Piano Trio in F major, Op.80

Sehr lebhaft (Very lively)

Mit innigem Ausdruck - lebhaft (With inward expression - lively)

In mässiger Bewegung (In moderate tempo)

Nicht zu rasch (Not too fast)

Of the two piano trios Schumann completed in 1847, in D minor Op.63 and F major Op.80, the second was considered by the composer to be the “more charming… the more seductive.” An early and interesting example of what he meant by that occurs in the Sehr lebhaft first movement, where the lyrical second subject in C major not only broadens the rhythms but also opens the texture to embrace a tenderly scored echo of a line from the second song, Intermezzo, of the Eichendorff Liederkreis. The poetic allusion, “Dein Bildniss wunderselig” (“Your heavenly picture”), is clearly a tribute from Robert to his beloved Clara – as, indeed, is the whole work.

Schumann declared himself particularly happy with the beginning of the slow movement. It is certainly an extraordinary textural inspiration: the pianist’s right hand is occupied with D flat major harmonies while the left follows the cello line in canon and, at the same time, the violin introduces an expressive variant of the Liederkreis melody. Much of the rest of the movement is a kind of rhapsody, in a freely fluctuating tempo, on that theme. The composer was happy with the third movement too. Not exactly a scherzo but more a gentle intermezzo somewhat ruefully set in B flat minor, it is based on yet another variant of the Liederkreis melody, this one introduced by all three instruments in unselfconscious counterpoint over a charmingly lilting piano left hand.

Curiously, after making such a feature of the Liederkreis melody in the first three movements, Schumann makes only a veiled reference to it in the finale. Based largely on the unpredictably fruitful material presented in the opening bars, it is a construction remarkable above all for its cheerful spontaneity – except where the harmonically wayward D minor unsettles the atmosphere. It is only at a perilously late stage in the coda that, after a recall of a derivative of the Liederkreis melody from the first movement, the second subject’s subversive tendencies are definitively suppressed by unambiguously F major harmonies.

Sehr lebhaft (Very lively)

Mit innigem Ausdruck - lebhaft (With inward expression - lively)

In mässiger Bewegung (In moderate tempo)

Nicht zu rasch (Not too fast)

Although Robert Schumann wrote four works for violin, cello and piano and his wife Clara only one, it was she who led the way in this area with her Piano Trio in G minor in 1846. With characteristic modesty she dismissed her highly accomplished Op.17 as “effeminate and sentimental” but Robert - who had had problems with his Phantasiestücke for piano trio in 1842 and was still to revise it - was clearly impressed by Clara’s achievement. Certainly, within a year of her completing her Piano Trio, he had started on two of his own. Of the two, both of which were completed in 1847 - the D minor first, just in time for Clara’s birthday in September - the F major the composer considered the “more charming… the more seductive.”

An early and interesting example of what he meant by that occurs in the Sehr lebhaft first movement. The brisk first subject is presented in much the same cramped way as some of the more aggressive parts of the earlier trio. The lyrical second subject in C major, on the other hand, not only broadens the rhythms but also opens the texture and then embraces a tenderly scored echo of a line from the second song, Intermezzo, of the Eichendorff Liederkreis, Op.39. The poetic allusion, “Dein Bildniss wunderselig” (“Your heavenly picture”), is clearly a message from Robert to Clara. So too, in a way, is the canonic writing in the development section, which is a virtuoso reflection of the studies in counterpoint they had recently undertaken together. Although the Liederkreis melody represents the second subject in the development, it is scarcely more than hinted at in the recapitulation. It is being held in reserve for the coda, where it is carried on a crescendo and an accelerando into the closing bars.

Schumann declared himself particularly happy with the beginning of the slow movement. It is certainly an extraordinary textural inspiration: the pianist’s right hand is occupied with D flat major harmonies in repeated triplet rhythms while the left follows the cello line in a canon at the fifth and the violin at the same time introduces an expressive variant of the Liederkreis melody. Much of the rest of the movement is a kind of rhapsody, in a freely fluctuating tempo, on that theme. It is developed as one element among others in passionate contrapuntal exchanges or brought to the surface as a piano chorale and embroidered by the violin before it is recalled in an engagingly simplified texture towards the end.

The composer was happy with the third movement too. Not exactly a scherzo but more a gentle intermezzo somewhat ruefully set in B flat minor, it is based on yet another variant of the Liederkreis melody, this one introduced by all three instruments in unselfconscious counterpoint over a charmingly lilting piano left hand. The flowing violin and cello lines of the middle section are recalled in the coda and neatly combined with the lilting rhythms of the outer sections before the B flat major ending.

