Clara Schumann, the artist and the woman / Nancy B. Reich.

Author/creator Reich, Nancy B.
Format Book
Publication InfoIthaca, N.Y. : Cornell University Press, 1985.
Description346 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
Subjects
Schumann, Clara, 1819-1896.
Pianists--Germany. --Biography.

Contents Part I: The life of Clara Schumann. Prelude: the Wiecks of Leipzig -- Clara's career begins -- Robert Schumann and the Wiecks -- The break with Wieck -- The marriage -- The Dresden years -- Dusseldorf and the death of Robert Schumann -- The later years -- Part II: Themes from the life of Clara Schumann. Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms -- Other friends and contemporaries -- Clara Schumann as composer and editor -- The concert artist -- Clara Schumann as student and teacher -- Appendix: Catalogue of works.
Abstract At once artist, composer, editor, teacher, wife, and mother of eight children, she was an important force in the musical world of her time. To show how Schumann surmounted the obstacles facing female artists in the nineteenth century, the author has drawn on previously unexplored primary sources: unpublished diaries, letters, and family papers, as well as concert programs. Going beyond the familiar legends of the Schumann literature, she applies the tools of musicological scholarship and the insights of psychology to provide a new, full-scale portrait. The book is divided into two parts. In Part One, the author follows Clara Schumann's life from her early years as a child prodigy through her marriage to Robert Schumann and into the forty years after his death, when she established and maintained an extraordinary European career while supporting and supervising a household and seven children. Part Two covers four major themes in Schumann's life: her relationship with Johannes Brahms and other friends and contemporaries; her creative work; her life on the concert stage; and her success as a teacher. Throughout, excerpts from diaries and letters in the author's own translations clear up misconceptions about her life and achievements and her partnership with Robert Schumann. Highlighting aspects of Clara Schumann's personality and character that have been neglected by earlier biographers, this candid and eminently readable account adds appreciably to our understanding of a fascinating artist and woman.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliography (pages 327-335) and index.
LCCN 84045798
ISBN0801417481 (alk. paper)

Availability

Library Location Call Number Status Item Actions
Music Closed Stacks - Ask at Circulation Desk ML417.S4 R4 1985 ✔ Available Place Hold