Schumann: String Quartets Nos. 1-3

Schumann: String Quartets Nos. 1-3

Schumann: String Quartets Nos. 1-3
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Music CD Cover

Composer: Robert Schumann
Orchestra: Fine Arts Quartet
Performer: Ralph Evans
Performer: Efim Boico
Performer: Yuri Gandelsman
Performer: Wolfgang Laufer
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2006-12-12
Music Label: Naxos
Soundtracks:
  1. Introduzione: Andante Espressivo - Allegro
  2. Scherzo: Presto - Intermezzo
  3. Adagio
  4. Presto
  5. Allegro Espressivo - Allegro Molto Moderato
  6. Andante Quasi Variazioni
  7. Scherzo: Presto
  8. Allegro Molto Vivace
  9. Andante Espressivo - Allegro Molto Moderato
  10. Assai Agitato - Un Poco Adagio - Tempo Risoluto
  11. Adagio Molto
  12. Allegro Molto Vivace

Free Music Notes for Schumann: String Quartets Nos. 1-3

Free Music Review: This is what you might want to listen to, after your collection contains the Schumann piano chamber pieces.
Hit: 5 Stars

(1) Quartet in A minor.

ANDANTE. This piece starts calmly. At 2 minutes, there is a brief flourish, like a musical clearing of the throat, followed by more calmness. At 3 minutes, things speed up, and we are treated to a lively skipping motif. The lively skipping motif goes like this, "CHA! Cha-chung!" As we listen to this piece, this motif sounds like a child skipping along the sidewalk.

SCHERZO. This piece features a jittery motif, where the violins play, "Da-da-dum," as if beginning (but not following through with) the Lone Ranger Theme. The jittery Lone Ranger Theme is repeated at various intervals, and sandwiched in between the jitters, comes a weird little tune. The weird little tune sounds like a normal tune played backwards. (Baby boomers will be familiar with the recordings of the Beatles that contain drum sounds played backwards, and other musical sounds played backwards.)

ADAGIO. This is a calm piece featuring, at the beginning, pizzicato plucks. This piece doesn't have much of a discernable tune. Adagio is suitable for granny knitting by the fireplace.

PRESTO. This piece has a 3-note trumpeting motif that is similar to that of the Finale of Schumann's Piano Quartet in E flat major. The fast-moving PRESTO changes moods, like a railroad train passing villages, going over bridges, through tunnels, or rushing past a train moving in the opposite direction. PRESTO concludes with a hushed church hymn, which is interrupted by the 3-note trumpeting motif.

(2) Quartet in F major.

ALLEGRO VIVACE. This is a calm piece suitable for company at dinner. At 2 and a half minutes, the piece ascends, using a stress-inducing melody. Then, the calm dinner-company tune returns. I don't know why this piece is called, "allegro vivace." There is nothing about this tune that is "vivace."

ANDANTE. More calm music for company at dinner. At one and a half minutes, comes an unusual descending motif, followed by an ocean swell nuance. At 3 minutes come pizzicato plucks, followed by an ocean swell nuance. At 6 minutes, comes a short hiccupping interlude that goes, "Dee-dee-hic!" At 7 minutes and 45 seconds, is a slow waltz.

SCHERZO. This lively piece has a rocking motif, that comes with a descending motif, as if sitting in a row boat rocking in gentle waves. Rocking, descending. Rocking, descending. At one minute 20 seconds, comes a tune where the violins provide scraping sounds, propelling the other instruments forward. The scraping sounds are like that of the violins in Eleanor Rigby.

ALLEGRO. This is a lively piece that shifts moods from time to time, though I was not able to discern any particular melody or hook.

(3) Quartet in A major.

ANDANTE. This piece has an undulating quality, as though somebody was fooling around with the volume knob, turning it louder, softer, louder, softer, louder, softer. From time to time, there is a short tune with a repeated 2-note motif, suitable for some romantic movie from the 1930s, where some heartbroken woman throws herself on her bed.

ASSAI AGITATO. The piece starts out dreamy and quiet, with no particular melody. At 50 seconds, the mood changes, and we are treated to a rapid tune, driven by triplets. At one minute, 40 seconds, the triplets are abandoned, and the music gets faster and louder, sounding almost like the Finale of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, in terms of its urgency and continuing embryonic issuance of various themes. At 2 minutes, 20 seconds, the piece becomes dreamy and quiet. At 4 minutes, 50 seconds, the piece gets loud and pleasantly strident.

ADAGIO. This piece is slow and dreamy. At 1 min, 40 seconds, comes a very quiet mysterious-sounding part, where a pair of violins signal in Morse code. They go, "DIT-DA, DIT-DA, DIT-DA." At 3 minutes, 45 seconds, the Morse code motif is discontinued. At 4 minutes, 40 seconds, the Morse code returns, and a minute later all of the strings get fairly loud, and the Morse code still goes, "DIT-DA, DIT-DA, DIT-DA." Then, things get quiet again.

ALLEGRO. This piece begins with a lively motif, not really a tune though. The lively motif goes like this: DAAAAA! Dee-dee, dee-dee, dee-dee, dee-dee-DAAAAA!" This particular motif is repeated often, and interesting things are sandwiched in between it. What gets sandwiched in between are optimistic-sounding, jaunty sea shanty motifs. The optimistic sea shanty motifs, not quite long enough to be called tunes, can easy be hummed by the layperson.

CONCLUSION. Any person reading this review likely owns all of the Schumann recordings for piano, and most likely owns a couple of different recordings of the QUINTET for Piano in E flat major (op. 44), and of the QUARTET for Piano in E flat major (op. 47). But what might have been overlooked, is the amazing recording by Heinz Holliger and Alfred Brendel of Schumann's works for oboe and piano, which consists of the 3 Romances, the Evening Song, Adagio and Allegro, Fantasiestucke, and 5 Stucke im Voklston (Philips label, recorded in 1979). Some of the same tunes found on Holliger's recording, appear on the Schumann's Sonata No. 1 and Sonata No. 2 (I have the recording by Gidon Kremer and Martha Argerich). At any rate, the NAXOS recordings of the the Schumann string quartets contains 80 minutes of music.

I am not sure why so few recordings of these 3 Schumann pieces are available while, in contrast, over one hundred recordings are available for the Beethoven string quartets. I don't think that the Beethoven string quartets are one hundred times more interesting, or one hundred times more listenable, than these Schumann pieces.
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