Jessica Gillingwater mezzo-soprano
Libby Burgess piano
Agata Daraskaite violin
Amy Tress violin
Ruth Nelson viola
Karel Bredenhorst cello
Clara Schumann Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Op. 22
Songs by Fanny Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann
Felix Mendelssohn Quartet No.6, Op. 80 in F minor
Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann struggled for recognition as musicians and composers of talent equal to their celebrated male family members. Felix Mendelssohn paid homage to his beloved sister in a string quartet which bears the title “Requiem for Fanny”; these little-known songs reveal her genius. Robert Schumann’s music and above all his songs were inspired by Clara, whose lush and poignant Romances show what might have been.
