I fully agree with you. Fo tou know that in Scdumnn's mind this wa a tribute to Beethoven? Specialists hace evidenced a theme from "An fiee ferne Geliebte".
One thing missing from the commentators notes is that in the Henle edition it publishes as a footnote an alternate ending Schumann proposed - the Im legneden quote that comes out of nowhere reappears in this alternate version Schumann wrote at the END of the third mvmt thereby proposing a cyclical structure. I actually prefer this alternate ending over the one usually given --- extremely satisfying.
And to think Liszt (the dedicatee of this piece) matched it with his equally formidable Sonata in B Minor (dedicated to Schumann as a thank-you for the Fantasie). What a cool exchange.
@@KenWangpianohe didn’t, Robert was in the mental asylum by that point. He was never privied to the piece because Clara refused to show it to him, even at the insistence of Liszt (He didn’t as in he didn’t read it anywhere)
Schumann was without a doubt one of the most brilliant composers of romantic period. This Fantasie C is of incredible beauty and harmony. From the most intense moments to those musically calmer are of sublime beauty that touches us deeply. The harmonic moments of lyricism are fabulous. Schumann is one of the composers I most appreciate from this period and this Fantasie in C op. 17 is an unrivaled masterpiece. The pianist is amazing for the cadence, sensibility and fabulous technique he uses. What a magnificent recording whose musical quality is unforgettable.
If you like that you should listen to Liszt's B Minor Sonata. The slow sweet parts are much like the part you mentioned, but even more beautiful, in my opinion.
wow the pianist is incredible! This behemoth is an absolute monster to play, especially getting to the end of the 2nd movement. fantastic control of color! Inspirational.
@@makaan699 I agree. His Chopin Sonata recordings are my favorite. I saw him in recital this past weekend (in the second row!) and it was phenomenal. He was also so gracious and gave a pre-recital Q&A. Unfortunately the program didn't have anything quite as virtuosic as this (Janáček, Dvořák, and more), but hearing any pianist of his caliber play anything is a treat.
Fun fact: this piece was actually written for Clara Schumann, his wife. They both loved each other but her dad didn’t allow marriage. This melody from the 1st mvt is actually written by Beethoven in a piece with a poem being sung (I forgot which piece). The poem’s meaning is actually two lovers being separated by their parents. Kinda a cool story. (This is what I remember, I might’ve gotten something wrong)
The object of „To the far beloved“ is a Requiem for his dead wife, the lonely husband asked Beethoven to set his pain into music. Der Anfang des sechsten Liedes ist weltberühmt geworden: "Nimm‘ sie hin denn, diese Lieder, die ich dir, Geliebte, sang." Robert Schumann hat Beethovens Melodie immer wieder in seinen Werken als geheime Botschaft an seine geliebte Clara zitiert: in der Klavierfantasie op.17, im 2. Streichquartett op. 42/2 und in seiner 2. Sinfonie op. 61. Auch Felix Mendelssohn baut ein Zitat in seine 2. Sinfonie op. 52 "Lobgesang" ein.
Fun fact after the intro, the work proper begins with Clara's Theme, a 5 note descension which came from one of Clara's nocturnes that Robert then referenced inexhaustibly forevermore
10:46 A quotation from Beethoven's "An die ferne Geliebte" song VI. The text along these notes is "Nimm sie hin denn, diese Lieder" [die ich dir, Geliebte, sang]. It is considered a message to Clara concerning the troubles they had to get married.
The introduction to this piece and its recurrence throughout the first movement is what Schumann is at one of his highest fantastical calibers. Love this piece!
Both technically and interpretatively Schumann is one of the absolutely most difficult composer. Andsnes is one of todays greatest classical pianist and I dare to say one of the absolute best - if not the best - of his generation. It´s a wonderful rendition of this fantastic music.
@@Bruce.-Wayne Schumann was also impressed by a (relatively) young Johannes Brahms, revered Felix Mendelssohn and admired William Bennet. Schumann was a respected music critic and teacher as well as a composer, and he helped the artists he found promise in.
