Piano Concerto (Schumann)

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The Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 54, is a romantic solo concerto for piano and orchestra by Robert Schumann . He completed the concert in 1845 and had it performed for the first time in December of that year. The concert, which was created during the High Romantic period, has many characteristics of the Romantic era. Like some other piano concertos of the 19th century, the A minor concert has a symphonic character (see principle of fusion ). Since the work was initially conceived as a fantasy, the entire concert is under romantic and fantastic impressions. It took Schumann more than five years for the delayed completion. On the title page of the autograph, Schumann points out the different times when the movements were composed.

Emergence

Robert Schumann 1839

Schumann had already made several attempts at composing piano concertos . In 1828 he began a concerto in E flat major and from 1829 to 1831 he worked on a concerto in F major, but none of this work was completed. On January 10th, 1833, Schumann first expressed the idea of ​​writing a piano concerto in A minor. In a letter to his future father-in-law Friedrich Wieck , he said: "I think the piano concerto should be in C major or A minor." In 1841, from May 17th to 20th, the Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra in A minor was created . Schumann tried unsuccessfully to apply this one-movement work to publishers. The movement, labeled Allegro affettuoso for pianoforte with accompaniment of the orchestra, op. 48 , could not be sold by any publisher on its own. In August 1841 and January 1843 Schumann revised the sentence, but remained unsuccessful. So he decided to enlarge the work to a piano concerto. In 1845 Schumann added an intermezzo and a rondo and completed the piano concerto.

The first performance of the first movement ( Fantasy ) took place on August 13, 1841 in the Leipzig Gewandhaus with the soloist Clara Schumann . The complete 3-movement version was premiered in Dresden on December 4, 1845 again with his wife Clara Schumann at the piano and the dedicatee Ferdinand Hiller as conductor. Unlike many piano concertos of the Romantic period, the concert was received with enthusiasm. After the premiere, Clara Schumann wrote: "... how rich in invention, how interesting it is from beginning to end, how fresh and what a beautiful coherent whole!"

To the music

occupation

For his Piano Concerto in A minor, Schumann chooses the usual line-up for early Romantic concerts . The orchestra consists of pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns and trumpets. There are also timpani and a string orchestra of medium but symphonic size. The duration of the concert is around 30 to 35 minutes, depending on the interpretation.

1st movement: Allegro affettuoso

The main movement of the A minor Concerto has taken on the name Allegro affettuoso , which originated in the one-movement fantasy. The movement is in 4/4 time. Like most of Schumann's works, the concert is also under the impression of the conflict between the stormy Florestan and the dreamy Eusebius .

The monumental movement in A minor begins with a dominant strike by the orchestra. This exposure chord is followed by a descending, rhythmically concise chord sequence of the solo piano that corresponds to the ideal of Florestan. Only then does the dreamy main theme corresponding to the ideal of Eusebius sound, performed by the woodwinds. The melody is played by the first oboe and begins with the notes C - B - A - A, which stand for the Italian spelling of the first name CH i A r A of Robert Schuman's wife Clara Schumann , who performed as a soloist in the premiere of the piano concerto Has.

In the course of the first movement, Schumann varied this theme in a variety of ways. While the solo instrument is dedicated to the main idea of ​​the concerto, the strings begin to intone a Florestan, syncopated side thought (bar 41). As a result, this thought becomes dominant until the main theme recurs, quietly and urgently, in a varied form.

This is followed by a subordinate movement called Animato , up to the end of which Schumann introduces a second theme, which, however, does not reach the rank of the main theme.

The execution of the main movement begins with an impressive lament (measure 156). This has almost the rank of an independent middle section. In A flat major, the metrically altered main theme is played around with piano arpeggios. Suddenly, however, chords of the Florestan theme break the peace of the main theme. A struggle ensues between the two ideals, which characterizes the further development with quick changes of solos and tutti.

With further increases and the modulation according to A minor, the recapitulation is produced, which almost literally reproduces the exposition. The last tense increase produces a solo cadenza of monumental size and virtuosity (bar 402). It is undoubtedly the culmination of the sentence.

In the coda, a throbbing, mysterious 2/4 rhythm dominates the action. A little later this is transformed into a militant Bundestag march. The main movement of the concerto ends with four tutti chords.

2nd movement: Intermezzo

The second movement in F major, performance designation Andantino grazioso , begins with a sensitive melody, played by strings and piano. The theme of the movement follows with the onset of the cellos, so the piano takes on a more accompanying function. This is followed by a small reprise of the theme from the first movement before the third movement begins immediately afterwards.

3rd movement: Allegro vivace

The theme of this movement in A major is introduced by the piano in a lively manner over the powerful orchestral accompaniment. Overall, the movement is characterized by extremely varied and colorful piano playing, with interesting temporal structures. The finale captivates with the piano's powerful bass runs and ends dramatically over a drum roll .

intention

Despite its three movements, the work has retained the character of a fantasy . The basic ideas of the work are longing and the happiness of two loving people. In this work Schumann puts his fight for Clara Wieck into music. The main theme of the first movement is similar to the melody of the Florestan aria from Beethoven's opera Fidelio . Congruent to Beethoven, this theme also stands for loyalty to the husband and the struggle for freedom with Schumann. A particular concern of Schumann in all of his works is the fight against philistineism . In his A minor concerto, too, the battle against Philistine qualities is musically fought.

reception

The contemporary reception of the work was consistently positive. The skillful, colorful and independent treatment of the orchestra, which leaves room for both piano and orchestra, was particularly emphasized. The Leipziger Allgemeine Musikzeitung praised the composition on December 31:

"Because she happily avoids the usual monotony of the genre and does her full justice to the completely obligatory orchestral part, worked with great love and care, without affecting the impression of the piano performance, and knows how to preserve their independence in a beautiful connection."

The Dresdner Abendzeitung praised the “completely independent, beautiful and interestingly conducted orchestral treatment” and recognized that the strong “receding of the piano part into the background” could also be seen as progress.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Juan Martin Koch: The Piano Concerto of the 19th Century and the Category of the Symphonic. Page 213. See also references
  2. ↑ Hansjürgen Schaefer: Concert Book Orchestermusik PZ, page 313. See also references.
  3. ^ A b Hans Jürgen Schaefer: Concert Book Orchestermusik PZ page 314. See also references
  4. ^ Hansjürgen Schaefer: concert book orchestral music PZ. Page 315. See also references.
  5. ^ Critique of the premiere, published on December 31, 1845 in the Leipziger Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung ; Quoted from August Gerstmaier: Robert Schumann - Piano Concerto in A minor , op. 54, Wilhelm Fink Verlag, Munich, 1986, ISBN 3770523431 , page 40
  6. ^ Critique of the world premiere on December 4, 1845 in the Dresdner Abendzeitung ; quoted from August Gerstmaier: Robert Schumann - Piano Concerto in A minor , op. 54, page 39

literature

  • Hansjuergen Schaefer: concert book orchestral music PZ. VEB German publishing house for music, Leipzig 1958.
  • Juan Martin Koch: The 19th Century Piano Concerto and the Symphonic Category. Studio-Verlag, 2001, ISBN 3-89564-060-3 .
  • August Gerstmeier: Robert Schumann - Piano Concerto in A minor. Wilhelm Fink Verlag, Munich 1986, ISBN 3-77052-343-1 .

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