Träumerei (1944)

Germany in the 19th century. Clara Wieck is the daughter of the respected music educator Friedrich Wieck and an exceptionally gifted pianist. Ever since she gave her first concert at the age of nine, she has been regarded as a child prodigy. At her father’s music school in Leipzig, she meets the still-young Robert Schumann and quickly develops a deep affection for him. Their relationship is very much frowned upon by Wieck, who has great plans for his daughter. When Clara is due to leave for Paris, where she is expected to make her international breakthrough, Robert gives his beloved a composition of his own as a parting gift: “Träumerei.” In the French capital, at her father’s urging, she meets Franz Liszt, who is to support and champion her. Clara soon achieves her first major successes, but she has not forgotten her Robert back home. Once back in Leipzig, the two marry, entirely against the will of her domineering father. He has only his daughter’s musical career in mind and does not consider Robert mature enough. The elder Wieck also does not believe Schumann will ever succeed professionally. The marriage, which the two young people secure through the courts, leads to a rift between Clara and Friedrich Wieck. Although Clara and Robert Schumann have a happy and fulfilling marriage, their steadily growing number of children soon brings increasing financial worries. Robert Schumann’s compositions are little known to the public and do not bring in enough money. When Liszt visits the couple one day, he rekindles Clara’s desire to become artistically active again after years of withdrawal. Clara soon enjoys one success after another as a concert pianist, while Robert uses this time to continue composing. But just as her star shines brightly once more in the musical firmament, Schumann’s successes fail to materialize. Exhausted from his work and frustrated by the lack of response, Robert Schumann, who suffers from depression, soon has a nervous breakdown. Clara realizes that this unsettled touring life is not good for either of them, and decides to devote herself entirely to her husband. Robert soon achieves his first modest success: he is appointed conductor of the Düsseldorf Music Society. But as his compositions still have not caught on, the musicians do not take him seriously. On the contrary, they conspire against him. Eventually, the city’s mayor removes Schumann from the post. Soon afterward, he meets the young aspiring composer Johannes Brahms, whom Schumann invites into his home. Brahms quickly falls in love with Clara, while Robert’s depressive episodes become more frequent and more intense. One day, he attempts suicide, but Clara saves him from the water at the last moment. Since Robert no longer seems to be in control of his senses, they decide to have him admitted to a mental institution. Clara Schumann ultimately realizes that she can no longer reach her husband and that he is soon living in a world of his own. But she remains faithful to him—in every sense. She neither gives in to Brahms’s advances nor is willing to let Robert’s art fall into oblivion. With all her strength and artistic ability, she finally makes Robert Schumann’s music popular. At her final concert performance, the elderly artist plays his “Träumerei.”