Album of the Week: 'Darlings of the Muses' from Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, Alexander Shelley and Gabriela Montero
A fascinating exploration of three composers and the connection between them
Last updated 23rd Aug 2020
Hear tracks from 'Darlings of the Muses' all this week (24 - 28 August 2020) on Penny Smith's Scala Radio show from 10am.
The new album 'Darlings of the Muses' by Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra under the direction of Alexander Shelley is the first of four albums to be released over the next two years.
This series will explore the closely intertwined personal and artistic connections between three musical giants: Clara Schumann, Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms. Brahms was always helplessly in love with Clara and “Darling of the Muses” was Robert’s affectionate name for Johannes, when he first heard him play.
What's on the album 'Darlings of the Muses'?
The album includes Schumann’s and Brahms’ first symphonies, Clara Schumann’s Piano Concerto, her first (and last) multi-movement orchestral work. Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero (who appeared on Scala Radio late last year, offers original improvisations inspired by Clara’s music.
Gabriela said of the album, “As I delved into Clara Schumann’s musical and intimately personal world, I discovered a wealth of feminine power, subtlety and sensuality.”
Who is Gabriela Montero?
Venezualan pianist Gabriela Montero unique compositional gifts makes her the works she creates through improvisation an exciting and entertaining performer.
Her most recent recording which she came into the Scala Radio studio to introduce late 2019, is a case in point.
Her first concerto - built from improvisation - draws on Latin influences and leans heavily on constant driving rythmns. If you're a fan of Bernstein's dance-infused scores, be sure to take a listen to Montero's first piano concerto. The third movement starts with an otherwise toe-tapping setting of a fun-sounding melody, but events quickly take a turn into something darker and altogether more theatening. Listen out for hints of Messiaen's epic Turangalila too buried inside the orchestration too. And brace yourself for an edge of a cliff conclusion.
Montero has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras to date, including the Royal Liverpool, Rotterdam, Dresden, Oslo, Vienna Radio, and Netherlands Radio philharmonic orchestras; the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
Away from the keyboard Gabriela is also a human rights activist, receiving the Honorary Consul by Amnesty International in 2015, and recognised with Outstanding Work in the Field of Human Rights by the Human Rights Foundation for her ongoing commitment to human rights advocacy in Venezuela.
Listen to Gabriela Montero's improvising on REO Speedwagon's classic 'Can't Fight This Feeling' exclusively for Scala Radio in 2019
What other recordings has Gabriela Montero released?
Visit Gabriela Montero's website for a full discography**.**
Who is Alexander Shelley?
Alexander Shelley has been Musical Director of Canada’s NAC Orchestra since 2015. He is also the Principal Associate Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
“No story of these two composers is complete without Clara, as famous in her lifetime as her husband, and a strong influence on both Robert and Johannes, said Alexander. "We crafted this vision with to combine the symphonies with pieces by Clara in ways that provide an insightful narrative to the intertwined lives and works of these three Romantics.”
Read a Q & A with Alexander Shelley about a recent lockdown production of Benjamin Britten's heartwarming Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Hear tracks from 'Darlings of the Muses' all this week (24 - 28 August 2020) on Penny Smith's Scala Radio show from 10am.