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Schumann - Piano Trio in G minor (CONTEXT (The Trio (1846) (Four movements…
Schumann - Piano Trio in G minor
CONTEXT
Clara Schumann
(1819 - 1896)
German - born in Leipzig
daughter of 2 musicians - father Friedrich Wieck taught her piano
Concert pianist - 61-year concert career
"Queen of the Piano": piano features in all of her compositions
2 piano concertos, many solo works and songs with piano acc.
met Brahms in 1853 and became lifelong friends
Romantic
(1810 - 1910)
Piano trio
= work in several movements for piano and 2 other instruments, normally violin & cello
really, it is sonata for these instruments, and just convention that term "piano trio" is used
Chamber Music
music for a small number of performers, generally each with an undoubled part
most suitable for relatively small performance spaces rather than large concert halls
most important chamber music genre is the "string quartet"
WL:
Op. 59 No. 3 in C
by Beethoven
originated in the Classical era, descendants of Baroque sonatas for violin plus continuo
at first, cello only really doubled piano left hand, but by late Classical era, each instrument played more of an independent role
WL: Mozart
Piano Trio in E
K.542
esp this bit
Musical features
Structure
: "sonata plan"
1st movement usually follows Sonata Form
sometimes a slow introduction before sonata form begins
WL: Berlioz's
Symphonie Fantastique
WL: Haydn's
Symphony No. 6 in D
often lacks a scherzo and spans 3 movements rather than 4
slow movement is commonly the 2nd
in our Trio, 3rd movement is slow (unconventional)
WL:
Beethoven wrote a dance-like 2nd mmt and a slow 3rd mmt in his 9th Symphony. Then presumably the Romantic composers followed.
Melody/harmony
: lyrical, song-like melodies, adventurous modulations, richer harmonies, oftenwith chromaticism
Instrumentation
: rich exploitation of the piano; i.e. wider tessitura and much pedal
invention of brass valve system, develops brass section's potential
Expansion of the orchestra
Texture
: Denser, weightier textures with bold, dramatic contrast
greater technical virtuosity
Stronger emphasis on expression of emotions
greater freedom of form and design in music
more powerful expression of emotion - revealing thoughts and feeling, even sufferings
The Trio
(1846)
Four movements:
1. Allegro moderato
: 4/4; G minor
2. Scherzo & trio
: 3/4/; B-flat major & E-flat major
3. Andante
: 6/8/; G major
4. Allegro
: 2/4; G minor
WL: Beethoven's
String Quartet No. 3 in C
has four movements, with 3rd being a minuet (not slow like Clara's)
#
contradicting conventional 3-movement fast-slow-fast "sonata plan"
"tense and melancholic", reflecting the personal troubles in her life at the time
Robert's mental instability: he attempted suicide in 1854 and then was committed to an asylum for the last two years of his life
composed when she was aged 27
disparagingly called "feminine and sentimental" by Schumann in comparison to her husband's Piano Trios.
DO?
Romantic piano trio
using Classical tradition of Sonata Form
performance in small rooms
exploit capabilities of small undoubled ensemble: dialogue between instruments
TYPICAL?
piano trio
conventional instrumentation & handling
chamber music
accessible to amateurs
conservative Romanticism -- typical of chamber music?
exploits possibilities for dialogue but less progressive: cello receives little limelight
Romantic music
less harmonically dissonant
:question:: could you also say less adventurous? b.17-20 is full of dissonant chords and NCTs. However, keeps mostly to closely related keys
less virtuosic
conventional sonata form
TEXTURE
range of homophonic textures
usually melody-dominated
melody typically played by violin or right hand piano (see opening)
textural variety in accompaniment
on-beat LH bassline & RH offbeat chords b127-138
b1-22: broken-chord accompaniment in RH and LH
variety: alternating 2 notes and 1 note w/ simple broken-chord pattern
counterpoint/imitative dialogue in development to heighten tension
standard Classical development technique
WL:
Mozart G major trio development section
.
still principally homophonic w/ piano as harmonic support to violin & cello
'polyphically-animated-homophony'
MELODY
periodic phrasing
e.g. first subject (8 bar melody w/ 2 balancing 4-bar phrases)
underlies much Classic and early-Romantic music
WL
chromaticism contributes to musical intensity
e.g. descending semitonal mmt bars 18-20
WL
Brahms Piano Quintet mmt.1 1st subject
melodic sequence - means of extension & development in mmt.
