In the style of Mike Rowe’s “The Way I Heard It” and Paul Harvey’s “The Rest of the Story” this episode of the Piano Parent Podcast brings you the backstory of a musician or song or a moment in music history. I use these musical mysteries to tell you something you might not know about someone or something that is somewhat familiar; in this case, I will tell you the story of a young woman who had no choice but to declare her own independence.
Listen to the full episode here
Here, in America, we are approaching our annual birthday celebration. July 4th commemorates the day our founding fathers let King George know he wasn’t the boss of us anymore.
As I was researching our mystery guest for today’s show, I discovered that she had several occasions in which she had to declare her own independence. In some cases, she would have preferred a little support but she stepped into the independent circumstances she was given and flourished.
Independence from her own father
The judge looked out across the near-empty courtroom. The late summer air hardly stirred, adding to the gravity of the situation. The plaintiff, whom he easily recognized from earlier appearances before him, sat quietly, waiting for the proceedings to begin. “I’ve got to hand it to her,” he thought, “she’s determined to see this through.”
Clearing his throat, he called the session to order. “Young lady, I see the defendant in your case is absent.”
“Yes, Sir. It would appear to be so,” she responded quietly, yet strong enough for him to hear. She could be strong when she had to be.
“This is not the first time he has defied my order to appear in my court. As I understand it, your attorney made arrangements for mediation. Is that right?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“What became of those meetings?”
“He never appeared, Mister Chairman.”
“No, I’m afraid he did not. In fact, I received a request from him demanding reparation from you. He wanted all your past and future earnings from your concert career. That was a request I was all too pleased to reject.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
“It seems your father would prefer to make his case to the general public rather than before me. I understand he has slandered your fiance in the local tabloids and has denied you access to your piano. How are you able to prepare for your concerts and public appearances?”
“I manage, Sir,” she replied with a slight smile. She was thinking of what a big help her friends had been to her and her love. For months now, they had been couriers of their letters to each other. Her father burned any correspondence he intercepted through the mail. He refused to let them see one other at all so her friends helped them plan secret rendevous. Her love would wait at a coffee house close to the theater for hours until her concert was complete so that she could come to him and they could steal a few precious moments together.
Compared to all that, finding a piano to practice on was the least of her concerns.
To say that she and her fiance were relieved would be an understatement once they learned the verdict of the countersuit her father had claimed against her dear one. Among the allegations toward her husband-to-be were financial irresponsibility and alcoholism. The judge had sternly warned the couple that he would swiftly deny their petition if he discovered any truth to the allegations. Fortunately, several character witnesses, including members of the police and town council, heartily came to her fiance’s defense, describing him as a quiet and decent citizen.
Interrupting her thoughts, the judge continued, “Given his failure to appear in my court – yet again – and taking his erratic and mean-spirited behavior toward these proceedings into consideration, I hereby rule for the plaintiff. Though you, young lady, are legally underage, your petition to marry is officially granted.”
The couple gasped in unbelief! Was it really over after more than two years? Were they finally released from her father’s iron-fisted control and able to move forward with the marriage and the life they had dreamed of for so long?
Hearing the judge’s gavel brought them back to reality. “In addition to granting your petition for marriage, I further demand that your father pays for all your court costs. Finally, I declare that he be remanded to jail for a period of no less than 18 days. Under my authority, no one behaves as he has done and gets away with it.”
Now, I don’t know the exact date this ruling was decreed but I do know the date these two lovebirds married; September 12. The ironic thing, or maybe it’s more like poetic justice, is that our independent lady was going to be 21 the very next day. On that day, September 13th, she would have been legally free to marry whomever she chose. Maybe, like John Hancock’s oversized signature on the American Declaration of Independence, our heroine was declaring to her father, loud and clear and in no uncertain terms that she was finally independent and unrestrained. Getting married on the last day of her 20th year solidified the end of his reign not only as a parent but as a teacher, concert manager, and personal financier.
Independence from cultural norms
Those first few months were absolute wedded bliss for our Bride and Groom. They fell into the customary roles of husband and wife for the time; he taking the responsibility of providing for the family writing compositions and making public performances and she becoming the homemaker, giving birth to their first child, a daughter they named Marie, on September 1st, one year after they were married.
Over time, however, the couple came to realize they were working against their shared strengths. Though he tried to make a living through concerts, being in the spotlight was more terrifying than fulfilling. He was much more comfortable in the quiet of their home, writing new music. She was able to run a household and care for the children but her true passion, the thing that made her heart sing was sharing music with a crowd. Her ultimate joy was sharing her husband’s new music with audiences.
So, together, they decided to buck tradition and cultural norms. She became the primary breadwinner promoting his music through many concert tours and he became a bit of a Mr. Mom working from home and caring for the children.
