Concerto for piano and orchestra in A minor (Clara Schumann)

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The Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in A minor, Op. 7, is a romantic piano concerto by Clara Schumann . It is her only work with orchestra that has survived.

background

The first sketches for the work were made in 1832, when Clara (then still Clara Wieck) was only 13 years old. First the third movement was created in the form of a one-movement concert piece. Her later husband Robert Schumann supported her with the orchestration and handed it over to her, worked out by him on February 24, 1834. She performed the piece several times in concerts. From June 1834, the other two movements were composed, which she orchestrated independently. On September 1, 1835, she informed Schumann that she had finished the concert.

At the premiere on November 9, 1835 under the direction of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy in the Leipzig Gewandhaus , the composer played the solo part on the piano. After a revision, this concert was published on January 27, 1837 by the German publisher Friedrich Hofmeister in Leipzig as the “Premier Concert pour le Piano-Forte avec accompagnement d'Orchestre” .

In addition to the piano, two flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets as well as trombones, timpani and strings are part of the orchestra.

Work description

From a formal point of view, the individual movements do not completely correspond to structures such as the sonata main movement form (movement 1) or a rondo (movement 3). The piano dominates throughout the work. In the second movement, the piano plays completely alone in the first 38 bars. In the first movement, too, the typical form of dialogue between the solo part and the orchestra is not really present.

First movement: Allegro maestoso

The first movement is in 4/4 time; Clara Schumann gives 116 beats per minute as the metronome . The orchestra introduces the theme up to measure 16. For five bars, the piano appears with octavated runs from bar 17. In bar 31 the piano begins the transition and introduces the theme from bar 37. Only in bar 77 does the orchestra come more to the fore. From bar 87 the piano plays five bars without accompaniment. Here Schumann modulates in A flat major. Over time, the orchestra rises again to become an equal partner. After bars 107 and 108, in which Schumann did not write any accidentals, she used the dominant E major from bar 109 onwards . The pianist proves his skills through runs. From bar 130 the orchestra plays completely alone until bar 145. In bar 146 the piano alone begins the transition to the second movement. The second sentence should follow immediately, so that as little time as possible passes between the sentences.

Second movement: romance. Andante non troppo con grazia

The second movement is also in 4/4 time; The composer gives 80 beats per minute as the metronome. As already indicated tonally in the previous sentence, this movement is in A flat major. From bar 38 the piano is only accompanied by a cello. Bars 24 to 36 are notated in E major. The cello takes over the theme here and there. Bars 62 to 66, accompanied by timpani instead of the cello, seamlessly introduce the piano to the final movement. Only two instrumentalists (pianist and cellist) play this movement.

Third movement: finale. Allegro non troppo

The movement is in 3/4 time. After an orchestral introduction over four bars, the piano plays solo. Only from bar 18 does the orchestra join in again as accompaniment, and in bar 24 the piano pauses for a short time. The piano is dominant almost the entire time, so there is no real dialogue character. From bar 96 this movement is in A major. Finally Clara Schumann begins to modulate again in bar 147, uses F major from bar 161 and then changes over D minor and E major from bar 201 to A minor. The piano pauses the three bars before. Bars 244 to 289 are in E minor. After switching to the basic key, Schumann uses a 2/4 time until the end. Piano and orchestra end in unison in measure 356 . This sentence is conceived as a rondo . Since the individual sections hardly contrast, it could also be seen as a set of variations .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Christian Kosfeld: WDR 3 work review: Clara Schumann's piano concerto. In: WDR 3 , February 3, 2018, accessed on August 3, 2020.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Supplement to CD Clara and Robert Schumann: Instrumental Concerts (PDF) on eclassical.com, accessed on August 3, 2020.
  3. ↑ James Reel: Clara Wieck Schumann Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 7. Work information from Allmusic , accessed on August 3, 2020.