Schumann: Impromptus über ein Thema von Clara Wieck, op. 5

Introduction

Robert Schumann's Ten Impromptus on a Theme by Clara Wieck, Op. 5 (1833) is a set of variations on a theme by the thirteen-year old Clara Wieck, who eventually became Schumann's wife. Though modeled after Beethoven's "Eroica" Variations, Op. 35 (1802), the Ten Impromptus are highly original and inspired in execution. Schumann's model is obvious at the beginning, where, as in Beethoven's set, the work begins with a bass line alone; true melodic material appears only as the variations themselves commence. In further emulation of the Beethoven work, Schumann ends the variations with a fugue, flanking it with a gigue in a nod to the Baroque dance suite.

The rhythmic and harmonic ingenuity of these otherwise rather strict variations is unflagging. The fugal Finale in particular demonstrates Schumann's growing mastery of rhythmic displacement within a conventional phrase structure as he places the harmonic and melodic rhythms out of alignment with one another. Schumann revised the work in 1850 at a time when he was attempting to "normalize" his oeuvre. As a result, he excised the original third variation, a rhythmic tour de force, and replaced it with a Mendelssohnian variation that is effective, yet lacks the originality of its predecessor. Likewise, the composer replaced the striking original ending, in which the theme becomes fragmented and eventually fades into nothingness, with a rather conventional cadence. The version of the work most often heard is that which incorporates these alterations.

Parts/Movements

1. Theme, Un poco Adagio
2. Variations (10)
3. Grand final fugue