By the tme they had been married nine years, Mr. and Mrs. had four children with their fifth due in a few short weeks. They had moved from Leipzig to Dresden at her father’s invitation. Yep, that’s right. That old troublemaker finally softened once a few grandkids entered the picture. Their relationship wasn’t repaired overnight but having the children closer to her father gave her more freedom to go on longer tours across Europe and Russia and gave her husband a few moments of peace and quiet to do some much-needed composing.
Independence from militant revolutionaries
Everything was well and good until May of 1849. What had once been mere talk of revolution spreading in other areas of Europe now came literally knocking on their door. After hearing the church bells sounding an alarm, a very pregnant Clara ventured out into the streets. Surely a harmless mother-to-be would pose no threat to militant revolutionaries. Assessing the danger, Clara rushed back home only to be met with Revolutionary Guardsmen asking for her husband. She was able to lie and convince them he wasn’t home but she was sure they wouldn’t be as easily persuaded next time.
Clara devised a plan to liberate her family from the dangers in their hometown. They had friends in Maxen, a few kilometers to the south, who would welcome the whole family until they could make arrangements for a more permanent move. There was no way husband and wife and four children would make it past the guarded checkpoints without raising suspicion; she would have to make this great escape in two phases.
Under cover of night, Clara and Robert took seven year old Marie out the back door and through back roads, out of Dresden to the village of Maxen. Their youngest three children were left sleeping in their beds at home with a family servant. She stayed in Maxen long enough to rest a bit and get Robert and Marie settled, but she would not fully rest until all her children were together, safe and sound.
Waiting again for the safety of nightfall, Clara took a carriage as close to Dresden as she dared without raising suspicion. She would have to make her way back into the city on foot, taking the same back roads as the night before to avoid checkpoints around Dresden. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her children sleeping peacefully, amazed that they were able to sleep at all with the sounds of war raging just outside their front door.
Though she would have loved to stay in this tender moment watching her children sleep, and heaven knows she could use some rest, there was not a moment to waste. Clara gently woke Elise, age 6, Julie, age 4, and one-year-old Ludwig, got them all dressed, and told them they were about to take a daring adventure.
Not your typical fairytale ending
That is a terrible place to end my story but I am ending it, nonetheless. By now, you know I am speaking of the amazing Clara Schumann. If you know anything at all about her husband Robert, you know I have left out many details about additional struggles the entire family had to deal with because of his dark depression and anxiety.
I didn’t mention the tension they felt in their home trying to find a balance a single piano to use between Clara’s need to practice for upcoming concerts and Robert’s need for no distractions as he composed.
I haven’t talked about baby Emil who was born the year after Julie but only lived one short year.
We could keep talking for hours about all the boundaries Clara pushed: she was a popular female performer in a field dominated by men, she began the trend of performing music from memory, she proudly performed the works of other composers when the custom was present your own works, she popularized Robert’s music as well as that of Liszt, Chopin, Brahms, and Mendelssohn before they became well-known, and I could go on and on.
There was much, much more we could discuss about Clara’s father, Friedrich Wieck. Not to mention the close relationships Clara and Robert shared with Johannes Brahms, Felix Mendelssohn, and others.
Robert’s music, then and now, overshadows anything Clara ever wrote. Inferiority mixed with a little jealousy toward their talent for composition and performance was a common feeling they felt toward the other from time to time. It is because his music and his life get more attention than hers that I have chosen to focus all my attention on her.
Clara Schumann's perspective in her own words
As a final thought, this quote gives us a little insight into Clara’s perspective.
Clara Schumann wrote: “[To my sorrow, I must say that my father was never recognized as much as he deserved it! I even thank him for his so-called cruelties all my life. How would I ever have been able to practice art and continue to live with all the heavy blows I had to suffer if my constitution had not been so healthy and strong thanks to my father’s care?]” https://www.schumann-portal.de/friedrich-wieck-father.html
Clara chose to view her upbringing with appreciation. Outsiders condemned her father for being so strict and harsh. As it turned out, enduring his tyrannical parenting style prepared her to stand up to him to declare her independence for marriage, to be the primary breadwinner for her family of 8, to help her family escape revolutionary turmoil in her city, to love her husband relentlessly through his deep depression and anxiety, and, finally, to honor Robert and his music until her dying day.
You know, in the movie “Fried Green Tomatoes” how Kathy Bates’ character was very timid until she learned to channel her inner Towanda? I’m not suggesting we turn the nearest parking lot into a demolition derby but I do hope that after hearing Clara’s story, you will have the strength and confidence to make your own declaration of independence when the need arises.
Resources
The power woman of classical music: Clara Schumann
Clara Schumann was completely unique and awesome – and here’s why
Classically Curious: The bravery of Clara Schumann
13 Facts You Didn’t Know About Clara Schumann
Composers in the Court Room
Robert Schumann versus Friedrich Wieck
The Love Story of Robert and Clara Schumann
Minnesota Public Radio – Dramatization of Clara Schumann’s Life
Thanks for listening!
To share your thoughts:
- Leave a note in the comment section below
- Ask a question at pianoparentpodcast@gmail.com
- Share this show on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
To help out the show:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More
