Clara Mathilda Faisst facts for kids

Clara Mathilda Faisst (born June 22, 1872 – died November 22, 1948) was a talented German musician and writer. She was a pianist, a composer who wrote music, and a writer.

Early Life

Clara Faisst was born in Karlsruhe, Germany. Her parents were August and Emma Faisst. Sadly, her father passed away when she was only one year old. Clara was the youngest of six children in her family. People who knew her said she was a quiet and thoughtful child. She also had health problems for much of her childhood.

Learning Music

Clara started learning music when she began school. She studied at the Grand Ducal Conservatory in Karlsruhe until 1894. This was a special music school. When she was just seven years old, she was the youngest student ever taught by Carl Will, a famous musician.

She continued her studies at the Royal Academy of Music in Berlin until 1896. There, she learned from many important teachers.

• Ernst Rudorff, a student of the famous Clara Schumann, taught her piano.
• Woldemar Bargiel, who was Clara Schumann's stepbrother, taught her about music theory and how to compose.
• Robert Kahn, a composer from Berlin, also taught her piano and music theory.
• Her most famous teacher was Max Bruch, who taught her how to compose music. Clara kept in touch with Max Bruch for many years. She even wrote music for his songs called "Five Songs for a Voice with Pianoforte."

Clara also started writing poetry while she was at the academy.

Her Career

After finishing her studies in 1896, Clara Faisst went on a concert tour. She performed her own music and other composers' works in Germany and Switzerland.

In 1901, she moved back to her hometown of Karlsruhe. She earned her living as a composer, a teacher, a poet, and a pianist. People noticed her compositions and how well she played the piano. Her songs and instrumental pieces were performed in Karlsruhe before World War II.

Clara's music is known for its beautiful melodies and rich harmonies. It sounds a lot like music from the late Romantic period. She often published her own music. Some of her pieces were even printed in magazines. She wrote a lot of music, including 33 pieces with "opus numbers" (which are like catalog numbers for a composer's works).

During World War II, Clara held concerts in people's homes. She wrote over a hundred different pieces of music. These included ballads, songs for choirs, and sonatas for violin and piano.

Clara became good friends with Albert Schweitzer, a famous doctor and musician. They wrote many letters to each other. Clara Faisst never got married. She passed away in Karlsruhe when she was 76 years old. Since she didn't have close family, many of her belongings were thrown away. But luckily, some of her letters and music were saved and kept safe.

Works

Here are some of the musical pieces Clara Faisst wrote:

• Adagio Consolante (1902)
• Violin Sonata (published in 1912)
• Präludium im gotischen Stil, Op. 28
• Sieben Lieder aus des Knaben Wunderhorn, Op. 10
• Vier Lieder für eine Singstimme mit Pianoforte (Op. 16 and Op. 17 together)

Clara Faisst also wrote a book called Hörst du den Ton? (which means Can You Hear the Note?). It was published in 1924.