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Classical music has been popular for centuries. From the days of Beethoven and Mozart to more modern scorers such as Yo-Yo Ma, classical music has proved to have an audience made up of people from all walks of life. Indeed, classical music is one of if not the strongest selling genre of music worldwide, with modern singers such as Josh Groban and Charlotte Church easily outselling other more ‘popular’ artists such as Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z and Beyonce. However, classical music is often seen as a male-dominated arena. When people think of classical composers they think of famous men such as Handel and Vivaldi. This seems unfair, especially considering that one of the most well known pieces of classical music ever, The Celebrated Chop Waltz (otherwise known as chopsticks), was written by a woman!
One of the most famous female composers was Clara Schumann. Schumann wrote and performed classical music for 61 years, becoming known as one of the finest pianists of her day. She also played a large part in mentoring and teaching students, one of whom would grow up to become another famous composer, Brahms. Although she was married to the musician Robert Schumann, who is much more well known than she is, it was Clara’s playing and writing that provided their family with a source of income. Sadly for Clara, her life was not an easy one. As well as having to raise a family, find the time to compose music and deal with the fact that her husband was more respected as a musician, she also had to go through a number of tragedies. She outlived her husband and four of her eight children, while another became insane and was forced to live in an asylum. She also became deaf when she got older, surely the worst punishment for a musician as talented as she.
