Our Composers

Robert Schumann wrote his three string quartets as part of a remarkable burst of creativity in 1842, often described as his ‘year of chamber music’. Two years previously, he and Clara had finally married after many years of personal and legal struggle with Clara’s father who did not approve of the match. Clara, an incredibly talented pianist and composer in her own right, was Robert’s muse, artistic collaborator and most perceptive critic. The first movement, which we will hear today, is deeply lyrical and intimate with many scholars hearing Schumann’s devotion for Clara in the work. Clara herself said that Robert’s set of three string quartets revealed his “most tender and beautiful side.” It was more than a decade after this work was composed when Brahms was welcomed into Clara and Robert’s world, and yet the lyricism and emotional depth of Robert’s quartets left a lasting impression of Brahms’ own approach to quartet writing.

Though often remembered primarily as her husband’s muse, and though her relationship with Brahms has received much speculation over the years, we feature Clara Schumann as the remarkable composer she was, particularly skilled in the Lieder genre (German Art songs). While she never wrote for the string quartet, these arrangements of some of her most beloved lieder display her compositional prowess and her sensitive phrasing that can be heard in many of Brahms’ works. Brahms greatly admired her musicianship and valued her feedback on his work above all else.

Johannes Brahms took the string quartet very seriously and struggled with it more than any other form. He felt the weight of those who had gone before, most particularly Beethoven and Schumann, and destroyed more than a dozen attempts before allowing anything to be published. He was finally satisfied with his String Quartet No. 1 and described it to Clara as “one of my finest works… You have never before had such a beautiful work from me.” The Romanze is unusually exposed and vulnerable, and many scholars believe the movement speaks to Clara.