I, Clara: Clara Schumann - A Life in Music
- From £19
- 30 Jan 24
- Salisbury Playhouse
- 19:30
Created to celebrate 200 years since Clara Wieck Schumann’s birth in 1819, I, Clara tells the story of her extraordinary life in her own words. It is the sixth Composer Portrait created by Lucy Parham and it received its London premiere at Kings Place in October 2019.
Clara Schumann was a truly exceptional woman, not just a devoted wife to the composer Robert Schumann, but a ground-breaking musician in her own right. Over a period of 60 years she gave over 1,500 concerts and determined the format of the kind of piano recital that is familiar to us today.
As a child prodigy, she was groomed for stardom by her piano-teacher father, Friedrich Wieck. By the age of eight, she was dazzling audiences throughout Europe. Having married Robert against her father’s wishes, she became the mother of eight children. When her husband declined tragically into mental illness and made an attempt at suicide, she continued both to run the household and to make an international concert career to support her family.
Clara championed the works of her husband and of Chopin, Mendelssohn, Brahms and many others. She herself was also a talented composer, producing a piano concerto, numerous solo piano works, chamber music and songs.
The narrative of I, Clara, drawn from letters and diaries, is interspersed with live performances of her works and with music from Robert Schumann, Brahms, Liszt, Mendelssohn and Chopin. The narrator for this performance is the acclaimed actress, Dame Harriet Walter.
Suitable for all ages
Running time: 80 minutes (no interval)