Thats the funny thing, because the Analysts go absolutely nuts over ‘ Im lengendenton’ when I was doing my Undergraduate this was one of the set pieces for analysis. But that’s the thing, it will never make sense from an analytical point of view, academically you can potentially pin it down in a Philosophical line of enquiry but that still misses the point. And trying to justify it musically from being fragmented material from inner counter themes is an equally obtuse response to the work. In reality it makes perfect absolute poetic sense. That is it. It is genius Art and if you have to write an entire treatise on a divergence from conventions of a form in order to understand it, the abject irony is that you are not understanding it at all. You’re just feeling better about not being able to listen and accept what you’re hearing 😂
Whatever one says about Schumann, his emotional qualities -his ability to move the listener are the pinnacle of what Romanticism was truly about. Forget the theory, technique and any compositional debates! He makes us FEEL !!
Rivals Liszt's B Minor sonata in sheer scope, power, and vision. And the part starting at 18:25 is just about as difficult as nearly anything ever written...
My piano teacher in college said that passage at the end of the movement was about the most difficult thing he'd ever played, and he was always worried about playing it in public because it's so hard to get those big skips accurate. I've only ever played the 3rd movement, which is gloriously beautiful.
@@timward276 Even Liszt was afraid to play it in public, telling Schumann that it was not a good piece for concert performance. Of course he played it anyways and one critic noted that he was the only one who played it without visible strain.
In the finale of the first movement, I picture Schumann and Clara staring up at the night sky, with the seven chords before the end representing twinkling stars.
@@zegaoyi chopin wasn't too hot with schumann's works either. schumann dedicated his kreisleriana to chopin, but chopin apparently only liked the design of the cover page
Leif Ove Andsnes gained a prominent position from his feelings on and best technics playing compositions of the early romantic period. Amazing results to his credit therefrom and a reason first to name the best performed Grieg, Schumann, Sibelius, and so on after hearing the magic of his surprising interpretations.
È una musica di una bellezza inaudita e negli ultimi 10 minuti vola nel cielo infinito fino a raggiungere il sublime. Schumann è uno dei più grandi compositori non solo del romanticismo come spesso è scritto nelle più disparate enciclopedie; Schumann è tra i più grandi compositori della storia della musica. Grazie.
Why isn't it the top three? Liszt B Minor, Beethoven Op 111. and Schumann Fantasie in C, nothing else compares to these three works. Chopin pales in comparison to any of these works.
@@samaritan29 Love those three, but there are some others that can share the podium with them imo. Offhand, I'd add Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy, Rach's 1st Sonata, Brahms' Handel Variations, Cesar Franck's Prelude, Chorale + Fugue, and Chopin's 4th Ballade.
@Devlin Corrigan Thanks for the question! I think Rach 1 is a great example of double-function form as the third movement recapitulates many of the themes from the first two. There are very few pieces (to my knowledge) that achieve this level of structure and I consider them to be the pinnacle of sonata form. Besides structure, I find the main themes of the first sonata to be more melodious and I appreciate how much time Rach takes to develop them. The drama and tensions that eventually emerge are astonishing, and I find that effect more powerful than the virtuosity of the second sonata. I also find it hard to explain my preference, so I'm curious to your thoughts as well. Cheers!
My first exposure to Andsnes playing was of the Schumann Concerto. I was late for an appointment because I would not get out of the car until it was over and I knew who the pianist was. It was a magnificent performance, as fine as I'd ever heard. My reaction to this is similar and I have studied this great work and heard it played by many great pianists for 60 years. We are lucky to be alive at the time of a musician like Andsnes.
But you must also listen to Artur Schnabel's live performance of the Schumann concerto. Only Schnabel takes the second movement at the proper (brisk) tempo, and the finale is pure bliss as it gallops to its joyful conclusion!
Thanks for the suggestion about Schnabel and the Schumann Concerto. I love his playing in Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, but I don’t believe I have heard the Schumann.
@@donaldallen1771 You are in for a treat in that case. He also recorded incandescent performances of Kinderszenen and Waldszenen late in his career. Not to be missed as well is the glorious Schumann piano quintet, recorded with the Pro Arte quartet in the 1930s Enjoy!
