![]() There are some strange prophecies (Alkan's Enrhythme molassique, for example, in her Le balletdes revenants from Op 5) as well as a capacity to wear her cap and gown with the best of them (the Op 16 Preludes and Fugues) or play her virtuoso trump cards with aplomb (Op 14 and the Agitato from Op 21). And even when her veneration for others (to Chopin in the exquisite Nocturne from Op 6), is clear she always maintains her own voice. Yet Clara always remained true to her own lights. Indeed, there is evidence to show that Clara felt over-shadowed ('I compose, too,' she asserted as she pushed her compositions under Robert's door) while Robert felt threatenend by his wife's celebrity as a pianist (the Tsar of Russia politely enquired of Clara, 'and is your husband also musical?'). Theirs was clearly a symbiotic relationship, and composing side by side during the early days of their legendary romance, Schumann both marvelled at and feared her gifts. ![]() True, she pays loving tribute to her husband's work, but the listener should not be misled. A deeply courageous woman who juggled her roles of wife, mother (to eight children), pianist and composer, she also bore the tragedy of her beloved Robert's collapse into insanity and the added complication of her relationship with Brahms with rare strength and fortitude.Ĭertainly her Op 1 (composed when she was 11) suggests a startling precocity before her skill deepened over the years into music where outward conventions thinly disguise a highly personal and poetic nature. Superbly played and recorded, it prompts a sharp and necessary awareness of the full range of Clara Schumann's gifts. This four-CD album redresses a faulty or at least misunderstood balance.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |