As a female in a historically male-dominated field, I’ve grown fascinated by the testimonies of women musicians. Clara Schumann was a jack of all trades, who pioneered a lasting movement for women in the field of music. To spotlight her during Women’s History Month, I will accelerando through details of her interesting life before exploring the splendor of her captivating piano trio in g minor.
Her parents – Friedrich Wieck, a touring pianist, and Mariane Bargiel, a famous soprano – fostered a genuinely supportive environment for this child prodigy to thrive. Her father encouraged her musicianship through piano lessons and kick-started her public performance career at age 9. Note that none of this was normal for females of the period; she was “one of the lucky ones” while others were left living in the shadow of the men in their families.
Over time, she developed into a highly esteemed pianist, composer, and educator. She completely reorchestrated the art of performing. Refusing to learn “old” music, Clara regularly debuted modern works composed by her contemporaries. In the fall of 1830, she met the older and wiser Robert Schumann who was a new student at the Wieck house, which was always hustling and bustling with up-and-coming musicians. Friedrich quickly caught on to Robert’s infatuation with his daughter and strongly disapproved of their union. All his dramatic efforts couldn’t break their love, and the two married in 1840.
Clara lived a life of sorrow, acquainted with grief. Four years into their marriage, Robert suffered a severe mental breakdown, most likely due to depression from his self-induced hand injury. That fall, the famous music couple and their two children (out of an eventual 8) moved from Leipzig to Dresden. Here, Clara truly commenced her solo career as a composer. Traditionally, she wrote for piano and voice. In 1845, she began her very first attempt at composing for other instruments in a piano trio, which includes violin, cello, and piano.
Besides intentionally setting this piece in the dreary key of g minor, Clara intricately utilizes other musical techniques that further evoke the emotions of her life at the time. The piano trio is organized in four movements: the Allegro Moderato, the Trio, the Andante, and the Allegretto. First comes the Allegro Moderato in common time. Through multiple modulations and chromaticism between the strings, she establishes a notion of turbulence and tragedy. Overall, there’s an exceptional balance across all three voices which demonstrates her exquisite compositional skills.
Next comes a Trio in 3/4 time. B-flat major, the relative major key to g minor, seamlessly transitions the Allegro Moderato’s turmoil into the slower yet playful melody found in the Scherzo. The cello accompanies the piano’s chords with pizzicato as the violin dances above. Conversely, the lyrical Trio adds an element of grace to the playful energy of this movement before repeating the Scherzo. Third is the 6/8 Andante in G major. The piano solo gives way to a gorgeous healing melody from the violin. We see several dotted rhythms here, lulling us into bittersweetness after the melancholy Allegro and joyful Trio.
Lastly, the Allegretto returns to the home key of g minor in cut time. Its intensity directly mirrors that of the Allegro Moderato. In addition to Robert’s deteriorating mental state, Clara suffered a miscarriage towards the end of this composition. We can practically feel her heart yearning for peace. Rumor has it that she was simultaneously enveloped in a love triangle between her husband and Johannes Brahms. When looking at the timeline of her life, we notice that her piano trio was finished by 1846, which is 7 whole years before she even met Brahms in 1853.
In addition to this famous work, Clara composed 30 lieders (translated to “songs”), one piano concerto, dozens of solo piano pieces, a multitude of choral and chamber music, and 41 transcriptions of her husband Robert’s music. She also performed over 1,300 programs across Europe before passing from a stroke in 1896. Clara Schumann will go down in history as a superwoman of music.