Schumann: Ghost Variations, WoO 24 (Anderszewski, Levit)
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- Опубликовано: 25 авг 2024
- On the night of 17 February 1854, Schumann, suffering from severe aural hallucinations, claimed that he heard angels dictating a theme to him. If Clara Schumann’s diary entries are to be believed, Schumann immediately wrote down the theme, and on either 22 or 23 February started writing variations on it. (All that survives of this first draft is a single page of music, and so we cannot know if at this stage Schumann completed work on the variations, though is likely he had not). At 2 in the afternoon of 27 February Schumann tried to drown himself in the icy Rhine; he was rescued by bargemen who dragged him ashore. The next day he returned to these variations and (it seems) completed them. He sent the work to Clara, but by then she had already left to stay with a friend at the advice of a doctor. On 4 March Schumann voluntarily committed himself to an asylum in Endenich, where he would die just a little over 2 years later.
The Geistervariationen (“Ghost Variations”) are Schumann’s last work. He did not seem to realise that the lovely chorale theme that he wrote down was one he had used several times before: in the 2nd mvt of his Violin Concerto in D min (in a fragmentary form), the 2nd mvt of his 2nd String Quartet, and the Lieder-Album für die Jugend (No.19, Frühlings Ankunft, with a different harmonic colour). Clara forbade the publication of the work (we don’t know why - possibly they were too personal, possibly she thought it was not musically up to par with Schumann’s earlier work), and it was only until 1939 that the work saw print, although Brahms wrote a set of 4-hand variations on Schumann’s theme in 1861.
The Ghost Variations are, like most of Schumann's late work, extraordinarily intimate. All the variations cleave closely to the original theme, never quite departing its soundscape, and the original melody is always present. Rather than dissect the theme, the variations eavesdrop on it: Var. 1 adds triplet counterpoint in a middle voice; Var.2 unfolds as a touching canon; Var.3 opens the theme up just slightly by placing it in the LH and giving the RH gossamer-light triplet figuration; and Var.4 drains the theme of some of its warmth with intricate note placement, glacial and clear as ice. Var.5 represents something of a break from the earlier variations; it follows the harmony of the original theme exactly, but at first blush can be hard to recognise as related to the original theme. There is for the first time something disturbing here: both upper melody and middle-voice accompaniment are awash with chromatic grace notes, with the middle voice chromatic notes given to the LH in a way that just about suggests they have a separate life of their own. If emphasised, as Levit does (19:29), these LH nonharmonic notes create a gently dissonant haze in which the melody is nearly lost - kaleidoscopically beautiful and broken at the same time. Given what we know about the circumstances of this work’s composition, it is hard to be musically objective, but it seems that there is no more appropriate ending to a work that also bookended Schumann’s life. (We’re not even entirely certain if the work is complete - Schumann might have ended it where it did because he was unable to write more, and on purely intuitive grounds I'm inclined to believe this is the case.)
Anderszewski:
00:00 - Theme
02:01 - Var.1
03:31 - Var.2
05:11 - Var.3, Etwas belebter (“somewhat livelier”)
06:50 - Var.4
08:58 - Var.5
Levit:
11:11 - Theme
13:01 - Var.1
14:28 - Var.2
16:01 - Var.3, Etwas belebter (“somewhat livelier”)
17:35 - Var.4
19:29 - Var.5
Anderszewski plays this worshipfully, with a nearly-inaudible rendition of the opening theme but a surprisingly taut and dynamically varied melodic line that can reach real ecstatic peaks, especially in the last variation (see e.g., 10:49). There is a lot of very subtle rubato here too, especially in the inner contrapuntal lines (see Vars. 2-4). Levit has a more straightforward approach: the theme is played simply, with and a kind of inner certainty, and the basic pulse of the music is sustained through the variations. His Var.5 is especially interesting to listen to - it’s taken considerably slower than A.’s, with less precise voicing and the chromatic notes in the LH accented in a rather disturbing way. Both recordings are beautifully voiced, with faultless handling of the counterpoint (it’s interesting to compare how A. and Levit handle the canon - A. teases apart the imitative lines, highlighting the high points in the LH, while Levit lets the trailing voice follow more naturally, like an echo).
