Robert Schumann

Robert Schumann (1810-1856)

Nationality: German
Born: June 8, 1810, Zwickau, Saxony Died: July 29, 1856, Endenich, near Bonn (age 46)

Piano Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 47

(for violin, viola, cello and piano)
8:59 I. Sostenuto assai - Allegro ma non troppo
3:42 II. Scherzo. Molto vivace - Trio I - Trio II
6:55 III. Andante cantabile
7:42 IV. Finale. Vivace
Duration: 27 minutes (approximately)
Composed: 1842 (age 31-32)
Published: 1845, Leipzig: Friedrich Whistling (age 34-35)
Dedication: Dem Grafen Mathieu Wielhorsky gewidmet
10 recordings, 34 videos
autoopen autoplay
9:26
Ames Piano Quartet
I. Sostenuto assai - Allegro ma non troppo
3:40
Ames Piano Quartet
II. Scherzo. Molto vivace - Trio I - Trio II
7:10
Ames Piano Quartet
III. Andante cantabile
8:08
Ames Piano Quartet
IV. Finale. Vivace
8:36
Emanuel Ax, Cleveland Quartet
I. Sostenuto assai - Allegro ma non troppo
3:35
Emanuel Ax, Cleveland Quartet
II. Scherzo. Molto vivace - Trio I - Trio II
6:23
Emanuel Ax, Cleveland Quartet
III. Andante cantabile
7:23
Emanuel Ax, Cleveland Quartet
IV. Finale. Vivace
9:15
Beaux Arts Trio
I. Sostenuto assai - Allegro ma non troppo
3:34
Beaux Arts Trio
II. Scherzo. Molto vivace - Trio I - Trio II
7:39
Beaux Arts Trio
III. Andante cantabile
7:37
Beaux Arts Trio
IV. Finale. Vivace
8:44
Vovka Ashkenazy, Simone Roggen, Ada Meinich, Birgit Böhme (score)
I. Sostenuto assai - Allegro ma non troppo
3:41
Vovka Ashkenazy, Simone Roggen, Ada Meinich, Birgit Böhme (score)
II. Scherzo. Molto vivace - Trio I - Trio II
6:33
Vovka Ashkenazy, Simone Roggen, Ada Meinich, Birgit Böhme (score)
III. Andante cantabile
7:56
Vovka Ashkenazy, Simone Roggen, Ada Meinich, Birgit Böhme (score)
IV. Finale. Vivace
9:10
ATOS Trio, Isabel Charisius
I. Sostenuto assai - Allegro ma non troppo
4:00
ATOS Trio, Isabel Charisius
II. Scherzo. Molto vivace - Trio I - Trio II
6:40
ATOS Trio, Isabel Charisius
III. Andante cantabile
7:33
ATOS Trio, Isabel Charisius
IV. Finale. Vivace
8:59
Isaac Stern, Jaime Laredo, Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax
I. Sostenuto assai - Allegro ma non troppo
3:37
Isaac Stern, Jaime Laredo, Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax
II. Scherzo. Molto vivace - Trio I - Trio II
7:05
Isaac Stern, Jaime Laredo, Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax
III. Andante cantabile
7:33
Isaac Stern, Jaime Laredo, Yo-Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax
IV. Finale. Vivace
26:21
Paik, et. al.
9:12
Mandelring Quartet, Le Guay
I. Sostenuto assai - Allegro ma non troppo
3:43
Mandelring Quartet, Le Guay
II. Scherzo. Molto vivace - Trio I - Trio II
6:12
Mandelring Quartet, Le Guay
III. Andante cantabile
7:32
Mandelring Quartet, Le Guay
IV. Finale. Vivace
28:39
Esbjerg Ensemble
8:55
Chin Kim and friends
I. Sostenuto assai - Allegro ma non troppo
3:59
Chin Kim and friends
II. Scherzo. Molto vivace - Trio I - Trio II
7:02
Chin Kim and friends
III. Andante cantabile
7:56
Chin Kim and friends
IV. Finale. Vivace
From Kai Christiansen

Robert Schumann, 1810-1856

Piano Quartet in E-flat Major, Op. 47, 1842
Robert Schumann1842 is often called Schumann's "Year of Chamber Music" because, in a stretch of nearly unbroken intensity, he produced three string quartets, a piano trio, the innovative piano quintet and the piano quartet. The Piano Quartet in E-flat-major, Op. 47, was the last of the series, written within a few weeks. Given Schumann's affinity for the piano, it is not surprising that the piano quartet and piano quintet remain the most popular his chamber works. Of the two, the quartet, with is smaller ensemble, is naturally more intimate, its character more delicate, and its chamber textures more pure.

