The NF

Philippe Tondre presents the most important musical project of his life. There was no doubt about the choice of programme. The music of Robert Schumann is, in a way, his Madeleine de Proust. The Romances opus 94 rocked him from an early age and accompanied him throughout his studies. All these late works for instrument and piano by Heinz Holliger and Alfred Brendel, Alexeï and Leonid Ogrintchouk, Albrecht Mayer and Markus Becker were included in his first recordings. This project was an opportunity to rekindle the flame of many emotions that have marked him over the last fifteen years. These memories have guided him throughout the recording: every element of his musical education has played a part in this recording journey.

Clara… Clara Wieck, who became Clara Schumann after marrying Robert in 1840, was a precocious and exceptional pianist. Starting recitals at the age of ten, she possessed a powerful technique and deep expressive capacity that she showcased in tours across Europe. After tense years, because Frédéric Wieck, her father and Robert’s teacher, deterred their rush to get married, when the union finally brought them familial happiness, it also brought numerous children, for which Clara’s career, although not stopped entirely, was limited considerably. Admired by Chopin, Liszt, and Mendelssohn as a performer, and more than admired, she was revered (and loved) by Brahms. As a composer, she wasn’t formally ambitious but she did display fine sensitivity and delicate inspiration. Her works always revolved around the piano, an instrument for which she cultivated brief forms typical of the romantic awakening, such as impromptus, waltzes, caprices, nocturnes, romances, and fantasies, and she also composed for the piano accompanying the voice (Lieder) and in various chamber formations, even with an orchestra.