Clara Schumann (1819 1896), child prodigy, celebrated concert pianist, composer, and friend of Brahms, was also the wife of composer Robert Schumann. Her father Friedrich Wieck's implacable opposition to their marriage, the sublime music she inspired in Schumann and his tragic death at a cruelly young age underlie one of music's great romances. The German literary historian Berthold Litzmann (1857 1926) first published his biography in three volumes between 1902 and 1908, based on the diaries and letters of Robert and Clara Schumann. Appearing in 1913, this two-volume English translation by Grace Hadow (1875 1940) is an abridged version of the German fourth edition, offering a lucid portrait of a central figure in nineteenth-century European musical life. A preface is provided by the translator's elder brother, William Henry Hadow (1859 1937), the music historian. Volume 1 covers the years 1819 to 1850."