She was an immediate sensation with the Viennese. In 1837, the eighteen-year-old piano virtuosa, Clara Wieck, made a concert tour to Vienna, the first of many in her sixty-year career.

In short, Schubert was among the indispensable composers in Clara’s life. Clara’s diaries and letters show how the works enhanced her close relationships with Robert and Johannes, both intellectually and philosophically. Her compositions both in piano and lieder bear the marks and influence of her Schubert studies. But Schubert’s sonatas, chamber music, and lieder were essential parts of her repertoire, too, and his music held great personal significance to her.īefore getting into the dry repertoire lists, dates, and performances, let’s start with Clara’s love of Schubert from her earliest years. She’s most famous for championing the works of Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms, and for being the first to cement Beethoven, Bach, Mendelssohn, and Chopin in the piano recital repertoire.

It’s easy to overlook how important Franz Schubert’s music was in the life and career of Clara Schumann. ( Originally published in The Schubertian, October 2021)

Clara schumann march in e flat major