 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: DLE
Date: 2001-10-19 08:57
Hi. I just thought I would clear up a little confusion over the origins of the Schumann fantasy pieces. According to the researching I have been doing, this is rather confusing. Firstly, the piece looks as if it was originally COMPOSED for the clarinet (Though I am not sure which one), and yet performed often on the violin, or the cello!! Ken has mentioned that this was to increase sales, but I am a bit more sceptical.
My own ex-teacher originally told me that we shouldn't be doing this piece, as to her it has always been for violin, not clarinet. Me, be very young and naïve at the time, believed her. After embarrasing myself in a previous post about this subject, litterally minutes before I ACTUALLY looked it up, I thought it deserved its own post.
So now, I am inclined to believe the experts - I wish to apologize for making such an obvious error - an error which I have believed in for the past 3 YEARS!
Schumann must not have had alot of confidence in the clarinet though, if he also released it for 2 other instruments. As beautiful as this piece is, I can't help but get the feeling that Schumann wasn't entirely sure what he was doing when writing a piece for clarinet - In my opinion for example, the piano part is 10 times that of the clarinet part.
Another bit of guesswork? BUT, am I a good, or a bad critic?
I now leave it to the experts...
Sorry if this does not fit the bBoard.
DLE.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2001-10-19 13:38
The origin of the Fantasy Pieces, op.73 are not as clearly defined as most other works in the clarinet repertoire.There are certain facts that we do know about their composition, and others that have to be made by speculation based on the time period and circumstances surrounding the events in Schumann's life.
What is known is that at 39, after two years of very poor health (physically and mentally) Schumann had a flurry of compositions in the year of 1849.More than 20 works were composed while the Schumann family had taken refuge at Kreischa during the revolution. Schumann also (the same year) accepted a conducting post at Dusseldorf.
For the Fantasy Pieces, op.74, composed in February of 1849, it can only be conjectured that Schumann had a specific instrumentalist in mind. Since Schumann had known about Stadler (for the Mozart concerto) and Baermann (for Weber's works) it is not an unreasonable assumption to think that there was also a clarinetist intended for these works. But, it still is only an unproven theory. The addition of ad libitum parts for violin and cello (not oboe) were most likely to increase sales and performances, as this was a common practice. (The Three Romances op.94, also written in 1849 and published in parallel with the Fantasy Pieces, were intended for oboe, but had ad libitum parts for clarinet and violin)
In all of the biographical and historical writings concerning Schumann, that is the best guess that we can make as to the origin of these great works. Probably best just to play them and treasure them...GBK
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Author: Anonymous
Date: 2001-10-19 14:12
Yeah, you're right! The piano part is MUCH more challenging than the clarinet part, but it is LOTS of fun to play, and sounds really beautiful even on its own. I have heard the Fantasy Pieces played by both clarinet and violin, and personally I think they sound better on clarinet.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2001-10-19 14:15
addendum to my previous post...
I don't think that we should go as far as to say "that Schumann wasn't entirely sure what he was doing when writing a piece for clarinet." Remember, as Schumann was a pianist (a very good one) it is not unreasonable to see the pianistic aspects of this work.
Many have said that Schumann did not take into account the difficulties of the wind performer in this piece, as the clarinet plays continually, with little chance to rest (or breathe). However, perhaps that is what is truly the charm and challenge of this work- to make it sound effortless...GBK
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Author: DLE
Date: 2001-10-21 16:20
GBK, perhaps you are right in the respect that there are very few breath marks (If any at all) in the piece, which may mean that Schumann wanted it to sound effortless when being played. On the other hand, it also supports the theory that the piece may have originally been intended for the Violin, or the Cello, as with these instruments, you don't have to breath.
There is a very fine line here between intention, and outcome. The outcome of the piece was that it was for clarinet, we can all say that now. But, that doesn't mean that Schumann sat down and thought about the clarinet whilst writing the piece - he could have been thinking about a stringed instrument. The breath marks (Or lack of them) are a dead give away to this theory.
Personally, I know alot of people who think that the history of the piece is not important when you play it - I TOTALLY DISAGREE! I'm sorry GBK, but just playing a piece and treasuring it has never been good enough for me, especially when it comes to piano, and clarinet music. You may call me a music study geek, but I think the origins of a piece are VERY important to a performers' interpretation of that piece. My original interpretation of the Schumann was alot of legato phrasework, with a nice projection, and CONTROLLED breathing. BUT, now I am believing more strongly that one should transform the clarinet into a continuous-sounding instrument, such as a string instrument, in order to capture the way in which I believe it was composed. Of course, I may be wrong, in which case feel free to shoot me down from this post.
As for the Piano part - it is it's own piece in itself - well pointed out 'Anonymous' person! And I actually prefer to play the piano part - which is quite rare for me since the clarinet is my 1st instrument.
Sorry this was so long,
DLE.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2001-10-21 17:11
I too, unfortunately, am a music history fanatic, and would always need to find out the whys and wherefores of a piece before I can totally appreciate it. Interestingly, Karl Leister, actually told me the same exact thing this summer at Clarinetfest. I asked him how he prepares to record something as daunting as the four Spohr concerti, and his answer was to me was to listen to EVERYTHING ELSE that Spohr had written. Only then can you appreciate and understand the composer's intentions and where the pieces fit in his compositional output. Leister said that the recording aspect was the easy part, but the studying was the most difficult. Very interesting...
It is always difficult, and lends to great debate and speculation, why and how a composer wrote a specific work. We can probably just agree to disagree (or something like that) as to the Fantasy Pieces. There are countless works in music literature with little regard for the breathing aspects of the performer, but were still intended for a specific wind instrument.In Schumann's case, it happened to be the clarinet (and later - the oboe) Was the composer not aware of the problem? Perhaps. But as Mozart has always been paraphrased: "If the notes are on your instrument, the producing of them is not my problem..."
A composer will always write what he is most comfortable with. Schumann wrote pianistically and vocally. Whether for clarinet, violin, viola, or whatever, our chore is to convey that feeling...Thanks for your previous fine thoughts...GBK
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