Sarah Beth Briggs SCHUMANN Papillons, Kinderszenen BRAHMS Opp. 117, 118

For her first solo recital recording for AVIE Records, award-winning pianist Sarah Beth Briggs turns to some of the greatest collections of Romantic miniatures ever written, largely inspired by one woman: Clara Schumann, wife of Robert Schumann and muse to Johannes Brahms. The bookends of the album are Schumann's early and youthful Papillons and Kinderszenen. In between is autumnal Brahms - his Op. 117 Intermezzi and Op. 118 Klavierstücke.

Multi-award winning pianist Sarah Beth Briggs earned multiple plaudits for her previous AVIE recordings, a Gramophone Critics' Choice for her pairing of concertos by Hans Gál and Mozart, and a Gramophone Editor's Choice for her Briggs Piano Trio's pairing of works by Gál and Shostakovich. For her first solo recital recording for AVIE, Sarah turns to some of the greatest collections of Romantic miniatures ever written, largely inspired by one woman: Clara Schumann, wife of Robert Schumann and muse to Johannes Brahms. The twelve short dance movements of Schumann's early and enigmatic Papillons set the scene, giving way to autumnal, late Brahms - his Op. 117 Intermezzi and Op. 118 Klavierstücke. The album ends as it begins, with youthful Schumann and his lovingly crafted Kinderszenen, written over half a century earlier.