Often 'irregular'
- Romantic
used in much Baroque, Classical & Romantic music
e.g. bars 27-30: size of the descending leap changes it each time - less conventional than a 'regular' sequence
bars 92-103: 3 sequences w/ melodic or rhythmic irregularity
WL:
Brahms Piano Quintet mmt.1: 3 sequences, some irregular, in close succession for broad melodic span
See Sharepoint trio page for link
DYNAMICS
range from
ff
to
p
crescendos & diminuendos used throughout to add emotional intensity
sf
and
fp
underline important/harmonically intense chords
e.g. bar 59, used to highlight sync.
sudden changes in dynamics used to add drama
bars 22-28
INSTRUMENTATION/SONORITY
Instruments' roles
piano
Harmonic support
LH often in octaves to strengthen bassline and give depth to texture
WL: Chopin Trio mmt.1:
(1829) this was established very early on in Romantic chamber music
sometimes soloistic
RH melody b.9-20
New sections sometimes marked by both Violin and Cello resting & piano having important material
WL: Schumann Piano Quintet mmt 1
bridge passage
beginning of bridge in Pearson notes
b.59)
plays constantly w/ much textural contrast to sustain interest
WL: Schumann Quintet mmt.1
: chords, broken 8ves and quavers :arrow_right: textural variety
Violin
Melody, e.g. b.1-8
polyphonically animated homophony
harmonic filling with melodically interesting lines; e.g. b.9-20
WL:
also
in Dvorak Piano Quintet mmt.1
however Dvorak puts the countermelodies above the piano melody to create sense of height to texture ( :question: do we need to compare and contrast like that)
Cello
occasional melody, e.g. b.54
WL: Mozart Trio in E mmt.1
: Cello independently holds bassline
usually doubles
doubles violin at octave (b.61-69) or compound 3rds (b.17-20)
doubles inner part, b.37-41
ornamented or simplified version of piano's bassline, e.g.9-20
WL:
persisted in Classical era, e.g. Haydn Piano Trio in f#m mmt.1
WL
: Had been the norm as Romantic chamber mus developed from Baroque trio sonatas with bassline doubled by cello/harpsichord.
Ranges: typical for early Romantic
strings = nearly 3 octaves
piano = 5 and a half octaves
Timbre/techniques
String writing largely conventional: arco & single notes
cello pizz b238-246 for variety of sonority
WL: Brahms Piano quintet mmt.3
: pizz chords in violins and cello :arrow_right: more adventurous sonic palette
violin double-stopping to add intensity to 1c
WL:
presumably conventional, also near opening of
Brahms Piano Quintet mmt.1
Piano
pedal required to blur chords in b56, 117-118, 121-122
WL: very much briefer than pedal blur at end of Rob. Schumann's Papillons -- 1 pedal with miniscule changes for c.2 lines?
arpeggios
TEMPO, RHYTHM & METRE
Tempo: 'Allegro moderato'
first mmt of piano trio. other 'sonata-like' structures are normally fast
'poco rit
used to outline some modulations
bars 56-59, brief excursion to D major
Constant 'c' metre
syncopation used for rhythmic variety within strict metre
Bridge passage: second note of theme is placed on last semiquaver of beat 3
Second subject: first 3 chords begin on weak crotchet
Wide range of note values & rhythmic figurations
frequent continuous quaver mmt
Some limitations in variety...
only semiquavers follow dotted quavers
no triplets
HARMONY
functional
strong reliance on I and V chords, particularly at cadences
mostly triads & 7th chords (typical of time)
Frequent chromaticism/ dissonance
'striking' chords to evoke 'dark emotional scenario'
Frequent dim.7 chords
e.g. in first subject
WL:
Mendelssohn Dm Trio mmt.1. -- also many dim 7th chords. Romantic minor key works often intensely chromatic, descended from "Sturm und Drang" ?
half-dim chords
e.g. bar 11
Augmented 6ths
Neopolitan 6th
Bar 191, recap, Gm. Listener expects same chords as those heard in b187 (C-Eb-G-A) . Instead G is replaced with Ab6
French augmented 6th
follows half-dim chord in bar 11
Bars 17-20 important (pretty much everything is going on)
chromatic, descending harmonic sequence
retardation (bar 18 beat 1) resolution clashes with resolution note - unconventional
series of diminshes 7th chords
bar 18- appogiaturas whose note of resolution also clashes
WL:
dim 7ths
plus
profusion of NCTs is Schumann's own harmonic langage.
Mendelssohn Dm Trio mmt.1
uses many dim 7ths but not NCTs at same time
STRUCTURE/TONALITY
conventional
sonata form
Exposition
First Subject in Gm
Bridge passage. Modulation to relative major
Second subject in Bb
Codetta: Returns to Gm for repeat of exposition
brief modulations to D maj (in recap is tertiary modulation to B major)
WL:
could be much more prominent, e.g. Schumann Piano Quintet mmt.1 bridge
Development
Principally in Cm with some Fm and Gm. More Gm later on in preparation for recapitulation
From bar 104, most development based on first subject
Recapitulation
Exact repeat of first subject in Gm
Bridge: Modulates to G major through Cm and Eb
Second subject in G major (parallel major) - transposed repeat from exposition
WL
: Classical pattern established by Beethoven in Symphony 5, mmt.1
WL:
imitated inRomantic chamber mus, e.g.
Robert Schumann's 1st Piano Trio
Coda: In G minor
Begins same as codetta. This is developed through sequence.
First subject theme is stated again, imitation based on descending part of theme.
Long tonic pedal & plagal cadence conclude mmt.
WL:
conventional sonata form common in Romantic chamber music, e.g. Schumann Piano Quintet mmt.1
WL:
other composers more adventurous with key, e.g. Dvorak Piano Quintet mmt.1 2nd subject in mediant minor
By the way textbook/Pearson notes define the parts of the expos differently. Yay :sweat_smile: