Romancendres

In 1853 Robert Schumann composed five piano-accompanied cello romances. The works were never published though as Clara Schumann destroyed the unpublished manuscript in 1893, 40 years after they were written. In his six duo pieces for violoncello and piano, Heinz Holliger refers to these compositions which turned to ash: the title is a combination of the French words ‘romances’ and ‘cendres’. Many allusions are hidden in the music itself. In the opening procession part, for example, one can hear Clara Schumann’s initials C and eS [E flat], a letter of Brahms to Clara is recited by the piano, and the last figure of the final part is formed from the tones of his place of death, EnDEniCH. But both amateur and experienced listeners will at once be gripped by Holliger’s music. This work is affecting – not only by its complex conception but mainly by its intense sonority.