Concert #4: Clara & Robert: Equality, Waynesville NC

The Great Experiment asks, "who gets to participate?" In the 19th century, the answer was rarely "women." Clara Schumann knew this better than anyone as a composer of extraordinary gifts who spent much of her life being defined by her relationship to her husband rather than her music.

This program puts that question directly on the stage. Clara's Piano Trio is one of the great works of the century, precise and searching and too long overlooked. Robert's Piano Quartet is exuberant and restless. Rebecca Clarke, writing decades later, was still fighting the same battle - her viola and piano Sonata asks its own quiet questions about voice and power.

Three composers each with different relationships to the word "genius." We'll let the music decide.

This is the final weekend of the 2026 season. Come to hear extraordinary music. Stay for what lingers.

This season is named The Great Experiment after the founding vision of our self-governed republic. Chamber music shares many of the virtues required for a democratic republic - trust in one another, freedom of thought and purpose, and a belief in one’s ability to do good for the wider world. Each program this season explores this experiment from a different angle: expansion, equality, and class, and all through the lens of tremendous chamber music performed by tremendous chamber musicians.

CMS Carolinas is a program of Warren Wilson College. If you'd like to support the music beyond your ticket, a tax-deductible donation can be made at cms-carolinas.org - every gift helps bring world-class chamber music to the Blue Ridge and Piedmont.

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