Metamorphoses

This Germanic program embraces a century of creation, from the beginnings of Romanticism to its last fires. Before marrying Robert Schumann, Clara Wieck attracted attention as a pianist and composer. In 1835, at the age of sixteen, she completed her Piano Concerto, which she premiered herself. In it, she flows virtuosity and poetry, and deploys a refined interplay between soloist and orchestra. Twenty-three years later, under Clara's guidance, the young Brahms wrote his Serenade no. 1, a joyful work with a pastoral and rural atmosphere. Composed in 1945 by a Richard Strauss in the twilight of his life, the Metamorphoses bear witness to the trauma of the Second World War. This poignant study for 23 solo strings is a magnificent response to the funeral march of Beethoven's Eroica Symphony.