Nashville Chamber Music Society

Nashville Chamber Music Society

The Nashville Chamber Music Society is a group of musicians dedicated to the performance and promotion of chamber music in Nashville and surrounding areas. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Nashville CMS partners with local schools, retirement homes, homeless shelters, and a variety of concert venues to bring artistic excellence and beautiful experiences to our communities. The Music City Review stated that "Nashville CMS audience members feel they are enjoying an evening of fine music with friends," and Nashville CMS is proud to bring chamber music back into smaller spaces where both the performer and listeners interact and feel known.

Program
There are few composers whose lives became as intertwined as those of Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, and Johannes Brahms. At the urging of his friend, the violinist virtuoso Josef Joachim, young Brahms introduced himself to the Schumann’s in 1853, with Robert later writing that Brahms was a genius who was destined to be the heir of Beethoven’s legacy. Brahms would struggle with this proclamation throughout his whole career, relying on the advice of friends like Joachim and Clara Schumann until the end of his life.

Three Romances, Op. 94 by Robert Schumann
The Three Romances, Op. 94 by Robert Schumann (1810–56) were originally written for the oboe and piano (his only chamber piece for oboe), but has entered the repertoire for violin, clarinet, and flute. The set was premiered with the violin in a private concert in 1850 and was not performed on oboe in public until 1863. Robert wrote the pieces on three different days in December, 1849 in order to give them to Clara as a Christmas present. The three pieces highlight several characteristics of his music: they are songs, but without a strong separation of melody and accompaniment, and the alteration of the two contrasting aspects of Robert’s own personality, the Dionysian ‘Florestan’ and the Apollonian ‘Eusebius.’

Three Romances, Op. 22 by Clara Schumann
Clara Schumann’s (1819–96) Three Romances, Op. 22 was written in 1853 and published in 1855, dedicated to Josef Joachim. Indeed, Joachim and another violinist, Wilhelm Joseph von Wasielewski, worked with her on the violin parts. The three movements were almost certainly a reflection of Clara and Robert’s relationship, with the first romance containing several explicit references to Robert’s first violin sonata. Though Clara had composed several works when she was young, these were among the first pieces she had written since 1846 and they became some of the last pieces she ever wrote. Robert’s mental health continued to deteriorate, culminating in a suicide attempt in 1854, after which he was committed to a sanatorium until his death in 1856. Clara stopped composing after Robert’s death, instead committing herself to performing Robert’s music and caring for her family.

Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8 by Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms’ (1833–97) Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, Op. 8 was originally written in 1854, but was heavily revised by the composer in 1889. Brahms seemed to have been displeased with the original version almost right away, telling Josef Joachim that he wanted to make alterations to the piece immediately after it was published.
Some have conjectured that Robert’s article praising him as “Germany’s new rising star” pressured Brahms to rush the publication of the work. Brahms had burned several earlier chamber works he deemed not worthy and said “the praise you have openly bestowed on me will arouse such extraordinary expectations of my achievements by the public that I don’t know how I can begin to fulfill them even somewhat.” In the revised version, Brahms suggested that he merely wanted to rid the piece of its “youthful exuberances,” writing “I didn’t provide it with a new wig, just combed and arranged its hair a little.” In reality, the original version is about a third longer than the revised version, with the second movement the only one that was not heavily revised with themes being rewritten and replaced.