Piano Quintet (Schumann)

Movement 1, piano part, mm.1-8

The tempo marking for the first movement is Allegro brillante. The Italian adjective brillante means "glittering" or "sparkling." The energetic main theme is characterized by wide, upward-leaping intervals. The contrasting second theme, marked dolce, is reached after a transitional section marked by glances at remoter flat keys. It is presented as a duet between cello and viola, and its "meltingly romantic"[4] character is typical of Schumann's ardent inspiration in this quintet. The central development consists largely of virtuoso figuration in the piano, based on a diminution of the third and fourth bars of the opening theme, which modulates between two vigorous statements of the latter in A-flat and F minor. The figuration is transposed down a tone more or less exactly on its second appearance to lead back to the tonic key. After a standard recapitulation of the main themes a short, energetic coda rounds off the movement. While Schumann is frequently criticized for his discursive, repetitive approach to sonata form, he largely succeeds in keeping this opening Allegro compactly organized and not excessively long.

Comparison of extracts from Movement 1 (A) and Movement 2 (B) of Schumann's piano quintet

The main theme of this movement is a funeral march in C minor. It alternates with two contrasting episodes, one a lyrical theme (B) carried by the first violin and cello, the second (C), Agitato, carried by the piano with string accompaniment, which is a transformation of the principal theme disguised by changes in rhythm and tempo. The whole forms a seven-part rondo: A (C minor)--B (C major)--A (C minor)--C (variant of A, F minor)--A' (C minor)--B' (F major)--A (C minor).

The transition between the funeral march and the second (agitated) episode reuses the descending octaves in the piano (doubled by violin) from the second ending of the first movement exposition (see figure). This is one of several moments in the quintet where Schumann creates unity across movements by subtly reusing thematic material. A, the funeral march, is varied on its return after the agitato section with rapid triplets in the piano and counterpoint reminiscent of the previous episode in first violin and cello, while the second appearance of B in F major also is with an enriched piano accompaniment.

Movement 3, piano part, mm.1-6

The main section of this lively movement is built almost entirely on ascending and descending scales. There are two trios. Trio I, in G-flat major, is a lyrical canon for violin and viola. Trio II, added at the suggestion of Mendelssohn, is a heavily accented moto perpetuo whose 2/4 meter and restlessly modulating, mostly minor tonality are in sharp contrast to the 6/8 and relative stability of the rest. After the third and final appearance of the Scherzo a brief coda based on the scales concludes the movement, slipping in a recall of Trio I in the final bars.

Schumann: Piano Quintet, finale, piano part, mm.1-4 (Theme A1)

The finale begins in G minor, on a C minor chord, rather than in the tonic. The movement as a whole is cast in an unusual form that partly reflects, but ultimately triumphs over Schumann's frequent difficulties with the conventional sonata form in his larger-scale instrumental movements. The original handling of both form and key contrasts sharply with the largely conventional formal organization of the previous three movements.

A summary of the main themes and key areas follows:

Bar 1: G minor theme A1

Bar 21: E-flat major theme A2

Bar 29: D minor A1

Bar 37: B-flat major A2

Bar 43: G major theme B (with an important motive B’, first introduced by the viola in 54). B itself is a diminished version of A2.

Bar 77: B minor-major A1

Bar 114: E major-G-sharp minor theme C (accompanied by B’)

****

Bar 136: G-sharp minor A1

Bar 148: D-sharp minor A1

Bar 156: B major A2

Bar 164: B-flat minor A1

Bar 172: G-flat major A2

Bar 178: E-flat major B recapitulated

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Bar 212: G minor A1

Bar 224: E-flat major theme D

Bar 248: fugato on A1

Bar 274: E-flat major C (B’) recapitulated

Bar 319: E-flat major, fugato on A1 combined with the opening theme of the first movement, Allegro brillante

Bar 378: E-flat major D recapitulated

Bar 402: Coda

The main themes, A1, A2, B and C, are all introduced in the first 135 bars, making this opening roughly equivalent to a sonata exposition. The tonic key, however, is almost entirely absent, with the music mostly remaining in G minor/major until the introduction of the lyrical theme C in the remote key of E major at bar 114. The music modulates to G-sharp minor to begin what is essentially a recapitulation in bar 136, with B returning in E-flat to finally establish the true tonic in bar 178, very late in a lengthy movement. More than 200 bars remain to unfold, however, almost entirely in the tonic. During their course, Schumann introduces yet another theme, the syncopated D, gets around to recapitulating the lyrical theme C in the tonic, and develops the music further via two fugato passages, the second unexpectedly and impressively incorporating the principal theme of the opening Allegro brillante and combining it with the opening theme A1, finally heard in the tonic. This coup may have been inspired by a similar confluence of themes in the E flat quartet op. 12 of Felix Mendelssohn.[7] It also, probably deliberately, evokes the climactic contrapuntal finales of works such as Mozart's Jupiter symphony. The movement as a whole can be noted for the rondo-like reappearances of the opening theme A1, which consistently avoids the tonic key until the final fugato; for its innovative key scheme, which combines the restless modulations of a traditional sonata development with the idea of recapitulation in the tonic; and for its successful integration of counterpoint within a non-contrapuntal formal structure.