One hundred and fifty years ago (1875), the German Piano Virtuoso and composer Clara Josephine Wieck (1819–1896) published “30 Melodies of Robert Schumann, arranged for the Piano”. This Opus without number is a typical work of this outstanding Lady. In 1840, she married – against the will of her father – the German composer and music critic Robert Schumann (1810–1856), a mentally instable genius who developed a unique style of “romantic” piano music. Better known as Clara Schumann, this mother of eight children (of whom four pre-deceased her) had to cope with many hardships; she found comfort by playing the piano.
Clara was, like her husband Robert, a “fan” of the music of Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827). According to the writer, composer, painter and jurist E.T.A. Hoffmann (1776–1822), Beethoven should be regarded as the “father of romantic music”, because he raised his “classical”, Haydn-Mozart-inspired instrumental compositions to a new, emotional-imaginative level, a style Hoffmann considered a hallmark of “Romanticism”.
Today, so-called ”Neo-Classical Piano Music” is a genre of relatively simple, soothing-calming keyboard-solo-“songs”. Unfortunately, the scene is dominated by men, such as Ludovico Einaudi or Niels Frahm. However, female pianists/composers, such as Julia Thomsen (or Stacy Jager) have likewise created numerous excellent “neo-classical” piano pieces released on Streaming Platforms (Spotify etc.) that deserve more recognition. Notably Julia Thomsen, the “Clara Schumann of Neo-Classical music”, has produced a number of sensitive piano-tracks that remind me of some of the early compositions of “Lady Wieck”.
As a professional composer/pianist (and evolutionary biologist) I have just released my Album No.-7, entitled “
Four Romantic Seasons". In accordance with Clara Schumann’s principle, I have selected some melodies of two top- composers, Bedrich Smetana (1824–1884) and Beethoven, as inspirational basis for my own Piano-Tracks. As a result, two new Piano-Suites were composed and recorded, each consisting of four unique, neo-romantic “piano-songs without words” (8 Tracks, 44 Min. 5 Sec.):
Suite No.-I (Smetana-inspired): Season 1-Spring and Love; Season 2-Summer and Heat; Season 3-Autumn and Harvest; Season 4-Winter and Snow. Suite II (Beethoven-inspired): 5. Lovely Beethov Dance; 6. Furioso and Pastorale; 7. Joy Phantasy-Remix; 8. Beethov Peace March.
I hope that this “Neo-Romantic Piano-Album” (with original cover-paintings created by my father, Alfred Kutschera, 1928–2004) will be of interest to music-lovers – despite the complexity of some of these Beethoven-Smetana-Schumann-Rick Wakeman-like Piano-compositions.
Finally, I want to refer to Julia Thomsen, who once said to me in a private conversation: ”Music connects us across cultures and generations, transcending language and time. In moments of joy, piano music amplifies our happiness, while in times of sorrow it offers solace and understanding”.
This “Thomsen-Clara Schumann-Motto” should serve as a guideline for our contemporary “Neo-Classicism” in the world of “Spotify & Co.” (see the Playlist “
Julia Thomsen and Friends".
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