Before 1842, Robert Schumann had written only one piece for chamber ensemble, a piano quartet in 1829, but that all changed in the year that as been called his chamber music year. After studying the chamber works of the masters, he wrote three string quartets, a piano quartet, a piece for piano trio and a piano quintet.
Schumann wrote the quintet in a few weeks during the summer of 1842. He dedicated the work to his wife Clara and she was to play the piano part in a private performance of the work in December of 1842. Illness prevented her participation, but Felix Mendelssohn took her place and in a feat of pure musicianship sight-read the piano part. Mendelssohn had some helpful suggestions for the piece after the performance, and Schumann revised the work accordingly.
The Piano Quintet is one of Schumann's greatest works and was very influential in changing the way composers wrote for the combination of string quartet and piano. The work has music of chamber music intimacy along with music that is more symphonic. The quintet is in 4 movements:
Clara Schumann
I. Allegro brillante - All five instruments present the driving, robust first theme. The second theme is played by piano alone, and then taken up by the violin and cello. The exposition is repeated. The development section begins with section of transition for piano and cello. The first theme dominates the development section and the reappearance of it in its original form signals the start of the recapitulation. After the second theme the movement draws to a spirited close with parts of the first theme. II. In modo d'una marcia. Un poco largamente -Perhaps the most well known movement of the quintet is this funeral march in C minor. It begins with 2 bars of introduction from the solo piano, after which the first violin plays the lugubrious melody. The second violin takes up the next part of the theme, with the first violin resuming the melody until the viola takes it up. The second part of the march is repeated and ends quietly. A section of contrast begins in C major with the new theme played as a duet between cello and violin. As with the funeral march, this lyrical theme's second part is repeated. The funeral march is played through again, and after a short transition another section interrupts the march with highly agitated music in F minor that has the piano playing in staccato triplet eighth notes with biting notes in the strings. The second part of this section is also repeated. The funeral march theme returns in the viola with an increased agitation in the accompaniment. The lyrical theme returns, this time in F major. Once more the funeral march plays out, and the movement ends with the piano silent as the strings play a C major chord in harmonics.
III. Scherzo: Molto vivace - Scampering scales cavort in the scherzo until the first of two trios is reached. The trio is a duet in canon for violin and viola. The scherzo takes flight until the second trio is reached. This trio is full of nervous energy as the instruments play four-note motives throughout. The scherzo returns for one more repeat and a coda brings the scherzo to an end.
IV. Allegro ma non troppo -Schumann begins the finale in the key of G minor and gradually makes his way back to the home key of E-flat major. But Schumann goes even further afield with the second subject as it is in the key of E major. Towards the end of this movement Schumann brings unity to the work by a stroke of contrapuntal prestidigitation as he brings back the first theme of the first movement as the subject of a fugue that uses the first theme of the last movement as a counter subject, in essence a double fugue. All of this complexity gives the five instruments a very large, almost orchestral sound. The work ends in a brilliant fortissimo E-flat major chord.
The set of thirteen miniatures for solo piano that were eventually titled Kinderszenen (Scenes From
Childhood) by Robert Schumann were gleaned from a group that originally contained thirty pieces. Schumann wrote them in 1838 while enduring a separation from his fiancé Clara Wieck, who was a concert pianist and away on tour.
The book of pieces was called Leichte Stücke (Easy Pieces), but Schumann came up with the descriptive titles for each after they had been composed.
1. Von fremden Ländern und Menschen (Of Foreign Lands and Peoples) - Although Schumann called these 'easy' pieces, that doesn't mean they are for children or easy to play musically. They are a set of miniature tone poems for the piano that reflect moods and feelings of Schumann's own childhood. The first piece has a simple motive that reappears in differing guises in some of the other pieces.
2. Kuriose Geschichte (A Curious Story) - Schumann himself said the titles of the pieces were "nothing more than delicate hints for execution and interpretation." What exactly what this curious story is about is left to the listener's imagination.
3. Hasche-Mann (Blind Man's Bluff) - A variant of the children's game of 'tag', this game has a blindfolded person groping about for someone else to 'tag' while they avoid them.
4. Bittendes Kind (Pleading Child) - Whether for a toy, piece of candy or something else, this piece depicts the child begging for something. The piece ends on a 7th chord that doesn't resolve until the next piece
5. Glückes genug (Happy Enough) - This piece resolves the previous one and shows that the child has gotten what it wanted. Schumann told his soon to be wife Clara that the pieces of the set were "more cheerful, gentler, more melodic" than some of his other piano music.
