The 39-year-old pianist Alexandra Dariescu has been concertizing since her debut, at age nine in her native Romania. She has dozens upon dozens of concertos at her fingertips. Her repertory is richly laced with commissions and long-neglected treasures. Yet on the cusp of the pandemic, she discovered a new favorite with quite some lore behind it.
We’re talking the Piano Concerto in A Minor, op. 7, by the 16-year-old prodigy Clara Wieck. Already a seasoned pro of international renown, Wieck introduced it on November 9, 1835, with the top-flight Gewandhaus Orchestra of her native Leipzig, conducted by Felix Mendelssohn, who was 10 years Clara’s senior and himself one of the supreme prodigies in the history of music.
