Clara Schumann

Schumann, Clara (1819–96), German pianist and composer. The daughter of the important piano teacher Friedrich Wieck, she became a well-known soloist and the first to perform entirely from memory. She married pianist and composer Robert Schumann over strenuous objections of her father, and became one of the chief exponents of his piano compositions. After her husband's death in 1856 she continued performing widely, touring frequently to England. A close friend of Johannes Brahms, she also was one of the main interpreters of his compositions. In her later years she was active as a piano teacher, heading the piano department of the Frankfurt Conservatory (1878–92). Her compositions include a piano concerto, smaller piano compositions, songs, and cadenzas for Beethoven's 3rd and 4th piano concertos.