C. & R. Schumann #3

The first piano concerto composed by Clara Wieck (1835) before being Clara Schumann is the work of a sixteen year old girl, who is admired by Goethe and Liszt. A few years later, she wrote in her diary: “Once I thought I had creative talent, but now I have come back from it. A woman must not compose. None has ever been capable of it. Why should I be the exception?”. Performed here by the young piano prodigy Mariam Batsashvili, this concerto comes to us like a sublime fallen dream. 

Drafted in 1830 while Felix Mendelssohn was on an European tour in Rome, and completed in 1833, the so-called Italian Symphony No. 4 is considered, along with the Scottish Symphony, to be one of the highlights of the composer’s work. He writes that he found inspiration not in art itself, but in the ruins, the landscape, the joy of the nature of this country that dispenses happiness.

Along with Clara Schumann, Fanny Hensel born Mendelssohn – older sister of the famous composer – is one of the few female composers to have made a name for herself in the 19th century. Born into a middle-class family, nothing could predict her career and she had to cultivate her exceptional gift in private while her brother multiplied the concerts and tours. Her catalogue is rich with more than 450 works, including this overture for piano recently rediscovered on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of his death. It shows a musical inspiration close to the new German school, with harmonic audacities that naturally bring her closer to Richard Wagner.

The concert C. & R. Schumann #3 has been recorded and will be broadcasted:
- 13 May at 7 pm on Radio Fajet | 94.2 FM
- 17 May at 9 pm on radio Campus - Nancy | 99.6 FM
- 24 June at 6 pm on Accent 4 | 96.6 FM in Strasbourg, 98.8 FM in Sélestat and 90.4 FM in Colmar
- 27 June at 11 am on RCF Lorraine - Nancy | 93.7 FM