@@astrasfo The quintet is glorious indeed. I played it one summer (I am an amateur pianist) at Kneisel Hall in Maine with four good string players, three of them conservatory kids who were excellent string players and terrific people. There is nothing like playing a work like this to really get your mind around it. I've been privileged to have had similar opportunities with many other great chamber works. Thanks again for the Schnabel Schumann info. He was a unique pianist and musician. One story: the great Menahem Pressler (who just turned 98 a few days ago) told us that when he was a young man, he lived in the same hotel in Manhattan as Schnabel did. Mr. Pressler had won the Debussy Competition not long before this time. He had heard that Schnabel was asked about playing Debussy in an interview and said "Anyone can play Debussy". Mr. Pressler was put off by that comment and when he encountered Schnabel in the elevator in their building, he never spoke to him. He regrets that now of course, though what Schnabel said was clearly off the mark.
is NOBODY talking about how this was dedicated to liszt? or that franz then dedicated THE sontata in b minor to schumann? ~flips table~ both godly works.
@@zegaoyi honestly i cant even be mad im just impressed, like how many extremely loud climaxes are in that piece, and how notorious was liszt for breaking strings? truly miraculous
This is one of the most painfully beautifull things I've ever heard in my life; even though I confess I know nothing about music, trying to follow the lines of the voices just makes me want to weep of silent acceptance mixed with some kind of jubilation... Nothing ever made me feel so exalted. Thanks for making this wonder available.
@@jonathanalder2927 I did! English isn't my primary language, so I mixed them up! It's funny though, because there seems to be something called schumann resonance, which I guess is somewhat close to "schumann harmonics"
If I died and stood before St. Peter, and he said I had to play one piece on the piano to get into heaven, the finale of this piece is the one I'd pick.
I love this pairing. That poem is a perfect accompaniment-- The everlasting universe of things Flows through the mind, and rolls its rapid waves, Now dark-now glittering-now reflecting gloom- Now lending splendour, where from secret springs
I love the opening of the first movement, the second movement I like how it tends to speed up towards the end, and the last movement has that sweet romantic sound!!
A breathtaking piece gloriously performed here. - I just heard it last month (May 2022) in Berlin, performed by Arcadi Volodos who, if anything, was able to draw an even wider pallet of colours from the last movement. Along with "Carnaval" this is arguably the greatest of Schumann's piano works.
Andsnes is a terrific pianist. I'm glad to see him represented in your collection. I do think that when he sees those dotted notes, he goes a little crazy. To my taste, he takes most of the rapid, dotted-note passages too quickly for the listener to appreciate what's going on in Schumann's masterfully crafted music.
"Have you read Adorno on Schumann's Fantasia in C Major? He talks of his twilight. It's not Schumann bereft of reason, but just before. A fraction before. He knows he's losing his mind. It torments him but he clings on one last time. It's being aware of what it means to lose oneself before being completely abandoned."
This was composed in 1836, that's ridiculous to call it just before he loses reason. Look at his Morning Songs op 133 composed in 1853. They are full of very specific reasoning, with absolutely all of his faculties within grasp. Adorno is a buffoon who, like similar figures of those times, says whatever will help establish him as an opinionated authority. Much of it is repetitive myth with little basis in underlying facts, which is not surprising for him having been a Marxist which is basically the same thing in the world of sociology and economics.
@@daphne5693 that would eliminate the relevance of parallels to Marxism but not the criticism of the statement itself just by the biographical circumstances of Schumann and the quality of his output for many more years to come.
Notice also the reference in the first movement coda to Beethoven's song cycle "An die ferne Geliebte". And remember that Schumann was still courting Clara when he wrote this. She must have been a remarkable woman, as well as an incredible pianist. (Leif Ove is pretty hot stuff, too.) The Wikipedia article is well worth reading.
@deodatdechampignac nah, poor you. still a long way to go to learn to appreciate this magnificent and complicated piece. Richter and Schiff have attested to that!