6. Wichtige Begebenheit (An Important Event) - With heavy chords and a left hand melody in the bass in the middle section, this is an important childhood event indeed!
7. Träumerei (Dreaming) - Perhaps the most well known of the set, this piece is like a fine gem, perfect in its feeling and construction. It has become as a song of mourning due to it being played in memorials to World War II, especially in Russia. But it was originally meant to be played a little faster than a dirge.
8. Am Kamin (At the Fireside) - in the key of F major like the previous piece, this conveys the happiness and comfort of sitting by a fire in the evening.
9. Ritter vom Steckenpferd (Knight of the Hobbyhorse) - A picture of a child riding on a rocking horse swinging a toy sword.
10. Fast zu ernst (Almost Too Serious) - Written in G-sharp minor, this piece has the right hand melody tied over the bar line which gives a slight restless syncopation to the music.
11. Fürchtenmachen (Frightening) - Moderate tempo music in the major mode alternates with faster music in the minor mode in imitation of being scared.
12. Kind im Einschlummern (Child Falling Asleep) - Gently moving music that begins in E minor, goes to E major, and ends with the child drifting off in A minor.
13. Der Dichter spricht (The Poet Speaks) - A kind of summing up of what has gone before, and very appropriately titled, for Schumann was a poet of tones. The music ends in the key of G major as it began with the first piece.
The engagement of Robert Schumann and Clara Wieck was a long and difficult one due to Clara's father, who did not approve. He forbade the two from seeing each other, but the two lovers continued to exchange letters and meet in secret until Schumann took the case to court. It wasn't until the court decided in Schumann's favor that the two could marry in 1840.
Before 1840, practically all of Robert Schumann's compositions were for piano solo. Schumann had written a handful of lieder earlier in his career, but he admitted he was not much attracted to the form until the late songs of Schubert were published in about 1838. He studied Schubert's songs and was encouraged to try his hand at writing some of his own by his friend Felix Mendelssohn. His marriage to Clara gave him added incentive and inspiration to write about 140 songs in 1840, which has been called his Year Of Song.
The Liederkreis Opus 24 was the first song cycle that Schumann wrote, with the song cycles by Schubert used as his model. A song cycle is a set of individual songs that have a common element or subject that is shared in each song. Schumann had an affinity for the early poetry of Heinrich Heine and used nine of them as the texts of opus 24. Later in his career Heine began to reject the lyrical Romanticism of his earlier works and became satirical, full of caustic wit, and his radical political views caused his works to be banned by German authorities. He would end his days as an exile in Paris. His change of style can be illustrated by two quotes that are far removed from his lyrical Romantic works:
Whatever tears one may shed, in the end one always blows one's nose...
Nor have I ever seen an ass, at least any four-footed one, that spake as a man, though I have often enough met men who, whenever they opened their mouths, spake as asses.
The theme of the cycle is the Romantic era idea of being in love with the emotions of elation, sadness, and tension that love brings.
1) Morgens steh' ich auf (Every morning I awake and ask) A short song that can be thought to be an introduction, as it sets the tone for the rest of the songs. A simple melody with a simple accompaniment, it segues to the next song : Every morning I awake and ask: Will my sweetheart come today? Every evening I sink and lament: She stayed away again today. All night with grief I lay sleepless, waking, dreaming, half asleep, dreaming, I pass the day. 2) Es treibt mich hin (I'm driven here) The nervous excitement and anticipation of seeing the loved one is reflected in the agitated piano part: I'm driven here, I'm driven there! In only a few hours I will see her, the fairest of fair young women. True heart, how heavily you pound! But the hours are like lazy people! They drag themselves.comfortable and sluggish, creeping and yawn the whole way. Rouse yourself, lazy fool!
A raging hurry seizes and drives me! But the hours are not in love, sworn to a secret, cruel conspiracy they mock the lover's haste.
3) Ich wandelte unter den Baümen (I wandered among the trees)
Romantic poets tended to wander a lot, and here Heine wanders through the trees and has a dialog with the birds about his love: I wandered among the trees,
suffering alone;
along came that old
dream
and crept into my
heart.
