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Insights into moving family and life stories: Clara and Robert Schumann are considered the most famous musical couple of the 19th century – and we are pairing their piano concertos. Clara began her work at just 14 years old, using her maiden name Wieck, with Robert Schumann assisting her with the orchestration. In 1835, she gave her debut performance as a soloist in Leipzig. Five years later, the two lovers were finally able to marry after a long period of conflict with their father, and in 1845, the celebrated virtuoso also sat at the piano when her piano concerto was first heard in Dresden. Both pieces are in the passionate key of a-minor and are closely related in many aspects, but also fascinatingly different. The younger sister of our guest conductor will perform as a soloist for us. From the Lithuanian homeland of the two artists, we will hear a work by Raminta Šerkšnytė, who is one of the best-known contemporary composers of the Baltic state: Her "Midsummer Song" from 2009 is described by a critic as having a "kaleidoscopic range of the finest sounds." To conclude, we will present another equally brilliant piece by Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis: The late Romantic composer, like Schumann, suffered from mental problems in the later part of his life and died at the age of 35. He was influenced by his studies in Leipzig and Warsaw – and in 1907, after his return to Lithuania, he completed his own composition, which he called "Sea" – a tone poem that captures a seascape in moving sound images.
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