Editing Clara Schumann (section)

==== Johannes Brahms ====
[[File:Clara Schumann 1853.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Black-and-white photograph of a woman sitting, looking pensively, with her left hand resting in her lap, while her head leans on her right hand, dressed in a solid-black jacket and lighter skirt|Schumann in 1853]]

In early 1853, the then-unknown 20-year-old [[Johannes Brahms]] met Joachim and made a very favorable impression. Brahms received from him a [[letter of introduction]] to Robert Schumann, and thus presented himself at the Schumanns' home in Düsseldorf. Brahms played some of his piano solo compositions for the Schumanns, and they were deeply impressed.{{sfn|Litzmann Letters|1927}} Robert published an article highly lauding Brahms, and Clara wrote in the diary that Brahms "seemed as if sent straight from God".{{sfn|Litzmann Bio|1913|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Yit8CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT42 v. 2 p. 42]}}

During Robert Schumann's last years, confined to an asylum, Brahms was a strong presence for the Schumann family.{{sfn|Reich Book|2001}} His letters indicate his strong feelings for Clara.{{sfn|Swafford Article|2003}} Their relationship has been interpreted as somewhere between friendship and love,{{sfn|Popova|2017}} and Brahms always maintained the utmost respect for her, as a woman and a talented musician.{{sfn|Swafford Article|2003}}

Brahms played his [[Symphony No. 1 (Brahms)|First Symphony]] for her before its premiere. She gave some advice about the Adagio, which he took to heart. She expressed her appreciation of the Symphony as a whole, but mentioned her dissatisfaction with the endings of the third and fourth movements.{{sfn|Litzmann Bio|1913|loc=v. 1 pp. 322–23}} She was the first to perform many of his works in public, including the ''[[Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel]]'', a solo piano work written by Brahms in 1861.{{sfn|Litzmann Bio|1913|loc=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Yit8CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT201 v. 2 p. 201]}}