TOUCH. Part I (Shea-Kim Duo)

Shea and Kim center the album around the music of Schubert, and the “touch” required in performing his instrumental music, which led to an exploration of finding the “touches” these artists bring to their listeners in all four of the composers on the album. Touch begins with an intimate look at the connections between the creative collaborations between Clara and Robert Schumann around their mutual, and profound admiration of Schubert before jumping more than a hundred years for David Baker’s “Blues” which blends the Romantic period’s forms into the aesthetics, and styles of today. 

Clara Schumann’s Three Romances, Op. 22, composed in 1853 only a few years before Robert Schumann’s final days. These works reveal Clara’s distinctive musical personality—tender yet strong, technically sophisticated yet emotionally direct. As the ensemble shares in their liner notes, these Romances “demonstrate her deep understanding of both instruments and her ability to create music that is both accessible and profound.”

Robert Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, Op. 73, demonstrates the composer’s gift for capturing fleeting moods within compact musical forms. Shea and Kim included this work because of its penchant for transcription for multiple instrumentations since its publication, which helped to form their own ideas of the type of “touch” they could bring to their performance. Listen as they bring forward the tender and passionate turns throughout the three character pieces.

At the heart of the program lies Schubert’s Fantasie in C Major, D. 934, a true masterwork of the chamber music repertoire. Shea and Kim have divided this sweeping, cyclical work into four tracks in order to present a sense of flow for the listeners as they embark on the emotional journey.

David Baker’s “Blues (Deliver My Soul)” reflects his jazz background and his close relationship with the legendary cellist Janos Starker in its fluent movements between both the jazz and classical traditions. The work is a marvelous demonstration of how American traditions can be woven together to create music of both uniqueness and deep authenticity.

“These autobiographical compositions can deliver the emotional expression, technical brilliance, and the magical chemistry that emerges when two musicians truly listen to one another.” —Shea-Kim Duo

Clara Schumann (1819-1896)
3 Romances for Violin & Piano, Op. 22

I. Andante molto (2:47)

II. Allegretto (2:51)

III. Leidenschaftlich schnell (3:51)

Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Fantasiestücke, Op. 73

I. Zart und mit Ausdruck (2:50)

II. Lebhaft, leicht (3:38)

III. Rasch und mit Feuer (4:19)

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Fantasie in C Major, D. 934

I. Andante molto (3:41)

II. Allegretto (5:43)

III. Andantino (11:07)

IV. Tempo I – Allegro Vivace – Allegretto – Presto (6:37)

David Baker (1931-2016)

Blues (Deliver My Soul) (5:47)