ALC 0169 Schumann-Haus, 1853
Schumann-Haus, 1853
Label: Aulicus Classics
Category: Classical Music
Composers: R. Schumann, Clara Schumann, J. Brahms
Artists: Paolo Ehrenheim
Paolo Ehrenheim PIANO
Format: 1 CD
Cat. number: ALC 0169
Release: June 2026
“There is a young man from Hamburg endowed with such genius that he eclipses all other young composers.”
These are some of the words, all entirely superlative in tone and, with hindsight, profoundly prophetic, that Robert Schumann dedicated to Johannes Brahms after meeting him in person on 30 September 1853 at his home in Düsseldorf.
On that occasion, Brahms presented and performed several of his compositions, among them most likely the recently completed Sonata Op. 5.
A month later, Schumann composed his last work for solo piano, the Gesänge der Frühe (Songs of Dawn), whose enigmatic expressive aura was immediately grasped by his wife Clara, who described them as “very original as always, but also very difficult to understand, because they sound so strange.”
Clara herself, an accomplished composer and a renowned performer, wrote her Variations, Op. 20 in June 1853, based on a theme by Robert Schumann. This theme comes from the fourth piece of his Bunte Blätter, Op. 99. Interestingly, just a year later, Brahms used the same theme to compose a set of sixteen highly inspired variations.
In this program, the young and insightful musician Paolo Ehrenheim brings together these three works, all written within a closely related time period. By placing them side by side, he reveals the artistic and personal connections - what might be called “elective affinities” - between their composers.
Preview Tracks
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1. R. Schumann_Gesänge der Fruhe, Op. 133: I. Im ruhigen Tempo in D Major |
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2. R. Schumann_Gesänge der Fruhe, Op. 133: II. Belebt, nicht zu rasch in D Major |
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3. R. Schumann_Gesänge der Fruhe, Op. 133: III. Lebhaft in A Major |
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4. R. Schumann_Gesänge der Fruhe, Op. 133: IV. Bewegt in A Major |
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5. R. Schumann_Gesänge der Fruhe, Op. 133: V. Im Anfange ruhiges, im Verlauf bewegtes Tempo in D Major |
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6. C. Schumann_Variationen uber ein Thema von Robert Schumann in F-sharp minor, Op. 20: Thema |
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7. C. Schumann_Variationen uber ein Thema von Robert Schumann in F-sharp minor, Op. 20: Variation I |
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8. C. Schumann_Variationen uber ein Thema von Robert Schumann in F-sharp minor, Op. 20: Variation II |
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9. C. Schumann_Variationen uber ein Thema von Robert Schumann in F-sharp minor, Op. 20: Variation III |
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10. C. Schumann_Variationen uber ein Thema von Robert Schumann in F-sharp minor, Op. 20: Variation IV |
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11. C. Schumann_Variationen uber ein Thema von Robert Schumann in F-sharp minor, Op. 20: Variation V |
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12. C. Schumann_Variationen uber ein Thema von Robert Schumann in F-sharp minor, Op. 20: Variation VI |
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13. C. Schumann_Variationen uber ein Thema von Robert Schumann in F-sharp minor, Op. 20: Variation VII |
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14. J. Brahms_Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5: I. Allegro maestoso |
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15. J. Brahms_Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5: II. Andante espressivo |
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16. J. Brahms_Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5: III. Scherzo: Allegro energico |
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17. J. Brahms_Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5: IV. Intermezzo (Ruckblick): Andante molto |
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18. j. Brahms_Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5: V. Finale: Allegro moderato ma rubato |
