Clara Schumann: Ultra Pianist, Performer and Pedagogue (Zoom)

In this Wilton Library Zoom session, Jeffrey Engel will discuss the remarkable career of Clara Schumann and play selected excerpts from her compositions.

At Clara’s death in May of 1896, an obituary appearing in the Manchester Guardian proclaimed her “the greatest pianist of her sex that the world has ever known.” This was not hyperbole. Even as a child prodigy, Clara was placed in the top tier of her contemporaries, both male and female. In some ways, she was also ahead of her time. Clara promulgated music by Beethoven, Chopin and Robert Schumann that was largely unknown to the public. She was the first to perform from memory. Clara was also an influential teacher and composer of talent, even though she stopped writing music before the age of 40. She was unquestionably one of the great musicians of the 19th century!

Jeffrey Engel has been giving lectures devoted to music history for some 15 years. As a cellist, he played with numerous orchestras in France including that of the Paris Opera, performed in chamber ensembles and taught in municipal conservatories. Since 2004, Engel has taught at Northwestern Connecticut Community College (Winsted). He was a contributor to the 2001 edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. In 2010 he was selected by Litchfield Magazine as one of the 50 most influential people in Litchfield County.

Registration is required. Register online.