Correspondences – Sara Costa

The milieu where Clara Wieck grew up was, at the same time, profoundly musical and the opposite of harmonious. Her parents were both professional musicians of a very high level and standing; yet their relationship was unhappy and would end in a divorce, with Clara’s mother leaving the family home and virtually abandoning her child. Clara did not learn to speak until her fifth year of age, possibly as a consequence of this situation; however, since her mother’s “language” was music, Clara was deeply attracted by the piano and could play it much earlier than she could speak. Clara grew up as a child prodigy, taking Europe by storm with her impeccable piano performances and with her youthful compositions; her musicianship was probably the first spark which would later ignite love in the heart of Robert Schumann, who was her senior by nine years. Robert used to study under Clara’s father’s guidance, to whom, as he frankly acknowledged, he owed much. The relationship between Robert Schumann and Friedrich Wieck grew increasingly uncomfortable, and reached a rupture point when Robert and Clara sued him in court in order to obtain the permission to get married, in spite of Wieck’s persistent disapproval. The year after Schumann had gathered the Bunte Blätter, Clara – by then his wife of thirteen years – decided to resume her own compositional activity, which she had gradually abandoned after her marriage. This extraordinary couple, with their complicated and difficult family life, with their circle of musical friends (first and foremost Mendelssohn, Brahms and Joachim) was and remains possibly the most extraordinary symbol of how music can truly become the language of love; the works recorded in this Da Vinci Classics album, with their stories, allusions and meanings, but first and foremost thanks to their exquisite musical beauty, are a living testimony of how deeply Clara and Robert’s love can still inspire and touch us.