Leidenschaft und Pflicht und Liebe: Die drei Leben der Clara Schumann is a documentary film which premiered in 2019. In 2024, it was shown on German television (ZDF).
As the title indicates, the topic of this film is the life and career of the famous German musician and composer Clara Schumann, who lived 1819-1896.
Here is some basic information about this film:
** Writers and directors: Andreas Morell and Magdalena Zieba-Schwind
** Narrators: Conny Wolter, Annelie Leschke and Hans Henrik Wöhler
** Language: German
** Subtitles: German
** Run time: 56 minutes
Several historical and musical experts are interviewed in this film. Here are the names of the participants. Listed in alphabetical order:
** Ingrid Bodsch
** Beatrix Borchard
** Christine Hartmann
** Steven Isserlis
** Alexander Jusits
** Thekla Kluttig
** Klarinda Ma-Kircher
** Veronica Moritz
** Thomas Synofzik
Several musicians perform a musical piece composed by Clara Schumann. Here are the names of the musicians. Listed in alphabetical order:
** Nicolas Defranoux
** Isata Kanneh-Mason
** Katharina Konradi
** Ragna Schirmer
** Eric Schneider
** Sontraud Speidel
** Conrad Suske
Some historical moments are reconstructed by actors
Here are the names of the actors:
** Jana Klinge plays Clara Schumann
** Victor Tremmel plays Robert Schumann
** Michael Jeske plays Friedrich Wieck
Clara Wieck was born in 1819. When she was a young child, it was clear that she was able to play the piano. She played very well.
Her father Friedrich Wieck (1785-1873) gave her lessons. He wanted her to be a concert pianist. He succeeded. When she was a teenager, she was performing as a concert pianist.
Clara Wieck and Robert Schumann met each other in 1830. At that time, she was only 11, while he was 20. They liked each other, but nothing happened, because she was still very young.
Clara and Robert were both musicians and composers. They had something to talk about. Five years later, Clara was 16 and Robert was 25. They still liked each other and now they began to talk about getting married.
Clara’s father did not want her to marry Robert or any other man. He wanted her to remain unmarried, because he wanted her to be a concert pianist who was under his control.
But the more he tried to keep them apart, the more they wanted to get married! He was able to delay the marriage, but he was not able to prevent it from happening.
In 1840, when Clara was 21, her father could no longer prevent his daughter from getting married. Robert was almost ten years older than Clara. In 1840, when they were married, he was 30.
When Clara married Robert, she took his family name. She became Clara Schumann.
When Robert married Clara, he knew she was a musician and a composer. This was probably one reason why he wanted to marry her. They had so much in common.
But in spite of this fact, he was also a product of the times in which he lived.
Once they were married, he expected her to give up her career as a concert pianist in order to take care of him and their home.
When they had children, he expected her to stay at home to take care of them, while he was working as a musician and a composer. He was, after all, a man, and she was only a woman!
Clara did not see things in the same way as her husband. She did not want to give up her career as a concert pianist. She stood her ground.
Robert had to accept that she was not only a wife and a mother, she was also a person who had ambitions and who had her own career.
Robert and Clara had eight children. Four sons and four daughters. Here are the names:
# 1. Marie (1841-1929)
# 2. Else (1843-1928)
# 3. Julie (1845-1872)
# 4. Emil (1846-1847)
# 5. Ludwig (1848-1899)
# 6. Ferdinand (1849-1891)
# 7. Eugenie (1851-1938)
# 8. Felix (1854-1879)
In 1853, Clara and Robert met two young men who became their close friends: the Hungarian violin player Joseph Joachim (1831-1907) and the German composer Johannes Brahms (1833-1897). They had much in common.
Sadly, Robert suffered from mental problems. In 1854, he tried to commit suicide. When he failed, he checked himself into a mental hospital.
He remained there for two years. He died in this hospital in 1856. When he died, Clara was only 36. She was a widow and she was the mother of eight children.
The first child (Marie) was born in 1841. The last child (Felix) was born in 1854.
When Robert died, Felix was only two years old. He never knew his father, because Robert was in a mental hospital during the final two years of his life.
