The relationship between Robert and Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms is one of the most fascinating triangular relationships in music history. It was characterized by deep friendship, profound artistic admiration, and emotional intimacy that—one might hope—always remained within the bounds of social conventions. Robert Schumann, the visionary composer and music writer, and Clara Schumann, the exceptional pianist and passionate interpreter of his works, had a marriage marked by intense musical collaboration, but also by Robert's recurring mental health crises. When the twenty-year-old Johannes Brahms entered the couple's lives in 1853—young, brimming with creative energy, and possessing a talent that Robert celebrated with ecstatic enthusiasm as opening up "new paths" in music—a particularly close bond developed between the three of them. Robert treated the young Brahms with fatherly affection, nurtured his talent, and recognized his extraordinary genius, while Clara saw him as a kindred spirit and intellectual companion. Whether a love ever developed between her and Brahms that transcended the boundaries of friendship remains uncertain—a shadowy, fascinating mystery that continues to surround music history.

ROBERT & CLARA SCHUMANN VS. JOHANNES BRAHMS – The Shadow of Love

Landestheater Eisenach

Stadthalle Gotha

EPSG:4326

Jonathan Biss Plays Schumann’s Piano Concerto

Shepherd of The Valley Lutheran Church

Ordway Center for the Performing Arts

Yunhoo Jeong, clarinet

Northwestern Bienen School of Music

Australian String Quartet: Interwoven

Queensland Conservatorium

We look forward to welcoming Ensemble MidtVest back to Esbjerg with a broad program featuring some of chamber music's finest composers.
Ensemble MidtVest is based primarily at the HEART art museum and creates exciting musical experiences in the tension between traditional chamber concerts and innovative outreach formats.

Guest Concert With Ensemble Midwest

Southern Denmark Conservatory of Music

Hear one of the UK’s best young horn players, Sarah Pennington, perform Brahms’ celebrated Horn Trio alongside our leader Sophie Rosa and pianist Ian Buckle. Sarah joined us as Section Principal Horn in 2025, having been joint principal horn of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. We’re excited to be able to showcase her skills in this concert.

One of relatively few pieces composed for horn, violin and piano, Brahms composed the Trio in response to the death of his mother. With a movement marked ‘sorrowful’ and the horn’s melancholic sound fully realised, it evokes time spent in nature, particularly the Black Forest.

Brahms’ Horn Trio

The Museum of Making

When we talk about messages in classical music, one of the most touching stories quickly comes to mind: the love affair – and love triangle – between Robert and Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms.

Seasonal theme: Messages

Royal Academy of Music Aarhus

Herning Church

Holstebro Kunstmuseum

Danish National Academy of Music

This event is a Musikken På Vrangen (MPV), where the musicians present some of the works that will be played at the "real" concerts in the following days. We hope that this preview will make you want to hear the whole concert.

The Music on the Wrong Side: Messages

Herning Library

Violinist James Ehnes, one of the most sought-after musicians on the international stage, joins forces with esteemed pianist Andrew Armstrong for a remarkable concert celebrating Ehnes' 50th birthday. This special performance will highlight the duo's exceptional musical chemistry and virtuosic mastery. Don’t miss the opportunity to experience these two artists in a performance that promises to be truly memorable.

James Ehnes, violin and Andrew Armstrong, piano

Wolf Performance Hall

Katherine Fisfis, soprano

These are set against Sally Beamish's fourth string quartet from 2019, which was directly inspired by Robert Schumann's first string quartet, and Robert and Clara's relationship.

Fragments (withGustav Piekut)

Unitarisk Kirkesamfund

Concertini

La Monnaie - De Munt

Clara Neubauer, Violin

The Juilliard School

“[Clara] signals my gratitude to all the women who, in their time, challenged the society they were raised in by manifesting their artistic oeuvre,” says composer Ortiz of her tribute to Clara Schumann, which opens this program. Violinist Nancy Zhou takes center stage for Clara Schumann’s Three Romances, which The Times (London) referred to as "Lush and poignant, they make one regret that Clara's career as a composer became subordinate to her husband's." Clara dedicated her trio of Romances to violinist Joseph Joaquim; here Zhou performs Joachim’s challenging and expressive Variations for Violin and Orchestra. “Trumpets and drums have been sounding in my mind for quite a while now; I have no idea what will come of it,” wrote Robert Schumann as he began his grand Second Symphony; he struggled against illness and depression to complete it, but eventually added a boisterous finale “in which I am myself again.”

