Summer Concert II: Robert & Clara: A Musical Portrait

Hyunsoon Whang, piano | Lun Jiang, violin | Pegsoon Whang, cello

This is the program closest to the heart of our season. Robert and Clara Schumann both wrote piano trios in the 1840s, and placing them side by side reveals two distinct but unmistakably connected musical voices, shaped by the same household, the same conversations, the same years of shared life and work. Clara's Trio, now finding its rightful place in the repertoire, holds its own with confidence and imagination. Liszt's piano transcriptions of two of Robert's most celebrated songs - Widmung and Frühlingsnacht, both written for Clara - complete the portrait. The performers bring their own deep ties to the music. Hyunsoon and Pegsoon Whang share a musical partnership rooted in a lifetime of close acquaintance. Lun Jiang and Pegsoon Whang have performed together on every single season of Intermezzo since the series began; twenty-five years of collaboration that speaks for itself. The result is an evening of music inseparable from personal history, performed by musicians who understand that completely.