A Statement by Artistic Director Eugene Asti

The Schumann Series at St John's Smith Square during 2002-03 is the brainchild of pianist Eugene Asti, who, acting as its music director, put together the programmes and married them to the artists involved. The series provides a unique opportunity to hear some of Schumann's lesser-known songs alongside all his famous song cycles performed, in the main, by a group of young up-and-coming musicians who are bound to bring fresh insights and interpretations to what is often considered to be ambiguous and difficult repertoire.

Eugene Asti writes about the reasons behind his series. Widmung - A Dedication.

"This year, at St John's Smith Square, in London, we have been given a wonderful opportunity. The Genesis Foundation is our chief sponsor (along with Andre and Rosalie Hoffmann) in enabling a group of musicians to explore a range of music by Clara and Robert Schumann.

Why Schumann? I have chosen to focus on Robert Schumann in particular because I have been passionate about his music since I began my studies - in my earliest student days as a solo and chamber music pianist, and then gradually as I began to shift my attentions to the song repertoire.

Schumann is universally acknowledged as one of the great composers, but a large proportion of his music is misunderstood and unjustly neglected in today's concert programmes.

The works that we most often hear and which are considered his most famous are the major piano compositions such as the Fantasie, Carnaval and Kinderszenen and, of course, the A minor Piano Concerto. These pieces have long been established in most pianists' repertoires.

It is true that we also hear his celebrated Piano Quintet in chamber music programmes. But how often do we hear his symphonies or large-scale choral compositions such as his Szenen aus Goethes Faust or Das Paradies und die Peri? How often are his other great chamber works performed by today's chamber music ensembles? As for his substantial song output, it is only a mere handful of his Lieder that we hear programmed with any regularity - namely his great song cycles such as Dichterliebe, Frauenliebe und -leben and the Eichendorff Liederkreis Op.39.

Many of Schumann's songs and chamber works come from his middle and later years of composition - a period when his mind and health were in decline. Perhaps this accounts in part for their neglect. The music from this time is often elusive and unpredictable - and not necessarily as immediately appealing at first glance or on first hearing as his earlier works.

It is, however, highly emotionally charged, full of extraordinary invention and astounding in its use of colour, texture and imagination. It presents great challenges to the performers in that nothing is ever immediately obvious when deciding upon interpretation. What may sometimes appear musically weak or ambiguous at first attempt rarely is on deeper inspection. Often, this very ambiguity is exactly Schumann's aim and should be conveyed in the interpretation. These challenges are what make this music so fascinating, exciting, inspiring and ultimately so rewarding.

I have devised this series to re-examine the songs and chamber music of this great master - to breathe new life into largely forgotten territory. I have invited many friends and colleagues to join me in this voyage of discovery.

Many of today's leading young singers are taking part in the series as well as one of Britain's most important and prestigious chamber ensembles - The Florestan Trio.

All but two of the song recitals are being performed by pairs of singers, which enables the programmes to include many of the sets of songs which Schumann published together under one opus number to be performed as he possibly intended. It also allows us, in a couple of the programmes, to focus on Schumann's wonderful duet repertoire.

Also, one of the UK's most beloved artists, Dame Felicity Lott will give a solo recital including one of Schumann's most famous masterpieces - his Frauenliebe und -leben - alongside much rarer repertoire.

This combination of more familiar repertoire with the virtually unknown has been the cornerstone for much of the programming in this series and all of Schumann's song cycles will be heard during its course.

The Florestan Trio will perform all three of Robert Schumann's piano trios in addition to the Fantasiestücke Op.88 and the Adagio und Allegro Op.70 (originally written for horn and piano, but heard here in Schumann's own version for cello and piano). They will also feature two of Clara Schumann's greatest works - her beautiful Trio in G minor Op.17 and her lovely Romances for violin and piano Op.22 which were written for the great violinist Joseph Joachim and performed by him and the composer on many occasions.

The final concert in the series brings together three of the artists heard earlier in the series, joined by the leading young mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly and the great accompanist Graham Johnson, to perform Schumann's wonderful and very rarely heard vocal ensembles with piano and piano four-hands.

All the concerts in the series will be introduced by Richard Stokes, by way of lively and informal pre-concert talks. These will give special insight into the chosen repertoire for the evening and will undoubtedly shed light on many aspects of Schumann's musical personality.

I am very grateful to our generous sponsors for helping to turn this series from a concept into a reality. The Genesis Foundation supports and encourages young talent and is responsible for not only helping to launch new careers, but also for helping to promote the performances of unusual repertoire. This philosophy is perfectly in harmony with this series: most of the young singers taking part have budding careers on the operatic stage and concert platform, but rarely get the opportunity to give recitals. All of them are as excited as I am to have the chance to bring Schumann's neglected music before the public.

Without the support of Andre and Rosalie Hoffmann it would not have been possible to invite The Florestan Trio to take part in the series. As Schumann's chamber music is such a vital and personal part of his creative output, it was crucial to be able to include it to blend and contrast with the vocal music and afford a greater understanding of this most fascinating and misunderstood of composers.

It is my sincere hope that this Schumann series will illuminate and reawaken an interest in the neglected areas of this great composer's genius - and give our artists a chance to explore, with our audiences, a subtle and moving repertoire."

Eugene Asti
London, September 2002