Volodos : one of the most amazing figures to ever dig into a keyboard has unseemly ideas about this music ! I knew Andsnes would put the anxiety and euphoria back into this music ! THIS MUSIC IS indeed a miracle so much of Schumann especially the really late cycles are miracles and the lied are an entire world in themseles. Andnes has really thought about howthis work is and brings out . I would have to hear him speakabout this ofcourse to know for sure but what I get here is fabulous !
This is about the last RUclips recording that I hadn't heard, and I never expected anything would come close to rivalling the first two - Argerich and Horowitz. But it really does. This performance follows closest of all Schumann's directions, to the letter, and also well communicates all the differing moods throughout. I love every aspect of the first movement, find the second slightly on the quick side of my ideal, and would prefer more ardour in the last movement's Coda, though strictly speaking, he's right not to exceed forte at the final climax. I confess I'd never heard of Andsnes till today, but he deserves to be in the pantheon of all-time greats on the evidence of this. As I've said elsewhere, I do prefer bars 58 - 60 and 250 - 252, first movement, to be played as triplets, but the only real rhythmic mistake I could detect was a slight memory lapse over the length of the melodic quaver in bar 95 of the final movement, which he plays as a semiquaver - that's the one place where Schumann varies the rhythm in this figure. On reflection, I would still put the others slightly ahead, because they reveal more of the hidden texture than does Andsnes, and really do reach the heights of ecstasy in the final Coda. I wonder when this was recorded. Thanks for uploading it.
I love this performance from Leif. It's solid and masterful, no quirks to speak of, just immensely satisfying. Reading along with the score, he adheres to every marking, except the beginning of the march which should still be mezzo-forte, not forte. Other than that, to me a definitive performance.
Lovely music! In case somebody reads this: the 2nd movement is to be played "mäßig", not massig, as stated in the description (which means "massive" and is quite misleading in my opinion).
@@calebhu6383 A very special evening. I already had the chance to hear some of the greatest living pianists before (Zimerman, Pollini, Sokolov, Schiff.. to name a few), but he was the one who surprised me the most. A very talented pianist and artist. Incredible touch and sound production. I remember that during op 15 you couldn't hear a pin drop. He somehow managed to create an atmosphere that is difficult to describe.. one that can only be experienced in some live performances. So I really recommend to attend his recitals, it is really worth it.
If you were going to send a rocket into space intended to show other civilizations the best works of Earth's creatures (slim pickins in the last four years), I think this piece would have to be included, with the Bach St. Matthew Passion, the Schubert C-major Quintet, the Mozart Jupiter, and the last quartets of Beethoven. This is a very incomplete list (where's Chopin? Mendelssohn? Brahms? SHAKESPEARE!). Andsnes is a very great pianist and this is a magnificent performance, in my opinion. I've played this piece for most of my life and so I know it very well. This performance is pretty special.
Love your videos, Mr. Kumar! Definetely one of the best concert music related channels. Could you be so kind and make us another video about the Schumann Fantasie op. 17? Perhaps comparing the recordings of Sokolov and Nelson Freire (1984, Toronto recital), two favorites of mine.
Just saw this last night at Jordan Hall with Marc Andre Hamelin playing, (he just decided not to play chopin's second sonata, which I was introduced to on this channel, and play the fantasie instead) and it was mesmerizing. The other pieces were wonderful as well, but this one was so captivating, it is so romantic and makes you feel like there is nothing that you would rather listen to, even if it doesn't capture everything in music, Hamelin had such a fine touch that you felt trapped there, like your brain was glued to the piece.
Totally agree. This piece is the best I know at creating an entire world that, for 30 brief minutes of your life, you can just live in. Music that's not like that certainly has its place, but listening to this is a simply incredible experience.
