Brahms was twenty years old when he met Robert and Clara Schumann in 1853. It was in that same year that the pianist and composer wrote the Three Romances for Violin and Piano, to be played on her tours with the equally famous violinist Joseph Joachim. At that time, Robert was a figure of enormous artistic prestige and great influence on the German music scene, particularly as editor and critic of the magazine Neue Zeitschrift für Musik. Fifteen years earlier, he had composed thirteen short piano pieces that became emblematic of the Romantic aesthetic. Filled with nostalgia and tenderness, they evoke an adult’s memories and feelings about childhood. He now had before him a brilliant young musician, whom he predicted would have a promising future. Although insecure, Brahms did not disappoint (as we know so well!). The Trio Op. 40 is a good example. It originated in 1865 at a spa near Baden-Baden. He himself described the introduction as a morning walk through the forest, when suddenly a ray of sunshine appears, illustrated by the sound of the horn. We know that it was composed immediately after the death of his mother. The mournful mood of the third movement recalls this significant moment in his life.
Memories and Romances
Solistas da Metropolitana
R. Schumann Pieces from the cycle Scenes from Childhood
C. Schumann Three Romances, Op. 22
J. Brahms Trio for Horn, Violin, and Piano, Op. 40
Jérôme Arnouf horn
Ágnes Sárosi violin
Savka Konjikusic piano
