A Conversation with Brahms and the Schumanns

A Conversation with Brahms and the Schumanns

On Saturday, May 17 at 7:30 pm, the West Jersey Chamber Music Society will close its 2013-14 season with a multi-media performance, including live music.

“Conversation Pieces: At Home With the Schumanns and Brahms, When Life and Music Came Together  will be an evening of musical excerpts from three towering figures of the Romantic musical era with slides and a historical narrative. Soloists are Igor Szwec, violin, Vivian Barton Dozor, cello and Diane Goldsmith, piano. The narrator is Ivan Woods.

Robert Schumann had ambitions to become a concert pianist, encouraged by his teacher, Friedrich Wieck, but was diverted to composing by a hand injury. He married Wieck's daughter, Clara, herself an accomplished composer, who also had a considerable concert career as a pianist. Although he's known for his four symphonies, Schumann composed largely for the piano. Through his music criticism, Schumann was a major figure in the Romantic movement.

Brahms, on the other hand, was committed to the structures and compositional techniques of the Baroque and Classical masters, and is included in the “Three B's” – Bach, Beethoven and himself. But Brahms was not an imitator. His compositions broke new ground, making his works among the most popular of his time.

Although Brahms was 20-odd years younger the Clara and Robert, he was welcomed into the Schumanns' household – first as a student and then as an equal. Brahms was a stalwart support for Clara and her many children after Robert's lifelong mental illness reached a crisis and he finally was institutionalized.

“Conversation Pieces” will start at 7:30 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, 101 Bridgeboro Road, Moorestown. Tickets are $20 general admission; $15 for seniors, and $10 for students. For information, contact (609)-502-1439 or kiteandkeydesign@comcast.net.