Oddly, within a day or so, I too saw this - 4th May - at Saffron Hall, with Andras Schiff. I took the score along, and followed. Technically, it was as faultless as this performance, but it was a rather quirky reading - very fast, very mechanical and generally too loud. He elected to play Schumann's earlier ending which, though interesting to hear - with its return to the An die ferne Geliebte quote of the end of the first movement and its subtle change of harmony - was clearly rejected because ultimately, his passionate desire for his own distant beloved superseded the original noble plan to make a musical tribute to Beethoven. The rest of Schiff's programme - Bach, Bartok and Janacek - was excellent, with a quite exceptional Bach encore. Back to the Schumann, I know exactly what you mean by 'doesn't capture everything in music'; I feel it's an early, experimental work where we see glimpses of his mature style with regard to harmony and rhythmic complexity, but he doesn't yet seem to have learnt how to write a good tune in this. I'm currently obsessed with it but still can't decide whether I like it !
Schiff can be quirky, although his recorded performance on Nonesuch is less mannered. And I prefer the original ending that Schumann discarded (and Schiff rediscovered in a Budapest library). After all, Schumann's quote from Schlegel at the beginning of the piece translates as "in earth's variegated dream, a quiet sustained note sounds through all other notes for those who secretly listen." What better way to end the Fantasy than to reference "An die ferne Geliebte" again for Clara, whose secret love he shared with her alone. Even Liszt might not have known, although he was the dedicatee.
Hamelin played this on Thursday 11/15/18 and I had to miss it. This was at Carnegie. I wish I could rewind time back to last Thursday. Carnegie acoustics are not great for a solo piano so I hear.
@@austinhill5772: I hope you make good use of it! No other state school has a proper concert hall, and many of the best musicians in the world playing in it all year round. I guess you're musical, for why else would you be reading comments on this compelling piece of Schumann!
Chopin is very well loved by most people but Schumann isn't as popular because he doesn't have that instant 'hit' with people through the use of technique, embellishment and harmony. However, although I do love Chopin, my 'favourite' composers would be those whose personalities and hence music I am more in tune with and Schumann represents me better than Chopin. Chopin's music encompasses all sorts of emotions and writing is sublime with forays into unexplored harmonies but his music on the whole, even in 'fierce' pieces, is less 'direct' than Schumann's and more sentimental/vulnerable. On the other hand, Schumann, although less Lisztian, is 'raw' and you can see all his passion much more clearly. Thus his music, although less technically and harmonically 'exciting', makes me more at ease. Whatever it is, this comparison shows that this romantic idea can be expressed through so many different yet solid ways of writing music.
Spot on comment. And it seems like pianists like Schumann much more than audiences do, the raw nature of the music is easier to connect with if you're the one playing it.
the c major chord that ends the first and fourth movement sounds so rich and full despite only being 2 notes on each hand. i cant explain it but it sounds more full than an 8 note chord
+Ludwig Beethoven Funny. I've had the exactly the same thought about the 3rd movt. of Op. 17. I've also considered the Aria of the Goldberg Variations.
Sebastian Fuss When my mother died, the music I put on in the room was the second mvt of the Schubert Cello Quintet. Nothing else would have been right.
Pianist Arthur Rubenstein said much the same thing. on hearing the Quintet for the first time "ever since that night my desire is to be escorted, at the hour of my death, by the sound, real or imaginary, of its' heavenly Adagio's peace and resignation." Rubenstein "My Young Years" 1973
This composition is a miracle
Such wonder, such a sad, tortured life.
It is. And damn hard to play, this recording is one of the best I have heard on You Tube.
I fully agree with you. Fo tou know that in Scdumnn's mind this wa a tribute to Beethoven? Specialists hace evidenced a theme from "An fiee ferne Geliebte".
One thing missing from the commentators notes is that in the Henle edition it publishes as a footnote an alternate ending Schumann proposed - the Im legneden quote that comes out of nowhere reappears in this alternate version Schumann wrote at the END of the third mvmt thereby proposing a cyclical structure. I actually prefer this alternate ending over the one usually given --- extremely satisfying.
I did not know. You are perfectly right.
And to think Liszt (the dedicatee of this piece) matched it with his equally formidable Sonata in B Minor (dedicated to Schumann as a thank-you for the Fantasie). What a cool exchange.
Except that both Clara and robert Schumann didnt like his sonata lol 😢
@@bigpancake420 Clara definitely didn't, but i've never heard that Robert didn't. Where did you read that?
