A talented pianist from Holmfirth became a court pianist in Germany and had a brief flirtation with one of the world’s greatest composers.
Ann Robena Laidlaw was born at Bretton – possibly at Bretton Hall or a house on the estate – in April 1817 and from an early age showed a prodigious talent on the piano.
In the latest edition of the Huddersfield Local History Society Journal David Cockman reveals how she ended up having a brief relationship with Robert Schumann, widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era.
As a child she went to stay with relatives in Edinburgh so she could receive tuition from a German piano teacher who was living in the city.
He was so impressed that he suggested to her parents that she should continue her studies in Germany.
Robert writes: “What is perhaps surprising is that Robena’s parents acted on his advice. After all, Jane Austen was not long dead and the most that was generally expected of middle class girls at this time was they make a good marriage if possible and, failing that, a bad one. There were few other career options.”
In 1830 when Robena was about 13 years old the family went to Konigsberg in East Prussia where she studied with Georg Tag for four years and by the age of 17 she had launched her career as a concert pianist.
When the Duchess of Cumberland became Queen of Hanover Robena was appointed her court pianist and over the next few years she toured widely in Germany and Austria, performing in all the main cultural centres such as Vienna, Berlin, Dresden, Frankfurt and Leipzig.
In 1837 she met Robert Schumann and they formed a relationship that lasted only two weeks although he dedicated his new work, Phantasiestucke Opus 12, to her and the artist Raabe produced a drawing showing Robena playing to Schumann.
The composer went on to marry another young pianist, Clara Wieck.
Robena returned to England in 1845, married a lawyer seven years later and lived in London until her death in 1901.
