Cecilia Oinas: Nelikätisen pianomusiikin rooli Clara Schumannin elämässä
Abstakti
While Clara Schumann (née Wieck) (1819–1896) was one of the most brilliant solo pianists of her time, she was also a keen devotee of piano four hands music, playing duos regularly with members of her close circle, including Felix Mendelssohn, Johannes Brahms and, naturally, her husband Robert Schumann. During the nineteenth century playing four-handed music was performed mostly in private or semi-public events. However, Clara’s repertoire listings suggest that piano four-hand duos made up a consistent part of her concert programmes: these include works by Mozart and Mendelssohn, and also lesser-known pieces by Ignaz Moscheles and Henri Herz. Curiously, the public concert listings mostly do not include four-handed works by Robert Schumann. One reason may be that Clara played these pieces with Robert, who usually performed only on private occasions. Another regular four-hand companion in Clara’s later years was JohannesBrahms, with whom she played works such as the well-known Walzer Op. 39. The coexistence between amateur and professional music-making is apparent in Brahms’ description of the two solo piano versions of Walzer, in which one is “for clever hands and one – perhaps for more beautiful hands”.
This paper (presented in Finnish) discusses the four-handed works and arrangements which Clara Schumann was involved with during her lifetime. In contrast with the often-presented view that four-handed music belongs mostly to amateur music making, works such as Mendelssohn’s Andante and allegro brillant which the composer both performed and dedicated to Clara Schumann, require skilful, even virtuosic qualities that Schumann most certainly had. At the same time, four-handed playing is one of the most intimate forms of music, which creates a special bond between two pianists. To conclude, I propose that playing four-handed music connected Clara’s two sides: her public image as a virtuoso and a more private role as Robert’s life partner and muse.
Bio
Suomalais-unkarilainen Cecilia Oinas on musiikintutkija, pianisti ja musiikinteorian lehtori Sibelius-Akatemiassa. Vuoden 2018 hän työskenteli post doc -tutkijana Grazin Taideyliopistossa, tutkimusaiheenaan nelikätinen pianomusiikki. Oinas on esitelmöinyt useissa kansainvälisissä konferensseissa sekä julkaissut tieteellisiä artikkeleita.
Oinas on ollut vierailevana tutkijaopiskelijana City University of New Yorkissa, Orpheus-instituutissa Gentissä sekä suorittanut piano- ja musiikkitieteen opintoja Liszt-Akatemiassa Budapestissa. Pianonsoitossa häntä ovat opettaneet muun muassa Carlos Juris, Kálmán Dráfi sekä Ilmo Ranta. Hänen v. 2017 kiitoksella hyväksytty väitöskirjansa käsitteli analyysin ja esittämisen välistä vuorovaikutusta Felix Mendelssohnin ja Robert Schumannin pianotriossa.
Kamarimusiikki ja Lied ovat Cecilian sydäntä lähellä: hän on tehnyt yhteistyötä lukuisten laulajien kanssa sekä toiminut pianistina erilaisissa kamarikokoonpanoissa. Oinaksen tieteellistä ja taiteellista työtä ovat tukeneet American-Scandinavian Foundation, Greta ja William Lehtisen säätiö, Kulttuurirahasto, Kordelinin säätiö, Wihurin rahasto sekä Pro musica -säätiö.