I have always secretly had it in for Clara Schumann. There was that Trio that I was forced to work on for an entire semester and then there is the fact that Clara was performing concerts from memory at the ripe old age of 9, the first person ever to do so. Later, she was accused by critics of showing off and termed “that odious woman” for defying concert convention.

I suppose if she hadn’t done it someone else (say perhaps Liszt) would have stepped in and filled the memorization void. But, the fact is, we mostly have Clara to blame for pianistic feats of memory akin to keeping entire phone books in the brain’s RAM. (rumors that I keep a small female doll and some very sharp pins on my piano are entirely exaggerated) For more on musical memory here is a link to All in the Mind. In this article, Susan Tomes discusses the history and role of memory in musical performance.

I have always loved the music of Robert Schumann. Over the years, I have listened to it, read it, performed it, and taught it. His three musical/literary personas, evidence of a life long struggle with mental illness, still leave me touched and inspired all at once. However, the love story of Clara and Robert was never really something I could identify with. Perhaps with the arrogance of youth, I felt that no one else (OK no one else old or even dead) could have possibly had similar experiences in love as I or even transcended that experience or I had not yet acknowledged that the real nitty gritty stuff of life has more to do with real love than hormones.

Certainly, I have studied the lives of Clara and Robert. I took an entire graduate history seminar devoted to Brahms and the Schumanns given by Jan Swafford (Johannes Brahms: A Biography). I understood cerebrally that not only was she the rock of the marriage and of his career but also a composer and great pianist in her own right. Clara was, quite literally, the fabric of many of Robert’s compositions. She was also quite capable of telling him to for once write something for her to play that ordinary people could understand. And did we talk about the memorization thing?

Then, a while back, I was teaching the Papillons to an adult student. Schumann connects these waltzes to Jean Paul’s literary depictions of masquerade or carnaval scenes and also to the transformation of character possible behind the mask. The last piece depicts a scene in which the main character asks for just one sign that the object of his affections loves him. Even though the Papillons were written years before Robert and Clara fell in love, I suddenly found them to be prophetic. So perhaps I am getting all mushy in my severe middle age but yes I finally get it.

There is a great video available of the 2007 production of Twin Spirits. Through readings of letters, the love of Robert and Clara is portrayed by Sting and his wife Trudie Styler with Dereck Jacobi and a host of fine musicians.

Here is another post concerning Robert’s music. A Shocking Discovery

Playing With Wolfgang

Have you had a surprising insight that changed you and your playing? Do you have links to performances or information that you would like to share? Do you have a great story to tell? Well, earlier in the summer I introduced a new Piano Addict Feature: Playing With Wolfgang. The plan was to feature a different composer approximately every month. We began with Mozart and this month we move on to the Schumanns. Of course there is no time limit to the comments on a post, so if you have more to add about Mr. Mozart feel free!

I was inspired by a blog called Tuesdays With Dorie in which everyone makes the same recipe and then shares pictures and recounts their experiences of the process. I thought- why can’t we do that with piano music? So, I am inviting (OK begging) you to share your, recordings, links to articles and resources, images, personal stories, and questions in the comment section of each post. And, since we are all busy with our various careers and professional commitments, I decided to broaden the scope and invite you all to share more than just playing experiences.

So, please feel free to share links, teaching learning & playing experiences, images, sound & video files, and anything else you feel is in the scope of each month’s topic. In order to share images or videos you will need to include a link to a service such as YouTube, SoundCloud, or Flicker in your comment. Of course, you may also comment on the Piano Addict Facebook Page, but not everyone will get the benefit of your contribution that way. Please keep your comments on topic, which this time is all things Schumann.

Are you in??? Press the comment button and start sharing! (you know you want to)

The above post on the Schumanns is a revised post from July 2010.

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