This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en:
Francais (French)
-
Analekta5
Clara, Robert, Johannes: Atmosphere and Mastery
National Arts Centre Orchestra (directed by Alexander Shelley)
Analekta, 2023
Conductor Alexander Shelley and the National Arts Centre Orchestra present the third recording of a four-volume collection featuring three of the most iconic composers in the romantic-era: Clara Schuman, Robert Schuman and Johannes Brahms.
Bru Zane is devoted to the rediscovery and international promotion of French repertoire dating from 1780-1920. Les Nuits de Paris is the French equivalent of the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert, devoted to music by Johann Strauss and his Viennese contemporaries.
The opening, Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major (“Rheinish”), is nothing short of heroic, right from the first chords in the strings and brass. The NACO treats the hemiolas throughout the rhythmically rich first theme with great care, never letting them overtake the adventurous melody that symbolizes Schumann’s journey to the Rhineland with Clara. Again, Clara is tying the worlds of these works together.
She also helps explain the inclusion of Brahms’s Symphony No. 3 in F major, where the main motif (F-A♭-F) quotes Brahms’s own mantra: “frei aber froh” (“free but happy”). This motto was very important to Brahms and is known to represent the time he spent with the Schumanns in Düsseldorf. Again, Shelley and the orchestra approach telling this story with great tact and sensitivity while reinforcing the delight undoubtedly present in the symphonies and relationships of the three composers. Clara Schumann’s Piano Trio in G minor is rife with emotional detail, as heard in the interaction between the instruments, and the various textures. Overall, each piece is an excellent homage to the mastery and relationships between the three composers.
This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en:
Francais (French)
