Robert Schumann. Symphonic Epigrams

Transcription

1 Robert Schumann Symphonic Epigrams

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3 Zwickau Born June 8, 1810 Literary family: father a bookseller and writer Earliest unpublished compositions date from around 1822 Psalm settings for chorus & orchestra Piano concertos (begun but not completed)

4 Heidelberg Law student in 1829 But music was to be his great passion Wrote some short piano pieces during this time.

5 Settled in Leipzig in 1830 to study with Friedrich Wieck, an outstanding piano teacher of the era. Leipzig

6 Clara Wieck Schumann Wieck s daughter Clara would become both Schumann s wife (after a long and bitter battle with Wieck), and one of the greatest pianists of the 19th century.

7 Began working on his Opus 1, the Abegg Variations for solo piano. Opus 1

8 Abegg Variations From the start, a cigar was never a cigar for Robert Schumann. The Abegg refers to Pauline, Comtesse d Abegg (probably fictional). The main theme outlines the notes A-B-flat-E-G-G. So it s a kind of musical cipher. Also typically, the ABEGG theme stops being less important as the piece progress, more powered by its internal logic then the theme itself.

9 Abegg Variations Theme Clara Haskil, piano

10 Journalism By 1831 Schumann was well established as a musical journalist. He was particularly good about identifying promising new compositional talent.

11 Journalist: Chopin Hats off, gentlemen! A genius

12 Journalist: Brahms Destined to give ideal expression to the times

13 No more Piano Schumann ruined his piano-playing career via a gizmo called a chiroplast. He wound up with a nearly useless left-hand middle finger.

14 Program Cycles With Schumann s Opus 2, Papillons, we enter the programmatic keyboard cycles that figure so prominently in his output. Papillons Carnaval Kreisleriana Davidsbundlertanze Faschingsschwank aus Wien

15 The Cast Eusebius Florestan Master Raro Chiarina Coquette The Davidsbündler

16 The Style One small idea is typically used in any given piece. That small idea isn t really developed: usually it is repeated, maybe with slight variation. Not a technique conducive to larger development, but highly effective for shorter pieces.

17 Eusebius The basic idea Adagio &b b b2 4 œ œ œn7 œ? 2 b b b 4 sotto voce œ œ nœ b b œ œ œ œ œ nœ œ

18 Eusebius Repeat a step higher œ œ œn 7 œ œ œ œ œ nœ

19 Eusebius Repeat lower œbœ 7 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

20 Eusebius Add a little finishing figure. œ œ œ œ œ

21 Eusebius But if you just play it, nothing much happens. Adagio & bb 2 7 b4 œ œ œnœ? b b 2 b 4 sotto voce œ œ nœ 7 œ œ œnœ œ nœ œ œ œ œ bœ 7 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 5 & bb b 7 œ œ œ nœ œ œ nœ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ 7? b b b œ 7 nœ œ œ

22 Eusebius The performer s imagination & sensitivity are of paramount importance. It s all in the nuance, suggestion, and tone coloring. Played it completely off the cuff, without any foreplanning or really thinking very much about what I m going to do.

23 Carnaval A series of portraits of guests at a masked ball Archetypes and real people combined Harlequin Columbine Pierrot Schumann himself Chopin Paganini

24 Carnaval Three selections: Eusebius The dreamy, poetic side Florestan Impetuous and dynamic Chiarina A portait of teenaged Clara Wieck

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26 Song Cycles Given his literary interests, and his highly subjective approach to composition, it isn t surprising that Schumann would be a superb composer of lieder, or art songs. Typically he arranges his songs into cycles i.e., songs sharing an idea, or telling a complete story.

27 Dichterliebe Tells of a poet s love, from initial infatuation to final disillusionment. The opening song Im wunderschönen Monat Mai, sets the style for the whole ambiguous, dreamy, ending without any clear resolution.

