Talk:Piano Concerto (Clara Schumann)

A fact from Piano Concerto (Clara Schumann) appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 18 October 2019 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that when pianist Clara Wieck (pictured with the score) composed her Piano Concerto in A minor as a teenager, her future husband Robert Schumann helped with the orchestration?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2019/October. The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Piano Concerto (Clara Schumann).

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Clara Wieck's piano concerto

If you have a source for 1833, please add it. The one in the article says 1834, and for 8 1/2 months of that year, she was 14. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 10:00, 20 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

It seems to be in the Reich book, - which page(s), please? --Gerda Arendt (talk) 10:07, 20 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I saw your date 1934, a typo, and changed it to what I thought you meant, 1834, until I looked in Nancy Reich's catalog which had 1833. Both editions of her book 1985 & 2001 (the second also being in Grove) have that year as being when she BEGAN the concerto (finishing it in 1835, why a 2-year delay I don't know). I don't have the bio section of Reich's book, just the catalog, so I don't know what she says about the concerto (nor what pages it's on), but I can infer some things.

The article you quote doesn't say 1834, it just says she was 14. It also says Robert completed his orchestration in Feb. 1834. I don't know how long it took him, maybe since January? Clara must have begun it any time between Sep. 1833 and Jan. 1834. Somehow I doubt she would have written that whole first movement in less than a month, and have Robert orchestrate it during that month as well, so I think we can safely say she didn't BEGIN writing it in January 1834. That makes the beginning date 1833. Also, she was in the habit of giving compositions to her husband as birthday and Christmas presents, so I think it's likely she finished the movement by Christmas 1833.

Chuckstreet (talk) 17:15, 22 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Gerda Arendt - I found more definite dates. She began composing it at age 13! in Jan. 1833 and finished the single movt (which later became the finale) in Nov. 1833. She performed it several times in 1834, while working on the new first movt, completed in June 1834. The slow 2nd movt wasn't finished until early 1835. Anyway, I made extensive revisions of the article; I hope that's okay. Just in time for the DYK.

By the way, the statement in the DYK blurb is not correct. Clara completed her own orchestration of the single movement. Robert just made some revisions (in Feb. 1834). And it was also Clara who orchestrated the full 3 movement version, without Robert's help, including completely redoing Robert's earlier revisions of the Konzertsatz! (her full orchestration was completed 1 Sep. 1835). Turns out she had more experience with writing for orchestra, as she had already written a fully-scored Overture and a Scherzo. Robert's only experience was an early aborted Symphony from 1831 and 5 failed attempts at piano concertos between 1827 and 1839 (before his completed A minor). Chuckstreet (talk) 04:34, 18 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for the research! The wording was cautious enough to not be wrong, - he helped, doesn't say she rejected that help ;) --Gerda Arendt (talk) 09:29, 18 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]