Clara Schumann: A Career In Music

In the 1800’s, the industries of music performance and music composition were broadly dominated by men, as this was traditional and anticipated, not just in recent years, but stemming from centuries prior. The field of music was competitive, and not all who strived for recognition received it because of varying styles and reception of the audiences and because of the supply and demand of varied genres of music at the time. One grand and particularly notable exception to this generalization was a German female composer and performer, Clara Wieck, or later and better known as Clara Schumann. While men certainly aided her success in extensively varied aspects of her career and formation as a musician, including in training, in artistic influences, …show more content…
A growing young woman in the Romantic era of music in Germany who was touring, performing, and falling in love against her father’s wishes, Clara’s emotions plagued her musicianship, fortunately for listeners in the search of an exceptional and expressive musical body of works. Meeting her future spouse, Robert Schumann, deeply influenced her career in music, as her relationship with him from then on out resulted in personal joys and sorrows, impacting her compositions. As a supplement to this claim, a friend of Clara’s is quoted in saying, “no one felt music more keenly than [Clara] did. She told us once that we would never become true artists until we had loved and suffered.” Not only were Wieck’s emotions instrumental in driving her unique creativity, but also the facts that she learned were evidently reflected in her compositions. Educated in a variety of subjects, her supply of knowledge and inspiration ranged from piano to religion to foreign languages, all of which she studied with her well-informed father. As his vast array of understanding of these subjects was passed to Clara, the influences in her music were evident. Despite the personal aspects of her creativity, her formal education also participated in the wide success of Clara Wieck’s artistic endeavors. Without extensive knowledge of musical ideas and structures, as well as techniques and styles, she could not easily notate cohesive and understandable works which would be a source of enjoyment for performers and listeners. Clara Wieck’s personal experiences throughout her life and education in the arts and in disciplines outside of the arts caused her to be a standout artist of her time and far