Music Is a Woman

A musical program presenting the life stories of four composers, inspired by a woman who nurtures, creates, is loved, and is happy. The program features works by two women and two men for viola, voice, and piano. National Culture and Art Prize laureate Žibuoklė Martinaitytė’s compositions reveal a woman’s world, where not only the “Heights and Depths of Love” are important, but also the seemingly simple ritual of “Braiding Hair,” which leads into the realm of feminine magic. The enigmatic German Clara Schumann, who lived in the shadow of her husband, the renowned Romantic composer Robert Schumann, beautifully reveals her creative voice in Romances for viola and piano.

The inspiration for the great Hungarian musical pilgrim and piano genius Franz Liszt was the muse Laura of the Italian Renaissance poet Petrarch: the most beautiful verses sound in music in his “Sonnets,” dedicated solely to her and about her. Another Romantic genius, Johannes Brahms, wrote songs dedicated to family happiness: the “Lullaby” was created for the christening of the firstborn of his friend, violinist Joseph Joachim, and his wife Amalie, while “Golden Evening Light” was intended for friends trying to preserve their marriage, wishing them not to let go of each other.