Essential Grevillea
The next concert in our 2025 Season will feature a complete performance of the iconic song cycle, Myrthen (myrtles) by Robert Schumann. The myrtle was held to be sacred to Venus and often used as an emblem of love in wreathes and other decorations.

1850 daguerreotype of Clara and Robert Schumann

Myrtle flowers

The cycle of twenty-six songs (click here for a taste) was composed in the spring of 1840 and dedicated to Schumann's fiancée, Clara, as a gift on the eve of their wedding. The wedding itself was permitted only after Schumann had gone to court to set aside a legal objection from Clara’s father to the wedding
The texts are drawn from a variety of German poets, including Rückert, Goethe and Heine. There are also eight by the Scottish poet Robert Burns, translated into German by Wilhelm Gerhard.
Some of the songs may be familiar to you, but many may not. The work as a whole is a masterly example of the German Liederkreis (ring of songs) in which the text and the music are both interpreted by voice and piano in perfect artistic collaboration. Translations of the text from the original German will be provided for this performance.
Recital 1: Saturday 5th July 2025 at 3pm
Andrew Mitterdorfer Residence, 3 Garden Square, Gordon
Recital 2: Thursday 10th July 2025 at 6pm
David G. Miller Studio, 1/38 Norton Street, Leichhardt
Refreshments will of course be served after each concert.
Entry is by donation with proceeds donated to the Richard Gill School in Muswellbrook, a comprehensive, secular, independent primary school, with a music focus. School motto: Musica Motuque Floreamus (through music and movement we flourish)
Please note: Seating at these concerts is limited, so please contact us to reserve your place(s):