Smithsonian Associates: Great Composer-Pianists – Brahms

Popular speaker and concert pianist Rachel Franklin guides a unique look at the monumental keyboard talents of four great composer-pianists and how their performing virtuosity influenced the piano works we enjoy today.

With a legacy of printed compositions but no recordings, how can we get closer to the white-hot moments of creation and performance when these artists poured out their genius for fortunate and astonished listeners? How did the composers’ musical imaginations and their signature performance styles influence the development of how pianos would be constructed and sound? And did their contemporary audiences even comprehend what they were hearing?

Franklin offers a fascinating exploration into the creative minds—and hands—of a quartet of piano pioneers celebrated for their prowess as composers and performers. She concludes each lecture with a live performance of a work by the spotlighted composer.

British-born Franklin has been a featured speaker for organizations including the Library of Congress and NPR, exploring intersections among classical and jazz music, film scores, and the fine arts.

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Brahms trained intensely as a pianist and all his compositions for the instrument demand a prodigious and highly controlled technique. He was also a renowned pedagogue, and he and his muse Clara Schumann taught many students whose playing was subsequently captured by early recording, providing a tantalizing glimpse into the performing styles of the 19th century.