Live Concert at The House Concert, 07. July. 2020
The House Concert “July Festival” 2020
Eric Seohyun Moon (Viola) Kyuho Shim (Clarinet) Jinhyeong Park (Piano)
Märchenerzählungen Op.132 for clarinet, viola and piano When he composed the Märchenerzählungen (Fairy Tales) Op.132 (1853), Schumann’s bouts of sleeplessness, impaired speech and movement, and deepening depression were getting worse. A temporary ray of light, in the form of a visit by the young 20-year-old Johannes Brahms, gave him one last burst of creative impetus. The Märchenerzählungen were composed during this all-too-brief Indian summer with the youthful genius of Brahms. Possibly inspired by Mozart’s Kegelstatt Trio K498 (1786) for piano, clarinet and viola, with which he must have been familiar, Schumann decided to compose ‘romances for clarinet, viola and piano’ and thus to add a particularly delightful duo combination to his series of works for one wind or string instrument and piano. Schumann began to compose the four pieces in Düsseldorf on 9 October 1853 and completed them just two days later, on 11 October. In his multi-sectioned works, Schumann was not content to merely link together a series of separate pieces, but almost always arranged them in carefully calculated and well-balanced cycles, with just as much rigour as imagination. In the Märchenerzählungen he draws closer and closer to his solo pianistic roots, cleverly linking each movement and unifying them with subtle thematic references. The more intimate trio instrumentation allows his subtle harmonies, such as passing augmented sixth chords, and intricate melodic passages to be thrown into sharp focus.
© Sara Bacchini