The Creative Process of Composer Clara Schumann
Katherine Callam
Mentor: Dr. Julia Randel
Andrew W. Mellon Scholars Program and Department of Music
Clara Schumann (1819-1896) presented her first solo piano concert at age eleven and
was soon considered equal to the virtuoso Franz Liszt. She married the composer
Robert Schumann, corresponded with the composer Johannes Brahms, raised seven
children, and composed over forty works in several genres. Despite these
accomplishments, she struggled with self-doubt regarding her compositions and
creative abilities. She lost confidence in her Piano Trio in G minor, op. 17, after her
husband composed his own trio. Although Schumann’s trio is her longest and most
complex work, it has never before been subject to an in-depth source study. The
autograph manuscript, preserved at the Robert Schumann-Haus in Zwickau, Germany,
contains substantial revisions that offer a window into Schumann’s creative process.
The researcher compared over nine hundred measures of the manuscript (in a digital
copy) to the first edition of 1847, noting discrepancies in pitch, note value, articulation,
and dynamics; she also transcribed almost two hundred measures crossed out by
Schumann. That analysis revealed that Schumann revised melodies and transition
sections almost exclusively, which greatly improved continuity between musical ideas in
the trio. The manuscript’s revisions point to a thorough and well-organized
compositional craft, despite Schumann’s fears of inadequacy. An understanding of
Schumann’s revisions allows performers to interpret the trio in a more meaningful way.
Decisions regarding the phrasing of melodies, for example, can be guided by their
development throughout the compositional process. This informed approach to
interpretation will draw performers and listeners closer to Schumann’s personal vision of
the trio.