A packed house awaited the complimentary showing of Romantic Love in Music and Letters: Robert and Clara Schumann at Alliance Francaise recently.
A piano recital interspersed with readings; it showcased the 19th century story of the union of Robert Schumann, a composer, and Clara Wieck, a pianist. Schumann, a child prodigy, began studying music under Clara’s father Friedrich, a tough taskmaster.
Despite the almost decade-long age gap, they were in love by the time Clara turned 16. When Friedrich found out, he absconded with Clara, causing Robert to suffer from mania and depression. Finally, after winning a lawsuit against Friedrich, Robert and Clara married in 1840.
Although Robert and Clara’s story doesn’t end there - they go on to experience great professional triumph and equally immense personal tragedy - the performance isolated its focus to their pre-marital relationship.
During the period of their nascent romance and forceful separation, the two exchanged hundreds of letters, a few of which were read out, providing a voyeuristic understanding of their life and times. They were an unparalleled insight into the lives of the two legendary German musicians, an intimate account that often falls to an ancillary position next to their work.
Ironically, the situation was replicated in the performance where the music, once again, stole the show. The setting, with the pianist at a hard right angle to most of the audience, was slightly bewildering though once she began playing, that was quickly forgotten.
Natallia Kapylova’s fingers flew over the keys as she delivered on some of the couple’s best pieces. The extended musical solos were a work of art, oscillating in tempo and pitch and taking the listener with them every single time.
In the breaks between the piano playing, the letters were read out by Hans Günter Loffler and Lena Robra. Loffler, the Deputy Consul General of Germany in Bangalore, was energetic, emphatic and humorous. Robra, unfortunately, was indistinguishable in her speech, though that may have been a result of the acoustics.
Overall, the performance was a whimsical departure from the high-drama and high-pace ones that tend to populate auditoriums; it took its time to establish everything from the exposition to the resolution. In a sense, it was rather innocuous, purporting to deal with a love story and progressing to explore complex dimensions of gender roles and patriarchal cultures.
