Clara & Robert Schumann Sophie Wang & Florian Glemser

• Clara Schumann (1819 - 1896): Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Op. 22:
• 1 Schumann: Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Op. 22: No. 1, Andante molto 02:51
• 2 Schumann: Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Op. 22: No. 2, Allegretto. Mit zartem Vortrage 03:04
• 3 Schumann: Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Op. 22: No. 3, Leidenschaftlich schnell 04:05
• Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856): Violin Sonata No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 105:
• 4 Schumann: Violin Sonata No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 105: I. Mit leidenschaftlichem Ausdruck 07:51
• 5 Schumann: Violin Sonata No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 105: II. Allegretto. 04:01
• 6 Schumann: Violin Sonata No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 105: III. Lebhaft 05:31
• Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Op. 94:
• 7 Schumann: Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Op. 94: No. 1, Nicht schnell. Moderato 03:05
• 8 Schumann: Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Op. 94: No. 2, Einfach. Innig 03:44
• 9 Schumann: Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Op. 94: No. 3, Nicht schnell 04:08
• Albert Dietrich (1829 - 1908): F.A.E. Sonata, for Violin and Piano:
• 10 Dietrich: F.A.E. Sonata, for Violin and Piano: I. Allegro 11:14
• Robert Schumann: F.A.E. Sonata, for Violin and Piano:
• 11 Schumann: F.A.E. Sonata, for Violin and Piano: II. Intermezzo. Bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell 02:32
• Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897): F.A.E. Sonata, for Violin and Piano:
• 12 Brahms: F.A.E. Sonata, for Violin and Piano: III. Scherzo. Allegro 05:18
• Robert Schumann: F.A.E. Sonata, for Violin and Piano:
• 13 Schumann: F.A.E. Sonata, for Violin and Piano: IV. Finale. Markiertes, ziemlich lebhaftes Tempo 06:51
• Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst (1812 - 1865): Variations on The last Rose
• 14 Ernst: Variations on The last Rose 12:18
• Total Runtime 01:16:33

Info for Clara & Robert Schumann

"Are Schumann’s late works the product of a household where a physically and mentally declining composer and his wife, who refused to admit that reality, were living in a stuffy atmosphere? Or was Schumann’s Düsseldorf circle a fruitful terrain that gave rise to magnificent masterpieces because these close, talented friends – Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, Albert Dietrich, Johannes Brahms, and Joseph Joachim – continually inspired one another?

For this recording, Sophie and I have chosen a programme that attempts to answer those questions. All the chamber music works on this album are from the period between 1849 and 1854, thus stemming from the Schumanns’ time in Düsseldorf.

The personal and musical connections between Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and Joseph Joachim are intrinsically present in all these works. Those biographical relationships are interesting for us as interpreters because they give rise to special moods we can sense in the music. We want to fathom them, to feel them, and to make them palpable for the listener: this is one of the most exciting projects we have ever undertaken as performers.

Clara Schumann: Three Romances op.22

“You can look forward to what is about to arrive,” Johannes Brahms promised Joseph Joachim, who received a copy of Clara Schumann’s Three Romances op.22 fresh off the press in January 1856, as a belated Christmas present. Clara had composed these three pieces in the summer of 1853. Robert had always found it difficult to accept his wife’s professional success. Although he took her seriously and appreciated her comments as a competent interlocutor, he regarded her first and foremost as a housewife and as the mother of their children. He nevertheless encouraged her to compose her own works, and she was always the first to judge his.

After a long hiatus, Clara composed several works in 1853, including these three romances for violin and piano. They show her at the height of her musical inspiration: these are three pieces brimming with charm, melodic nuance, ... " (Florian Glemser)

Sophie Wang, violin
Florian Glemser, piano

Sophie Wang
has been shining on international musical scenes since making her debut in Festspielhaus Baden-Baden at the age of ten. Born in 1999 in Taiwan, she received her first violin lesson at the age of five. She studied under Rainer Kussmaul, Igor Ozim und Boris Kuschnir. Currently, she studies in Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin with Ning Feng.

Her recent engagements include Bach Double Concerto with the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) and chamber music with Alexander Rudin in the National Concert Hall Taipei as well as her solo debut in Shenzhen Concert Hall. In the upcoming season, she will give her debut with CHAARTS Chamber Artists in Konzerthaus Dortmund. Besides, her first CD album with the german label ARS will be released in 2019.

She has appeared in various concert halls such as Konzerthaus Berlin, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Kurhaus Baden-Baden, Festspielhaus Bregenz, Tonhalle Zurich, Stadthaus Winterthur, Shenzhen Concert Hall and National Concert Hall Taipei. As a soloist, she performs regulary with the Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz, Staatskapelle Weimar, Philharmonie Baden-Baden, Philharmonie Jena, Deutsche Spohr Philharmonie, National Symphony Orchestra Taiwan (NSO), Südwestdeutsche Kammerphilharmonie Pforzheim, Zürcher Kammerorchester, Mitteldeutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Salzburg Chamber Soloists, Russische Kammerphilharmonie St. Petersburg, Philharmonischen Solisten Stuttgart, Junges Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Junges Sinfonieorchester Wetzlar and Loh-Orchester Sondershausen. Her chamber music partners include Jana Bouskova, Florian Donderer, Elisabeth Kufferath, Gustav Rivinius, Alexander Rudin, Edicson Ruiz, Gabriel Schwabe and Antje Weithaas.

Sophie Wang is regularly invited to music festivals such as Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Kronberg Academy Festival, Menuhin Festival Gstaad, Klassikfestival AMMERSEErenade, Internationaler Violinfestival Junger Meister, Salzburger Kammermusikfestival and Langenargener Schlosskonzerte. In 2016, Sophie Wang made her Debut at SPANNUNGEN Heimbach Chamber Music Festival, which is artistically directed by Lars Vogt.

Sophie Wang gained international attention since she won the first prize of International Louis Spohr Violin Competition Weimar (2013). She has also been awarded first prize at International Violin Competition Andrea Postacchini Fermo (2014), first prize at International Paul Hindemith Violin Competition Berlin (2011) and first prize at International Wolfgang Marschner Competition Freiburg (2010). Furthermore, she is winner of CHIMEI Museum & Culture Foundation Arts Award 2016 und 2017, Youth Classics Award Zürich (2012), Carl-Flesch Prize Baden-Baden (2011), Ruth-Flesch Gedächtnispreis Baden-Baden (2009). The film „The Island of 1000 Violins“ (ARTE 2014) tells the story of her musical life and journey.

Since 2018, Sophie Wang is supported by Mozart Gesellschaft Dortmund, associated with the Prize of Artur und Lieselotte Dumcke Stiftung. Futhermore, she is supported by Internationalen Musikakademie Liechtenstein and CHIMEI Museum & Culture Foundation.

She performs on a Lorenzo Storioni violin (Cremona 1780) on a generous loan from CHIMEI Foundation.

Booklet for Clara & Robert Schumann