Three Romances, opus 22 Clara Schumann (1819-1896)
Andante molto — Allegretto — Leidenschaftlich schnell
Clara Schumann probably wrote her Three Romances for Christmas, 1849, at the same time her husband Robert wrote his Three Romances for Oboe and Piano, but like many of her compositions they were not published immediately. As the sole family breadwinner after Robert became ill, Clara was obliged to devote most of her time and energy to her career as a virtuoso pianist. She performed the Romances for King George V of Hanover in 1853 (he loved them) with the violinist Joseph Joachim, and finally published them in 1856 with a dedication to Joachim. They mirror Robert’s Three Romances in form; though there is no published oboe version, they suit it beautifully, suggesting that they might have been originally intended for that instrument.