RACHEL CHEUNG & FRIENDS
Chamber Recital
Thursday (15 October 2020)

SCHUMANN Three Romances, Op.94
SCHUMANN Arabeske, Op.18
SCHUMANN-LISZT Widmung
SCHUMANN Fantasiestücke, Op.73

The year 1849 was a tumultuous but fruitful one for the German composer Robert Schumann. The revolutions and political upheavals of the preceding year had spilt over, and despite the distractions, instrumentalists will be grateful for the chamber works bestowed upon them. Among these were the Three Romances Op.94. Originally written for the oboe, the lyrical beauty (reminiscent of Schumann’s Lieder) has prompted their appropriation by other instruments, including violin, flute, cello and clarinet.

The slow-fast-slow form provides for contrasts between movements. The outer Romances are marked “Not fast”. The first is warm and retiring, also mirrored in the third, which opens with the quality of a sigh and is a more extended meditation. In between is a seamless “song without words”, marked “Simply heartfelt”. Cast in the major key, it has also become one of Schumann’s best loved melodies.

Sandwiched between the oboe works are two piano solos. The short Arabeske Op.18 was composed in 1839, and alternates between tenderness and assertiveness, an expression of his diametrically opposite alter-egos Florestan and Eusebius. The recurring main theme is also reminiscent of the broad melody heard in the final movement of his Fantasy in C major (Op.17), but played faster and with dotted rhythms. Widmung (Dedication) is the first song of Schumann’s song cycle Myrthen (Myrtles) Op.25 written in 1840 as a wedding gift for his beloved bride Clara. Its opening line Du meine Seele, Du mein Herz (You My Soul, You My Heart) expresses an unbridled joy and happiness. Franz Liszt’s well-loved transcription from 1848 is a showpiece, an expansion of this song playing for almost twice as long.

Also composed in 1849 were the three Fantasy Pieces (Op.73), written for clarinet and piano, and originally titled Evening Pieces. The nocturnal quality is apparent in the lyrical opening number marked “Tender and with expression”. Also associated with the night is some turbulence, heard in the middle piece marked “Lively, light”, while the final “Fast and fiery” piece comes like a passionate outburst. These works also sound perfectly idiomatic when played by the oboe.

 

Programme Notes by Chang Tou Liang