A whole evening dedicated to Robert Schumann is certainly a great idea. His music, like that of a true romantic, spans the extremes of emotion. He embodies multiple souls, which he personified and gave two different names: the dreamy, melancholic, cautious Eusebius, and the fiery, enthusiastic Florestan. With two Schumann specialists, this evening will be truly special. Those in the know have long recognized Raoul Steffani as an outstanding lieder singer, and since he won the Dutch Music Prize, his reputation in the Netherlands and beyond has only grown. Severin von Eckardstein is the kind of master pianist who is equally convincing in chamber music as he is in solo repertoire.
Before the intermission: Schumann’s Waldszenen. We follow the composer into the forest. A peaceful landscape, solitary flowers, birds that seem to predict the future, but also hunters and an inn where the weary traveler can rest. Steffani and von Eckardstein will sprinkle these scenes with Schumann’s nature songs, such as Waldesgespräch, Sehnsucht nach der Waldgegend, and Erstes Grün. After the break: perhaps the most beautiful song cycle written during the Romantic period, Dichterliebe. From Im schönen Monat Mai to Die alten bösen Lieder. Schumann composed Dichterliebe in 1840, the year he was finally able to marry his great love, Clara Wieck, after overcoming the long resistance from her father. You can hear that joy in the music.
