Concerts
CONCERT 1: Dancing Letters
10AM
From the musical cipher of the Abegg Variations to the fleeting ballroom scenes of Papillons and the dual voices of Davidsbündlertänze, Schumann’s early piano works reveal a composer drawn to character and transformation. Fragments, dances, and alter egos combine to form the beginnings of his distinctive inner theatre.
Variations on the Name “Abegg,” Op. 1
Papillons, Op. 2
Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6
Performers:
Robert Chamberlain
Jiwon Lee
Ian Munro
CONCERT 2: The Poet Speaks
11:30AM
A world of miniature forms, where a few bars can suggest an entire scene or state of mind. In Kinderszenen and Fantasiestücke, Schumann moves effortlessly between intimacy and imagination, each piece a self-contained and poetic vignette.
Kinderszenen, Op. 15
Clara Schumann (1819–1896)
Quatre Pièces fugitives (selections)
Robert Schumann
Fantasiestücke, Op. 12
Performers:
Victor Huang
Amy Lin
Tomoe Kawabata
CONCERT 3: Florestan and Eusebius
1:15PM
Schumann’s contrasting alter egos – the impetuous Florestan and the inward Eusebius – shape the volatile language of these middle-period works.
From the extroverted brilliance of Faschingsschwank aus Wien to the fragmented, Kreisler-inspired imagination of Kreisleriana, with the Arabesque as a moment of lyrical suspension, sharply opposed musical states coexist and collide.
Faschingsschwank aus Wien, Op. 26
Arabeske in C major, Op. 18
Kreisleriana, Op. 16
Performers:
Filip Fulco
Darryl Coote
Kimiko Horas
CONCERT 4: Friendship and Hommage
2:45PM
Variation and transformation lie at the heart of this program, from Clara Schumann’s intimate reimagining of Robert’s theme, to Robert’s own engagement with Beethoven. In the C major Fantasy, these impulses expand into one of his most ambitious works, where homage, memory, and imagination converge on a larger scale.
Clara Schumann
Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 20
Robert Schumann
Études in Variation Form on a Theme by Beethoven, WoO 31
Fantaisie in C major, Op. 17
Performers:
Kimiko Horas
Anthony Halliday
Jacinta Na
CONCERT 5: Shared Voices
4:30PM
Piano duo writing connects these works, from the intimate exchange of the Andante and Variations, Op. 46 to the imitative clarity and lyrical beauty of the Études in Canon Form, Op. 56. With Bilder aus Osten, Schumann broadens the scale, writing in textures that depend on the close interplay between two performers.
Andante and Variations, Op. 46
Études in Canon Form, Op. 56 (arr. Debussy)
Bilder aus Osten, Op. 66
Performers:
Darryl Coote & Robert Chamberlain
Callisto Piano Duo (Kavindra Widodo & Nicholas Khong)
KIAZMA Piano Duo (Aura Go & Tomoe Kawabata)
CONCERT 6: Songs at dawn
6PM
In his final piano works, Schumann turns toward a more inward and distilled mode of expression, where brevity and atmosphere carry increasing weight. The shifting scenes of Waldszenen and the concise forms of Opp. 99 and 111 give way to the spare, luminous textures of Gesänge der Frühe – music that feels at once fragile and searching. Schumann’s late voice speaks with a deeply personal intensity.
Waldszenen, Op. 82
Albumblätter, from Op. 99
Fantasiestücke, Op. 111
Gesänge der Frühe, Op. 133
Performers:
Aura Go
Josh Rao
Lee Dionne