You aren't dead!!!
Hope whatever else it is that you're up to is going well, just thought I'd let you know I started listening to your videos when I was taking grade 7 or 8 and I'm now preparing for a diploma this coming summer before studying Chemistry next academic year. I really enjoyed your videos and they helped me get get into almost all of the composers I now listen too (particularly Bach as the partitas just completely changed my experience of all of his music). I'm not sure piano would be nearly as large a part of my life if it hadn't been for your channel (but hey, who knows). Thanks for the time and effort that you've put into the channel
His last work and the "dedicated to Clara Schumann" makes it even that more beautiful and tragic, the love of his life
She was also a child.
@@lilsharty248 when they married he was 28 and she was 21
@@lilsharty248 Nice -- but pathetic -- attempt.
It is not quite sur that it is his very last ine .. at least one of his last..... 😮💨 💗💗💗
@@gerardbegni2806 Yes, it's quite sure.
Heh-heh. "Ghost Variations. WoO"
You beat me to it.
@@mindstudies8370 god damn it
No way I laughed at it lol
Dad jokes 101
@This Guy Master of the house...
the final variation is one of the most moving bits of Schumman's entire output. sublime beauty shrouded in a fog of dissonance... that's life.
The story of Schumann makes me tremendously somber. Thanks, as always, for the wonderful interpretations and wonderful prose to accompany the pieces. Schumann is such a terribly underrated composer and I’m glad you’re uploading his music.
He’s gaining massive traction in recent times.
Thank you Schumann for all of the beauty you contributed to mankind
Yes! Thank you, dear Schumann, we love you!
@@RedCloudBeechWaveAhh The most "german-romantic" composer next to Mendelssohn
@@ilyasnm837 For me Mendelssohn feels a little less romantic and more religious. But I sure love him, too. For me personally Schubert feels more romantic than Mendelssohn for example.
素晴らしいコメント
Probably one of the most criminally underrated and underperformed pieces for classical piano ever written. It is a beautiful set of pieces despite it's rather strange history, and thus it has an eerieness to it, which may explain why it isn't played so often. Thankfully though, a select few have given their time to record it proving just how wonderful these pieces really are.
This is made all the better by a young man with a knack for writing detailed descriptions of these pieces. One who I'd highly recommend to those interested in classical piano. Thank you Ashish for your hard work.
@Donkey Punch Knock-Out You might think Schumann's music is boring but many of us certainly don't. There are pieces that certain pianists do not record simply for the oddness of the pieces themselves. Vladimir Sofronitsky, a legendary Scriabin interpreter, did not record his White Mass Sonata out of pure superstition. Scriabin himself was apprehensive about playing his own sixth sonata. It's likely that the strange and unsettling history behind the Ghost Variations, or simply because they are unknown, are why so few pianists bother with them.
Schumann’s work boring? Wow. That’s just insane to hear. Anyways, it is underperformed because certain pianists/virtuosi (Schiff for example) find it too intimate and personal for a recital audience.
Wait. Tedious and dull? Yikes again I’m shocked and offended. May you sit in a dark room with head phones on for 5 years and listen to nothing but megadeath, warrant and Ratt as punishment for this outrage.
@Donkey Punch Knock-Out ..... and you were brave enough to choose the most intimate piece of Schumann, his farewell to life and music to hurt all Schumann music's lovers? Despite I have the highest respect for diverging opinions I can't shut up and avoid observing you have chosen the most unfortunate venue to vent yours. My goodness: you outraged Schumann lovers in the forum of the Ghost Variations!!! Worse than a blasphemy squalled in a Cathedral, man! God, be merciful!!!
