although i believe it is true that toward the end of her career (life) she played with the notes...she was not an amateur in ANY sense. her father, Friedrich Wieck was a pianist of the 'old school,' and "trained her very carefully, and with ferocious discipline." she may have had lots of children, but that did not deter her from working very hard most of her life. at the age of eight she was playing concertos by mozart and hummel. by 1830 (11 years) she had developed to where she was making concert appearances through germany. one of the things she was playing then was chopin's "variations on la ci darem la mano" (since robert had 'discovered it') and she was the first (outside of chopin) to play it in public.
she went on (age 14) to play bach and schumann in public. and, she introduced quite a bit of chopin's music to germany. "although liszt was the first to give unaided solo recitals, it was clara who even more than liszt brok the eighteenth-century format. up to about 1835 the artist generally had to engage an orchestra, was expected to play his own music with it, had to arrange for guest artists to share the program, had to vary his program with short pieces, had to end with an improvisation. but, by 1835 clara was playing with just a few assisting artists, and moreover presenting nothing but the best."
she presented the complete appasionata in berlin in 1837 for the first time (as far as anyone can ascertain). lechetitsky maintained that she was the first pianist in history to play it from memory in public. she may not have had the technique of liszt, thalberg or mendelssohn, but she was exceptional in other ways. after her husband's mental breakdown (1854) she had to resume her career. she did this with formidable programs (hammerklavier). she was then 35. "to the end of her days, in his memory, she played every concert dressed in black, bent over, head almost touching the keys."
by 1860 she conquered europe. (four years after robert's death). she was a touring pianist and had a heavy schedule. she played the music of brahms, schumann, and generally disliked the extreme romanticism of liszt/wagner. in 1878 she took up a teaching position at the frankfort conservatory and remained there until 1892. she went deaf and her last public appearance took place in 1890. she died one year before brahms in 1896. she was not an excessive physically moving pianist. her fingers were kept close to the keys and the keys were squeezed rather than struck. "chords were played from the wrist, not from the arm and elbow." she could play 10ths easily, and she was able to draw a full, colorful tone." george bernard shaw: "nobly beautiful and poetic player. an artist of that sort is the grail of the critic's quest." she tried to subordinated herself to the intentions of the composer as she saw them.
she detested speed and empty passage work. "keine passagen!" she would say "why hurry over beautiful things? why not linger and enjoy them?"
Topic: Are there any SCHUMANN fans?