Schumann Week 2

Symphonic Variations Op. 13

Thema: Andante- I enjoy the simplicity of the theme, as well as the fact that Schumann begins with something that is beautiful in simple rhythmic structures. I often find that the opening theme of variations is unbelievably boring, and is only made interesting when the variation style becomes extremely complicated. I note that the origin of the theme is from Baronvon Fricken, this causes me to consider Beethoven's Diabelli Variations. It will be interesting for me to see how the idea of variations mixes with the composition of etudes, since I have always seen variations as being etude-like. This could possibly be a bridge from the variations of Beethoven to the etudes of Liszt, of which most are extremely reminiscent of variations (La campanella, Un Sospiro...).

Etude I (Variation 1) - Un poco più vivo- Upon a first glance and surface listening this seems to be an etude on polyphony. Upon a further investigation it seems to have elements that cause me to believe that the stretching of the hand is also important to the design, perhaps if the idea was to work on proper voicing when the hand is awkwardly positioned.

Etude II (Variation 2) - Andante- This is no doubt an etude on repeated chords and melodic projection. The melody has been made difficult by a thick underlying texture and a necessity to play the melody with the weaker fingers (fifth and fourth). Sounds like Vallee D'Obermann.

Etude III - Vivace - This is the first etude from the set which is not a variation on the theme. This is also the first notably etude-like, for me. This has obvious romantic techniques similar to other composer’s etudes (Un Sospiro-Liszt, Ocean Etude-Chopin). The idea of this etude is not only to accomplish a freedom of fluency with the opposing ends of the hand, but also to accomplish a feeling of unified and stable legato with the left hand. The presence of the staccato indications without a slur makes it necessary to limit the presence of the pedal, thus making the legato more difficult to achieve.

Etude IV (Variation 3) - Allegro marcato- This is obviously an etude on clean chord playing. The presence of the rests not only makes this march-like, but also necessitates a clean articulation. This makes it difficult to blur mistaken notes, but requires the performer to plan ahead for each chord.

Etude V (Variation 4) - Scherzando- This must be an etude on performer clean dotted-rhythms. The presence of hand positions that are typical difficult for pianists to play cleanly are also important (octaves, sixths, unison hands).

Etude VI (Variation 5) - Agitato- This is an etude on broken-chord figuration which necessitates a sturdy control of arm-weight manipulation. Even more important than the broken-chords may be the irregular rhythm which causes an intense demand of both freedom of left-hand (not relying only on strong-beats) but also the ability to divide irregular rhythms evenly between two hands.

Etude VII (Variation 6) - Allegro molto- I am able to spot the technical challenge of this etude with great ease, due to my struggles with the Rachmaninoff second concerto. This etude focuses on difficult trill/mordent figurations, notably at both the octave and occurring in a non-melodic voice while a chord is being played with the opposite side of the hand.

Etude VIII (Variation 7) - Sempre marcatissimo- The difficulty with this etude would be the execution of rolling scales. Though rolling scales are not necessarily difficult on their own, they must not be made the melody here. The melody is purposely set to have longer rhythmic values to necessitate a difference in articulation between the two voices. Volume alone will not suffice in separating the voices, articulation are vital.

Etude IX - Presto possibile- If anything I would say that this etude, which is not one of the variations, must be an etude on generally swift playing. Almost everything is stacatto, which if it was not would be nearly impossible to play at this quick tempo. The figuration's in the first section require the hand to remain in one position per measure, the hand is required to change fingering and shape within this position, requiring that the keys be depressed by use of arm weight since the hand will be too busy creating formations to work with any pushing motions. Later on the hand positions will have to alternate based on different weaker beats due to the presence of octaves which are mixed into the staccato scales.

Etude X (Variation 8) - Allegro con energia- This is another etude that could have been a favorite of Rachmaninoff. This one is an etude on playing thick chords in a swift dotted rhythm. The challenge in this lies in the necessity to be able to navigate from one thick chord directly into another, rather than having the ability to play the chord and have time to navigate while the pedal holds it. The ascending and awkwardly chromatic four note groups in the left hand may be an important issue of study as well.

Etude XI (Variation 9) - Andante espressivo- This etude is primarily on the awkward alberti-bass figuration which lasts throughout with the left hand. The difficult polyrhythms between hands will also be an important part of the etude, but once again the alberti figure must be mastered first in order to be able to move the rhythms freely and lyrically in the right-hand. The Dynamic contrasts are to add not only to emotion but also to difficulty of execution on a technique which requires a command of arm-weight.

