A Performance Analysis Of Clara Schumann's Variations On A Theme Of Schumann, Op.20

Clara Schumann(September 13,1819-May 20,1896),a German pianist,composer,and educator,was born in Leipzig in September 1819.She was the wife of Robert-Schumann,the famous German pianist,composer,and music critic.Begining to study piano with her father at the age of five,Clara is best known as a pianist and achieved great success in composition and music teaching and was one of the most influential female musical figures in nineteenth-century Romantic Europe.Her musical works can be roughly divided into two stages-the pre-marriage period and the post-marriage period-which are characterized by distinctive works,the pre-marriage period being entirely devoted to the piano,and the post-marriage period being richer in vocal,repertoire,and piano works."Variations on a theme by Robert Schumann,Op.20" studied in this thesis is one of the more representative piano works she composed after getting married.The theme is from the fourth piece of Robert Schumann’s "Bunter Blatter Op.99"."Variations on a theme by Robert Schumann,Op.20" was composed in 1835,her first work after a six-year hiatus,and is sincere and very personal.With musical form analysis,this thesis will explore its performance annotation.