Love Songs, With and Without Words

Staunton Music Festival partners with the American Shakespeare Center for an intimate Valentine’s Day concert at the Blackfriars Playhouse. Whether this is your first visit to the Playhouse or your first live chamber music concert, this evening is designed to feel welcoming, close, and easy to enjoy. Candlelight fills the room, and the musicians perform just a few feet from the audience. This one-hour chamber music concert features three musicians: Sheila Dietrich, soprano, James Wilson, cello, and Carsten Schmidt, piano. The program moves naturally between songs for voice and piano, duos for cello and piano, and a piano solo or two, creating a varied and intimate listening experience. The music originates from the Romantic era and features works by two remarkable composer pairs: Robert and Clara Schumann, and Felix Mendelssohn and his sister, Fanny Mendelssohn. Fanny Mendelssohn composed extensively, though much of her music was published under her brother’s name during her lifetime. Hearing these works together offers a fuller picture of the era’s emotional range and creative partnerships. At the heart of the evening is a rare instrument. The piano used in this performance is a historically accurate replica of a 1830-era fortepiano, commissioned for the Staunton Music Festival. This is the kind of instrument these composers would have known and written for. Its sound is lighter and more intimate than a modern grand piano, making it especially well-suited to a space like the Blackfriars Playhouse. For many listeners, this will be the first opportunity to hear a fortepiano like this in person. With candlelight all around and every seat close to the music, Love Songs, with and without words offers a Valentine’s experience centered on listening, closeness, and shared light.