Program Notes, 2010
by Durrell Bowman

July 2 – Festival Fridays

Robert Schumann

Three Romances for Oboe and Piano

German composer and music critic Robert Schumann (1810-56) was profoundly influenced by literature and by an arduous battle for the love of his life. However, he also increasingly suffered from mental problems, attempted suicide in his early forties, and spent his final years in an asylum.

Schumann first met pianist-composer Clara Wieck (1819-96) in Leipzig, when she was nine and he was studying piano with her father. He was nine years older than Clara, but they eventually fell in love, first kissing in 1835! After a lengthy struggle with her father and Clara finally approaching the age of consent (21), they married in 1840. Schumann at first showed considerable promise as a pianist, but a finger ailment in his right hand led to his focus more exclusively on composition and critical writing.

In the 1830s, Schumann created a semi-fictional musical-literary society (the League of David, i.e., against the Philistines) and helped to establish Leipzig's New Journal for Music. He wrote detailed discussions of works by other composers and spoke favorably of the new Romantic idioms. He also invented contrasting characters (including fiery Florestan and dreamer Eusebius) to enliven certain debates. His works from this period include the:

Davidsbündlertänze (performed on July 21)
Symphonic Etudes (July 14)

Schumann often referenced Clara or her compositions in his own works of the mid to late 1930s. Their marriage then precipitated his "Year of Song" (1840-41), when he wrote 125 art songs, including the song cycle Dichterliebe (The Poet's Love). In 1842-43, Schumann composed a considerable amount of chamber music. His works in this period included the:

From 1845 to 1849, he wrote his:

Piano Concerto in A minor
Piano Trio No. 2 in F major (July 30)
Fantasy Pieces for Clarinet and Piano (July 9)
Five Pieces in Folk Style (July 19)
Three Romances for Oboe and Piano

Schumann's late works (1851-53) include the:

Violin Sonata No. 2 in D minor (July 26)
Märchenerzählungen (July 7)

Three Romances for Oboe and Piano (Op. 94, 1849)

These song-like works are not particularly virtuosic. They demonstrate that artistically-successful works do not need to be overly complex. The first piece ("Not fast") is calm, with an expressive oboe theme and an inventive piano accompaniment. The second piece ("Simply, heartfelt") is similar to the first one, but it features a relatively edgy middle section. The third piece ("Not fast") inverts the approach of the earlier ones not only by being more rhythmically active and starker, but also by providing a middle section that is reminiscent of the calmness of the first two pieces.

Piano Quintet in E-flat major (Op. 44, 1842)

This work followed Schumann's three string quartets and added the instrument he first knew best: the piano. The first movement ("Brilliantly fast") begins quite fervently. The second theme is then a conversation between the cello and the viola. The development is fragmentary and moves through many keys. The second movement ("March-like, a bit broadly") is something like a funeral dirge, but with the second theme providing some degree of hope. The middle section is an agitated torrent that is sometimes crass. After a return to the dirge-like march, the movement ends with a strange, unearthly chord. The third movement Scherzo ("Really lively") returns to the aesthetic of the first movement and is unusual in having two trio sections. The opening of the percussive fourth movement ("Fast, but not too much") eventually gives way to a much more contrapuntal ending. The coda combines the main themes of the work's first movement and its fourth movement.

Piano Concerto in A minor (Op. 54, 1845)

In 1842, Schumann followed his "Year of Song" with his first orchestral works. These included the Fantaisie in A minor for piano and orchestra that eventually became the opening movement of his piano concerto. Clara Schumann performed the piano part at the concerto's premiere. The work displays a characteristic Romantic era interest in thematic unity among its three movements. However, Franz Liszt felt that Schumann did not make use of enough virtuoso piano elements, and he jokingly called his colleague's work a "concerto without piano." The opening movement ("Affectedly fast") begins with a striking gesture that surges downwards. The stately main theme spawns much material, including the diverse development section, and the movement also includes an emotional cadenza. The second movement Intermezzo ("Gracefully slowish") features melodic material that ranges widely in its emotional character. The closing movement ("Quickly, with life") begins without pause and first explores a major-key variation of the opening movement's main theme. The movement's jubilant, ascending, dance-like theme is varied throughout.

Program Notes, 2010 by Durrell Bowman

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