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{shoo'-mahn}
Clara Josephine Schumann, b. Leipzig, Sept. 13, 1819, d. May
20, 1896, was a celebrated pianist and the wife of Robert
Schumann. Trained by her father, Friedrich Wieck, who also
taught Schumann, she made her debut in 1828 and undertook
several tours in the following years. Her marriage to Schumann
(1840) was bitterly opposed by her father. While married she
largely abandoned touring, except for the last two years of
Schumann's life, although she made trips to Hamburg (1842)
and Russia (1844). After her husband's death, however, she
concertized extensively on the continent and in England, and
she was an influential teacher. Johannes Brahms was a close
friend from 1853. Clara Schumann's playing was characterized
by seriousness and restraint; her repertoire emphasized Schumann,
Beethoven, Chopin, Bach, and Mozart. She composed many piano
works and edited her husband's compositions.
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