BaL 08.03.25 - Clara Schumann: Lieder

[Pulcinella]

Andrew McGregor features the latest classical releases for International Women's Day. Laura Tunbridge joins Andrew to discuss lieder by Clara Schumann in Building a Library.

That's all, folks!
Probably not worth trying to give any Presto link(s).

PS

This link is to Lieder collections

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/composers/1825/browse?genre=10274

and this is to songs (haven't checked what overlap there is, if any)

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/composers/1825/browse?genre=10572

Blurb update and first choice details:


One of the most venerated nineteenth-century female musicians, Clara Schumann was known during her lifetime as one of the finest concert pianists of her generation. Although she composed primarily for her own instrument, she wrote almost 30 songs – a handful during the early 1830s when she was touring as a piano prodigy – with the majority produced after her marriage to Robert Schumann, in 1840, when the couple mutually encouraged each other to turn to compose songs.

First choice:
Susan Gritton (soprano); Stephan Loges (bass baritone); Eugene Asti (piano)
Hyperion 5815482

[oliver sudden]

When I was doing my first undergrad degree, the Robert Schumann op. 39 Liederkreis was on the syllabus. The lecturer mentioned that there was a theory that Clara Schumann was the author of the first song (“Aus der Heimat hinter den Blitzen rot…”). I’ve been curious over the last little while how that theory is getting on but haven’t been able to find any reference to it. Does it ring any bells for the present company?

[gurnemanz]

I have five recordings of Liebesfrühling (Robert's op. 37) to which Clara makes three contributions: Er ist gekommen in Sturm und Regen, Liebst du um Schönheit and Warum willst du andre fragen and these are the only songs of hers which I know at all well. The Presto links above contain quite a few discs which contain only individual songs and I would think BaL would concentrate on the 'complete' versions. I have been intending to get one of these for a while and always find Laura Tunbridge well worth paying attention to, so I shall be very interested in this one.

These are available complete edition discs I found:

Naxos - Clara Schumann - Complete Songs, Dorothea Craxton (soprano) & Hedayet Djeddikar (fortepiano)

cpo - Clara Schumann - Complete Songs, Gabriele Fontana & Konstanze Eickhorst

Hyperion The Songs of Clara Schumann - Susan Gritton (soprano), Stephan Loges (baritone), Eugene Asti (piano)

MDG - Clara Schumann: Complete Songs (Original Key) Miriam Alexandra; Peter Gijsbertsen; Jozef De Beenhouwer (seems not to be on Presto)


The album Sous l'eau du songe with Maria Riccarda Wesseling includes a dozen songs by Clara.

I have played via Spotify and really enjoyed the new disc Uncharted by countertenor, Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, which has one Clara song.

[Pulcinella]

Apologies and thanks in equal measure to those who spotted this morning's confusion, when I mistakenly thought that no subject had yet been yet announced for this episode and launched a TBA thread.

[teamsaint]

When I was doing my first undergrad degree, the Robert Schumann op. 39 Liederkreis was on the syllabus. The lecturer mentioned that there was a theory that Clara Schumann was the author of the first song (“Aus der Heimat hinter den Blitzen rot…”). I’ve been curious over the last little while how that theory is getting on but haven’t been able to find any reference to it. Does it ring any bells for the present company?

This book isn't going to pull any punches in discussion about Clara.
Bit of a wait though.....

https://clara-schumann-channel.com/a...erary%20Agents.

[oliver sudden]

This book isn't going to pull any punches in discussion about Clara.
Bit of a wait though.....

https://clara-schumann-channel.com/a...erary%20Agents.

The lecture in question was in 1989 or maybe 1990, so I can wait a bit longer.

[pastoralguy]

Apologies and thanks in equal measure to those who spotted this morning's confusion, when I mistakenly thought that no subject had yet been yet announced for this episode and launched a TBA thread.

So no survey of the music of George Lloyd then?

[smittims]

Aren't they scraping the barrel a bit here? Clara Schumann's Lieder are hardly essential repertoire for a library.

I'm not surprised there are claims that she wrote some of Robert's music. It's part of an ongoing feminist camplaign to find powerful feisty empowered women in every century who outdid the men, etc. etc. I've heard that Anna Magdalena Bach wrote some of JSB's music, which of course she did in a way. In an age before photocopiers, any busy composer with a musically-literate wife would give her some of his copying. Alce Elgar used to rule the bar lines and enter the vocal parts in her husband's full scores.

Am I the only person who feels International Women's Day occurs at least twice a year? I'm always a surprised at how soon it comes round again.

[gurnemanz]

Aren't they scraping the barrel a bit here? Clara Schumann's Lieder are hardly essential repertoire for a library.

Aren't they scraping the barrel a bit here?
No

Clara Schumann's Lieder are hardly essential repertoire for a library.
A BaL will give sceptics an opportunity to find out. Reviewers have generally tended to be rather positive, eg Classical Net describing the Hyperion disc as "definitely a must for lovers of the song genre". Personally, I shall be taking more interest in this BaL than yet another trot into the "essential" repertoire.

[smittims]

Fair enough. I admit she is one of the better women composers. Her piano trio is excellent, though her Lieder are not a patch on those of Robert Franz or Joseph Marx (IMHO). .

[CallMePaul]

Am I the only person who feels International Women's Day occurs at least twice a year? I'm always a surprised at how soon it comes round again.

International Men's Day (19 Nov) seems to have fallen completely under the radar!

[Nick Armstrong]

Am I the only person who feels International Women's Day occurs at least twice a year?

Quite possibly

[Retune]

Am I the only person who feels International Women's Day occurs at least twice a year?

Perhaps you are concerned that this would leave only 363 days for the Men, rather than 364?

Sometimes on this forum I wonder if we've made much progress in the last century or so.

https://bsky.app/profile/seanmoncrieff.bsky.social/post/3ljtxqzoans2e

[smittims]

Thanks, Retune, but though I'm concerned about many things these days, International Women's Day isn't one of them. Its just one of those funny things. It never seems a year since they last mentioned it. I don't usually listen to Radio 3 on a Saturday anyway, for other reasons, so I've been quite content with my Mozart, Shostakovitch and Sibelius on discs today.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The BBC, to its credit, has responded to the justified criticism that it was somewhat hollow to make a big (or patronising) song and dance about women composers on one day per year and then ignore them for the next 364 days. It was suggested by me and others, that they should play music by women composers regularly throughout the year. Now they are doing this.