''Märchenerzählungen'' (

Fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

narrations), Op. 132, is a trio composition by

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

in four

movements Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

for clarinet (violin ad libitum), viola and piano. He composed the clarinet-viola-piano trio in

B-flat major B-flat major is a major scale based on B, with pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative minor is G minor and its parallel minor is B-flat minor. The B-flat major scale is: : Many transposing instr ...

, between 9 and 11 October 1853. The movements are connected by a motif (''Kernmotiv''). The work is dedicated to Schumann's pupil

Albert Dietrich Albert Hermann Dietrich (28 August 182920 November 1908), was a German composer and conductor. In addition to his work, he is remembered for his friendship with Johannes Brahms. Dietrich was born at Golk, near Meissen. From 1851 he studied com ...

, and was published in 1854 by

Breitkopf & Härtel Breitkopf & Härtel is the world's oldest music publishing house. The firm was founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf. The catalogue currently contains over 1,000 composers, 8,000 works and 15,000 music editions or books on ...

History

The composition, one of Schumann's last works, uses the same combination of instruments as Mozart's ''

Kegelstatt Trio The ''Kegelstatt Trio'', K. 498, is a piano trio for clarinet, viola and piano in E-flat major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. History Mozart wrote the piano trio on 10 sheets (19 pages) in Vienna and dated the manuscript on 5 August 1786. Accordin ...

''. The composer was interested in the "picturesque and the fanciful", but left no link to specific fairy tales, as for his earlier '' Märchenbilder'', Op. 113. The composition was completed in a few days.

Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...

noted in her diary: "Heute vollendete Robert 4 Stücke für Klavier, Klarinette und Viola und war selbst sehr beglückt darüber. Er meint, diese Zusammenstellung werde sich höchst romantisch ausnehmen." (Today Robert completed 4 pieces for piano, clarinet and viola and was very happy about it. He thinks that this compilation will appear highly romantic.) The pieces were first performed privately by Clara as the pianist, the violist Ruppert Becker and the clarinetist Johann Kochner. A little later,

Joseph Joachim Joseph Joachim (28 June 1831 – 15 August 1907) was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher who made an international career, based in Hanover and Berlin. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely regarded as one of ...

presented them in public. The compositions were published by

shortly afterwards, and Schumann could present the first copy to the dedicatee, Albert Dietrich, on February 1854.

Structure

The composition is structured in four movements: # "Lebhaft, nicht zu schnell", # "Lebhaft und sehr markiert", ,

G minor G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative major is B-flat major and its parallel major is G major. According to Paolo Pietropaolo, it is the cont ...

# "Ruhiges Tempo, mit zartem Ausdruck", ,

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable compositi ...

# "Lebhaft, sehr markiert",

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

The first movement is marked "lively, not too fast". It alternates march music and dreamlike sections. The second movement, to be played "lively and strongly stressed rhythms", frames a lyrical section with march music of "a distinct rustic flavour". The third movement, marked "reposeful tempo, with tender expression" is a love duet of clarinet and viola, with constant movement in the piano. The fourth movement is marked as the second, has another duet in its centre, and quotes in the end a theme from the first movement.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marchenerzahlungen Piano trios by Robert Schumann Compositions in B-flat major Compositions for viola