Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

It contains much enchanting beauty, never
surpassed even by Schumann. He seems here
to have resumed his practice of mixing up
poetic mysticism with his music. What
other reason could there be for proposing to
use the four bars of modulation from the first
quartet (bars 30-34), exactly as they stand, for
an introduction to the second quartet? He
afterwards struck them out, as may be seen in
the autograph. The other quartets also arrived
at their present form only after manifold alterations.
The slow introduction to the A minor
Quartet was at first intended to be played con
sordini. The third quartet began with a chord
of the 6-5 on D, held out lor a whole bar. The
greatest alterations were made in the first
Allegro of the A minor and in the variations in
A|> of the F major Quartets. Whole sections
were re-written and modified in various ways.
But Wasielewski is mistaken in saying (3rd ed.
p. 178, note) that the piii lento over the coda
in these variations is a misprint for piii, mosso.
Schumann wrote piii lento quite plainly, and
evidently meant what he wrote. He may
possibly have changed his mind afterwards, for
in regard to tempo he was often moved by
the opinions of others.
Of the works for strings and pianoforte, the
Quintet (op. 44) is of course the finest ; it will
always keep its place in the first rank of musical
masterpieces. It claims the highest admiration,
not only because of its brilliant originality, and
its innate power—which seems to grow with
every movement, and at the end of the whole
leaves the hearer with a feeling of the possibility
of never-ending increase—but also because of
its gorgeous beauty of sound, and the beautiful
and well-balanced relations between the pianoforte
and the strings. Musicians are still living,
like Carl Eeinecke of Leipzig, who at the time
of its appearance were in the most susceptible
period of youth, and who tell of the indescribable
impression the work made upon them. It
must have seemed like a new paradise of beauty
revealed to their view. The Pianoforte Quartet
(op. 47) only wants animation, and a more
popular character in the best sense of the word,
to make it of equal merit with the Quintet.
There is much in it of the spirit of Bach, as Is
perhaps most evident in the wonderful melody
of the Andante. A high rank is taken by the
Trios in D minor (op. 63) and F major (op. 80),
both, as well as the quintet and quartet, written
in one and the same year. In the first a
passionate and sometimes 'gloomy character
predominates, while the second is more cheerful
and full of warmth in the middle movements.
The canonic style is employed in the Adagios
of both trios with new and powerful effect. The
treatment of the strings with respect to the
pianoforte may here and there be considered
too orchestral in style ; but it must not be
forgotten that it was adopted to suit the piano
SCHUMANN 377
style, which in Schumann is very different from
that of the classical masters and of Mendelssohn.
The two trios, however, are wanting in that
expression of perfect health which isso prominent
in both the quintet and the quartet. They
show traces of the hurry and breathless haste
which in his later years increases the complication
of his rhythms. The third and last Trio
(G minor, op. 110) is far inferior to the others.
There is still the same artistic design, and in
isolated passages the noble genius of the master
still shines clearly out ; but as a whole this
trio tells of exhaustion. The same may be said
of most of the other chamber works of Schumann's
latest years. Among them are two
sonatas for pianoand violin, gloomy, impassioned
compositions, which can hardly be listened to
without a feeling of oppression. There are also
a number of shorter pieces for different instru'
ments, among which the Marchenbilder ' fiir
Pianoforte und Viola' (op. 113) are prominent.
No one who bears in mind Schumann's ultimate
fate can hear without emotion the last
of these ' Marchenbilder,' which bears the direction
'Langsam, mit melancholischem Ausdruck.'
In the sphere of the concerto Schumann has
left an imperishable trace of his genius in the
Pianoforte Concerto in A minor (op. 54). It
is one of his most beautiful and mature works.
In addition to all his peculiar originality it has
also the qualities, which no concerto should
lack, of external brilliancy, and striking, powerful,
well-rounded subjects. The first movement
is written in a free form with happy efl'ect ; the
cause being that Schumann had at first intended
it to stand as an independent piece, with the
title Fantasia. ' ' He did not add the other two
movements until two years afterwards.—The
' Introduction und Allegro appassionato,' for
pianoforte and orchestra (op. 92), is a rich
addition to concerto literature. In Schumann
there is a deeper connection between the
pianoforte and orchestra than had before been
customary, though not carried to such a point
as to interfere with the contrast between the
two independent powers. He was far from
writing symphonies with the pianoforte obbligato.
His other works in concerto-form, written
in the last years of his life, do not attain to
the height of the Concerto. Among them is
an unpublished violin concerto written between
Sept. 21 and Oct. 3, 1853, and consisting of
the following movements :
(1) D minor alia
breve, ' Imkraftigen, nicht zu schnellen Tempo '
;
(2) Bb major, common time, Langsam ' '
; (3)
D major, 3-4, 'Lebhaft, doch nicht zu schnell.'
The autograph was in the possession of Joachim.
A Fantasia for violin and orchestra, dedicated
to the same great artist, is published as op. 131.
The Violoncello Concerto (op. 129) is remarkable
for a very beautiful slow middle movement.
There is also a Concerto for four horns and
orchestra (op. 86). Schumann himself thought
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