Who taught you this
little word,
wee birds up in the heights?
Quiet! if my
heart hears it,
then my pain
will return.
"It came from a
young woman,
who sang it over and over;
that is how we tiny
birds learned
this pretty, golden
word."
Do not
explain this to me now,
you wee, cunning
birds;
you wanted to steal
my grief,
but I trust no
one. 4) Lieb' Liebchen (Dear Sweetheart)
The link between love and death is also represented quite often in Romantic era poems, and here the poet compares his pounding heart to a carpenter that builds his coffin. The song is short, with but one musical sentencethat is repeated, but a careful listener can hear how Schumann adds interest by having the piano anticipate and play the ending of the sentence just before the singer sings it: Dear sweetheart, lay
your hand on my heart;
ah, do you hear the
hammering inside?
inside lives a
carpenter, wicked and evil,
building my
coffin.
He hammers and
pounds day and by night;
it has been long since I could sleep.
Ah, hurry, Mister
Carpenter,
finish so that
I can sleep. 5) Schöne Wiege meine Leiden (Pretty cradle of my sorrows)
A song about love lost, as the poet leaves the town where his sadness occurred. A passionate, beautiful song with an ending played by the piano alone: Pretty cradle of sorrows,
pretty tombstone of
my rest,
pretty town - we
must part,
farewell! I call to
you.
Farewell, holy
thresh hold,
across which my
darling would tread;
farewell! you sacred
spot
where I first saw
her.
I wish I had
never seen you,
lovely queen of my
heart!
Then it would have never happened,
that I would be
so wretched now.
I never wished to
touch your heart,
I never begged for
love;
all I wished was to
lead a quiet life
where your breath
could stir me.
Yet you yourself
pushed me away,
with bitter words at
your lips;
Madness filled my
senses,
and my heart is sick
and wounded.
And my limbs are
heavy and sluggish;
I'll drag myself
forward, leaning on my staff,
until I can lay my
weary head
in a cool and
distant grave. 6) Warte, warte, wilder Schiffsman (Wait, wait, wild boatman) Another about departure, with this one having the lover hustling to try to get on a boat to take him away: Wait, wait, wild boatman,
I'll follow you
to the harbor;
I
am taking my leave from two maidens,
Europe and from
Her.
Stream of blood. run
from my eyes,
stream of blood,
burst from my body,
so that with this
hot blood
I can write of my agonies.
Ah, my dear, why today
do you shudder to
see my blood?
You've seen me pale,
my heart bleeding,
standing before you
for years!
Do you know the old
song
about the serpent in
Paradise
who, by wickedly
giving an apple,
threw our ancestors
into misery?
Apples have caused
every ill!
Eve brought death
through them,
Eris caused the
flames of Troy;
and you have brought
both, flame and death!
7) Berg und Burgen schau'n herunter (Mountains and castles gaze down)
The Rhine River is a favorite of many German poets, and Schumann writes a piano part that flows like the Rhine as the singer compares his love with the river: Mountains and castles gaze down
into the
mirror that is the Rhine,
and my little boat
sails with
the sunshine
glistening around it.
Calmly I watch the
play
of golden waves surging,
silently feelings
arise in me
that I have kept
deep in my heart.
With greetings and promises,
the splendid river beckons,
but I know it -
gleaming above
it conceals death and night within itself.
Above, pleasure; at
heart, malice;
River, you are the
very image of my beloved!
She can nod with as much friendliness,
and smile so devotedly and gently. 8) Anfangs wollt' ich fast verzagen (At first I almost despaired)
A very short song of the survival of the poet despite his lost love: At first I almost despaired,
and I thought I
would never be able to bear it;
but yet, I have
borne it,
do not ask
me how. 9) Mit Myrthen und Rosen (With myrtle and roses)
The poet hopes his love will someday find his book of love songs and that the songs will tell her of his love: With myrtle and roses so lovely,
with cypresses and gold tinsel,
I would decorate
this book like a coffin
and bury my songs
inside.
O if only I could
bury my love there as well!
On the grave of love
grows the blossom of peace;
it blooms and then
is plucked,
yet it will bloom
for me only when I am in the grave.
Here now are the
songs which, once so wild,
like a stream of
lava that flowed from Etna,
burst from the
depths of my heart,
and sprayed glittering
sparks everywhere!