@@KenWangpianohe didn’t, Robert was in the mental asylum by that point. He was never privied to the piece because Clara refused to show it to him, even at the insistence of Liszt
(He didn’t as in he didn’t read it anywhere)
@@KenWangpiano Robert never heard it, sadly. Clara hated Liszt too much to allow his hospitalised husband to hear it
The Fantasie opens with the instruction: "to be performed throughout with imagination and passion"
Also with an excessive amount of left hand dexterity. :)
Not quite. "Durchaus" doesn't mean "throughout". It's more like: To be performed quite phantastically and passionately.
@@TJtheDJay Durchaus! (it also means „indeed“ ;))
That seems to be hard for pianists these days...
@@davisatdavis1 Really? All of them? "In general"?
Still one of the most creative and fascinating pieces ever composed for piano
agreed a true masterpiece of the romantic era
Went further than Beethoven, who led the way with Piano Sonata No. 30.
One of the greatest pieces and sits as a perfect example of the vast creativity and technical abilities of the human race.
The last half of the third movement makes me feel like I went to heaven. What an extraordinary piece.
This piece makes me realize how under developed my left hand is.
no wonder, it was schumann's only playing hand
@@luka-gr1qx Why
@@Bozzigmuppwe got half paralysis in his right hand because he stretched them too much
@@corneliusklassen8513 Damn shame 😔
You are not alone😂
Schumann was without a doubt one of the most brilliant composers of romantic period. This Fantasie C is of incredible beauty and harmony. From the most intense moments to those musically calmer are of sublime beauty that touches us deeply. The harmonic moments of lyricism are fabulous. Schumann is one of the composers I most appreciate from this period and this Fantasie in C op. 17 is an unrivaled masterpiece. The pianist is amazing for the cadence, sensibility and fabulous technique he uses.
What a magnificent recording whose musical quality is unforgettable.
That suspension at 11:51 is magical; the harmonics really contribute to the feeling. The whole ending 5 measures is incredible.
10:12 that harmony...
The ending of the first movement is my favourite part and also one of the most beautiful things I‘ve ever heard.
If you like that you should listen to Liszt's B Minor Sonata. The slow sweet parts are much like the part you mentioned, but even more beautiful, in my opinion.
wow the pianist is incredible! This behemoth is an absolute monster to play, especially getting to the end of the 2nd movement. fantastic control of color! Inspirational.
Sounds never gotten from a piano there. The composer intended. I adore this piece, great performance.
Those jumps. It’s a miracle anyone can play it.
Andsnes is legit one of the best pianists currently. Check out his Chopin sonatas as well.
@@makaan699 I agree. His Chopin Sonata recordings are my favorite. I saw him in recital this past weekend (in the second row!) and it was phenomenal. He was also so gracious and gave a pre-recital Q&A. Unfortunately the program didn't have anything quite as virtuosic as this (Janáček, Dvořák, and more), but hearing any pianist of his caliber play anything is a treat.
This is one of Schumann's best and the playing is magnificent!
The king of quirk. The world is lucky to have had him. Pieces you've heard 100s of times can still surprise you suddenly
Fun fact: this piece was actually written for Clara Schumann, his wife. They both loved each other but her dad didn’t allow marriage. This melody from the 1st mvt is actually written by Beethoven in a piece with a poem being sung (I forgot which piece). The poem’s meaning is actually two lovers being separated by their parents. Kinda a cool story. (This is what I remember, I might’ve gotten something wrong)
I think it’s an die Ferne geliebte.
The object of „To the far beloved“ is a Requiem for his dead wife, the lonely husband asked Beethoven to set his pain into music.
Der Anfang des sechsten Liedes ist weltberühmt geworden: "Nimm‘ sie hin denn, diese Lieder, die ich dir, Geliebte, sang." Robert Schumann hat Beethovens Melodie immer wieder in seinen Werken als geheime Botschaft an seine geliebte Clara zitiert: in der Klavierfantasie op.17, im 2. Streichquartett op. 42/2 und in seiner 2. Sinfonie op. 61. Auch Felix Mendelssohn baut ein Zitat in seine 2. Sinfonie op. 52 "Lobgesang" ein.
