Clara Schumann & Fanny Mendelssohn: Piano Trios & String Quartet

Featuring

Simon Crawford-Phillips
Stephanie Gonley
Adrian Brendel
Jonathan Stone
Lawrence Power
Nash Ensemble

Clara Schumann
Fanny Hensel

Did you know?

1/7

Composer's Artistic Vision

Both Clara Schumann and Fanny Mendelssohn were drawn to composition despite internal and external hindrances, with Schumann declaring, "there is really no greater pleasure than having composed something and then to hear it."

Composer Biography

Clara Schumann (née Wieck), one of the composers on this album, was trained by her ambitious father for a pianistic career to generate income and publicity.

Performer Biography

The Nash Ensemble, the performers on this album, is the Resident Chamber Ensemble at London's Wigmore Hall and has been acclaimed as a "chamber music group beyond compare."

Critical Reception

Some critics were so astonished by the quality of Clara Schumann's Piano Trio in G minor that they assumed it had been written by her husband, Robert Schumann.

Historical Context

Societal barriers for women musicians arose from the widespread assumption that a woman's primary duty was to be a wife, mother, and helpmeet, supporting her husband and occupying a low position in the family hierarchy.

Composer Biography

Fanny Mendelssohn (née Hensel), the other composer on this album, was told by her father that she could never aspire to a professional career; for her, music could only be an 'ornament'.

Historical Context

In the 19th century, women musicians faced numerous obstacles, including exclusion from advanced music theory classes and powerful associations, and deprivation of time due to domestic responsibilities.