Now they lie mute like death,
now they stare
cold and pale as mist,
but the old glow
will revive them afresh,
when the spirit of
love someday floats above them.
Many poems of Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) have been set to music by many German composers, most notably Schubert and Schumann, as well as composers of other nationalities. Heine's early lyrical style made his poems very attractive to composers in the 20th century also.
Robert Schumann, who was not only a gifted composer but a competent man of letters, first
set music to Heine's poetry in 1840 when Schumann composed at least 138 songs. By that time Heine had moved away from his earlier lyric Romanticism and wrote works that reflected his radical liberal politics. After struggling to make a living writing and struggling against heavy censorship in the German states, Heine traveled to Paris in 1831 and remained there the rest of his life.
Schumann composed two well-known song cycles on Heine's poems. The first was Liederkreis that consists of 9 song settings and Dichterliebe (A Poet's Love) based on 16 poems from Heine's Lyrisches Intermezzo. Schumann set other poems of Heine's as well, notably in his 4 volumes of Romanzen & Balladen. The 4th volume, Opus 64, consists of three songs, two by Eduard Mörike and one, Tragödie by Heine. These songs were composed between 1841-1847. Schumann was well acquainted with Heine's work before 1840 and the two met in Munich in 1828 and Schumann described their meeting in a letter:
Heinrich Heine
I imagined him to be, after the sketch of Herr Krahe, a crochety, misanthropic man, who would be more likely to stand, as if too sublime, above mankind, than to huddle against it. But how different I found him and how different he was, than I had conceived him to be. He engaged me in a friendly fashion, like a humane Greek Anacreon, shook my hand cordially, and took me around Munich for several hours -- none of which I would have expected from a man that had described the Reisebilder(Travel Pictures); there lay only upon his mouth a bitter, ironic smile, but a lofty smile over the trivialities of life and a scorn for the petty person; yet that bitter satire, that one so often perceives in his Reisebilder, that deep, innermost resentment at life that penetrates to one's very marrow, made his conversation very pleasing to me.
Heine's later radical political writings may have turned Schumann against him, for the setting in Opus 64 is the last time Schumann set a Heine poem to music. Tragödie is in three sections:
I. Rasch und mit Feuer (Quickly and with fire) - In the key of E major, the piano reflects the passionate, confident song of the soloist as he tries to convince his love to run away with him, as his love will give her everything she needs. In typical Romantic excess, the singer tells her if she doesn't go with him she will regret it and have nothing.
Oh fly with me and be my love, Rest on my heart, and never rouse; And in strange lands my heart shall be Thy fatherland and father's house. But if you stay, then I die here, And you shall weep and wring your hands ; And even in your father's house You shall be living in strange lands.
II. Langsam (Slowly) - The original poem by Heine had the following heading printed with it: A genuine folk-song; heard by Heine on the Rhine. In direct contrast to the first section, the story of the two lovers is told by the soloist as narrator. The over-confidence of the singer in the first section is replaced by the reality that after the two ran away together without telling even their mothers or fathers, there lives together was one of sadness and wandering and they withered and died as blossoms nipped by frost. In E minor, the piano begins the song with a sigh. The accompaniment has set the stage and continues with sparse, disconnected staccato chords that increase the starkness of the singer as they matter-of-factly relate the short, sad tale. The piano has a final, very soft sigh to end the section.
The hoar-frost fell on a night in Spring, It fell on the young and tender blossoms . . . And they have withered and died. A boy and a girl were once in love ; They fled from the house into the world They told neither father nor mother. They wandered here and they wandered there. They had neither luck nor a star for guide . . . And they have withered and died. III. Langsam -The final section is in C major and is a duet for tenor and soprano. The soloists and piano begin together as the story continues in music that reflects the words; a tree full of birds and soft breezes grows over the grave of the couple. Another couple sit under the tree, grow silent and begin to weep without knowing why. As in the second section, the matter-of-fact style of the words that tell the story creates a mood of starkness, but in this section the starkness is played off music that is gentle and like a folksong. The duet is short, the piano has a solo as it gently works its way to the end. As the music progresses to the end a rather jarring A-flat resolves to a G and the work ends with a C major chord.
Upon their grave a tree stands now With winds and birds in every bough ; And in the green place under it The miller's boy and his sweetheart sit. The winds grow tender, soft and clinging, And softly birds begin their singing. The prattling sweethearts grow silent and sigh, And fall to weeping neither knows why.
