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Photo credit: Ann Marsden
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What piqued your interest in Clara Schumann?
I was wandering through a music store in Moorhead, Minnesota, near my husband's hometown, and found a volume of Clara's music. I went home to play it, and found a good portion of it astonishingly beautiful. The harmonies were particularly inventive.
Did her music lead you to wonder about her life?
Yes. I could tell from her music that she was capable of unalloyed joy, but at other times there is a veil of melancholy, even in her youthful works. I knew a lot more about her husband, and Clara had been just been a tangent to his story. But then I began to read their letters and joint diaries, and whatever biographies I could lay my hands on. Clara simply astonished me.
What was so astonishing?
Her ideas about music and the story of her stellar career make for fascinating reading. But the personal honesty of her own writings amazed me even more. Many of her most intimate letters were destroyed, but even the diaries and letters that survive reveal a woman who was simultaneously driven and vulnerable, ordinary and extraordinary. For all her achievements, she was flawed, and this made her all the more interesting to me.
Describe her successes.
She was one of the greatest pianists in the world. She championed new music and revived music from generations past. She had high musical integrity and shunned showmanship for its own sake. She was one of the first to play a solo recital unassisted by other musical "acts." She was by all accounts an inspiring teacher. These were remarkable achievements for a woman in the 19th century.
As a person, Clara loved deeply and was extremely loyal and forgiving. She worked unbelievably hard. The older she got, the more she defined happiness as fulfilling "duty." But she enjoyed being out in nature, and seemed able to relax on her daily walks.
And her flaws?
She loved her children, but she was very hard on them. And she dealt with suffering by running back onto the stage, often leaving her eldest daughter Marie to deal with really, really difficult things, like deaths in the family. Performing was her antidote to pain. Her flaws are not altogether surprising given the depth of her suffering. Her parents divorced when she was young. She had no models for a healthy family.
You developed a radio documentary about her, and now a play. What has motivated you to retell her story?
The documentary covered her entire life. The play is something different: It is focused on a particular moment of transition in Clara's life. I set the play at a time when horrors and hopes intersect in fascinating ways. There was the tragic departure of Robert and the exciting arrival of Brahms, the fear of financial struggle, and the hope of returning full force to the stage.
What kinds of research materials did you use?
I read every biography, memoir, diary and
letter I could get my hands on. I created a narrative for
the play, but basically the ideas and words are Clara's.
What do you hope to accomplish with Clara's Visitor?
Naturally, I want people to know about the story and music of Clara Schumann, to be inspired by her and to find points of identification. I want people to be intrigued enough to find out more than I can present in a play.
Music comes out of real people's lives. Understanding those lives gives all kinds of folks a window to understanding the music.
By the way, who is the "visitor" in Clara's Visitor?
Maybe you can figure it out yourself without seeing the play, but I'm certainly not telling. You are coming to the play, aren't you?
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