Category: Concerto
-
Brahms’s Double Concerto in A minor, Op. 102
A Friendship Saved by Music
After years of bitter silence, Brahms needed to reconcile with the violinist Joseph Joachim, his closest ally, whom he had publicly betrayed. He couldn't write the letter, so he composed an apology: a concerto for Joachim's violin and Hausmann's cello.…
-
Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54
Clara's Name Hidden in Every Note
Most piano concertos pit soloist against orchestra. Schumann made them partners in conversation, because the soloist was always Clara Wieck in his mind. He even encoded a version of her name into the main theme, turning a public genre into…