Clara Schumann
Clara Schumann's chamber and piano works speak with lyrical warmth and intimate Romantic colour. Her Notturno and Three Romances, Op. 22, carry melodic lines that sit naturally under the fingers and in the ear, music shaped for the salon and the recital stage.
Her catalogue ranges across solo piano pieces, songs, chamber music and a piano concerto. The Three Romances began life for violin and piano; their singing phrases and quick-shifting moods translate cleanly to clarinet, where the dialogue stays tender and close. A Notturno for piano holds a melody Robert Schumann later folded into his own Novellette. She wrote with the ear of a lifelong recitalist, favouring clear line and expressive intimacy over pure display, and the same instinct shaped the shorter lyric pieces that sit so readily beside Robert's house-music and fantasy sets.
Compositions by Clara Schumann appear on
Schumann Cello
The collaboration between cellist Zoe Knighton and pianist Amir Farid continues with a collection of short works by Clara and Robert Schumann
True Romantics
In True Romantics, two of Australia’s most accomplished musicians, clarinettist Philip Arkinstall and pianist Kristian Chong, bring new light and lyrical warmth to Brahms’s Clarinet Sonatas, Op.120, and Clara Schumann’s Three Romances, Op.22 (here transcribed for clarinet by Roger Young).
Night Thoughts
During the long still nights of the Covid pandemic, pianist Len Vorster, well-known as a thoughtful accompanist, spent most of his evenings listening to a wide array of music ranging from Schumann to Copland. He also spent a lot of time thinking about the music. These ruminations developed into the wide ranging, fascinating and beautiful program of 15 deep-rooted works.