Love will do that to you.
In 1837, the composer Robert Schumann proposed to Clara Wieck, a brilliant 18-year-old concert pianist. But Clara’s father refused permission—adamantly so, sparking a long and bitter legal fight.
But in 1840, Clara turned 21 and no longer required her father’s consent: at last, the couple was free to marry. The prospect sent Schumann into a creative frenzy. He wrote 168 songs that year, including his celebrated Dichterliebe (“Poet’s Love”), a 16-song cycle based on short poems by Heinrich Heine.
At 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29, baritone Ian Greenlaw will perform the entire Dichterliebe cycle, as well as works by Franz Schubert and Edvard Grieg, as part of WUSTL’s annual Liederabend.
Literally translated as “evening of song,” Liederabend is a German term referring to a recital given by a singer and pianist, particularly of works by 19th-century Austrian or German composers. Schumann’s Dichterliebe is widely considered among the genre’s foundational works.
Accompanying Greenlaw will be pianist Sandra Geary, teacher of applied music.
Ian Greenlaw
Greenlaw, who grew up in St. Louis, has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, among others.
He appeared with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra as the soloist in Bartók’s Cantata Profana, and as Peter in Opera Theatre of St. Louis’s Hansel and Gretel. Last spring, he starred in Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, which launched Union Avenue Opera’s 19th Festival Season.
The Chicago Sun-Times characterized Greenlaw as “possessing a voice both strong and sweet, and matinee idol good looks.” The Washington Post noted that he has “elegant stage presence, a subtle sense of humor and a splendid voice.”
The Liederabend is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the departments of Music and Germanic Languages and Literature, both in Arts & Sciences.
It takes place in the Ballroom Theater of the 560 Music Center, located in University City at 560 Trinity Ave.
For more information, call (314) 935-5566 or e-mail daniels@wustl.edu.