Schumann did perhaps his most respected work in song and piano literature. A gifted and passionate musician, he was privileged to be married to the love of his life, Clara Wieck, herself a respected composer and highly regarded concert pianist. Known—at least during his lifetime—almost as much for his distinguished career as music critic and essayist, even today his analyses and commentaries lend valuable insights into the music of his milieu and times. He was a formidable pianist—his wife even more so—and his contributions to the piano stand with those of Schubert, Chopin, and Brahms in artistic significance.
It is a commonplace to observe Schumann’s proclivity to focus upon a single genre before turning to another. So, we all refer to 1840 as his “year of song,” the year of his marriage to Clara, for whom his passion generated more than half of his some 300 plus Lieder. In the next year, he focused upon orchestra music, and in 1842 his attention moved to chamber music. After spending time examining the chamber works of Mozart, he produced three string quartets, a piano quartet, and a piano quintet—all significant works. Mozart wrote two important piano quartets, and their model for Schumann loomed large.
Schumann had written a piano quartet very early on, at the age of 19, during his time studying in Leipzig. It was well written, but it more or less remains a relic of juvenilia. There were some other sketches in the genre, as well—but are now lost. But, the piano quartet and piano quintet of 1842 are masterworks, and went on to serve as essential models in the genre for succeeding generations of composers.
The Quartet in Eb was dedicated to Count Mathieu Wielhorsky, a Russian violoncellist. The première took place in 1844; the performers included Clara and the great violinist, Ferdinand David. The work is cast in the usual four movements, with the first movement in an easy to follow sonata form. It begins with a short, sonorous hymn-like passage that becomes rather like a marker for the various sections of the form. In the allegro that follows, the first subject is heard immediately in the piano—three brusque chords followed by glittering, descending cascade. Schumann surprises us with a second subject, not in the usual Bb, but in an ascending scale and descent in G minor. The development is signaled by a few measures of the opening hymn-like section, and we’re off to the races, driven by the unrelenting, driving eighth notes in the piano. It’s characteristic of Schumann’s marvelous imagination in crafting a seemingly unending variety of piano textures and figurations. After a tumultuous development, zipping through a kaleidoscope of keys and thematic fragments, the recap is signaled, not in this case by the hymn-like section, but by a very clear repeat of the first motive from the beginning allegro. Schumann shows us his imagination by eschewing a simple recapitulation–exploring yet more variants. Finally, the opening hymn does mark the beginning of the brief, vivacious coda that ends it all.
The scherzo of the second movement is an exuberant essay in Schumann’s best figural and textural talents. It has two trios, rather than the usual single one, and both provide the requisite contrasts to the main theme. The latter opens in a frenetic, staccato scamper in G minor, with all four instrumentalists chasing each other in contrapuntal cascades. The first trio is suitably more relaxed and lyrical before the main rush of notes returns. It doesn’t last long, and the second trio enters with a series of soft chords, rhythmically displaced in the best Schumann tradition. The rhythmic “confusion” is further enhanced by bits of the staccato main theme, before the whole first section is reprised to end softly.
The following Andante cantabile has been perhaps consistently the most popular movement of the quartet. The lyrical melody introduced by the violoncello is one of the composer’s finest, and a model of romantic style, with its soaring leaps of a seventh. The movement consists of a statement and five brief variations, with a chorale-like passage near the middle. After the theme is announced by the violoncello, a canon-like first variation couples the violin with the violoncello, and the second variation sets a duo for the viola and the piano. A surprising chorale for everyone in the equally surprising key of Gb follows—but one with intertwined rhythms. The viola displays its lyricism in Variation V before the violin joins it for Variation VI. While this is going on, you may notice the ‘cellist retuning the low string of the instrument from C to Bb. After the violoncello has the last turn at the tune, that Bb will be needed in the short coda that introduces the last movement, although many ‘cellists simply play the note an octave higher for convenience.
The last movement is a tour de force of dazzling technique in the piano part, and a creative combination of counterpoint and innovations in sonata form. After the manic, cascading first idea, the lyrical second theme quickly appears in the minor mode, carried by the strings. But the development is where the fun begins, suitably intense, and seemingly dashing through almost every key. The composer surprises us with a sudden digression in Ab major in the recapitulation that makes reference to the first trio of the scherzo. Not content to a simple reprise, Schumann seems to want to develop his material further before he lets it all go. But, he does, and a short demonic coda ends this masterpiece.
–Wm. E. Runyan
©2025 William E. Runyan