Complete Correspondence of Clara and Robert Schumann, Vol. 3

The third volume of The Complete Correspondence of Clara and Robert Schumann contains letters written by Robert Schumann (1810-1856) and Clara Wieck Schumann (1819-1896) between January 1840 and March 1851. The letters preceding the couple’s wedding in September 1840 document the last phase of Robert’s lawsuit against Friedrich Wieck aimed at obtaining permission to marry. They also include comments on Robert’s fondness for lieder and his close friendship with Felix Mendelssohn and Franz Liszt. The letters written when Clara went on tour without her husband, for instance to Copenhagen in 1842, revolve around news about her concerts and her reactions to such famous men as Hans Christian Andersen and Niels Gade. The better part of the letters was written by Clara, while Robert is so occupied with his work that his letters are frequently quite brief. The letters in this volume offer a fresh look at a marriage which earlier biographers have described as problematic. Such a view is not borne out by the correspondence in this volume.