Clara Schumann - Scherzo no. 1, op. 10

Clara Schumann (née Clara Josephine Wieck; 13 September 1819 - 20 May 1896) was a German musician and composer, considered one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era. She exerted her influence over a 61-year concert career, changing the format and repertoire of the piano concert and the tastes of the listening public. Her husband was the composer Robert Schumann.

"Clara has composed a series of small pieces, which show a musical and tender ingenuity such as she has never attained before. But to have children, and a husband who is always living in the realm of imagination, does not go together with composing. She cannot work at it regularly, and I am often disturbed to think how many profound ideas are lost because she cannot work them out."

—Robert Schumann in the joint diary of Robert and Clara Schumann.

Michael Ponti, piano

Category:

Music

Tags:

• clara
• schumann
• scherzo
• ponti

[SilverCross2003]

This is by far one of my favorite pieces ever! I heard it years ago and never found out who made it.... it took me until jus minutes to find it again!!!!!!!! So happy I found it!

[bartje11]

@SilverCross2003 I am glad you found it! Thanks for visiting.

[Erikk91]

I like her music more than her husband's

[ueblondon]

I love these two scherzos!

[dacovaz1]

I can't help but notice a remarkable similarity with Brahms Scherzo Op.4. The trills, the scales. Perhaps Clara played it to Brahms or gave him the score. It seems her Scherzo was a clear inspiration for his. Or was it the other way round? :)

[evlhmonkey]

How can I get this recording? love michael ponti's playing on this piece. been looking everywhere. sounds like a record but can I get this on cd?

[BoggiD101]

Impressive.

[clooaan]

Fine performance.Re Clara's fingers-check out the photos that show her whole arms.Massive hands and very long fingers are her asset methinks,for performance anyway.Given her long career one would think she reached a larger audience in the nineteenth century than any other pianist.

[Ballerfella2007]

Love this movement..is it true that her fingers were small which gave her great speed at playing the piano?? Thats what our music professor in college told us??

[XilusZeknas]

Absolutely brilliant!!

[1854Sherlock]

She was the greatest woman-composer!!! And she still the greatest.

(by the way - very good performance).

[justinhenryhaynes]

@jecian1978 And, they did it all on paper and never had the benefit of hearing recordings of themselves later. I suppose there was a certain sanctity to a musical moment that went particularly well, as no one would ever hear it that quite way ever again. And if you wanted to capture something you heard, then you needed to have the skill to remember it or to write it down as Mozart famously did at least once as a child. Agreed, I do love this piece.

[Dodexas]

Was this ripped from a vinyl record?