I, Clara: The Virtuosa of Europe

Created by Lucy Parham in 2019 to celebrate 200 years since Clara Wieck Schumann’s birth, I, Clara tells her extraordinary life story in her own words. The narrative is drawn from letters and diaries, interspersed with live performances of her works, and of music by Robert Schumann, Brahms, Liszt, Felix Mendelssohn and Chopin.

Clara Schumann was a truly exceptional woman, not just a devoted wife to the composer Robert Schumann, but a ground-breaking musician in her own right. Over a period of 60 years she gave over 1,500 concerts and determined the format of the kind of piano recital that is familiar to us today.

As a child prodigy, she was groomed for stardom by her piano-teacher father, Friedrich Wieck. By the age of eight she was dazzling audiences throughout Europe. Having married Robert against her father’s wishes, she became the mother of eight children. When her husband declined tragically into mental illness and an attempt at suicide, she continued both to run the household and to make an international concert career to support the family.

Lucy Parham, piano

Juliet Stevenson, actor

Doors open half an hour before the concert starts. There will be an interval of 20 mins.

Details are correct at time of publication but are subject to change. We regret that tickets cannot be refunded unless the concert is cancelled.