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29 Symphonies G Minor Zwickau No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 38 Spring No. 2 in C Major, Op. 61 No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 97 Rhenish No. 4 in D Minor, Op. 120

30 Zwickau Written around Definitely the work of a raw but nonetheless stupendously gifted composer. Starts out with a bang, with an impetuous primary theme that leads well into a more subdued secondary theme, and a nicely-hued closing theme.

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32 Symphony No. 1 Written in a wave of euphoria (Clara was pregnant with their first child). Written (typically) very quickly. Inception: January 23, 1841 Tryout: March 26 Premiere: March 31 Sold for publication: April 8 But not until 1853 did the score reach its final version.

33 Symphony No. 1 The famous goof in the opening. Schumann had written it for the (valveless) horns, but gave them notes they couldn t play at the volume he requested. Fortunately, Felix Mendelssohn (conductor) stepped in and had him move them up a third and in that guise they became an important motto theme for the entire work.

34 Symphony No. 1 (More or less) the way Schumann originally wanted it.

35 Symphony No. 1 The way it wound up.

36 Symphony No. 1 Spring Wolfgang Sawallich Staatskapelle Dresden First Movement Recapitulation & Coda

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38 Symphony No. 2 Inspired by the premiere of the Schubert Ninth Symphony, on December 9, Actually written after the first version of Symphony No. 4 in D Minor. Schumann was recovering from a low end of his bipolar disorder.

39 I sketched it out while suffering severe physical pain; indeed, I may well call it the struggle of my mind, which influenced this, and by which I sought to beat off my disease. The first movement is full of this struggle, and is very peevish and perverse in character.

40 Symphony No. 2 The third movement is particularly worthwhile. In standard A-B-A aria form, the two A sections contain phrases a and b. The B section is a short quasi-fugue.

41 A a C Minor b E-flat Major a 1 F Minor a 2 C Minor Violins Horns Winds Violins B Quasi-fugue. Mostly strings with wind support. A a 3 C Minor Flutes & Oboes b C Major Flute, Violin & Horn a 4 C Major Clarinet, Oboe a 5 C Major Violins Coda Variations of phrase a, mostly violins

42 Symphony No. 2 Wolfgang Sawallich Staatskapelle Dresden III: Adagio espressivo

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44 Symphony No. 3 Rhenish in E-flat Major Dates from December 1850, when the Schumanns had moved to Düsseldorf, where Schumann had accepted the conductor s position of the orchestra. He was never to be much of a conductor, but at first he was inspired and energized by his new position.

45 Symphony No. 3 Exactly how much the Rhenish has to do with the Rhineland, or to Cologne (apparently one of the inspirations), remains a matter of conjecture. The fourth movement is a solemn ceremony apparently inspired by a processional at Cologne Cathedral.

46 Symphony No. 3 Rhenish Wolfgang Sawallich Staatskapelle Dresden V: Lebhaft

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48 The Orchestrator Was Schumann as terrible an orchestrator as some commentators seem to think? Most of the improvements conductors and arrangers make are in the matter of dynamics and thinning out some of the extra doublings, nothing more. Even Gustav Mahler s reworkings don t change the originals all that much.

49 Conductor However, there is no question but that he was a terrible conductor. Some of the orchestration problems in the 4th symphony stem from his attempts to foolproof the work so even his hamhanded conducting couldn t ruin it.

50 Illness Schumann s bipolar disorder grew worse in the early 1850s. He was admitted to a sanitorium in Endenich, on the outskirts of Bonn. His mental condition slowly deteriorated and his physical state along with it.

51 Illness The actual cause of his death remains uncertain. Tertiary syphilis still remains a possibility. The many medications may have played a part. He stopped eating almost altogether during the last two months.

52 Illness Schumann died in the sanitorium on July 29, He was 46 years old. The last of Robert and Clara s children, Eugenie, died in 1938.

53 Symphony No. 4 Wilhelm Fürtwangler Berlin Philharmonic II: Romanze

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