One child (Emil) died before Robert. Emil was born in 1846. He died in 1847.
Three children died before Clara:
** Julie died in 1872
** Felix died in 1879
** Ferdinand died in 1891
Ludwig survived his mother, but only by three years. He died in 1899.
Three daughters lived to an old age. They survived into the twentieth century:
** Elise lived until 1928
** Marie lived until 1929
** Eugenie lived until 1938
When Robert died, Clara was a widow and a single mother. This was a very difficult situation. But she managed to deal with it. Her good friend Johannes Brahms helped her manage this difficult situation.
She continued her career as a concert pianist. In this way, she made enough money to support herself and her children.
She sailed across the English Channel. She gave several concerts in London. Her good friend the violin player Joseph Joachim accompanied her on this concert tour which was a great success.
Clara continued to perform as a musician until she was an old woman. In 1891, she retired. She died five years later, in 1896.
This film covers the life and career of Clara Schumann in great detail. Many aspects of her life are covered:
# 1. We can see the father Friedrich, the husband Robert, and the children.
# 2. We can follow her life as a concert pianist and a composer.
# 3. We can see some of the people around her, such as the violin player Joseph Joachim and the composer Johannes Brahms.
# 4. We can listen to some of her compositions which are played by professional musicians.
According to the title, she lived three lives. What is the meaning of the title?
One interpretation is a life of passion with the music, a life of duty with her children, and a life of love with her husband Robert.
Another interpretation is her life before she was married (1819-1840), her life as a married woman (1840-1856), and finally her life as a widow after the death of Robert (1856-1896).
One question about her legacy:
Was she a feminist?
The answer to this question is no.
She did not give talks about feminism.
She did not write articles about feminism.
In fact, there was no feminist movement when she was born.
While a movement for the female vote was beginning to appear during her lifetime, she was not involved in this movement.
But when we look at her life, we can see that she lived it as a feminist. She was a wife and a mother. But this was not all. She did more than that. She had an education and she used it to build a career as a concert pianist and a composer. It was an amazing accomplishment.
She was a pioneer. She was a trailblazer. The women who came after her are grateful for what she did.
What do reviewers say about this film?
On IMDb it has a rating of 73 percent. This rating is quite good, as you can see.
But in my opinion, it is not good enough. As far as I can see, this film is what I call an ABC product. It is:
** Accurate,
** Balanced, and
** Comprehensive
I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).
REFERENCES
# 1. Books
Clara Schumann:
The Artist and the Woman
By Nancy B. Reich
(1985 = first edition) (hardcover)
(2001 = second revised edition) (paperback)
This is a full-scale biography
(more than 400 pages)
Her Piano Sang:
A Story about Clara Schumann
By Barbara Allman
(2002)
This short volume is written for young readers
(only 64 pages)
Clara Schumann:
Pianist and Composer
By Janet Nichols Lynch
(2021)
This short volume is written for young readers
(only 72 pages)
Becoming Clara Schumann
By Alexander Stefaniak
(2021)
This is a full-scale biography
(more than 300 pages)
Madame Composer
By Sarah Fritz
(forthcoming)
(expected in late 2026 or early 2027)
# 2. Film and video
Song of Love
(1947)
Starring:
** Katharine Hepburn as Clara Wieck Schumann
** Paul Henreid as Robert Schumann
** Robert Walker as Johannes Brahms
Spring Symphony
(1983)
Starring:
** Nastassja Kinski as Clara Wieck
** Rolf Hoppe as Friedrich Wieck
** Herbert Grönemeyer as Robert Schumann
Geliebte Clara
(2008)
Starring:
** Martina Gedeck as Clara Schumann
** Pascal Greggory as Robert Schumann
** Malik Zidi as Johannes Brahms
*****
Passion, Devoir et Amour:
Les Trois Vies de
Clara Schumann
(2019)
This is a French poster for the film
*****
The famous German
musician and composer
Clara Schumann
(1819-1896)
This lithograph was made in 1839
*****
Clara Schumann:
The Artist and the Woman
By Nancy B. Reich
(1985 =first edition) (hardcover)
(2001 = second revised edition) (paperback)
*****
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