Clara J. Schumann
German Musician, Composer and Pianist
1819 – 1896 A.D.

Clara Josephine Schumann, a German musician, composer, and pianist, wife of Robert Schumann. She was born in Leipzig, daughter of the pianist Frederick Wieck, from whom she received her musical education.

At thirteen she began the concert tours which made her famous and which led to her acquaintance with Robert Schumann whom she married in 1840, sharing his artistic work and success until his death in 1856, after which she pursued her public career alone, devoting herself principally to the interpretation of her husband’s works, and doing much to familiarize the public with his compositions.

In 1878 she was appointed professor of piano at the Conservatorium in Frankfort, a post which she held until 1892, and in which she contributed greatly to the modern improvement in technique, while many celebrated pianists of the present day were her pupils.

Besides being remembered as one of the greatest concert pianists of her generation, she was equally gifted as a composer of many charming songs and other instrumental works.

The devotion of Clara Schumann to the genius of her husband, is one of the most attractive love-romances in musical history.

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Reference: Famous Women; An Outline of Feminine Achievement Through the Ages With Life Stories of Five Hundred Noted Women By Joseph Adelman. Copyright, 1926 by Ellis M. Lonow Company.