Classical Music | Violin Music

Recorded on 07/15/2015, uploaded on 04/11/2016

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

I.     Ziemlich langsam – Lebhaft
II.    Scherzo
III.   Intermezzo
IV.    Finale

Schumann’s third violin sonata, a piece veiled in obscurity, merits some historical background as to how it came about. The last two movements from this sonata – Intermezzo and the Finale – were originally written by Schumann for the FAE sonata (a joint composition of Brahms, Schumann and Albert Dietrich, written in 1853 as a gift for their mutual friend and great violinist Joseph Joachim). FAE stands for frei aber einsam (free but lonely) and it was the motto of Joachim, to whom the piece is dedicated. As the title of the work might suggest, it uses the musical notes F, A, E as a motive that is prevalent throughout the sonata (except for the scherzo by Brahms that has nothing to do with the letters). Schumann later incorporated his own first two movements to replace those by Brahms and Dietrich, resulting in his third violin sonata (which also happens to be his last surviving major work, before he descended into madness).  Though privately performed a few times in 1853-54, the third sonata was not published or performed in public until 1956 (the centenary of Schumann’s death).

This sonata shows great obsession and insecurity. The minor sixth interval and syncopated rhythms appear incessantly, as though they symbolize the essence of Schumann’s inner struggle. Even the beautiful intermezzo, the only movement in major, has these emotional swells that attempt to hinder bringing comfort and consolation. Only towards the end of the last movement do we face the motive transformed to a glorious ring that overcomes all the previous adversities.            Notes by In Mo Yang

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.