Franz Liszt, 1858, by Franz Hanfstaeng, (left) and Felix Mendelssohn, 1830, by James Warren Childe (right)
STREAMING PROGRAM INFORMATION
- This program is part of our Smithsonian Associates Streaming series.
- Platform: Zoom
- Online registration is required.
- For multiple registrations, you will be asked to supply individual names and email addresses.
Born between 1809 and 1813, Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, Frederic Chopin, Franz Liszt, and Richard Wagner were geniuses of Romantic music, and as intriguing for their personal interrelationships as they were for their creations. Friends who were often at odds, they were candid critics of one another’s work yet advocates of their individual musical languages. They entertained, argued, and concertized together—even sketched one another—as they critiqued one another’s music publicly. They were performers, conductors, correspondents, and teachers who had a profound cultural impact on their times, to say nothing of our own.
Popular speaker and concert pianist Rachel Franklin combines presentations and piano demonstrations to examine the lives and work of these five musical giants.
Oct. 14: The Birth of the Romantics
As Europe emerged from the chaos of the Napoleonic wars, the world of the 19th-century professional musician was changing, and prodigiously talented young artists were emerging.
Oct 15: Fame, Glamour, Working Careers
Liszt, Mendelssohn, and Chopin—three dashing young composer-pianists—take Paris by storm. Robert Schumann falls in love with his teacher’s brilliant young daughter, Clara Wieck, with consequences that would reverberate throughout the century. Wagner claws his way towards public recognition. The five composers spend their time conducting, performing, writing, editing, networking, and creating some of the greatest music of the 19th century.
Oct 16: Early Deaths and Extraordinary Legacies
With the deaths of Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Chopin by 1856, it is left to Liszt, Wagner, and other great composers such as Verdi and Brahms to create the works that continue to inform musical life today.
Patron Information
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