Classical Music | Violin Music

Recorded on 07/26/2014, uploaded on 02/06/2014

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Schumann's three violin sonatas (of which only two were published) come from the last years of his career—the first two in 1851 and the third in 1853. By 1850, mental illness began to take its toll on Schumann and those around him. Suffering from violent mood swings, he believed he was ordered by Heaven to compose certain melodies, and for his divine work was tormented by demons. Not surprisingly, an altered mental state produced stylistic changes in Schumann's output and it is unclear whether they were the result of mental breakdowns or purposeful experimentation. Regardless, Schumann's feverish pace of composition did not wane and the First Violin Sonata was composed in less than a week in September 1851. Schumann, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the work and promptly composed a second sonata for the instrument between October 26 and November 2.

Schumann excelled far more in writing for chamber ensembles than he did for the orchestra. With the intimate forces of but a few performers, he was free to indulge in the subtle harmonic colorings and intricate figurations that are a hallmark of his music and that are either difficult or altogether impractical for the orchestra. Schumann had also once strived to be a virtuoso pianist, before a crippling hand injury ended that dream and he turned wholeheartedly to composition. Thus, his chamber was very much driven by the piano. It is no surprise then that the official title of the work is the Sonata No. 2 for Piano and Violin.  Indeed, the solo part of the sonata at best merely achieves a balance with the pianist. Many times it follows the piano—at others, it struggles to assert its own independence. Furthermore, Schumann restricts the instrument to the darker-hued lower and middle range, perhaps a manifestation of the composer’s mental state, but certainly preventing it from exemplifying itself in its brilliant upper register. Cast in four movements, the sonata opens with a brief slow introduction before plunging into a troubled D minor Vivace sonata form. Shifting to the key of the tonic major, the second movement anticipates the energetic scherzos of Johannes Brahms. The following slow movement opens in a gentle G major with an endearing and lovely theme that unfolds in a set of variations. In its innocence, it seems to dispel all the uncertainties of the preceding two movements, but struggles to maintain its entrancing hold as the movement moves through its middle section. Lastly, the vigorous finale provides a dramatic conclusion to the sonata as a lengthy trek is made back to the tonic major, in which key the sonata comes to a spirited end.     Joseph DuBose

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Sonata No. 2, Op. 121 in D Minor      Robert Schumann

Schumann's late works were often in minor keys and rather fatalistic in tone. Even violin works were melodically hesitant. This work was written in about one week, as a response to his lack of enthusiasm for his recent Violin Sonata No. 1 in A minor. He said: "I didn't like the first violin sonata, so I wrote a second, which I hope turned out better." The piano part is complex and intricate, and the violin is often led by it or responds to it.

The first movement ("Slowly, with energy") is blustery and begins with an introduction in a triple beat, with detached chords. The tempo then shifts to "Lively," which must refer to the piano part, because the violin contributes measured, slow, triadic material. The contrasting theme is more active.

The second movement Scherzo ("Very animated") is in 6/8, with the piano taking the lead, except in the contrasting "trio." The third movement ("Simply") includes pizzicato triple-stops and quite narrow melodic material. The movement is a set of variations with intervening episodes.

The fourth movement ("Moving along") is quite fast, with the two instruments competing for the thematic material. The development explores fairly distant harmonic areas, as well as contrasting textural approaches, but the work ends forcefully.    Dami Kim (after Durrell Bowman)

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.