Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

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372 SCHUMANN
and depth of feeling. For the Impromptus on
" theme by Clara Wieok (op. 5), Beethoven's
so-called 'Eroioa Variations' (op. 35), apparentlyserved
as a model ; they remind ns of them
both in general arrangement and in the employment
of the bass as a theme, without being
in any way wanting in originality. In the
Andante and Variations for two pianofortes (op.
46),(|0ne of the most charming and popular of
Schumann's pianoforte works, he treated the
form with such freedom that they are not so
much variations as fantasias in the style of
variations. [They were at iirst intended to be
accompanied by two violoncellos and horn,
and tliis version is in the supplementary
volume of the Breitkopf edition.] His most
splendid work in this form ia his op. 13 (the
' Etudes symphouiques '), a work of the grandest
calibre, which alone would be sufficient to secure
him a place in the first rank of composers for
the pianoforte, so overpowering is the display
of his own individual treatment of the pianoforte—frequently
rising to the highest limits of
the bravura style of execution— of his overflowing
profusion of ideas, and his boldness in
turning the variation form to his own account.
In the finale the first two bars only of the
theme are employed, and these only occasionally
in the working-out ' section.' In other respects
the proud edifice of this elaborately worked
number has nothing in common with a variation.
It contains, however, a delicate reference
to the person to whom the whole work is
dedicated, William Sterndale Bennett. The
beginning of the chief subject is a fragment of
the celebrated romance in MarsChner's Templer
'
und Jiidin' (' Du stolzes England, freue dich,'
etc.). It is an ingenious way of paying a compliment
to his beloved English composer.
Schumann had made early attempts at works
of larger structure, but it cannot be denied that
they were not at first successful. The Fj minor
Sonata (op. 11) teems with beautiful ideas, but
is wanting in unity to a remarkable degree, at
least in the Allegro movements. The F minor
Sonata (op. 14) shows a decided improvement
in this respect, and the Sonata in G minor (op.
22) is still better, although not entirely free from
a certain clumsiness. Schumann afterwards
showed himself quite aware of the faults of
these sonatas in regard to form. They offer the
most striking example of Ms irregular and
rhapsodical method of working at that period.
The second movement of the G minor Sonata
was written in June 1830, the first and third
in June 1833, the fourth in its original form in
October 1835, and in its ultimate form in 1838,
the whole sonata being published in 1839. The
F( minor Sonata was begun in 1833, and not
completed till 1835. The F minor Sonata,
finished on June 5, 1836, consisted at first of
1 The Ave varlattonfl left out in the puhllahed edition are included
in the supplementaly volume of Breitkopf's editiob.
five movements, an Allegro, two Scherzos, one
after the other, an Andantino with variations,
and a Prestissimo. When the work was first
published, under the title of 'Concerto sans
Orchestre, Schumann cut out the two scherzos,
'
apparently intending to use them for a second
sonata in F minor. This, however, was not
carried out, and in the second edition of the
work he restored the second of the scherzos to
its place. 2 When we observe how he took up
one sonata after another, we see how impossible it
is that any close connection can subsist between
the several parts, or that there should be any
real unity in them as a whole.
The Allegro for pianoforte (op. 8) is somewhat
disjointed in form, while the Toccata (op. 7), a
bravura piece of the greatest brilliance and
difficulty in perfect sonata-form, exhibits a great
degree of connection and consequence. In the
great Fantasia (op. 17) we are led by the title
to expect no conciseness of form. The classical
masters generally gave to their fantasias a
very clearly defined outline, but Schumann in
this case breaks through every restriction that
limits the form, especially in the first movement,
where he almost seems to lose himself in limitless
freedom. In order to give unity to the
fantastic and somewhat loosely connected movements
of this work of genius, he again had
recourse to poetry, and prefaced the piece with
some lines of F. Sehlegel's as a motto :
Dntvh alle Tjine ti>net
Im hunten Erdeutraum,
Ein leiser Ton gezogen
Through all the tones that vibrate
About earth's mingled dream,
One whispered note is sounding
FUr den der heiiolich lauBchet. For ears attent to hear.
The ' earth's mingled dream ' is in a manner
portrayed in the substance of the composition.
Schumann means that ' the ear attent to hear
will perceive the uniting-tones that run through
all the pictures which the imagination of the
composer unrolls to his view. Sehlegel's motto
seems almost like an excuse offered by Schumann.
The original purpose of this Fantasia was not,
however, to illustrate these lines. About Dec.
17, 1835, an appeal having been made from
Bonn for contributions to a Beethoven memorial,
Schumann proposed to contribute a composition
and this was the origin of the work now called
'
Fantasia,' the three movements of which were
originally intended to bear the respective inscriptions
of 'Ruins,' 'Triumphal Arch,' and 'The
Starry Crown.' By these names the character
both of the separate parts and of the whole
becomes more intelligible. In order to get into
the right disposition for the work Schumann's
four articles on Beethoven's monument should
be read (Gfesammelte Schri/ten, vol. i. p. 215).
Although few of Schumann's pianoforte works
of the first period are without defects of foi-m,
yet their beauties are so many that we easily
forget those defects. In certain ways the com-
2 The iirat appeared in 1866 as No. 12 of the Posthumous Works
pub] ished by Eieter-Biedermann, together with the discarded Finale
of the Sonata in Q minor as TSo. 13. Both are in the supplementary
volume of the Breitkopf Be Biirtel edition (1893).