Märchenbilder, Op.113

Nicht schnell (Not fast)

Lebhaft (Lively)

Rasch (Quick)

Langsam, mit melancholischem Ausdruck (Slow, with melancholy expresssion)

Joseph von Wasielewski was also a much-admired violist. It was for him that, a few months before the First Violin Sonata, Schumann wrote the Märchenbilder (Fairy-Tale Pictures), his one work scored specifically for viola and piano. Whether it was because of Wasielewski’s particular sound or because that is how he heard the viola anyway, Schumann tends to think of it here as an introverted, sometimes even melancholy instrument. The eloquent opening of the Nicht schnell first movement in D minor is a characteristic example. The Lebhaft second movement presents the viola in a quite different role, it is true, but the Rasch third movement is an eerily rather than brightly scored, lively invention though it is. As for the last movement, this is where Schumann and the viola meet on the most intimate terms.

Nicht schnell

Lebhaft

Rasch

Langsam, mit melancholischem Ausdruck

The one work by Schumann scored specifically for the viola as a duo partner with the piano is the Märchenbilder, written in Düsseldorf in 1851. The immediate inspiration seems to have been the composer’s friendship with Joseph von Wasielewski, whom he had summoned from the Leipzig Gewandhaus to lead his orchestra in Düsseldorf and for whom he was to write the two Violin Sonatas later in the year. Certainly, the score is dedicated to Wasielewski and it was he who gave the first public performance of these “Fairy-tale Pictures” with Clara Schumann in Bonn in November 1853.

Whether it was because of Wasielewski’s particular sound or because that is how he heard the viola anyway, Schumann tends to think of it here as an introverted, sometimes fairly rueful or even melancholy instrument. The eloquent opening of the Nicht schnell (not fast) first movement in D minor is a characteristic example. The Lebhaft (lively) second movement presents the viola in a quite different role, it is true, as it takes part in a kind of gallop, sounding its double-stopped thirds like a pair of trumpets and uttering a hint of regret only just before riding out of earshot at the end. The Rasch (quick) third movement is another lively invention, but an eerily rather than brightly scored moto perpetuo in D minor with gestures of defiance in it and, in the middle, a curiously appealing little episode in E major. As for the last movement, marked Langsam, mit melancholischem Ausdruck (slow, with melancholy expression), this is where Schumann and the viola meet on the most intimate terms: a gently melodious lullaby in D major,with viola and piano in parallel sixths, is briefly deflected off its course by a passionately nostalgic memory and resumes as tenderly as it began.

Nicht schnell

Lebhaft

Rasch

Langsam, mit melancholischem Ausdruck

The one Schumann work conceived specifically for the viola as a duo partner with the piano is the Märchenbilder, written in Düsseldorf in 1851. The immediate inspiration seems to have been the composer’s friendship with Joseph von Wasielewski, whom he had summoned from the Leipzig Gewandhaus to lead his orchestra in Düsseldorf and for whom he was to write the two Violin Sonatas later in the year. Certainly, the score is dedicated to Wasielewski and it was he who gave the first public performance of these “Fairy-tale Pictures” with Clara Schumann in Bonn in November 1853.

Whether it was because of Wasielewski’s particular sound or because that is how he heard the viola anyway, Schumann tends to think of it here as an introverted, sometimes fairly rueful or even melancholy instrument. The eloquent opening of the Nicht schnell (not fast) first movement in D minor is a characteristic example. The piano introduces a new melody at an early stage and, attracted by the mazurka suggestions in it perhaps, the viola goes along with it until, shortly before the end, it finds its way back to its opening statement, though now in syncopated rhythms and in counterpoint with the continuing mazurka on the piano.

The Lebhaft (lively) second movement presents the viola in a quite different role, it is true, as it takes part in a kind of gallop, sounding its double-stopped thirds like a pair of trumpets. It joins happily in two capricious episodes initiated by the piano and only near the end utters a hint of regret before riding out of earshot. The Rasch (quick) third movement is another lively invention, but an eerily rather than brightly scored moto perpetuo in D minor with gestures of defiance in it and, in the middle, a curiously appealing little episode in E major. As for the last movement, marked Langsam, mit melancholischem Ausdruck (slow, with melancholy expression), this is where Schumann and the viola meet on the most intimate terms: a gently melodious lullaby in D major,with viola and piano in parallel sixths, is briefly deflected off its course by a passionately nostalgic memory and resumes as tenderly as it began.