The quartet is a wonder of clarity and concision with traits that seem reflect Schumann's mode of production: it is a concentrated and highly integrated composition that manages to naturally incorporate all the key features of Classical chamber music. Melody, counterpoint, motivic development, heart-felt song, quicksilver scherzo, and even fugue come together for a rich composite that pays tribute to Schumann's ardent study of the masters: Haydn, Mozart and especially Beethoven.

The first movement sonata opens with a slow, spacious introduction. Not a mere prelude to the sonata, it reappears to announce the development section and it announces the four-note motive that dominates the movement. The sonata is vivid due to its amazingly simply but effectively contrasting themes. The first is the four-note motive, stepping down then up. The second is rush up the scale and an arpeggio rushing right back down. Despite their simplicity, each is shaped into pleasing melodic content and woven into a fluid dramatic narrative with crisp and forceful energy.

Clara and Robert SchumannThe Scherzo is perfectly nervous, nimble, and spiced with the urgency of the minor mode. Most scherzi are strongly sectional in their form and are experienced as such. Schumann created his with the same fluid integration that characterizes the whole quartet. Though it even has two trios rather than the usual one, the movement comes off as a nearly seamless continuity of unbroken motion. Both trios are laced with elements of the scherzo, which, by virtue of the form, recurs three rather than two times. More like a brief rondo, the entire movement rushes swiftly by, suddenly gone, unexpectedly.

The third movement Adagio checks all the slippery energy of the scherzo and nestles down into a gently flowing song. Here is Schumann the Romantic pouring out a tender duet aria between cello and violin that seems to speak so clearly without using single word. The middle section of this da capo aria takes a strong cue from Beethoven by deepening the romantic into the sacred with a spare hymn that hallows with its graceful simplicity. All momentum nearly stops until the spell is broken by the return of cello song, made more poignant by new figurations in the violin and piano, and a new melancholy in the tonality. The movement ends with what is simultaneously a well-matched ethereal coda (recalling the hymn) as well as a prefiguration of the final movement's theme.

Schumann ends this delicious quartet a blaze of motion and rich counterpoint. It begins as though it were a regal fugue from a Baroque suite but it soon moves into a second theme of swaying classical lyricism. Schumann achieves of fluid blend of textures that is neither strictly polyphonic nor homophonic but the indescribable hybrid that is the sine qua non of the classical masters. As if to complete his organic survey of chamber features, Schumann emphasizes the polyphonic, using the drive and swelling complexity of fugal imitation for an exciting and deeply satisfying close.

Consider one final aspect of Schumann's craftsmanship: the three-note motif of the finale is essentially an abbreviation of the four-note motif of the first movement. This is yet another example of integration, concision and a clever way to give the last movement its distinctive final thrust.

© Kai Christiansen Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Related Composers

Clara Wieck Schumann (1819-1896)
Wife
Nationality: German
Born: September 13, 1819, Leipzig Died: May 20, 1896, Frankfurt (age 76)
Albert Dietrich (1829-1908)
Student
Nationality: German
Born: August 28, 1829, Forsthaus Golk Died: November 20, 1908, Berlin (age 79)
Ludvig Norman (1831-1885)
Student
Nationality: Swedish
Born: August 28, 1831, Stockholm Died: March 28, 1885, Stockholm (age 53)
Carl Reinecke (1824-1910)
Student
Nationality: German
Born: June 23, 1824, Altona Died: March 10, 1910, Leipzig (age 85)
Woldemar Bargiel (1828-1897)
colleague
Nationality: German
Born: October 3, 1828, Berlin Died: February 23, 1897, Berlin (age 68)
Heinrich Marschner (1795-1861)
Friend/Colleague
Nationality: German
Born: August 16, 1795, Zittau Died: December 14, 1861, Hanover (age 66)