The Brahms Letters, A THINGIE by Rory Thompson

I am getting pretty excited. On Sunday it will be TWO WEEKS to my next THINGIE.  I have loved presenting these programs for quite a few years, now. I like the informality, and some unexpected surprises that often define the Thingie…the NON RECITAL.

This November 23 at 2:30 I am going to do a program called The Brahms Letters. The whole idea is simply a narrative of Brahms’ life, specifically his relationship to Clara Schumann, a woman that he loved from the time he was 20 years old.

Think of the Biopic movies that have been so popular over the years, telling stories of Ray Charles, Elvis, the Beatles, Elton John, and the latest… Bruce Springsteen. What these movies did was to humanize the musicians. The story was a vehicle to hear the music, while casting that very music in a different light.

I want to do that with Brahms. I have to believe that his life shaped his music. And if his love of Clara was a central part of his life, then music that he sent her along with love letters was born of that part of his life.