Focus: Clara, Robert, Johannes is a two-week festival that will launch the 2023-24 season for the National Arts Centre Orchestra (NAC Orchestra). The mini-festival within the season will take place from September 13 to 21, 2023.
Clara and Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms shared bonds that were both personal and professional. The three giants of 19th-century classical music will be celebrated via concerts and events. Alexander Shelley, Music Director of the NAC Orchestra, has curated the festival’s programming.
“We are thrilled to present FOCUS: Clara, Robert, Johannes as a captivating exploration of the interconnected lives and music of these remarkable composers,” Shelley said in a statement.
“Through an array of exceptional concerts and thought-provoking talks, we invite audiences to embark on a musical journey that delves into the profound artistic relationships between Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann, and Johannes Brahms.”
The Festival
The programming mix includes mainstage concerts at Southam Hall in the National Arts Centre (NAC), a chamber music event at the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre, and pre-concert talks by music scholars Hannah Chan-Hartley, Jan Swafford and Julie Pedneault-Deslauriers.
The list of high profile artists includes GRAMMY-winners James Ehnes and Emanuel Ax, Canadian pianist Stewart Goodyear, and British pianist Isata Kanneh-Mason and German cellist Nicolas Altstaedt, both of whom will be making their debuts with the NAC Orchestra. The songs of Clara Schumann will be performed by Canadian mezzo-soprano Alex Hetherington and soprano Midori Marsh, with pianists Liz Upchurch and Darren Creech.
The closing night gala showcases the world premieres of NAC Orchestra commissions by Sarah Slean and Cecilia Livingston, composers who have put Clara Schumann’s songs into orchestral arrangements.
As a crowning touch, the festival will close with a celebration of the release of Alexander Shelley and the NAC Orchestra’s JUNO-nominated Clara, Robert, Johannes recording project, a four-album series. The completed project will be released on September 22, 2023 on the Analekta label, incorporating liner notes from music historians Jan Swafford and Julie Pedneault-Deslauriers on the artistic and personal connections between the composers.
The Concerts At A Glance:
- Emanuel Ax plays Brahms (September 13 at Southam Hall, NAC)
- Schumann’s Cello Concerto & Brahms 1 (September 14 at Southam Hall, NAC)
- Music for a Sunday Afternoon: Clara, Robert, Johannes (September 17 at Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre)
- James Ehnes & Brahms’s Violin Concerto (September 20 at Southam Hall, NAC)
- Ehnes, Altstaedt, & Kanneh-Mason (September 21 at Southam Hall, NAC)
More events, including opportunities to meet and mingle with some of the artists, will be announced during the coming weeks. More information [HERE].
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