Maria's blog: A Recital of Romances
As so often happens, some of the best projects come into being as offshoots from other plans. Such was the case with Amor y Corona. Last summer, as I was planning our “March of the Women” series, I chatted with Maureen (electronically, of course) about her performing a couple of short pieces on the series, potentially one of the Romances by Clara Schumann or one or two of the 6 Morceaux by Pauline Viardot García. The timing ended up not being ideal, and the series was already growing beyond our initial scope (with so much great music to include, it was hard to edit things out), so these became the core of a whole other project. Maureen was not familiar with Viardot’s works for violin and had also been looking for an excuse to learn Amy Beach’s Romance, which fit perfectly. And thus a recital program of Romanzas was born...
Maureen wanted to include a piece by a Mexican female composer, but found very little for violin and piano to fit with the rest of the program. She took to social media asking for suggestions: her former teacher’s wife suggested Gina Enriquez and introduced them through Facebook. Maureen hoped that she might have a piece around 5 minutes that would fit, but Gina was happy to write a new work for this occasion. Within days, she sent Maureen a message saying that she had decided to compose a Romanza in G minor (the same key as Clara Schumann’s Romance No. 2), and a few days after that, the score appeared in her inbox! It was all very serendipitous, and at any other time, this would likely not have been possible with her busy schedule as a conductor, composer, and teacher. When we were recording the program, I immediately fell in love with the piece and could not believe how quickly it was written! I hope that Ms. Enriquez will be able to join our live post-premiere conversation and learn more from her.
The other two Romances on the program are by two of the most well-known women composers in western music, but at very different points in their careers. Amy March Cheney Beach was the first woman composer in the US to have a successful career writing art music. Her Romance, Op. 23 came rather early in her compositional career and was the first piece she wrote for violin and piano.
In contrast, Clara Schumann’s three Romances for violin and piano were among the last pieces that she wrote, composed in 1853. She premiered them in 1855 with the dedicatee, the legendary violinist Joseph Joachim. Schumann and Joachim toured the pieces throughout Europe, and performed them for King George V of Hanover. The Times called them “Lush and poignant, they make one regret that Clara’s career as a composer became subordinate to her husband’s.” Maureen and Karen chose the 2nd of the three Romances, Allegretto, which is in G minor and is wistful in character. This short movement is said to be representative of the set as it contains elements that tie all three together.
Less well known is the French/Spanish mezzo-soprano, pedagogue, and composer Pauline Viardot García. A star performer with a long and celebrated career, she began composing at a young age, but never planned to be a composer. Most of her pieces were written privately for her students, and she did most of her composing after her retirement at Baden-Baden. Franz Liszt said that in Pauline, “the world had finally found a woman composer of genius.” Her 6 Morceaux were written in 1867, and with them, she seems to have set a specific goal - to create archetypal examples of specific musical forms. These six forms include the Romance, the Bohemienne (a gypsy dance), the Berceuse (a lullaby), the Mazurka (a native Polish dance), the Vielle Chanson (an old folk song form), and the Tarantella.
I’m excited for you to experience this brilliant and moving music, performed by the outstanding talents of Maureen Conlon Gutierrez and Karen Jeng Lin. Karen and Maureen’s paths almost crossed several times before they finally met in Pittsburgh in 2018. They are both alums of Rice University, and both have daughters that are one year apart (Karen’s daughter was born on Maureen’s daughter’s due date!) It seems as if Amor y Corona is a beautifully destined collaboration, and I hope you will join us for the premiere on Sunday, February 14!
The cost of your ticket (and any additional donations) directly supports the performing artists on this series. We are glad to be able to create a virtual space for our artists to continue creating and connecting through this very difficult time for all musicians.