Etude XII (Finale) - Allegro brillante (based on Marschner's theme) - This etude is based on a separate theme from the opera Der Templer und die Judin, based on Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe.
If I were to call this an etude on anything I would say that it was meant to be an etude on thick symphonic textures, hence the title, also double-note playing later on. I would say that this is not an etude in the traditional sense. This seems to be more about the music than the technique, perhaps it could be called a musical etude, despite the fact that people tend to associate musical etudes with slow and lyrical works.

Kreisleriana, Op. 16

Charles Rosen writes of this work that it is less based on E. T. A. Hoffman's essays titled Kreisleriana and more on the work Cats Growl which features Johannes Kreisleriana as the hero. The story is of duality in perspective between Kreisler who is unable to see his world as the cat does, and Tom-Cat Murr who writes his autobiography throughout the story. This duality in perspective could have struck a chord with Schumann who had dual personalities as well. This mix of passion with self-imposed grounding of reality is what makes this work of Schumann so notably unique.

1. Äußerst bewegt (Extremely moved), D minor- The essential characteristic of this opening is found in its passion and violence. The sounds of violence are here created by rhythmic discordance. Rosen writes of this that in the original manuscript the notation was different. The stems were originally broken to signify that the natural articulation should not be the triplet stem; these ideas separate themselves within the notation. Somewhere along the line the notation was simplified and the work now takes on a more unified triplet feeling because of this.

2. Sehr innig und nicht zu rasch (Very inwardly and not too quickly), B-flat major- There is an obvious change in personality with this movement. Eusebius is certainly the narrator of this dream-like vision. Here the hero is not first concerned with violence or passion, but rather just the joys of the whimsical. The hero emerges within the intermezzi. I see here that Schumann relished in peaceful thoughts, but the conflict was never resolved, the Florestan side of things would always emerge to excite those feelings of complacency.

3. Sehr aufgeregt (Very agitated), G minor- Here we see a reverse of the last movement, not only in character but also in key. The last movement had a tonal shift of Bb-Gm-Bb, and this one is its opposite. Florestan emerges with his agitated triplets and off-set octaves until calm sets as if in a storm and peace is achieved. The feeling of agitation is ultimately "pounded" into the music at its close where the texture thins but each note is accented.

4. Sehr langsam (Very slowly), B-flat major- This piece is very improvisational in several aspects.
a) Wandering tonality
b) Irregular phrase length (12 beats in an 8 beat bar)
c) Heavy use of ritardandi
d) Middle section with figuration style accompaniment (much like a Bach prelude)

5. Sehr lebhaft (Very lively), G minor- Here we see a crystal-clear employment of the typical dotted rhythms which we know so well from Schumann. We have a middle section that is rich in hemiola's as well as an example of Schumann's new found ability to transition seamlessly between both ideas and accompaniments (Rosen states that previously Schumann would nearly exhaust one accompaniment rhythm due probably to a compositional weakness for transitions).

6. Sehr langsam (Very slowly), B-flat major- I believe that in this movement we find not only beauty in simplicity, but also Schumann’s love and dedication to the music of Bach. This is one of the few pieces of romantic style music I have heard which utilizes so effectively the use of the sequence as the succession of fifths.

7. Sehr rasch (Very fast), C minor- Here we see the epitome of "fast and fiery" from the pen of Schumann. The unyielding figuration of the right-hand mixed with the sforzandi octaves cause a feeling of perpetual movement and intensity. This movement is unique in that it ends at its softest point and ends not on a perfect cadence, nor a half cadence, but rather on a 6-4 chord. This is particularly odd because this constitutes as a IV6/4 chord in the following movement.

8. Schnell und spielend (Fast and playful), G minor- Here we have a playful use of rhythms in the bass, of which Rosen has amusing input. Schumann writes that the bass should be "light and free". Rosen comments that the bass is not free, but rather on sounds free, and in order for this to happen the performer must play it absolutely strictly from the notation. This piece as a finale plays into the satire of the concept I believe. One would expect the work to finish loud and fast or soft and slow, rather Schumann uses this movement to end fast and soft, this being a much unexpected series of events.