Four Centuries of Great Music January 23, 2021 The Piano Music of Robert Schumann Episode 2

Today on Four Centuries of Great Music we are continuing to celebrate the piano music of Robert Schumann.  On Contemporary Classics over the past couple of weeks you have heard of the importance of Schumann’s piano music was to the compositions of Martin Bresnick.  Later today we will be talking with William Bolcom about his new piano performance album “Schumann: Album for the Young” and in a couple of weeks you will hear about how Schumann’s “Kinderszenen” influences a work by composer Eric Nathan.  So with all these folks talking about the piano music of Robert Schumann, I thought it was definitely deserving of another episode of Four Centuries of Great Music.  

Lets open today’s show with Robert Schumann - Papillons, Op. 2.  Papillons (French for "butterflies"), Op. 2, is a suite of piano pieces written in 1831 by Robert Schumann when he was 21 years old. The work is meant to represent a masked ball.  

The suite begins with a six-measure introduction before launching into a variety of dance-like movements. Each movement is unrelated to the preceding ones.  Repeated notes near the end of the piece suggest a clock striking, signifying the end of the ball.

In recording on today's program Andrea Botticelli is performing on a replica of a typical Viennese fortepiano from the 1830’s built by Conrad Graf. This is an attempt to re-discover the performance of works on this album with performance practices of the early 19th century.

Next is Robert Schumann’s Kinderszenen  Op. 15.  Schumann wrote 30 movements for this work but chose 13 for the final version.   The other movements were used in the works later in his career as a composer.   Kinderszenen was written to illustrate different aspects of childhood, from games to story telling to sleep and dreaming.  The seventh movement Träumerei, is one of Schumann's best known pieces.

Let close this hour with Robert Schumann’s Piano Sonata No. 2 in G minor Op.  22.  Among his sonatas, this one is very frequently performed and recorded. Because of its great variety and highly virtuosic demands, it is enjoyed both by audiences and performers alike.   It is in The four movements are:
So rasch wie möglich ("As quickly as possible" — however, near the end, Schumann writes "Schneller" and then "Noch schneller", meaning "Faster" and "Still faster");  Andantino. Getragen (Solemn/Dignified);  Scherzo. Sehr rasch und markiert (Very quick and marked) and Rondo. Presto possible, Prestissimo, quasi cadenza

Lets open the second hour featuring the music of our second show celebrating the piano music of Robert Schumann with his The Fantasie in C major, Op. 17.  Written in 1836. It was revised prior to publication in 1839, when it was dedicated to Franz Liszt. It is generally described as one of Schumann's greatest works for solo piano, and is one of the central piano works of the early Romantic period. It is often called by the Italian version, Fantasia; the word "Fantasie" is the German spelling.

Rather than like formless Fantasies later in the romantic period Schumann’s Fantasie is in loose sonata form. Its three movements are headed: 1. Durchaus phantastisch und leidenschaftlich vorzutragen (Quite fantastic and passionate to deliver),  2. Mässig. Durchaus energisch  (Moderate- Quite energetic), and  3.  Langsam getragen. Durchweg leise zu halten (Carried slowly-To keep quiet throughout).


We are going to close this week as we did last week with some of Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, Op. 12  Books 1 & 2:  Des Abends, Aufschwung, Grillen, Fabel, Traumes Wirren,  Ende vom Lied and Warum?