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Schumann: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54
b Zwickau, Germany, Jun 8, 1810; d Endenich, Germany, Jul 29, 1856
Composed: 1841–1845
Schumann composed the first movement of his only piano concerto in 1841, as a
separate Fantasie; only in the spring and summer of 1845 did he add two movements
to create a complete concerto. His wife Clara gave its première at a Gewandhaus
concert in Leipzig, on New Year’s Day, 1846. Even as it bows to the forms of the
Classical concerto, this work is imbued with a burning Romanticism. It opens with
one of the boldest salvos in the concerto literature: the curtain does not rise, it is torn
open; the piano veritably pounces on the listener. The first movement focuses with
unusual insistence on one theme, the mournful melody heard right after the
introduction; piano and orchestra together extend and vary it in an expansive,
rhapsodic stream of melody, and later develop it with striking originality. All of the
movement’s themes, in fact, are in a state of perpetual metamorphosis, taking new
shapes and sampling new instrumental sonorities. The solo cadenza is novel: it is
mostly based on new ideas, and is conspicuously free of conventional virtuoso
fireworks. The whole concerto, in fact, is more poetic than bravura, and Schumann
orchestrates with a light touch, giving special attention to the woodwinds—
particularly the clarinet.
The slow movement is exceptionally beautiful, but concise, like an extended
introduction to the finale. Schumann labelled it “Intermezzo,” and aptly so: it is an
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island of tranquility. The gentle, childlike opening theme is a lovely surprise. Near the
end, the main theme of the first movement is dramatically recalled to make a transition
to the finale, which follows without a break. Boisterous and fleet-footed, swept along
by its waltz-like rhythm, the finale has an air of celebration. It is spacious, with some
half a dozen themes and long, rhapsodic transitions, though again the first theme is
firmly in charge. In a long coda, Schumann delays the final cadence to brilliant effect—
only a resolution this powerful fits a work of such passion, beauty, and audacity.
(Duration approximately 31 minutes.)
Programme Note by Kevin Bazzana
© Copyright 2013 Toronto Symphony Orchestra