50. Schumann and Brahms
from The Concert - Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Hosted by Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Schumann: Fantasiestücke, Op. 88 Brahms: Piano Trio in C minor, Op. 101 Johannes Brahms came to Robert and Clara Schumann’s home on September 30th of 1853, as a young composer just 20 years old, and remained a close friend of both for the rest of their lives. The Schumanns provided the young Brahms with emotional, professional and musical support, and they were instrumental in his early successes. The trios we’ll hear today are among the shortest these composers wrote. First is Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, Op. 88. Written just after Robert Schumann’s happy marriage to Clara, the work is generally light in tone, and contains wonderfully catchy melodies. Next we’ll listen to Brahms’s Trio in C minor, a mature work written well after Schumann’s death. In his earlier work, Brahms paid more literal homage to Schumann. In this trio, Brahms is a more established composer, and speaks with his own voice, but his ongoing interest in chamber music was undoubtedly influenced by Schumann.
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