CBA Ode to Joy

Program Notes The Fantasy was not performed again, nor could Robert find a publisher for it. So on the shelf it sat until the summer of 1845, when, after much urging from Clara, Robert composed what would become the second and third movements of the Piano Concerto in A Minor, his only work in that form. Clara was at the piano for the premiere in December of 1845 in Dresden, or Leipzig on New Year’s Day 1846, depending on the source. The Concerto is a nearly complete departure from the concertos that went before it. As Robert wrote to Clara in 1839, “Concerning concertos, I’ve already said to you that I can’t write a concerto for virtuosi and have to think of something else.” And in an essay he published in his groundbreaking journal, Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, he expanded on the challenge: “[The] separation of the piano from the orchestra is something we have seen coming for some time… [W]e must await the genius who will show us in a newer and more brilliant way how orchestra and piano may be combined, how the soloist, dominant at the keyboard, may unfold the wealth of his instrument and his art, while the orchestra, no longer a mere spectator, may interweave its manifold facets onto the scene.” As it turned out, the long-awaited genius was Schumann himself. The Concerto gives full expression to the duality of Schumann’s imaginary two alter egos: the impetuous and fiery Florestan and the dreamy and ethereal Eusebius. We hear from Florestan right away in the opening measures of the first movement, which begins with a unison orchestral strike, followed by a fiery, descending series of chords from the piano. Florestan’s opening outburst is over in less than ten seconds, at which point Eusebius takes over with a beautiful and mysterious melody, first in the woodwinds, then in the piano. The second theme follows moments later, carried primarily by the strings, with the piano murmuring below. Florestan returns, of course, until the piece can no longer sustain his energy, and Eusebius restores us to a dream state for the development section, which features the piano and first clarinet trading solos, accompanied by murmuring strings. Florestan sits still as long as he can, and brings back the opening piano flourishes and a recapitulation of the opening themes, which take us to a wonderful cadenza, written by Schumann himself. At the end of the cadenza, the principal theme returns, only now in a very fast march tempo, leading to a thrilling finish. On the whole, the Concerto both looks backward and forward. The first movement certainly pays great respect to Beethoven’s 4th and 5th Piano Concertos. But one only has to listen toGrieg’s sole piano concerto (also in A Minor), Tchaikovsky’s first Piano Concerto, and Rachmaninoff’s concertos, to understand the enormous influence Schumann had on those who followed him. Schumann’s Piano Concerto has endured as one of his most beloved for good reason. –Program Note by Neil B. Posner

CBA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS 25