1836 Breslau (Wrocław)

In 1836 Clara Wieck came to Breslau for the first time. She travelled with her father and in March she gave six concerts in a row. Among others, she performed works of Pixis, Herz, Bach, Mendelssohn, Beethoven and a lot of Chopin, but also her own composing. On three evenings, her performances took place between the representation of comedies and shorter plays. The same way of performance was also happening in November 1854, when Clara Schumann presented Beethoven’s piano concert in E-flat major, two Fantasiestücke op. 12 by Robert Schumann, Stephen Heller’s Saltarello and the concert in F-minor by Carl Maria von Weber between the acts of a play by Heinrich Laube.

During her second concert her performance of Schumann’s piano concert was scheduled between two comedies and Mendelssohn’s Variations sérieuses were presented before a „Rural Painting with Melody” named “Hans and Hanne”. Clara performed Schumann’s piano concert four times in front of Breslau audience. The mentioned concert in E-flat minor and the concert in G major by Beethoven were played two times each. In 1877 she performed Mendelssohn’s piano concert op. 40. Besides the orchestral concerts, from 1871 onwards conducted by the close friend of Joseph Joachim, Bernhard Scholz, Clara Schumann also performed in chamber concerts.

Also performed in Breslau: Violin sonata op. 47 and the piano soanata in A major op. 101 by Beethoven, the piano quintet op. 44 and the piano quartet op. 47 by Robert Schumann and also the piano trio op. 17 (1877) by herself. Clara also played among others various smaller playes (Schlummerlied), several Noveletten and romances (from op. 21 and 28), the Arabesque op. 18, Symphonical Études, Carnaval and the Davidsbündlertänze (Dances of the League of David) by Robert Schumann.

Besides the piano concerts, the orchestra also performed the ouvertures of Genoveva (1865), Manfred (1876) as well as overture, scherzo and finale op. 52 (1879) and the symphony in D minor op. 120 (1868). From 1868 onwards, she was accomodated by her dear friend Elisabeth Werner and her sister, privy councilor Storch, with whom she shared many interests.

(Julia M. Nauhaus, translated by Katharina Ma)