Alexander String Quartet: Schumann, Brahms and the Curse

Schumann: String Quartet No. 1 in A Minor, op. 41, no. 1 (1842)
Brahms: String Quartet No. 1 in C Minor, op. 51, no. 1 (1873)

Theirs was one of the great love triangles, one that has been memorialized in music, novels, and even in a movie. At the time Johannes Brahms met Clara Schumann (née Wieck) and Robert Schumann in October of 1853, he was 20 years old; Clara was 34 and Robert 43 years old. In different ways and for different reasons these three great musicians fell in love with each other, a love that was complicated beyond measure by the madness that would overtake Robert just four months after they met and that would take his life 29 months later. This series will observe this extraordinary love triangle through the lens of their equally extraordinary chamber music.

Renowned musicologist, author and composer Robert Greenberg provides commentary throughout this concert.