Amen brother schumann lover in arms. I could have stomached him claiming he found The symphonic etudes and His Sonatas more interesting or stimulating, but his comments were borderline insane and disgusting. I think he must be a channel troller-look at his ridiculous name.
Obsessed with Levit's interpretation of the 5th variation.
It's nothing less than criminal that this work is not more widely-known, not more often programmed, not more often recorded, an absolute masterpiece of the romantic piano literature if you ask me
I was working on a very regular morning & playing music in the background, the minute this music started playing I swear my entire body totally froze for a couple of minutes while listening to this enchanting & hauntingly beautiful theme....how on Earth is this music not famous & regularly performed ? It's just surreal...Thank you Ashish for uploading this hidden gem of classical music & thank you Schumann for composing it.
One of the pieces that slowly grows inside of you over time
Downright cancerous
@@emfox6280 dissonance bad
This piece is haunting and the pun is entirely intended. Levit's 5th variation is almost unbearable in its broken-winged beauty. May I also say as a general comment that you write so beautifully and insightfully about the pieces you upload; your channel is both an education and an inspiration.
Tears. The theme is incredibly lyrical and sad
One of the saddest works in a major key
I find Levi's rendition of the fifth variation very interesting because of the voiceleading. Its as though he is trying to show Schumanns insanity. Kind of reminds me of Gesangen der fruhe
Op.133 is similarly mercurial isn't it? Both are immensely moving yet utterly disturbing in the context of Schumann's life at those two catastrophe points.
Ashish, your insight about Levit's emphasised dissonances in Var V gave me goosebumps.
The theme is one of the most beautiful ones of Schumann
Anderszewski really understands - in my opinion - this piece better than others. The tempi, the phrasing, the intimate and pure beauty of his rendition are unsurpassed. One of the most moving piano pieces of all times, and I listened first to it without knowing that it was the last piece Schumann ever composed just before his tragic attempt to kill himself. Pure poetry, music without any desire of showing-off or to impress, a farewell to Clara. I believe that Schumann knew what was close to happen to him. Listening to this piece even without any knowledge of its history can't produce a different feeling, I presume: a love call, a farewell to life, a musical testament, all in one. I don't often use the word sublime, but here I am not afraid of using it. Any consideration about "it's not good for the public" or "The virtuosi don't like it" or other earthly and mundane considerations like these ones are, for me, completely out of context regarding this. We are not anymore in a room full of people waiting to watch some superficial display of fingers, we are near God, if He exists, or near the Mistery of Life, of Love, for the non-believers.
Bravo
A fun challenge is to listen to the offbeat LH notes starting at 19:29. It actually makes a melody in D major if you focus on it hard enough. Thankfully Levit's voicing makes this possible!
This is such a transcendently incomprehensible piece. It is guarded in mysterious simplicity
Crazy to think that such a brilliant composer ended up dying in the madhouse.
悲しいです。
This piece resonates to both the part of me that is helplessly in love with performing and making music as well as the depressive part of me that feels like I'm not capable enough and that is afraid of what my future as a musician may hold. I am not sure if I've ever felt so connected to a piece before
This song reminds me less of ghosts and more of life with clinical depression.
I love this music.
Well he wrote this when he was hallucinating.
He tried to drown himself 4 days later and was admitted to a mental institution.
Literally me
Well, the Getman title is "Geistervariationen", which could also be taken to be "Spirit Variations". Basically, the sense of 'ghost' here is not 'spooky ghost' but more the sense of just the soul, I think.
May you rest in eternal peace Robert!
Schumann began his (at least published) piano works with Theme and Variations, "Abegg" I believe (1830), and it seems he ended that way as well, with this piece here. Fitting end to an amazing catalogue of piano compositions
Levit's rendition of var. 5 convinces me that Schumann's intention was that after he tried to drown himself -- he attempted to write the theme the way it sounded to him as though "under water", during those couple days in between, before he committed himself.
