Roughly a century before Tennessee secured the right to vote for American women, across the Atlantic a woman was born who would quietly make a huge mark on the world of music.

Clara Schumann was one of the greatest classical performers of all time, a superstar pianist who toured internationally for more than 60 years in an era when it was unseemly for ladies to play music outside of the drawing room. She revolutionized the way pianists perform; anytime you see a virtuoso concerto played from memory today, that pianist is following her lead.

Clara Schumann was a composer in her own right and was muse, mentor and editor to two major composers: her husband, Robert Schumann, and her dear friend, Johannes Brahms. And through it all, she raised eight children and kept her family together despite her husband’s mental breakdowns and early death.

91Classical is pleased to be telling the remarkable story of Clara Schumann and furthering her musical legacy through during a festival of events and performances that mark the 200th anniversary of her birth.

We’ll be hosting a
gala concert at the
Blair School of Music’s Turner Hall on Schumann’s birthday –
September 13 at 7:30 pm. Participants include Belmont and Blair faculty members, as well as Vanderbilt voice students. Guests will learn more about Schumann’s incredible life story from historian Jim Lovensheimer.

Pianist Kristian Klefstad will bring Schumann’s piano trio to
Live in Studio C on
September 10, and
Blair Students will give an encore performance of
Schumann’s lieder on
September 17‘s show.

As a grand finale, pianist
Alessandra Volpi will perform Schumann’s Concerto in A minor with the
Nashville Concerto Orchestra on
September 21. The show is at 3
:00 pm at
Trinity Presbyterian Church.

In the meantime we’ll be bringing you content online and on-air to celebrate this important historic figure in classical music.