Poster Robert and Clara Schumann
Robert Schumann with his wife, Clara Schumann (c. 1850)
Bildarchiv Preusischer Kulturbesitz
Performance Today®

Clara Schumann's gift

The great pianist Clara Schumann truly loved music by her husband, Robert Schumann. In 1853, she took one of Robert's songs and composed a set of seven variations. On this episode of Performance Today, hear the surprise birthday gift that Clara Schumann wrote for her husband's 43rd birthday.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Sergei Prokofiev: Pushkin Waltz No. 2, Op. 120
Seattle Symphony Orchestra; Gerard Schwarz, conductor
Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet Suites 1 and 2 / Seattle Symphony
Delos 3050

Sergei Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 25
IRIS Orchestra; Michael Stern, conductor
IRIS Orchestra, Germantown Performing Arts Center, Germantown, TN

Dan Locklair: Symphony No. 2 "America": Movements 1-2
Western Piedmont Symphony; John Gordon Ross, Music Director and Conductor
Western Piedmont Symphony, P.E. Monroe Auditorium at Lenoir Rhyne University, Hickory, NC

Dmitri Shostakovich: Piano Trio No. 1 in C minor, Op. 8, "Poeme"
Hermitage Trio
Henry Morrison Flagler Museum, Flagler Museum, West Room, Palm Beach, FL

Hour 2

Edvard Grieg: Two Melodies: The First Meeting
Norwegian Chamber Orchestra; Terje Tonnesen, conductor
Grieg: Complete Music For String Orchestra
Bis 147

Clara Schumann: Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 20
Jessica Xylina Osborne, piano
92nd Street Y, Buttenwieser Hall, New York City, NY

Edvard Grieg: Andante con moto for violin, cello and piano in C minor, EG 116
Arnaud Sussman, violin; Clive Greensmith, cello; Andrew Armstrong, piano
Seattle Chamber Music Society, Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall, Seattle, WA

Maurice Ravel: Kaddish from Deux ellodies Hebraiques
Michael Rusinek, clarinet; Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; Manfred Honeck, conductor
WQED-FM, Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh, PA

Johannes Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem), Op. 45 Wie lieblich sind deine
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; Matthew Mehaffey, conductor
WQED-FM, Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh, PA

John Williams: Three Pieces from Schindler's List for Violin and Orchestra
Itzhak Perlman, violin; Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; Manfred Honeck, conductor
WQED-FM, Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh, PA

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American Public Media’s Performance Today® is America’s most popular classical music radio program and a winner of the 2014 Gabriel Award for artistic achievement. The show is broadcast on hundreds of public radio stations across the country, including at 1 p.m. central weekdays on Minnesota Public Radio. More information about our stations can be found at APM Distribution.

Performance Today® features live concert recordings that can’t be heard anywhere else, highlights from new album releases, and in-studio performances and interviews. Performance Today® is based at the APM studios in St. Paul, Minnesota, but is frequently on the road, with special programs broadcast from festivals and public radio stations around the country. Also, each Wednesday, composer Bruce Adolphe joins host Fred Child for a classical musical game and listener favorite: the Piano Puzzler.

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