Curiously, after making such a feature of the Liederkreis melody in the first three movements, Schumann makes only a veiled reference to it in the finale. Based largely on the unpredictably fruitful material presented in the opening bars - a legato phrase on the piano, a playful staccato motif on the cello, a more purposeful gesture in dotted rhythms for the whole ensemble - it is a construction remarkable above all for its cheerful spontaneity. There is a second subject in a harmonically wayward D minor but it is immediately overlaid by material from the first. On the other hand, although it plays little part in a development devoted largely to resourcefully witty contrapuntal treatment of the earlier themes, its wilful tonal tendencies persist in the recapitulation. It is only at a perilously late stage in the coda that, after a recall of a derivative of the Liederkreis melody from the first movement, the second subject’s subversive tendencies are definitively suppressed by unambiguously F major harmonies.

Gerald Larner ©2004

Sehr lebhaft (Very lively)

Mit innigem Ausdruck - lebhaft (With inward expression - lively)

In mässiger Bewegung (In moderate tempo)

Nicht zu rasch (Not too fast)

Although Robert Schumann wrote four works for violin, cello and piano and his wife Clara only one, it was she who led the way in this area with her Piano Trio in G minor in 1846. With characteristic modesty she dismissed her highly accomplished Op.17 as “effeminate and sentimental” but Robert - who had had problems with his Phantasiestücke for piano trio in 1842 and was still to revise it - was clearly impressed by Clara’s achievement. Certainly, within a year of her completing her Piano Trio, he had started on two of his own.

If he approached the Piano Trio in D minor, Op.63, in an “anything you can do…” frame of mind, he had got over it by the time he came to its companion in F major, Op.80. The D minor, which was ready in time for Clara’s birthday in September 1847, is frankly self-assertive and frequently overscored. The F major, which was finished a few weeks later, Schumann himself described as “more charming…more seductive.”

An early and interesting example of what he meant by that occurs in the Sehr lebhaft first movement. The brisk first subject is presented in much the same cramped way as some of the more aggressive parts of the earlier work. The lyrical second subject in C major not only broadens the rhythms but also opens the texture and then embraces a tenderly scored echo of a line from the second song, Intermezzo, of the Eichendorff Liederkreis, Op.39. The poetic allusion, “Dein Bildniss wunderselig” (“Your heavenly picture”), is clearly a message from Robert to Clara. So too, in a way, is the canonic writing in the development section, which is a virtuoso reflection of the studies in counterpoint they had recently undertaken together. Although the Liederkreis melody represents the second subject in the development, it is scarcely more than hinted at in the recapitulation. It is being held in reserve for the coda, where it is carried on a crescendo and an accelerando into the closing bars.

Schumann declared himself particularly happy with the beginning of the slow movement. It is certainly an extraordinary textural inspiration: the pianist’s right hand is occupied with D flat major harmonies in repeated triplet rhythms while the left follows the cello line in a canon at the fifth and the violin at the same time introduces an expressive variant of the Liederkreis melody. Much of the rest of the movement is a kind of rhapsody, in a freely fluctuating tempo, on that theme. It is developed as one element among others in passionate contrapuntal exchanges or brought to the surface as a piano chorale and embroidered by the violin before it is recalled in an engagingly simplified texture towards the end.

The composer was happy with the third movement too. Not exactly a scherzo but more a gentle intermezzo somewhat ruefully set in B flat minor, it is based on yet another variant of the Liederkreis melody, this one introduced by all three instruments in unselfconscious counterpoint over a charmingly lilting piano left hand. The flowing violin and cello lines of the middle section are recalled in the coda and neatly combined with the lilting rhythms of the outer sections before the B flat major ending.

Curiously, after making such a feature of the Liederkreis melody in the first three movements, Schumann makes only a veiled reference to it in the finale. Based largely on the unpredictably fruitful material presented in the opening bars - a legato phrase on the piano, a playful staccato motif on the cello, a more purposeful gesture in dotted rhythms for the whole ensemble - it is a construction remarkable above all for its cheerful spontaneity. There is a second subject in a harmonically wayward D minor but it is immediately overlaid by material from the first. On the other hand, although it plays little part in a development devoted largely to resourcefully witty contrapuntal treatment of the earlier themes, its wilful tonal tendencies persist in the recapitulation. It is only at a perilously late stage in the coda that, after a recall of a derivative of the Liederkreis melody from the first movement, the second subject’s subversive tendencies are definitively suppressed by unambiguously F major harmonies.

Gerald Larner ©2004