The 4 symphonies of Robert Schumann were written from 1841 to 1851, and have been just outside the standard orchestral repertoire. The reasons for this are many. Schumann's technical knowledge of some of the instruments of the orchestra, especially the brass section, wasn't the best. He was in the process of learning more and polishing his technical handling of the orchestra, but his progress was cut short by mental illness that left him unable to compose. But there were other issues as well. Problems with form and balance (real and imagined) many times were corrected by conductors and resulted in performances of Schumann's symphonies that contained much that he did not write.
One of his problematic symphonies was the one written shortly after the Symphony No. 1. This symphony was originally Symphony No. 2, but after a very unsuccessful premiere the work was shelved until Schumann revised the work in 1851. By that time he had completed two other symphonies, so the symphony was numbered Symphony No. 4.
Schumann's revision of the symphony did not change the unique form of the symphony; all four movements are played without a break. He made the transitions between movements smoother, made the overall orchestration richer, and other technical changes that reflect the knowledge he had gained since writing his first symphony ten years previous.
Schumann's wife Clara was as devoted to her husband after he died in 1856 as she was when he was alive. She promoted his work and his memory and acted as editor for his collected works that were published in 1882. She used the revised version of 1851 in the edition as this was the one she preferred, going so far as to say that the first version of 1841 survived only as sketches. Johannes Brahms on the other hand, knew better and preferred the first edition of 1841 and acted as editor when he published it in 1892, much to the objections of Clara. But it is the revised version of 1851 that has become the standard and is most often performed.
I. Ziemlich langsam - Lebhaft -The movement begins with a slow introduction that contains the seed for many of the other themes heard in the work. Schumann took the hints at cyclic form from Beethoven and expanded them into one of the first symphonies composed in the form. Slowly, the introduction gives way to the first lively theme built loosely on the theme within the introduction. Other themes are heard in the exposition, but these are not as well formed as the first one. The exposition is repeated. The development section initially concerns itself with the working out of the first theme. Other themes are heard and expanded, until Schumann begins the development section again in a different key. After this second development has played through, a truncated recapitulation is played which leads to a coda and a segue to the second movement II. Romanze: Ziemlich langsam - A solo cello and solo oboe play a sweet melody that vaguely resembles material heard in the introduction of the first movement, after which a short orchestral interlude leads to a middle section where a solo violin laces its way through the orchestra. The solo cello and oboe return with the opening theme of the movement, which ends with a quiet segue to the third movement. III. Scherzo: Lebhaft - Primitive and accented off the beat, the scherzo changes the mood immediately. After the scherzo, the trio contains music for the violins that is similar to the middle section of the second movement. In all, the scherzo and trio are played twice. After the trio, the music slows down into a mysterious segue to the last movement that contains a reference to the primary theme of the first movement. IV. Langsam; Lebhaft - A slow crescendo grows as the violins play the same reference to the primary theme of the first movement until the orchestra comes to a short pause, after which the primary theme of the finale, which is related to first movement material, is played. This fragment which was originally in D minor has been transformed to D major. Secondary themes are played and Schumann develops them in free fashion. A final new theme is played near the end, after which the music scurries to a close in D major.
In 1850 Robert Schumann accepted the Director Of Music position in the town of Düsseldorf situated in the lower valley of the Rhine river. It was the first time Schumann had lived outside of his native Saxony, and shortly after his arrival he set to work on new compositions. The scenery of the Rhine river inspired the 3rd Symphony (hence its nickname) and with characteristic swiftness Schumann wrote the work in about a month, from early November to early December of 1850. Schumann conducted the premiere of the symphony in Düsseldorf early in 1851.
There is some confusion concerning the numbering of Schumann's 4 symphonies, as the 3rd is actually the last one composed. What is now known as the 4th Symphony was written in 1841 but was withdrawn by Schumann after a poor reception. Schumann didn't return to this withdrawn symphony until 1851 which was after the 'Rhenish' had been published.
