to change. Clara’s music is for everyone and I hope it continues to be played by men and woman alike. She is a towering figure in classical music history and deserves to be heard more.
Romance is out now on Decca Classics. Read our review.