ABENDROT

Düsseldorf 1851-1853
These are turbulent times for Robert Schumann. After an initially warm welcome in Düsseldorf his appointment as music director turns out to be a fiasco. He is supposed to conduct a choir and an orchestra, a task for which he is not really cut out. He seeks consolation in composing and translates his stormy life into music. His wife Clara is a living legend: a famous concert pianist, composer, teacher, devoted spouse and mother of seven children. A concert brings 22 year old violinist Joseph Joachim to Düsseldorf. His incredible performance of Beethoven’s violin concerto and his sympathetic personality ensure that he becomes a friend at home with the Schumann family. Clara grasps every chance to make music with him. She considers him the greatest musical personality of his generation.
He is also an important source of inspiration: as a Christmas gift Clara composes three romances for violin and piano for him.
The young eagle from the north
On 1 October 1853 a 20 year old young man stands shyly at the door of Robert and Clara Schumann. Three years before Robert had sent back a package with his compositions, unopened. This time he carries a letter of recommendation by Joseph Joachim. Maybe the master would be so kind to listen this time? That night Schumann writes prophetic words in his diary: “Brahms visiting (a genius)”. Promptly he writes a passionate article about the young composer in his Neue Zeitschrift für Musik. The title reads ‘Neue Bahnen’ or ‘New Paths’. Influential in European music life he thus paves the way for Brahms whose music is published for the first time that same year.
Ring in the Rhine
A few months later Robert Schumann is once more not doing well. He wrestles with a serious depression and with hallucinations: he hears voices, the note ‘a’ constantly rings in his ears, strange music resonates in his head and gives him nightmares. On 27 February 1854 he tries to commit suicide. From a bridge he throws his wedding ring into the Rhine and jumps into the water. He is saved by fishermen but he will pass the rest of his life in a psychiatric institution.
On hearing the catastrophic news Johannes Brahms rushes back to Düsseldorf. He wants to support his generous mentors in times of need. He helps Clara with the children and the household. He stays in close contact with Robert and pays him various visits. He also plays the role of intermediary between Robert and Clara since for quite some time the doctors defend her to visit her husband, fearing this would irritate him too much.
Clara and Johannes
After Robert’s death in 1856 Clara takes up her career as a concert pianist to provide for her seven children. She never stops performing her husband’s compositions in order to keep his musical heritage alive. She also champions Johannes Brahms by programming his music next to works of other great composers. While the influence of Robert Schumann is unextinguishable in Brahms’ music, it is Clara who remains his lifelong friend and support. The relationship between Clara and Johannes has always been subject to speculation. Although a love triangle is often insinuated, the notes and letters may also refer to a purely platonic relationship. No one will ever know what happened precisely between the two of them. Brahms never got married and Clara never remarried; they remained intimate friends until Clara’s death in 1896. Thereupon Brahms’ health started to deteriorate rapidly. He passed away eleven months after Clara.
Reverberation
After Brahms’ death his music continued to inspire new generations. Lodewijk Mortelmans, also known as “the Flemish Brahms”, composed his Romanza for violin and piano in 1935. A hidden pearl from Flanders.