String Quartet in A minor Op.41 No.1 [1842]

Feeling that the piano was “getting too restrictive” for him, Schumann courageously abandoned the instrument he knew best to master another art. Poring over models by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, he set out to emulate what Mendelssohn had recently achieved in his three string quartets Op.44 and gratifyingly won his approval. The Quartet in A minor flatters Mendelssohn by imtation in the Scherzo but the older composer must found even more to admire in Schumann’s command of the authentic string-quartet sound, particularly in the beautifully scored Adagio, his mastery of counterpoint, particularly in the brilliantly sustained Presto finale and, above all, his unfailingly poetic inspiration.

In 1842, feeling that the piano was getting “too restrictive for him,“ Schumann courageously abandoned the instrument he knew best and set out to emulate Mendelsshn’s recent achievement in his three Quartets Op.44, as he confirmed by dedicating the three quartets Op.41 to his admired colleague. While Mendelssohn might not have begun a quartet in A minor with a slow introduction in F minor, he would surely have been impressed by the freshness of Schumann’s harmonic thinking here. The second movement, a clear tribute to Mendelssohn in scherzo mode, he would have recognised as sincere flattery. He might well have had mixed feelings about the Adagio, which is personal in the expressive opening gestures but at the same time derivative in its reverent echoes of the Adagio of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. As for the Presto finale, it is brilliantly sustained in its hectic contrapuntal activity and highly resourceful in its generation of new melodic ideas from the opening theme.

In 1842, feeling that the piano was getting “too restrictive for him” Schumann courageously abandoned the instrument he knew best and set out to emulate Mendelssohn’s recent achievement in his three Quartets Op.44. The three quartets Op.41 – the first fruits of the feverish activity that was to produce no fewer than seven major chamber works before the end of the year –he dedicated to his much-admired colleague. While Mendelssohn might not have begun a quartet in A minor with a slow introduction in F minor, he would surely have been impressed by both the freshness of Schumann’s harmonic thinking here and his immediate command of the authentic string-quartet sound. He probably admired too the thematic economy of the Allegro itself, where the gently syncopated, smoothly articulated first subject and the lively staccato second subject derive from the same material and yet are so well contrasted as to make for a strikingly eventful development.

The second movement, a clear tribute to Mendelssohn in scherzo mode, he would have recognised as flattery in its sincerest form. He might well have had mixed feelings about the Adagio, which is personal in the expressive opening gestures but at the same time derivative in its reverent echoes of the Adagio of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. As for the Presto finale, to anyone’s ears it is brilliantly sustained in its hectic contrapuntal activity and highly resourceful in its generation of new melodic ideas from the opening theme.

Schumann had been looking forward to writing string quartets ever since 1838. Indeed, feeling that the piano was “getting too restrictive” for him. But it wasn’t until 1842 that he was able to devote himself to chamber music with the single-minded, even obsessive application that was so characteristic of him. He studied counterpoint in general and fugue in particular, pored over the quartets of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven and set out to emulate what Mendelssohn had recently achieved in his three Quartets Op.44 - as he confirmed when he made Mendelssohn the dedicatee of the three Quartets Op.41.

While it is difficult to imagine Mendelssohn beginning a quartet in F major with a slow introduction in A minor, he must have been impressed by the freshness of Schumann’s harmonic thinking here. He probably admired too the thematic economy of the Allegro itself, where the gently syncopated, smoothly articulated first subject and the lively staccato second subject derive from the same material and yet are so well contrasted as to make for a strikingly eventful development.

The second movement is sheer flattery: a rapidly pattering Presto in A minor, though rather more robust than the older composer’s elfin examples, it is a clear tribute to Mendelssohn in scherzo mode - except that Mendelssohn himself would not have risked the contrastingly lyrical central Intermezzo. What he might have thought of the F-major Adagio, on the other hand, it is difficult to imagine, since it is both personal in the expressive opening gestures on cello and violin and at the same time derivative in a main theme that so reverently echoes that of the Adagio of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. It is, however, a beautifully scored, unfailingly passionate and finely integrated slow movement.

As for the A-minor Presto finale, it is brilliantly sustained in its hectic contrapuntal activity and highly resourceful in its generation of new melodic ideas from the opening theme. The basic texture might owe something to Mendelssohn and the occasional rustic episode something to Beethoven, but the timely intervention of a peaceful and yet teasing Moderato just before the cheerful A major ending is an original, purely Schumann inspiration.

Schumann had been looking forward to writing string quartets ever since 1838. Indeed, feeling that the piano was “getting too restrictive” for him, he had actually made a start on two quartets at that time - “both as good as Haydn’s,” he said. It wasn’t until 1842, however, that he was able to devote himself to chamber music with the single-minded, even obsessive application that was so characteristic of him. He studied counterpoint in general and fugue in particular, pored over the quartets of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven and set out to emulate what Mendelssohn had recently achieved in his three Quartets Op.44.

The three String Quartets Op.42 - the first fruits of the feverish activity that was to produce no fewer than seven major chamber works before the end of the year - Schumann dedicated to the musician he respected above all others. So he was delighted that Mendelssohn welcomed them as warmly as he did, the first in A minor in particular. While it is difficult to imagine Mendelssohn himself beginning a quartet with a slow introduction in A minor to an Allegro in F major, he must have been impressed by the freshness of Schumann’s harmonic thinking here. He would surely have approved of the fluency of Schumann’s canonic writing in the Andante espressivo opening bars and the authentic string-quartet sound. He probably admired too the thematic economy of the Allegro itself, where the gently syncopated, smoothly articulated first subject and the lively staccato second subject derive from the same material and yet are so well contrasted as to make for a strikingly eventful development.

The second movement is sheer flattery: a rapidly pattering Presto in A minor, though rather more robust than the older composer’s elfin examples, it is a clear tribute to Mendelssohn in scherzo mode - except that Mendelssohn himself would not have risked the contrastingly lyrical central Intermezzo. What he might have thought of the F-major Adagio, on the other hand, it is difficult to imagine, since it is both personal in the expressive opening gestures on cello and violin and at the same time derivative in a main theme that so reverently echoes that of the Adagio of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. It is, however, a beautifully scored, unfailingly passionate and finely integrated slow movement.

As for the A-minor Presto finale, it is brilliantly sustained in its hectic contrapuntal activity and highly resourceful in its generation of new melodic ideas from the opening theme. The basic texture might owe something to Mendelssohn and the occasional rustic episode something to Beethoven, but the timely intervention of a peaceful and yet teasing Moderato just before the cheerful A major ending is an original, purely Schumann inspiration.