The 3rd Symphony 'Rhenish' is in five movements:
I. Lebhaft - The rhythmic first theme begins the work in E-flat and its character has been compared to Beethoven's opening theme of his 3rd Symphony In E-flat 'Eroica'. A short theme acts as a transition to the second more lyrical theme that is mostly carried by the winds. As the second theme continues, it is interrupted by fragments of the first theme until it takes over. The exposition is not repeated. The long development section concerns itself with the two main themes and the short transition theme of the exposition. Schumann modulates to other keys without returning to the home key of E-flat until the climax that leads to the recapitulation. The themes repeat, the first theme dominates the coda and the movement ends. II. Scherzo: Sehr mäßig - Written in the key of C major and called a scherzo, it is more in the spirit of a German Ländler. Schumann originally added the title 'Morning On The Rhine' to the movement but removed it. The ländler is in two sections and is repeated before a trio section in A minor is played. Throughout the entire short movement there is an underlying, gently rolling quality to the music, perhaps revealing its debt to the rolling waters of the Rhine. After the trio section the ländler reappears and is slightly varied, and it leads to a gentle ending.
III. Nicht schnell -A lyrical, short interlude in A-flat major that lends a few moments of calmness to the symphony. IV. Feierlich - Tradition has it that this movement was inspired by Schumann's visit to the Cologne Cathedral where he witnessed the installation of the Archbishop of Cologne. Whether this is true or apocryphal is moot. Schumann originally titled this movement 'In the character of an accompaniment to a solemn ceremony', so it may be a case of what Schumann admitted concerninig some of his other works with titles; that he composed the music first and the title was inspired by the music. All of this doesn't detract from the beauties of the music of this movement, perhaps Schumann's best work for orchestra. Written in E-flat minor, the music begins with a loud chord and proceeds in a solemn tone. Trombones that have been waiting silently the previous three movements make their entrance and add to the solemn progression as the music moves towards a new theme, a chorale. The complexity increases as the music makes its way to an ending that leads directly to the last movement.
V. Lebhaft - The music makes an abrupt change in key (back to E-flat major) and mood as two themes are paraded through the orchestra. A theme from the preceding movement appears and is transformed from its former solemnity to one of brightness. Schumann rounds off the work with a short reference to the theme that began the symphony, and the work proceeds to end with chords in the home key.
After a long (and often times clandestine) courtship, Robert Schumann and Clara Wieck were married in 1840, very much against her father's wishes. Clara's father immediately filed legal charges against the marriage but after a long (and nasty) legal battle the court ruled in favor of the newlyweds. The end of all the stress of the legal battles caused by Clara's father brought forth a burst of creative energy from Schumann. Up until then, all of his compositions were for the piano alone, but now with Clara's urging he began to branch out into works for voice, orchestra, and chamber music.
In 1842 Schumann wrote his first chamber pieces, a piano quartet and piano quintet, and began serious study of the string quartets of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, along with counterpoint and fugue. He also had the opportunity to hear string quartets of these composers played. His labor paid off, as Schumann wrote the three quartets of his opus 41 in two months. In a span of but six months in 1842, Schumann had written these quartets plus three other chamber works.
Schumann's first string quartet is in 4 movements: I. Introduzione: Andante espressivo - Allegro -The first movement begins with a short introduction with the 4 instruments entering one after another until the first theme of the movement proper begins in the 1st violin, in of all things, the key of F Major. This theme is treated fugally, after which what at first appear to be snippets of other themes appear, but in actuality they are but fragments of the main theme. Schumann makes good use of his counterpoint study as the theme is developed this way throughout the movement. As this movement is in sonata form, there is a recapitulation of the opening material.
II. Scherzo: Presto - Intermezzo - The music of this movement (in A minor) at first seems Mendelssohnian, but Schumann gives his own 'bite' to the music as the strings spit out the notes of the dominant rhythm of the scherzo. The trio section of most scherzos remains 3-in-a-bar like the scherzo itself, but Schumann changes it to an alla breve two-in-a-bar.
III. Adagio -A short introduction leads to the main theme played by the violin. The main theme is then taken up by the cello. A central section adds contrast before the opening theme returns.
IV. Presto -The finale begins with an energetic first theme. The second theme also bristles with energy. Themes are developed, after which a contrasting section slow in tempo and consisting of chords accompanying a different theme. The energy of the opening returns in a short coda.