Thank you Schumann for being one of the, if not the best romantic composer
Yet another wonderful set of piano variations I have heard for the first time on your channel--with your incomparable 'liner notes.' Thank you.
"Rather than dissect the theme, the variations eavesdrop on it" -- what a nice way to describe it! Thanks for uploading these beautiful performances
I love it when im just about ti relax and then an ad pops up just love it
Get adblocker/Brave browser.
Thank you so much and thank you so much Schumann, you wonderful person!
Just beginning to find Schumann. ....first string quartet is up there with the best.
Eb Major is a key historically associated with heroism and yet here I sense desperation.
Because of the Beethoven's 3rd symphony?
I sense resignation and, maybe, some catharsis, but i got your point
Yeah, it is. Especially in Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, Piano Concerto No. 5, and Piano Sonata No. 26. The famous Maestoso section in his late quartet can belong to this category. Composers like Mozart also did that sometimes. But not always...
Here it's about a hero who got his nuts handed to him
All major scales are the same
YES FINALLY!!! have been waiting for ages for this one! Such a moving piece
Schumann began his career by the ABEGG variations op. 1, splendidly written but a bit conventional and in which he is not fully himself, differently rom the outstanding next work, 'Butterflies' op. 2. It is generally considered that his 'songs of the dawn' op. 133 (is 'dawn a kind of SOS facing the night in which he was about to dive without return? Op; 133 does not sound as desperate or tragic - an actual miracle. Similarly, the 'ghost variations' are also a miracle: they sound as actually and deeply schumannian, a peaceful Schumann, quite far from the Kreisleriana for instance. Perhaps musicologists tend to forget music when depicting the horror of Schumann's last years without outilining that kind of interior peace expressed by these very last works after darker period. . Clara, Brahms and Johachim decided for obscure reasons not to publish several scores, including this one, but also major ones as the violin concerto. They were sincere, for sure. But definitely, they took wrong decisions.
Everybody likes Schumann 💫🎵🎹🎵💫
thank you so so much!. I've never heard this before.
I love the interpretation by Anderszewski... sooooo deeply beautiful
I want this to be played at my funeral.
I hope you live a happy & full healthy life
Sorpresa !!! No sabia de estas variasones ,gusta
@jeff henderson lmao
We don’t deserve your high quality content with its insights and valuable remarks.
Wtf. Never heard this wonderful piece before. Schumann really had his own personal style. Think I must learn the theme and some more easy variation.❤️
The theme and Var. 1-2 managed😎.
@@miguswede-2557 Well done! :)) Do move on to the other ones! They are all godly! The fourth one is quite easy too, I think... Even though the last one looks particularly challenging but it is a miracle.
@@27dimes the Theme uploaded on my channel. Check it out😎
Yes! This is a beautiful piece and I love that I can hear two new versions with the score. I studied it this year (although not perfect for performance, I'll go back to it). Thank you very much!!
András Schiff’s rendition on his ECM album ‘Geistervariationen’ is also very beautiful! Such a moving piece of music.
Thank you for introducing me to this sublime music.
Such a tragic work :'(
Wasn't expecting you on a Schumann video lol
Well, as far as I know most Liszt fans also tend to like Schumann, I'm one of them too like Andrei.
Heard this the first time played by Enrico Pace. He's such an incredible artist, I wish I could be there again listening to him
This beautiful piece should be played more often. Clara Schumann and Brahms were wrong to withhold it and the Violin Concerto from publication. They may not be as great as the best of Schumann's earlier masterpieces, but I'd take anything Robert wrote over Clara's or Brahms' compositions.
First part of the theme is all Brahms with a flavor of late Schubert :-]
Something about it reminds me of the slow movement of the Brahms second piano concerto.
Sympa la pub entrecoupée...de quoi se jeter dans le Rhin.
variation V feels like a warm six handed hug
The last variations seems to me to represent Schumann's mind with many ambiguous harmonies or dissonances
Brain just segues into Brahms's A major intermezzo
This is beyond amazing
I think "Ghost variations" is not a good translation. It would rather be "Mind variations", which is even more despaired. Anyway, it is my favourite piano piece by Schumann, it is difficult not to cry hearing it. Thanks you for loading these two incredible versions ! Firstly, I prefered Levit, now Anderszewski's interpretation is above. It is perhaps less subtle, but it is also more painful.
I think ghostvariations seems appropriate. I don't know who named the piece but i think it rather refers to schumanns experience of Mendelssohns and Schuberts ghosts singing the theme to him than to schumanns state of mind. The German title is Geistervariationen which means ghost variations. For it to mean mind variations it hat to be Geistesvariationen. Apart from that, mind variations would be interesting too and I can totally see what you mean. Truly touching piece of music that makes me wonder.
@@Mickikick Thank you for your answer, you may finally be right. I encoutered a german guy two months ago and I asked him about this. He was not as certain as you about the difference between ghost and mind in german. He rather explained me it was the same word and that only the context could give an idea of the meaning. However, it is more likely for a romantic as Schumann to refer to ghosts, and I like your interpretation !
@@eldrake35 I think ghost is the right one, because Robert wrote these variations while dreaming of Schubert and Mendelssohn singing or telling him how to write it
@@mterrazas2829 Yes, utterly, my analysis was wrong. But the ambiguity still remains interesting to my eyes.
@@mterrazas2829 May I ask you where did you find the information about this specific dream ?
Var. 3 is at least 100 years ahead of its time.
Do you think so? It sounds very romantic to me, even a bit like middle-Beethoven. Sometimes like Brahms
SCHUMANN is gravely under rated. I admire him tremendously.
I would like to see this work along with Songs of Dawn performed on a period piano having unequal temperament.
Great. Thank you.
Ashish, do you know any free commons rights for this piece so I can download it for my background music? Many thanks, from Israel ❤️
How adorable. Thank you very much. 💞🌷🌷🌷 (Holland-eu)
Das ist Schumann's letzte Werk. Ein sehr leises aber schönes Licht leuchtet daraus.
before he went to lunatic asylum in weeks he composed this piece and dedicated to his wife
私はシューマンに共感します。
人生を全力で駆け抜けていった人。
清らかな魂に祈りを捧げたい。
BoO 24 more like ;)
Sokolov is also extraordinary in these variations
And his interpretation is so very different from these two, who are more alike than different. It is much more interesting comparing one of them to Sokolov.
Love your channel Ashish. Your meticulous and passionate commentary and notes are so appreciated. Do you have a recommended recording of Schumann’s Humoreske?
I know I’m late but Radu Lupu’s interpretation is the best for sure
Clicked partly because it said "Ghost Variations, WoO"
Looks a bit like Arietta
Much thanks to Herr Kumarstein for this and all the uploads...
Would you be willing to upload Godowsky’s studies on Chopin’s op. 25? I know you did op. 10 before and I really enjoyed it.
I second that.
Where do you find the sheet music for this full work? Only the theme is available on IMSLP.
So good
The song of madness ...
Fine as Anderszewkis´ performance is I feel that nobody but Sokolov has captured the fragile beauty of this music entirely.
Agree completely, he is unmatched in these variations
He wrote this on my birthday.
They were some kind of ghosts, not angels. Some claims they were also threatening him to go to hell.
Have you ever considered uploading Schumann's Kinderzcenen?. The performances by both Ivan Moravec and Cyprien Katsaris are lovingly played.
I think AXK uploaded the Horowitz and Argerich versions of the Kinderszenen at one point.
@@timward276 I think it was only selections.
yeah, that's what I found just now, but I thought I saw the whole of the Kinderszenen at one point. Maybe it's gone from YT now.
Thank you!
