Fanny Mendelssohn And Clara Schumann: Woman In History

Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann were two women that dealt with many problems women in today’s society deal with. Unfortunately we still live in a society where gender roles play a very important role in our every day lives. For fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann this was a very apparent issue in their lives. Both were wonderful composers and performers whose talents were underestimated in their society simply because they were women. Sadly, due to societies norms, being a woman, composer and performer was looked down upon. Both females were considered musical geniuses and they both were not given credit for their hard work and talent. In most cases, very much like Clara and Fanny’s lives women were forced to either hide their musical talents or were taken advantage of while giving credit to their male counterparts. Therefore, in this essay, I will be talking about Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann’s lives and how were effected by gender inequality.

Fanny Mendelssohn daughter of Abraham and Lea Mendelssohn was born in Hamburg Germany on November 14 1805. Fanny learned to play piano from her mother and by the age of thirteen and could play the twenty-four preludes from the well-tempered clavier by Bach. Although she showed many signs of being a child prodigy her father was not as supportive towards her musical abilities as her mother was. While on the other hand, her younger brother Felix Mendelssohn who later became a known composer in the romantic period had much more support from their father when it came to being a musician. In 1829, Fanny married Wilhelm Hensel, traveled Italy and had one child. When her mother passed away in 1842 she went back home, took part in organizing concerts, and occasionally performed. She died of a stroke on May 14, 1847. Clara Wieck daughter of Friedrich and Marianne Wieck was also born in Leipzig Germany on September 13 1819. She began playing piano with her father who was a well-known piano teacher. By the age of seven, she had already performed Kalkbrenner’s duet with her father. In 1830, her future husband Robert Schumann had began studying with Clara’s father. At this time, Clara was about twelve years old and touring across Europe with her father. By 1837, she was well known as a leading virtuoso in Europe while at the same time she was growing as a composer as well. One of her first compositions was dated back in 1830 but her most known pieces like the six lieder written in 1842 and three preludes and fugue in 1845. Once Clara was married and had three children Clara did not compose as much but she did begin teaching music. In 1854, her husband Robert was committed into an asylum where he then spent the rest of his life. Clara continued to compose very little and died of stroke on May 20,1896.

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Both Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Wieck were both very talented composers and performers. Fanny Mendelssohn wrote around 450-460 musical compositions many of which were published under her brother Felix’s name, which he later became famous for after in a genera she had created called “songs without words”. Some of Fanny Mendelssohn’s famous pieces are Notturno in G minor, which was played for composers like Franz Liszt and even Clara Schumann at Sunday gatherings. Das Jahr meaning the year, which was a collection of twelve songs representing a each month in her travels around Italy and string quarter in E flat major which incorporated a large amount of emotion and sequences including the sound of echoes. Critics say that her music is lively, powerful and included many characteristics from baroque composers she admired. Fanny was more known to compose music rather than perform it while Clara was more known for her performances. Clara Wieck was one of the leading pianists who in the late twentieth century became recognized for her compositions. Since there are no videos or recording to prove how talented Clara actually was, we can only assume from her written compositions and commentary from fellow musicians that she was as in fact a very talented woman. A few of her most known compositions are piano trio in G minor written in 1846 which was considered a dynamic journey between light and dark, piano concerto in 1836 which was bold and explored multiple ranges of the piano and Drei Romanzen which demonstrate a slow pace tempo with a slight urgency which drew the audience in. Although both Fanny and Clara were considered very skilled and accomplished musicians they went through many obstacles before finally being able to take credit for their own talents.

Since gender inequality was a major issue in the nineteenth century, many women like Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara were not given the acknowledgment for their musical capability. In letters found that had been sent back and forth by Fanny and Felix more in site on their lives was revealed. As a child Fanny’s father would favor her, brother’s talents over her own and would state that her brother was to become a professional musician and composer but for Fanny she would only use music and an accessory. Soon after Felix began to publish some of his compositions many of which were actually his older sisters compositions. Because Fanny was a woman, her and Felix decided it would be best if the songs she composed were published under Felix’s name. Therefore, she spent almost her whole life as an invisible writer for her brother. She was always seen second to her brother even though in reality she was a better composer then he was. The society and traditions she was raised around made it almost impossible for her to make her own decisions as a woman. The only way she would have been able to display her talents at that time was through her brother while in return she would help him with constructive criticism. In 1838 Fanny had her first and only known performance then later in 1846 she decided that she would publish her own songs thus finally giving her the credit she deserved from a young age. Unfortunately, her fame did not last long as she did pass away a year later. Even though Clara spent most of her life performing, fanny and her did have one thing in common. The control of their artistic talents was in the hands of the men around them. Even though the situations were different, the underlying truth reveals that they were very much in the same type of predicament. Clara Weick’s father Friedrich had a different view on society. Her father raised her to be genderless in a way. He knew that in that time being a famous musician and a woman was wrong but he did not care what the norms of society were saying. He just wanted her to become the best of the best. So far, that it actually caused many psychological problems for Clara, although he was very supportive throughout Clara’s life he would often put too much pressure on her which resulted in Clara having issues with depression, anxiety and low-self esteem. It was common for her to be anxious before performances then would almost never be happy with her playing which resulted in her becoming depressed. Once she broke away from her father and married Robert Schumann slowly but surly after Robert began taking advantage of her talents and manipulated her into believing that she needed him in order to do well and in the meanwhile he was just encouraging her psychological problems to increase. Therefore, Clara went on with her life feeling this way from not only her father but husband as well. Although some may say that Friedrich was just a over supportive and controlling there were many instances where one could see the manipulation. Clara’s father would take all profits from her performances and only reward her sometimes if he was pleased with how she played. This was Friedrich taking credit for something was not his to take just like Felix Mendelsohn.

While looking into the lives of Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Wieck, people realize that it was not an easy time to be a woman with such talents. It may seem like their fathers brothers and husbands were there to support them but in reality, these two remarkable women were taken advantage of instead. Thankfully in recent years both Fanny and Clara songs have become more popular while their reputations are growing as well. We now know how powerful and strong they really were in order to withstand the amount of pressure and inequality. Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann are just two of many women composers who were overpowered by a man. this shows the impact a society can have on people and their lives. This teaches people not only to learn from the struggles that occurred in history but also to be inspired and never let your work and create a world where women receive the same power as men. No one other then you are in charge of your life.

References

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