Carnegie Hall pays musical tribute to composers’ birthdays

This year, classical music fans can light 200 birthday candles for Frédéric Chopin and Robert Schumann.

Carnegie Hall is celebrating as well, with special spring programming—the famed venue will align with some of the world’s most famous musicians to celebrate the composers’ bicentennials. A three-concert series highlighting a number of pieces by Chopin and Schumann begins Jan. 29 with Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax, CC ’70, playing works for cello and piano. Ax will return to perform additional pieces in the series Feb. 10 and Mar. 17.

“These [Chopin and Schumann] are two composers whose music every pianist wants to play,” Ax said. “The last thing Chopin and Schumann need is [for us] to be reminded that it’s their 200th birthday…. They are very famous.”

As many musically inclined students might know, there is no desperate need for a revival of the composers’ works. According to Carnegie Hall’s Artistic Director Clive Gillinson, “virtuosic performances of masterworks by these two giants of the Romantic era have long been the calling cards for the world’s finest pianists.”

Chopin’s work holds a special significance for Ax. In the 1974 Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition, Ax first captured the world’s attention with his winning program, which included Chopin’s Études Op. 10, No. 8 and Op. 25, No. 10, along with his Sonata No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 58.

In addition to celebrating the ingenuities of Chopin and Schumann, the Carnegie Hall series aims to evoke the institution’s history.

“Chopin, in particular, holds a special place in Carnegie Hall’s history,” Gillinson said. In fact, pianist Franz Rummel performed Chopin’s music in April 1891 at the very first event presented in the building.

The duo of Ax and Ma has a long history as well. “Yo-Yo and I have been playing together for about 35 years,” Ax said. “I can’t think of doing the cello music of Schumann and Chopin with anyone else.”

In addition to Chopin and Schumann pieces, each of the three concerts in the series will incorporate a contemporary work. Friday’s concert features a piece for cello and piano by American composer Peter Lieberson titled “Remembering Schumann.”

“I thought it would be the right thing to do for us to have a lot of fun by introducing some new music as well,” Ax said.

“We have been delighted to mark the Chopin and Schumann bicentennial by commissioning works that pay homage to these remarkable composers,” Gillison said. He explained that this inclusion is “reflecting our [Carnegie Hall’s] mission to not only celebrate the best in music but also foster its future.”