The modern orchestral horn had as its ancestor the valveless 'natural' horn that was used in the military and in hunting to signal the troops or hunters. The valveless horn has a limited range as changes in pitch can only be produced by lip pressure and inserting or removing the hand from the bell of the instrument. Inserting the hand in the bell of the instrument to change pitch was somewhat of a compromise as the tone quality of the instrument changed. The first uses of the horn in the orchestra took into account its limitations and the parts written for them were fairly elementary - the notes of the triad chords, mostly the tonic. The instrument could play in other keys, but that involved inserting or removing an extra length of tubing. These extra lengths of tubing were called 'crooks' and the composers that used the horn early on would write for the horn crooked in a specific key for an entire piece or movement, depending on the notes needed. Later on, composers would ask players to change the key of their horns within a movement, but this took time and had to be taken into consideration.
The valved horn was invented about 1815 and had advantages over the natural horn. It was a fully chromatic instrument, therefore crooks were no longer necessary and the hand in the bell technique was no longer used for pitch change. But as with all new things, it took time to be accepted. Despite the problems of the natural horn, some preferred its tone to the valved counterpart. Even in 1849 when Schumann wrote the Konzertstück For Four Horns And Orchestra it was not assured that orchestras used valved horns. Schumann himself wrote for a pair of valved horns and a pair of natural horns in the work, but four valved horns are usually used in a modern performance.
This work is seldom played, perhaps because it calls for four virtuoso horn players.
The work is in three movements with the 2nd and 3rd played without pause: I. Lebhaft (Lively) - The orchestra begins with two loud chords, and the horn quartet comes in and plays a fanfare. The horns seldom have a rest as they have a spirited dialogue with the orchestra. Schumann was fond of the horn and utilizes all the qualities of expressivity of the instrument in this movement, from tenderness to forcefulness.
II. Romanze -The soft and gentle chords of the horns are the feature if this short movement, which leads directly to...
III. Sehr lebhaft (Very lively) -A return to the mood of the first movement as Schumann has the soloist imitate each other until they come together in a fine statement of horn harmony. The dialogue continues until the finale, when the orchestra and the horns join together and close the work.
Robert Schumann was a multi-talented man who was not only a fine composer and pianist, but a writer and poet as well. He began studying law but soon dropped it in favor of pursuing a career as a concert pianist. He used some sort of a contraption that spread his fingers that was supposed to give him more of a span and better finger strength and agility, but it did the opposite and gave him a permanent hand injury. At least that's how the story has come down. His teacher Friedrich Wieck told him he had the talent to become the greatest virtuoso in Europe, but modern scholarship has thrown doubt as to Schumann's actual desire to be a concert pianist. Whether the injury was real, imagined, or a story devised by Schumann to forgo the arduous training and devote his energies to composing instead, is open to conjecture.
Schumann's compositional output in the beginning was for the piano exclusively until about 1840. In his early works he composed pieces that were some of the first examples of program music, music that was inspired and influenced by literary or other outside forces. He also became a music critic and was instrumental in promoting the music of Chopin, Brahms and other composers.
Schumann eventually ventured into composing for orchestra, chamber music and voice. He wrote many songs, four symphonies and a few pieces for piano and orchestra, of which his only piano concerto, in A minor, is the most notable. This concerto influenced many composers, from Brahms to Grieg, and remains one of Schumann's most popular and well-written pieces. It was premiered in 1846 with his wife Clara as soloist and his friend (and dedicatee) Ferdinand Hiller conducting.
The work is in three movements: I. Allegro affetuoso -After a call to order by the orchestra and the piano, the first theme is heard in the oboe and winds. This theme (and pieces of it) is played through different guises throughout the movement. The piano plays a cadenza near the end and the movement draws to an exciting finish. II.Intermezzo: Andantino grazioso - This is the movement that in some ways foreshadows Brahms and influenced him greatly. Near the end of this gentle song there is a reference to the theme from the first movement, and the second movement segues directly into the last movement. III. Allegro vivace -The theme of this movement is first heard in the piano after a rushing run for the strings. It is one of Schumann's most successful pieces of music as it is full of variety and orchestral color.
Schumann is in many ways the ultimate Romantic. He did help usher in the Romantic era with his compositions and musical critiques. His life was one that was filled with mental brilliance offset by periods of mental imbalance and depression. He would compose at white-hot inspiration at times and have difficulty composing anything at others. His life was a life of excess, a life of fantasy, a life of creativity and ultimately a life that ended in an insane asylum when he was but 46 years old. But he left a legacy of fine compositions, of which the piano concerto is arguably the best of them all.