Schumann Romance

Warner Grand Theater

These three internationally renowned exceptional artists share a passion for music in an impressive way that promises an evening of chamber music at the highest level: Israeli soprano Chen Reiss, known for her interpretative depth and stylistic versatility in the song repertoire, meets Sharon Kam, born in Crimea, whose innovative clarinet artwork bridges the gap between tradition and contemporary sounds. Completing this trio on the piano is the versatile Israeli-born pianist and professor of transcultural music education Yael Kareth. The individual mastery and harmonious interplay of these artists promise a great and emotional evening.

Chen Reiss / Sharon Kam / Yarel Kareth

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

Devotion centers this powerful program featuring the Omaha Symphony debut of pianist Zee Zee on Clara Schumann’s exceptional Piano Concerto.

Clara Schumann and Brahms

Omaha Performing Arts

The couple – already established in music’s aristocracy – immediately recognised the brilliance of the young composer, and a lifelong triangle of musical respect, friendship, and perhaps more, began.

Fantasies: Brahms and the Schumanns

Smith Square Hall

An enticing selection of art songs spans familiar and overlooked repertoire from myriad styles, all rooted in great literature with settings of Walt Whitman, Shakespeare, Langston Hughes, and Strauss’s opulent Four Last Songs with texts by Hermann Hesse. South African soprano Golda Schultz, who has starred at the Opéra National de Paris, Metropolitan Opera, and BBC Proms, brings this program to life with her “remarkable depth and dimension” and “distinctively thrilling radiance” (Financial Times).

Golda Schultz, soprano (Baltimore Debut) Jonathan Ware, piano (Baltimore Debut)

Johns Hopkins University

It is no exaggeration to say that you have not heard the extraordinary power of the viola until you have heard Tabea Zimmermann play it. Regularly cited as the world’s greatest living violist, her revelatory performances have been sold-out triumphs on our past seasons. In a rare U.S. recital appearance featuring the long-awaited debut of Spanish pianist Javier Perianes, the duo brings a deeply retrospective program spanning the poetic lyricism of Schumann’s Fantasy Pieces and Brahms’ late second viola sonata, Britten’s melancholic tribute to Renaissance composer John Dowland in its seldom-performed original arrangement, and Shostakovich’s final composition, written weeks before the composer’s death. This is music at its most profound—played by instrumentalists at their most transcendent.

Tabea Zimmermann, Viola Javier Perianes, Piano

Richardson Auditorium

In 2022 Jonathan was both a prize-winner at the Young Classical Artists Trust and Concert Artists Guild joint International Auditions held at Wigmore Hall, and also nominated as a 2022 Classic FM ‘Rising Star’. Clara Schumann’s songs express contrasting themes of love and longing; intimacy and loss; lightness and darkness. The lyrical melodies translate beautifully to the expressive tones of the clarinet.

Jonathan Leibovitz & Joseph Havlat

Leeds Conservatoire

South African soprano Golda Schultz is blessed with “one of the most golden rich-toned voices of her generation” (Opera). Her thrilling PCMS debut recital with pianist Jonathan Ware in 2022 revealed a rare combination of musical wit and curatorial thought. “Schultz and Ware made each song a deeply involving short story. She gives listeners the feeling that each piece of music is being newly discovered as she delivers it, a sense of wonder being transmitted from artist to audience” (Star Tribune).

Golda Schultz, soprano Jonathan Ware, piano

Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

Jeremy Denk is one of America’s foremost pianists. Winner of a MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship, and the Avery Fisher Prize, Denk was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Denk returns frequently to Carnegie Hall and in recent seasons has appeared with the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and Cleveland Orchestra, as well as on tour with Academy St. Martin in the Fields, and at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms.

Jeremy Denk, Piano

The Town Hall

The Sords/Walz/Durkovic Trio returns to Boston Court with their “Brahms Bonanza”, featuring the C Minor Piano Trio (Clara Schumann’s particular favorite), the E minor cello sonata, and several Hungarian Dances as the trio celebrates Brahms and his remarkable chamber music oeuvre.

Sords/Walz/Durkovic Trio

Boston Court Pasadena

Trio Confero was founded in 2018 by clarinetist Maksim Shtrykov as a logical continuation of his quest to bring to the larger audience, the superb yet seldom performed chamber music repertoire for clarinet. The journey began in 2012 when, together with his partner Japanese pianist Misuzu Tanaka, they formed the Shtrykov-Tanaka Duo and began touring in the United States garnering an impressive record of instant re-engagements. With the addition of cellist Julia Kang to the Duo, Trio Confero is comprised of three exceptionally talented musicians who are prizewinners of many international competitions and graduates of the world’s most prestigious music academies.

Trio Confero

United Methodist Church Ridgecrest

Celebrate the artistry and innovation of women composers in this inspiring program. Renowned pianist Anne Turgeon performs Clara Schumann's Piano Concerto in A Minor, a masterpiece of elegance and virtuosity. Christine Donkin's Hopewell Cape offers a modern, evocative soundscape, while Fanny Mendelssohn's Overture in C Major radiates energy and grace. The concert culminates with Louise Farrenc''s powerful Symphony No. 3 in G Minor, a dynamic testament to her symphonic genius. Join us for an unforgettable performance honouring the women who have shaped classical music with creativity and brilliance.

Voices of Innovation

The Machine Shop

A thematic focus from the art collection of the Museum Behnhaus Drägerhaus, which will be presented in an exhibition in 2026, is on paintings and pictures by female artists, including Paula Modersohn-Becker, Anita Rée, and Else Wex-Cleemann. Juxtapositions of their works reveal how the self-image of female artists has changed over time. Just as the works of female visual artists have often been marginalized and ignored, so have those of female composers. This soundscape concert combines chamber music and vocal works by outstanding female composers from various eras, from pioneers from the mid-19th century such as Clara Schumann to trailblazers at the beginning of the 20th century such as Lili Boulanger, who was the first woman to win the coveted "Prix de Rome" in France and died at the age of just 24, or Mélanie Bonis, who mostly published her works under the pseudonym Mel Bonis in order to conceal her gender, to contemporary composers such as Lera Auerbach.

2.  Sound Images Concert

Museum Behnhaus Drägerhaus

Nicole and Iwan are delighted to return to Leeds to present a concert of vocal and solo piano music. The concert will include arias and songs by Mozart and Schubert as well as music by Ivor Novello, songs from the shows, traditional folk music, and solo piano music by Chopin.

Nicole Boardman & Iwan Owen

After instructing the Spokane Symphony Conducting Workshop last year, we’re delighted to welcome back Johannes Schlaefli. His program explores music’s most famous love triangle. Clara Schumann was 19 when she composed her piano concerto but stopped writing after her husband Robert’s death to support her eight children. The nature of her passionate relationship with the younger Johannes Brahms remains an enduring mystery.

Masterworks 6: Love Triangle

Martin Woldson Theater

The night after her appearance with WMS at the Frauenthal, pianist Michelle Cann brings a solo performance to The Block. Cann has been described as “technically fearless” and is one of the most sought-after artists of her generation.

Michelle Cann – Classical Piano

The Block

Kwon Plays Brahms

Artis–Naples

Come hear symphonic tales of tragic love, including pieces from star crossed loves, Brahms and Clara Schumann, to Romeo & Juliet.

Tragic Love

Miller Theater

Pianist Jeremy Denk’s programming evokes a sense of “poetic logic” (Boston Classical Review) that has captivated PCMS audiences for decades. For this season’s appearance, Denk illuminates works by nine female composers from past and present.

Jeremy Denk, piano

It must have been love at first sight for Clara and Johannes from the moment she ushered him into their musical home when the latter came over to introduce himself to her husband Robert, who was away at the time. Imagine all the works that wouldn’t have been composed had they not met! Clara influenced these two men to write her into their works, subsequently inviting us, the listeners, into their private thoughts and emotions. Brahms’s great piano trio in B Major, and Schumann’s turbulent D minor trio, sandwich the often overlooked piano trio by Clara. Performers are Marcin Arendt, Kimberly Patterson, and Adrienne Claire Park.

Love Triangles

At the home of Drs. Ben Wheeler and Aimée Christian

In an evening custom built for Valentine’s Day, world renowned pianist Anastaysia Poff, wife of IPO’s esteemed Gibb Music Director Stilian Kirov, takes center stage to lead this romantically tinged program. The performance will include Fanny Mendelssohn’s Overture in C major along with Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto and her husband Richard Schumann’s Symphony No. 4.

VALENTINE’S DAY with IPO

Trinity Christian College

The chamber music program by Anna-Maria Barth, concertmaster of the Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt, and her piano partner Alex Pudmann fulfills a long-held desire to place creative women at the center of a program. This is less about the question of whether a program exclusively featuring works by female composers is still necessary today. We are simply embarking on a musical journey of discovery – and one that goes far beyond well-known names like Clara Schumann (1819-1896) and Lili Boulanger (1893-1918)
. We are discovering romantic, extremely rarely performed violin music not only from Europe but from all over the world:
the Romance Op. 23 by the American Amy Beach (1867-1944), the violin sonata by the Swede Amanda Maier (1853-1894), and the Fantasy No. 1 by the American Florence Price (1887-1953). And last but not least, with Le Grand Tango, the recently deceased Russian Sofia Gubaidulina (1931-2025), inspired by Shostakovich and one of the most honored musicians of our time, will perform. An evening full of elegance, passion, and musical power – dedicated to the great women of music!

18th Wilhelmsbad Chamber Concert

Congress Park Hanau

The first half of this program presents works by the husband-and-wife team of Robert  and Clara Schumann presented side-by-side. Clara’s “Three Romances” for violin have  been re-arranged for orchestral accompaniment by yours truly, and will be performed by Sedona Symphony’s own concertmaster, Sarah Schreffler. For Robert Schumann’s  cello concerto, we’ve got the great young cellist Gabriel Martins joining us — who, as  luck would have it, has a strong Sedona connection!

The Romantics

Sedona Performing Arts Center

Alexandra Dariescu has made it her mission to create concert programmes that give underrepresented female composers equal billing with their better-known male colleagues.

Alexandra Dariescu

Southbank Centre

Emmanuel Pahud & Éric Le Sage: Recital

Mozarteum Foundation

Mihaela Martin, guest violin; Chih-Yi Chen, piano

Auer Hall

Known for her thoughtful musicianship and probing musical voice, Nancy Zhou resonates with audiences worldwide. More than 20 years since her orchestral debut, Nancy has collaborated with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Munich Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, New Jersey Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, and San Diego Symphony, among others.

Nancy Zhou, violin

San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Canadian piano superstar, Meagan Milatz joins us to blow the roof off of the Winspear with Robert Schumann’s incredible piano quintet. This perennial favourite is virtuosic, joyful and thrilling for performer and audience alike. The first half of this concert includes Clara Schumann’s Soirées Musicales and the riveting sixth string quartet of Béla Bartok.

Meet the Schumanns

Winspear Centre

Mozart inaugurates: during the creation of this Quintet in which he plays the piano part, he brought together for the first time around the keyboard, certain of their alchemy, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon. And it is an understatement to say that the timbres are in harmony. Discussing vigorously, they balance each other with an Apollonian smile and then pour an angelic sweetness over the score. Indebted to Amadeus but also to Mendelssohn, Clara Schumann's Trio is distinguished by its elegiac song, bursts of ardor that take the upper hand over its depressive side: four movements that reaffirm the essential place of the composer.

Sundays at the National - Clara Schumann / Mozart

Maison de la Radio et de la Musique

Johannes Brahms was seen by many in his own time (and today) as Beethoven’s successor in the German symphonic tradition — and the Fourth Symphony, his last, is his greatest symphonic achievement. Compositionally complex yet emotionally direct and moving, we invite you to experience your Kansas City Symphony’s performance of this powerful work that will take you to the height of German Romanticism. Clara Wieck, who later married the composer Robert Schumann (and became good friends with Brahms), wrote her piano concerto when she was only 15. A perfect counterpoint to the gravity of Brahms’s symphony, the piece shines with youthful vigor and virtuosity.

Brahms' Fourth Symphony

Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

The last chamber music concert of 2025 will be full of folk rhythms, especially at the very end, thanks to Nikolai Kapustin’s lively Trio, Op. 86, which includes a jazzy flute part. The concert will also include works by Clara and Robert Schumann, to whom the entire 32nd season of the Chamber Music Series is dedicated.

Schumann. Hummel. Kapustin

The Professed House, Prague

Mozart's piano trios are true gems of the Viennese Classical period: Light, elegant, and with a touch of humor, they showcase the brilliant side of the composer. His music radiates lightness, without ever being superficial - a delight for all who love classical music or want to discover it anew. Clara Schumann brings her own unique voice to the concert with her piano trio. Her music is poetic, passionate, and deeply moving - a glimpse into the emotional world of one of the most outstanding female musicians of the 19th century. Finally, Mendelssohn Bartholdy brings energy and drama to the room. His piano trio sparkles with melodious liveliness. It's no wonder that this work is among the most beloved in chamber music.

Mozart, Schumann, Mendelssohn

Palace of Culture

Clara Schumann’s Three Romances are wistful and intimate, gracefully opening this concert led by frequent SLSO guest conductor John Storgårds. Haydn’s Cello Concerto, though exceptionally difficult to master, is leisurely and elegant. Cellist Kian Soltani, whose emotional connection with audiences has captivated many, makes his St. Louis debut. Then, a musical kaleidoscope takes shape in Shostakovich’s final symphony, a blend of the composer’s memories, transformed into an epic symphonic memoir.

Shostakovich's 15th

Powell Hall

Some say that Mozart wrote his C minor Mass in fulfilment of a vow; others say that it’s even greater than his famous Requiem. But everyone who hears it agrees that it’s one of the mightiest and most moving of choral masterpieces. A superb team of solo singers join the RSNO and its Chorus, and the RSNO’s Principal Trumpet Christopher Hart takes the spotlight in the delightful concerto by Mozart’s closest musical friend – Joseph Haydn. 

Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Usher Hall, Edinburgh

Some say that Mozart wrote his C minor Mass in fulfilment of a vow; others say that it’s even greater than his famous Requiem. But everyone who hears it agrees that it’s one of the mightiest and most moving of choral masterpieces. A superb team of solo singers join the RSNO and its Chorus, and the RSNO’s Principal Trumpet Christopher Hart takes the spotlight in the delightful concerto by Mozart’s closest musical friend – Joseph Haydn.

Usher Hall

We hear classical parlour music as a quintet from the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra lights up the November night. The programme includes gems from Clara and Robert Schumann and swinging Viennese waltzes. Magnus Fryklund is at the piano.

Roses from Schumann & Strauss

Göteborgs Symfoniker

For the Lied Concert series, pianist Magnus Svensson invites an exclusive group of artists from the world’s opera and concert stages, offering audiences the opportunity to experience their vocal artistry in the intimate setting of the Grünewald Hall. In this concert, we hear British tenor Robin Tritschler, admired for his radiant, clear voice and his ability to illuminate the meaning of the texts he performs.

Lied Concert with Robin Tritschler

Stockholm Concert Hall

Delight in three radiant gems of early Germanic Romantic chamber music, each showcasing the era’s expressive richness and technical brilliance. The program features Piano Trio, from Clara Schumann, one of the 19th century’s most gifted composers, followed by Franz Schubert’s expansive and masterfully crafted Octet. Rounding out the evening is Beethoven’s charming Duo No. 1, for clarinet and bassoon.

C. Schuman Beethoven & Schubert

St. Mary Catholic Church

Music straight from Marianna Shirinyan's heart: Get to know our artist-in-residence better for a concert that comes all the way around the piano.
Marianna Shirinyan is the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra's Artist in Residence – and we're celebrating that with an entire concert featuring only piano. Because the piano can do it all: “The piano is a percussion instrument, it's a string instrument – ​​and it's a singing instrument; the piano can sing,” says Marianna Shirinyan. “As pianists, we are incredibly rich. A lifetime is not enough to play the music that has been written for our instrument.”

Shirinyan

Aarhus Music Hall

A cherished presence on Washington Performing Arts stages, Midori returns with pianist Ieva Jokubaviciute for a program that traverses lyricism, passion, and brilliance. Anchored by Beethoven’s radiant “Spring” Sonata, the recital interweaves romantic nuance in the works of Clara and Robert Schumann, Poulenc’s bold contrasts, and the virtuosic sweep of Schubert’s Rondo Brillante—all brought to life with Midori’s musical insight and expressive power. A new work written for Midori by New York-based violinist and composer Che Buford combines violin and electronics. Buford describes their compositions as exploring the possibilities of timbre and acoustical phenomena and connecting them to elements of place, memory, poetry, and the quotidian.

Midori, violin

Sixth & I

Welcome to a musical celebration at the Schumann family home, a house filled with children, sheet music, and romantic music by Gabriela Ortiz, Brahms – and, not least, by Clara herself.

To Clara Schumann

Malmö Concert Hall

Mozart & Mendelssohn

Hemmens Auditorium

Clara Schumann was a formidable character – a phenomenally gifted pianist, brilliant composer, editor of her husband Robert Schumann’s compositions and key supporter of Brahms, her contribution to the world of music is vast. The first half of this concert celebrates Clara herself, first in Gabriela Ortiz’s Clara, a musical telling of the story of her relationship with Robert, and then in her own Piano Concerto, a dancing, dazzling tour-de-force. The second half of the programme features two composers important to Clara, both writing with a distinctly sun-kissed, Italian flavour.

Ulster Orchestra: Always Clara

Ulster Hall

Always Clara

Belfast

Stylistically, the four pieces in this program display enormous differences, which is what makes the sequence of works so appealing. Nevertheless, there is also a common thread. What the compositions have in common is that their creators each thought outside the box and found inspiration therein. Clara Schumann was a famous piano virtuoso and then the wife of a very gifted composer; she adopted many a gesture and tone from him - her Romances of 1853 bear witness to this. Richard Strauss, on the other hand, was on the verge of making a significant name for himself as a composer of expansive tone poems for orchestra with huge scores. When he completed his violin sonata in 1887, the ecstasy evoked by Don Juan in the symphonic poem of the same name was already haunting his mind—this, too, is unmistakable. Karol Szymanowski, on the other hand, was deeply inspired by the play of colors of Impressionism, particularly by the music of Claude Debussy, as the three "Myths" from 1915 bear eloquent witness. Maurice Ravel was also among the Impressionists; in his violin sonata, completed in 1937, however, he turned in a completely different direction—toward America and the blues. No creative mind works on its own; everyone needs inspiration, even if it comes from foreign gardens.

Concert Frolova/Stanev: From Foreign Gardens

The young, likeable and down-to-earth German-Italian pianist Sophie Pacini has already performed on stage with Andrea Bocelli and Martha Argerich, has received numerous awards, and, according to her own statement, can smell, taste, and see sounds in color. With her wide-ranging program, with which she opens this season's "Pianomania" series, not only she herself but also the audience will experience a true explosion of the senses.

Sophie Pacini / Piano Recital

Musical jewels from Schumann and Mendelssohn of both sexes – and a young conductor on the verge of a great career.
Robert Schumann's Fourth Symphony is simply the kind of music that makes you happy in your soul. It also makes you happy in your soul to see otherwise unknown composers receive the honor and dignity they deserve. This applies not least to female composers such as Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel and Clara Wieck Schumann, who have otherwise stood in the shadow of their more famous (or just more male) family members. It is the composer Juliana Hodkinson who has arranged works by the two women for the large orchestra.

Schumann 4

Frisson features the best and brightest of classical music's stars! The group showcases emerging young artists as well as seasoned professionals and has skyrocketed to become one of the leading musical groups. Frisson performs engaging programs for winds, piano trio and piano quartet programs, as well as popular programs featuring music by such composers as Gershwin and Piazzolla. The ensemble performs in over 25 cities annually including appearances in such diverse venues as the Morgan Library and Museum in New York City, for the Da Camera Society in Los Angeles and at the Bermuda Festival.

Frisson Ensemble

The opening concert of CMS’s celebratory violin season reunites Johannes Brahms and Clara and Robert Schumann with the violinist who inspired them to compose like no other. To Joseph Joachim, the dominant violinist of the Romantic age, we owe Brahms’s mighty violin concerto, Schumann’s and Dvořák’s concertos, and much more.

The Composer's Violinist: Joseph Joachim

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

The Tragic Triangle

IBOS – Instituttet for Blinde og Svagsynede

Lundtofte Skole

Rødovre Gymnasium

The Pioneer Valley Symphony opens the season honoring the contribution of women composers to classical music. Ethyl Smyth’s rousing “March of the Women” celebrates resilient, daring, and effective advocacy of women. The beautiful and entrancing piano concerto by Clara Wieck Schumann forms the centerpiece of the concert before exploring the world of counterpoint and chorales with Robert Schumann’s beloved Rhenish symphony prefaced by Palestrina’s Adoramus Te and Stokowski’s sumptuous rendering of it for orchestra.

Season Opening: Counterpoints on the Rhein

Greenfield High School

Clara – No One Silences Me Now! is a brand-new production aimed at schoolchildren in the middle years (ages 10–12). The Clara in question is the renowned pianist and composer Clara Schumann. She lived and worked in the 19th century, but now she travels through time to the present day on a mysterious mission. Clara finds herself at a concert in Konserthuset, with Ayla Kabaca as presenter. Before returning to the 1800s, Clara is determined to hear music by both her friends and herself.

Family concert – Clara – No One Silences Me Now!

Stockholm City Hall

School Concert – Clara – No One Silences Me Now!

In this sweeping program centered on the beauty of the natural world, Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen lends his “ravishing, otherworldly” (Opera News) voice to an exciting collection of familiar and fresh songs. Nussbaum Cohen enjoys venturing beyond the usual countertenor repertoire, and has carved out a unique path by being the only artist of his voice type to record lieder in the Austro-Germanic tradition by Brahms, Clara and Robert Schumann, and Erich Wolfgang Korngold.

Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, countertenor John Churchwell, piano

University of California, Berkeley

Our tribute to Robert and Clara Schumann culminates in a concert featuring works by both spouses. Clara Wieck-Schumann was a pioneering pianist—one of the first to perform from memory—and a gifted composer, balancing her artistry with raising eight children. Robert, an accomplished composer, writer, and pianist, damaged his hands through obsessive technical practice.

From the opening notes of Clara’s Piano Concerto, the deep connection between them is unmistakable—a bond unmatched in the 19th century. Robert’s Cello Concerto, no less moving and contemplative, seems to call out Clara’s name in the final movement’s intervals, according to cellist Mischa Maisky. This music unfolds like a personal film, with the cello’s lyrical voice and the orchestra’s rich palette painting vivid scenes.

Dvořákova Praha: A Tribute to the Schumanns & Gilgamesh

Dvořák Hall Rudolfinum

September’s chamber concert will be headlined by acclaimed Romanian pianist Alexandra Dariescu, who will also appear as soloist in the Orchestra’s season-opening concert the previous evening. The programme presents a diverse selection of solo and chamber music, ranging from Johann Sebastian Bach and Clara Schumann to James Lee III and Missy Mazzoli. Audiences will also have the rare opportunity to hear works by lesser-known composers such as Emmy Schäfer Klein and Leokadiya Kashperova. The ERSO Chamber Ensemble will be joined by a chamber arrangement of Wolfgang Amadus Mozart’s well-known Rondo in D major for piano and orchestra. Additional featured composers include Amy Beach, Florence Price, and Nadia Boulanger.

Alexandra Dariescu and Chamber Musicians of the ERSO

Tallinna Muusika- ja Balletikool / MUBA

The season begins with an electrifying evening of symphonic grandeur. Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture is a jubilant celebration of popular song, including the universally recognized “Gaudeamus igitur.” Angela Cheng, Oberlin Conservatory Professor of Piano, then takes center stage for Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto, a rarely heard work of deep lyricism and virtuosic brilliance. The evening reaches its peak with Mahler’s Symphony No. 1, Titan, a sweeping and emotionally charged masterpiece that showcases the full power of the orchestra. After performing Mahler’s Third and Second Symphonies in recent years to great acclaim, the Akron Symphony Orchestra is excited to kick off its 72nd season with Mahler’s debut symphony.

Mahler’s “Titan”

The University of Akron

Elixir Piano Trio

Los Angeles Harbor College

Pacific Unitarian Church

ERSO’s 99th season opens with a new work by Tõnu Kõrvits, bringing to a close a concert season dedicated to the theme of the bell. The evening features Romanian pianist Alexandra Dariescu performing Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto—a remarkable piece that showcases the compositional talent, refined musical taste, and expressive pianism of the 19th century’s most celebrated female pianist. The concerto blends the virtuosic flair of its era with a poetic sensitivity that resonates with modern audiences. The concert concludes with Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, conducted by Chief Conductor Olari Elts. Mezzo-soprano Sandra Laagus will be the soloist for both the symphony’s final movement.

Clara Schumann

Events

Upcoming events

Aug 2, 2026

Brahms & The Schumanns · Minnesota Orchestra

Sep 5, 2026

Piano Classics · Sheffield Theatres

Oct 4, 2026

Armand Djikoloum oboe; Jâms Coleman piano · Wigmore Hall

Oct 11, 2026

Champlain Trio · Binghamton Philharmonic

Oct 17, 2026

Bertrand Chamayou – Piano recital · Prague Symphony Orchestra

Past events

25 - 26 Jun, 2026

ROBERT & CLARA SCHUMANN VS. JOHANNES BRAHMS – The Shadow of Love · Thüringen Philharmonie Gotha-Eisenach

4 - 6 Jun, 2026

Jonathan Biss Plays Schumann’s Piano Concerto · Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra

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