Schuman

Question 1

Context of the work

Answer 1

• Romantic era, completed in 1846
• Piano trio is a chamber work with arts for Violin, Cello and Piano. Popularised by Haydn and taken up by composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms and Shostakovich
• This work has 4 movements but only doing the first one
• Clara Shumann: daughter of Friedrich Wieck, a piano teacher and wife of composer Robert Shumann.
• She was one of a limited number of 19th century women composers, other near contemporaries being Fanny Mendelssohn, sister of composer Felix Mendelssohn.

Question 2

Describe the sonority

Answer 2

• All three instruments are treated in a conventional manner
• Ranger are well within each instrument’s capabilities: nearly 3 octaves for violin and cello and 5 1/2 for piano
• Limited use of pizzicato in cello (bars 238 - 246)
• Double-stopping in violin (e.g. bars 21-23)
• Piano pedalling indications are rare

Question 3

Describe the tempo, metre and rhythm

Answer 3

Tempo:

• Allegro moderato though 152 crotchets per minute is relatively fast
• Changes in tempo are rare notably ‘poco rit’ (bar 56 and 220) although the ‘animato’ at bar 266 invites an increase of pace to approach the end

Metre:

• Common time throughout

Rhythm:

• Persistent quaver movement
• Syncopation (e.g. bars 39-40)
• Forceful dotted rhythms

Question 4

Describe the melody

Answer 4

• Balanced phrases
• Sequential repetition (e.g bars 14-17)
• Melodic leaps in the violin part include: augmented 4th (bar 25) minor 6th (bar 29) minor 7th (bars 29-30)
• Opening violin melody is marked by strong perfect 5ths (bar 1) and a leap of an octave (bar 6)
• Use of appoggiatura to intensify expressive effect (e.g bar 7, violin)
• Chromaticism (e.g strings bars 66-67)

Question 5

Describe the harmony

Answer 5

• Schumann’s harmony is functional and marked by a strong drive towards cadences:
  1. Imperfect (bar 4)
  2. Perfect (bars 21-22)
  3. Plagal (bars 285-286)
• Suspensions (bar 18)
• Chromatic chords:
  1. Neapolitan 6th (bar 191)
  2. Diminished 7th (bar 13)
  3. French augmented 6th (bar 11)
• Anticipation (bar 5, violin)
• Dominant pedal (bars 155-164, cello)

Question 6

Describe the strucuture

Answer 6

• Sonata form:

1. Exposition (repeated) bars 1-90
2. Development (based largely on 1st subject) bars 91-164
3. Recapitulation, bars 165-249

Question 7

Describe the texture

Answer 7

• Mainly homophonic (e.g. bars 21-23) or melody-dominated homophony (e.g. bars 1-8)
• Some contrapuntal exchanges between violin and cello (bar 115)
• Melodic interest usually kept in the violin or right hand of piano
• Cello reinforces violin line in octaves (bar 47) or in 10ths (from bar 17)
• Piano part is often made up of broken chords (maintaining a flow of quavers) or is chordal (bar 41)