A pity that among the many things Clara did to influence her husband’s career and reputation, most of them valuable, among the most impactful has been to promote the stereotype that his late works are inferior to the earlier ones.
I don't know much about their marriage, how did she do that?
@@justinstacey7005 she lived another 40 years
@@justinstacey7005 @John Lorenzen
She was also the foremost advocate and promoter of his work, both before and after his death, as an acclaimed virtuoso pianist. People came to hear her play more than they came to hear his works.
Hey Ashish, great showcase, as always!Does anyone know where to download the sheet music of this piece? I'd need it for an analysis at my conservatory. Thanks!
I can’t find it either.
It is very difficult to find sheet music for these variations, since they were not published until well into the 20th century and thus only the theme falls under public domain. I have the complete Schumann 3-set of all his solo piano music and yet the variations to this piece are missing, quite a shame.
I'm writing a history essay on this, and it's killing me. This is Robert Schumann's last work, and went unpublished for years at the request of Clara schumann, (a fantastic concert pianist and composer, as well as schumanns wife). He wrote this right before his attempted suicide attempt, and often spoke of how angels and devils were playing him music to write down (he was delusional). It has been suspected that he had some form of Bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia near the end of his life. After he finished these variations, he committed himself into an insane asylum at the request of his doctors where he lived out the rest of his life, dying not to long after.
var 1 goes crazy
ヴァイオリン協奏曲の2楽章
This is the last piano piece of Schumann. 1854 . He wrote this in the hospital..
Everywhere at the End of Time but make it classical
Bahahaha
Who came up with the name Geistervariationen? Does anyone know
it was more or less himself. He pretended to have got the theme from ghosts and wrote the variations the following days , interrupted by his attempted suicide in the Rhine river.
what is ghostly about it?
If you analyze it (theoretically) you can see that the theme of the song is always in the variations, but is slowly fading away. Try to find it in each variation
Schumann souffrait d'hallucinations auditives à la fin de sa vie. Cette mélodie figure parmi celles qu'il entendait, et qu'il attribuait aux anges.
What happened to the Waldszenen??
Does anyone know where to get the score for this piece? I've been looking in IMSLP and it's nowhere to be found, there's only the theme with no variations.
I like the idea in Levit‘s last variation, but I think it sounds too concrete. To me the dissonant notes feel more like a shadow of the theme, and not as a counter voice.
Beau piano.
Can someone link me to sheet music? I cannot find it :(
www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=46166.0
Where is it you got the score? I checked imslp a while back, but I couldn't find it there.
Henle Urtext.
@@ezrang2496 Ah, so mot freely available :(
@@klop4228 take it from this video.
@@zabki22 Eventually. Though I might actually go ahead and buy it at some point.
@@klop4228 I actually have a copy of it.
Unfortunate all the big name pianists will never play these pieces for recording or concert unless there's money to be made.
Good music i love itq😂😂❤❤waiting for new realese he is my idol😅😅😂
Know that my friend wrote this
And were did you find the sheet music?
imslp.org , like always :p
where*
I'm aware English may not be your second(or third) language, but i just hate when people confuse things like "your" and "you're" or "were", "we're" and "where" and can't find a difference. And surprisingly often it comes from Americans, the ones whose English is a native language xD
www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=46166.0
Sad
It is too linear for a madman. I prefer Beethoven.
i don't feel like thats the case
The fact that Schumann is never mentioned among the greats of music is nothing less than criminal. His genius was superior to that of Bach or Beethoven, yet he was never appreciated in life, and he was never appreciated because he was never understood. This sick world works in reverse: enlightened souls like Schumann's are ignored, while a mediocre and inconsistent composer like Chopin, with his cloying and unbearable aristocratic salon melodies, is praised as the music's Messiah. God forbid.
Vous êtes injuste avec Chopin, mais il est vrai que Schumann mérite plus de reconnaissance.
22:26
6:50