Classical Music | Music for Duo

Recorded on 01/12/2011, uploaded on 06/30/2011

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Clara Schumann was born in Leipzig in 1819. She tried composition as early as 1830 and was encouraged by her father, mostly because he was interested in increasing her market value as a pianist.  After Clara married Robert Schumann in1840, it became hard for her to compose; she had to take care of seven children and a household. “There is nothing like the satisfaction of composing something and hearing it afterwards,” wrote Clara in her diary, but she was quick to add: ”Naturally it remains woman’s work, always lacking in strength and occasionally in ideas.”

The three romances op. 22 were written in 1853 and dedicated to Joseph Joachim, a famous violinist. Clara and Joachim performed the pieces together in January 1856.  The Neue Berliner Musikzeitung of 1856, offers the best description of the pieces: “All three pieces display an individual character conceived in a truly sincere manner and written in a delicate, fragrant hand…The unique, charming tone of each number makes it very difficult to prefer one to the other.”      Guy Figer

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.