Musicians

Born in Leipzig in 1819, Clara Schumann

Born in Leipzig in 1819, Clara Schumann was one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, a composer, and a piano educator. A child prodigy who began touring at eleven, she sustained a sixty-one-year concert career that transformed the format and repertoire of the piano recital. She married composer Robert Schumann, raised eight children, championed Johannes Brahms, and premiered many works by both. From 1878 she taught at Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium in Frankfurt. Her image appeared on Germany's 100 Deutsche Mark banknote from 1989 to 2002.

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