Abendmusik

"Herr Brahms from Hamburg," Schumann noted laconically in his diary on 30 September 1853; the very next day the euphoric entry was made: "A genius!"; Schumann is said to have walked through the house excitedly after Brahms had finished the prelude to his first piano sonata, to fetch his wife Clara and present this extraordinary 20-year-old pianist to her. In October 1853 Schumann paid homage to this "genius" publicly in the "Zeitschrift für Neue Musik" with the article "Neue Bahnen". An intensive artistic friendship begins between the Schumann couple and Brahms: from now on Brahms can be found daily with the Schumanns. But Schumann's health deteriorated rapidly and he was admitted to the asylum in Endenich near Bonn in March 1854, where he died two years later. Brahms takes care of the friend's family, the relationship with Clara Schumann intensifies and becomes a friendship of life - on 11 June 1854, the day of the birth of the last child of the Schumanns, he presents her with his Schumann Variations op. 9. • Claire Désert has compiled a moving musical portrait of this musical trio under the title Abendmusik.

Works

 • Schumann: Bunte Blätter, Op. 99,
 • Clara Schumann: Variationen op. 20 "Ihm gewidmet" über ein Thema von Robert Schumann
 • Brahms: Variationen op. 9 "Frau Clara Schumann zugeeignet" über ein Thema von Robert Schumann