Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 9

The young Johannes Brahms (around 1855)

The Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann, Op. 9, are the first independent set of variations by Johannes Brahms . He wrote it from June to August 1854 in Düsseldorf and dedicated it to Clara Schumann . As the theme for the 16 piano variations , he chose the first of the five album leaves in F sharp minor by Robert Schumann from his collection of Bunte Blätter op.99 .

Like no other work, the variations are recognizable under the influence of the Schumanns and can be understood as homage.

While at the time of going to press he considered the cycle to be his best composition to date, it later became clear to him that the chosen direction of the romantic fantasy variations with the many allusions and poetic approach was no longer an option for him.

Clara and Robert Schumann

The references already result from the information in the autograph. The headline “Small Variations on a Theme by Him./ Your Appropriated” alludes to a work by Clara Schumann. Her husband was already being treated in the sanatorium when Brahms reacted to her Seven Variations op.20, in which she had taken up the same theme and which were intended as a birthday present on June 8, 1853. Her and Brahms' Variations were printed at the same time in 1854. The additional comment “Rose and heliotrope smelled” referred to Variations X and XI, which he composed afterwards on the occasion of Clara’s name day.

Brahms headed the individual pieces with the letters "B" for Brahms and "Kr" for "Kreisler", the literary figure who explains the title of Schumann's important Kreisleriana . At the same time he underlined a contrast within the composition that is reminiscent of the opposing pair Florestan and Eusebius .

To the music

Robert Schumann drawing by Adolph Menzel

The work shows a clear similarity to Robert Schumann's variation technique, which Brahms later tried to overcome. The Schumann affinity can be seen above all in the slow parts, while the fast parts often strike a tone that is already typical for Brahms, reminiscent of the sonatas .

The counterpoint and the dominance of the bass line also indicate a characteristic personal style that can be found in many other works.

Brahms does not adhere to the entire theme in all variations , but rather detaches individual motifs . He also presents an abundance of quotes and allusions. These include the Davidsbündlertänze and the Carnaval as well as the Fantasiestücke and the Impromptu op. 5 by Robert Schumann. Many of the allusions are more about compositional parallels than direct quotations. With the exception of four variations (IX, X, XV and XVI), Brahms retains the starting key of F sharp minor.

In Variations I and III he puts the melody of the upper part in the bass, while in pieces X and XVI he lets the bass of the original sound as the melody in opposite directions.

In turn, he designs parts of motifs in Variations II, IV - VII, XII, XIII: If in the second variation he compresses the melody in the upper part so much that it is barely recognizable, in the seventh he distributes the motif between both hands and leaves that Theme in the eighth appear as a canon octave apart. In the ninth variation, he paraphrases the second album sheet from the Bunte Blätter in B minor and hides the variation theme of the first album sheet in the "supporting tones" of the "thumb melody" to be played by both hands.

The intimate tenth, very complex variation surprises with its contrapuntal, extremely condensed structure. Brahms shifts the bass line of the theme f sharp-c sharp-dh-c sharp into the treble, lets the lower voice play a reverse of the theme and combines this with the thirds of the middle voices , which imitate the theme. Finally a canon follows, and in the fourth bar you can hear a quote from the theme by Clara, which Schumann had used for his Impromptu op.5.

After three quick and figured variations, there is a gradual slowdown in the last three pieces, with which Brahms breaks away from classical traditions. In Variation XIV ( Andante ) a canon sounds every second over a staccato sixteenth note accompaniment. In the 15th variation ( Poco Adagio ) in G flat major , the only one in a flat key, the theme sounds in bass and soprano as a canon with the sixth apart . His last variation ( Adagio ) begins enharmonically in F sharp major . The melody can no longer be heard in it, while the bass line remains recognizable.

Variation art

The work still tends to belong to the “Fantasy Variations” coined by Schumann, a type from which Brahms later gradually broke away. While Schumann excelled with atmospheric character variations that worked with motif parts, Brahms wanted to orient himself more towards Ludwig van Beethoven and in the course of his artistic development moved from motif to harmony-oriented variations.

How self-critical he followed his own work and distanced himself from works is shown in many letters. After the Schumann Variations had already appeared, he wrote to Joseph Joachim that the individual pieces had to be “kept stricter, purer. The ancients consistently kept the bass of the theme, their actual theme, strictly. With Beethoven the melody, harmony, etc. the rhythm varies so nicely. But sometimes I have to find that the newer (both of us!) Rummage more [...] on the subject. "

He later confessed to Adolf Schubring, “[…] on a theme on variations, I actually, almost, almost only mean something about the bass. But this one is sacred to me, it is the solid foundation on which I then build my stories. What I do with the melody is just a gimmick. ”His student, the composer Gustav Jenner , confirmed this. Brahms had explained to him that the bass was more important than the melody and told him that he could only keep an eye on his goal, "if the bass is fixed, otherwise you will be in the air."

literature

• Katrin Eich: Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann in F sharp minor o.9 , in: Brahms-Handbuch, Ed. Wolfgang Sandberger, Metzler, Weimar 2009, ISBN 978-3-476-02233-2 , pp. 347-348
• Otto Schuman : Johannes Brahms, Variations , in Handbuch der Klaviermusik, Heinrichshofen's Verlag, Wilhelmshaven 1979, ISBN 3-7959-0006-9 , pp. 485-487

Individual evidence

1. ^ Katrin Eich: Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann , in: Brahms-Handbuch, Ed. Wolfgang Sandberger, Metzler, Stuttgart 2009, p. 347
2. ↑ Katrin Eich: Variationssequences, on Brahms' understanding of variations , in: Brahms-Handbuch, Ed. Wolfgang Sandberger, Metzler, Stuttgart 2009, p. 346
3. ^ Katrin Eich: Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann , in: Brahms-Handbuch, Ed. Wolfgang Sandberger, Metzler, Stuttgart 2009, p. 347
4. ↑ Otto Schuman: Johannes Brahms - Variations , in: Handbuch das Klaviermusik, Heinrichshofen's Verlag, Wilhelmshaven 1979, p. 486.
5. ^ Meyers: Harenberg piano music guide, 600 works from the baroque to the present , Mannheim 2004, p. 200
6. ^ Katrin Eich: Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann , in: Brahms-Handbuch, Ed. Wolfgang Sandberger, Metzler, Stuttgart 2009, p. 347
7. ^ Meyers: Harenberg piano music guide, 600 works from the baroque to the present , Mannheim 2004, p. 200
8. ↑ Otto Schuman: Johannes Brahms - Variationen , in: Handbuch das Klaviermusik, Heinrichshofen's Verlag, Wilhelmshaven 1979, p. 487
9. ^ Katrin Eich: Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann , in: Brahms-Handbuch, Ed. Wolfgang Sandberger, Metzler, Stuttgart 2009, p. 347
10. ↑ Katrin Eich: Variationssequences, on Brahms' understanding of variations , in: Brahms-Handbuch, Ed. Wolfgang Sandberger, Metzler, Stuttgart 2009, p. 346
11. ↑ Quotation from: Katrin Eich: Variationssequences, on Brahms' understanding of variations , in: Brahms-Handbuch, Ed. Wolfgang Sandberger, Metzler, Stuttgart 2009, p. 346
12. ↑ Quotation from: Katrin Eich: Variationssequences, on Brahms' understanding of variations , in: Brahms-Handbuch, Ed. Wolfgang Sandberger, Metzler, Stuttgart 2009, p. 346