Works

Clara is based on excerpts of music by the 19th-century pianist and composer Clara Schumann (1819-1896), wife of Robert Schumann (1810-1856). Melodies and excerpts of chord progressions from three of her compositions are used: the Piano Concerto (1833-1836), Valses Romantiques (for solo piano, 1835), and the late Marsch (for piano four-hands, 1879). My intent in this piece was not to arrange Clara’s music, but to reimagine it in a way that places her wonderful ideas in a new and different context. Clara was premiered by the Baton Rouge Symphony (Timothy Muffitt, Music Director) in 2016.