Marie Fillunger (27 January 1850 – 23 December 1930) was an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n singer, and the longtime partner of Eugenie Schumann, who was a daughter of

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

and

Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; ; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic music, Romantic era, she exerted her influence o ...

Life

Fillunger was born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. She studied at the Vienna Conservatory from 1869 to 1873 under

Mathilde Marchesi Mathilde Marchesi (; 24 March 1821 – 17 November 1913) was a German mezzo-soprano, a singing teacher, and a proponent of the bel canto vocal method. Biography Mathilde Graumann was born in Frankfurt. Her aunt was the pianist Dorothea von Er ...

. Then, on the recommendation of

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

she studied at the Hochschule in Berlin in 1874 under

Amalie Joachim Amalie Marie Joachim (10 May 1839 – 3 February 1899) was an Austrian-German contralto, working in opera and concert and as voice teacher. She was the wife of the violinist Joseph Joachim, and a friend of both Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms ...

. There she met Eugenie Schumann the same year. Eugenie was one of the daughters of

Clara Clara may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Clara'' (2018 film), a Canadian sci-fi drama * ''Clara'' (2019 film), a Ukrainian animated fantasy film * ''Clara'' (TV series), a German TV series * Clara the Cow, mascot of the Greek TV show '' P ...

and Robert Schumann, and she and Fillunger became lovers. Using the Schumann house as a base for a number of years, first in Berlin and then in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

from 1878, Fillunger left for England in January 1889 after a dispute with Eugenie's sister, Marie Schumann. Eugenie joined her in 1892, remaining there until 1912 when she rejoined Marie in Switzerland. Fillunger returned to Vienna. In 1889 she sang in London and at the

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

in Beethoven's Choral Symphony. In England, Fillunger established herself as a highly regarded singer of

lied In the Western classical music tradition, ( , ; , ; ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German and Dutch, but among English and French speakers, is often used interchangea ...

er, particularly in the repertoire of

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

and Brahms, who entrusted her with the premieres of many of his works.Alexander Waugh, ''The House of Wittgenstein: A Family at War'', 2008, ch. 44 ''The Death of Mrs Wittgenstein'' She toured Australia in 1891 and South Africa in 1895 with Sir

Charles Hallé Sir Charles Hallé (born Karl Halle; 11 April 181925 October 1895) was a Prussian and British pianist and conductor. In 1858, he founded the Hallé Orchestra. Life Charles Frederick Hallé was born Carl Friederich Halle on 10 April 1819 in H ...

, eventually joining the teaching staff of the

Royal Manchester College of Music The Royal Manchester College of Music (RMCM) was a tertiary level conservatoire in Manchester, north-west England. It was founded in 1893 by the German-born conductor Sir Charles Hallé in 1893. In 1972, the Royal Manchester College of Mu ...

from which she resigned before the outbreak of the First World War. Fillunger and Eugenie were reunited in 1919 in Matten near

Interlaken Interlaken (; lit.: ''between lakes'') is a Swiss town and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern. It is an important and well-known tourist destination in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss ...

in Switzerland.

Death and legacy

Fillunger died in Interlaken. She is buried alongside Eugenie and Marie Schumann in the Gsteig cemetery in the nearby village of

Wilderswil Wilderswil is a village and a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli (administrative district), Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerla ...

. An obituary can be read in ''

The Musical Times ''The Musical Times'' was an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom. It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainzer's Musical Times and Singing Circular'', but in 1844 he sold it to Alfr ...

'', Vol. 72, No. 1056 (Feb. 1, 1931), pp. 175–176. Her long relationship with Eugenie Schumann is discussed in a number of articles by German music historian Eva Rieger.

References

External links

Letters between Fillunger and Eugenie Schumann
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fillunger, Marie 1850 births 1930 deaths Women singers from Austria-Hungary 19th-century Austrian women opera singers Austrian voice teachers 20th-century Austrian women opera singers Austrian women music educators People from Interlaken Austrian LGBTQ singers