Schumann Three Romances, Op. 94 Schumann’s Op. 94 Romances were composed in 1849, during a time when his mental health was deteriorating rapidly. Originally written for the oboe, the first performance featuring the violin and piano was given by Clara Schumann and François Schubert in a private concert. The three pieces are all written in ABA form, the typical form for songs, and feature lyrical, heartfelt melodies that evoke storytelling and vivid imagery. Marked Nicht schnell (not fast), the first Romance begins with a piano introduction, setting the somber mood for the melancholy theme in the violin in the key of A minor. Throughout, the violin line has a yearning quality, with moments of euphoric ecstasy in the B section that has the violin soaring above the piano accompaniment. The return of the A section brings back the opening theme, and the searching chromatic figures in the violin bring the piece to a soft, forlorn conclusion. The second Romance, Einfach, innig (simply, heartfelt) features the violin and piano playing some of the most inward, vulnerable music in the parallel key of A major. The B section then provides dramatic contrast with a series of stormy, driven ascending lines before dissolving into the A section again with the utmost care, almost fragile …show more content…
This Chaconne begins with a singing violin melody almost beguiling in its character, with a natural sense of ebb and flow that traverses numerous episodes. With the addition of double stops and chordal textures, the intensity gradually rises until it reaches the breaking point where the violin charges forward through a frenetic, virtuosic passage. The tension and register continue to rise to the point where the violin sounds as if it is screeching. The drama resolves in the brief coda as the frantic energy unwinds and the violin fades away into the