Fun fact after the intro, the work proper begins with Clara's Theme, a 5 note descension which came from one of Clara's nocturnes that Robert then referenced inexhaustibly forevermore
It's very interesting what Charles Rosen writes about this in his book 'The Romantic Generation' (p.100 until 112)!
I think it was for Liszt, Franz then on to dedicate his sonata in B minor to Schumann as a thank you.
10:46 A quotation from Beethoven's "An die ferne Geliebte" song VI. The text along these notes is "Nimm sie hin denn, diese Lieder" [die ich dir, Geliebte, sang]. It is considered a message to Clara concerning the troubles they had to get married.
I think this is the first time I really fell in love with this piece... hauntingly beautiful.
The introduction to this piece and its recurrence throughout the first movement is what Schumann is at one of his highest fantastical calibers. Love this piece!
Both technically and interpretatively Schumann is one of the absolutely most difficult composer. Andsnes is one of todays greatest classical pianist and I dare to say one of the absolute best - if not the best - of his generation. It´s a wonderful rendition of this fantastic music.
In a letter to a friend, Schumann wrote “.. I have no desire to be understood by the common herd.”
So yeah..
Seems like Chopin was the only other Master Schumann respected
@@Bruce.-Wayne Schumann was also impressed by a (relatively) young Johannes Brahms, revered Felix Mendelssohn and admired William Bennet. Schumann was a respected music critic and teacher as well as a composer, and he helped the artists he found promise in.
@@LinearConvolution didnt Liszt eventually befriend Schumann and Chopin later on?
@@Bruce.-Wayne too bad that admiration wasn't reciprocated :/
Thats the funny thing, because the Analysts go absolutely nuts over ‘ Im lengendenton’ when I was doing my Undergraduate this was one of the set pieces for analysis. But that’s the thing, it will never make sense from an analytical point of view, academically you can potentially pin it down in a Philosophical line of enquiry but that still misses the point. And trying to justify it musically from being fragmented material from inner counter themes is an equally obtuse response to the work.
In reality it makes perfect absolute poetic sense. That is it. It is genius Art and if you have to write an entire treatise on a divergence from conventions of a form in order to understand it, the abject irony is that you are not understanding it at all. You’re just feeling better about not being able to listen and accept what you’re hearing 😂
Andneses succedes in making a coherent whole of this multi faceted, sprawling work. Bravo!
Un'opera che trascende il Romanticismo e fa di Schumann uno dei più grandi pianisti e intellettuali dell' 800.
Whatever one says about Schumann, his emotional qualities -his ability to move the listener are the pinnacle of what Romanticism was truly about. Forget the theory, technique and any compositional debates! He makes us FEEL !!
I really like your comment
Y’all on such a higher plane of intellectual thought
Ha! Yeah. He makes us FEEL, alright....feel nauseous...
@@katiedonovanAlt You don't like Schumann pretty much I think :'V
@@mondnacht-op.3926 Ah! You were able to detect that?
This is 100 years ahead of its time.
Rivals Liszt's B Minor sonata in sheer scope, power, and vision. And the part starting at 18:25 is just about as difficult as nearly anything ever written...
My piano teacher in college said that passage at the end of the movement was about the most difficult thing he'd ever played, and he was always worried about playing it in public because it's so hard to get those big skips accurate.
I've only ever played the 3rd movement, which is gloriously beautiful.
@@timward276 Even Liszt was afraid to play it in public, telling Schumann that it was not a good piece for concert performance. Of course he played it anyways and one critic noted that he was the only one who played it without visible strain.
An interesting fact: Schumann's Fantasie and Liszt's sonata were dedicated to each other.
Anything rivals garbage
hello wim alt account@@lolbruh1170
In the finale of the first movement, I picture Schumann and Clara staring up at the night sky, with the seven chords before the end representing twinkling stars.
A beautiful piece. Schumann called Chopin a genius. And he was qualified to do so since he was in that esteemed category himself.
true but remember that one time when schumann went extremely harsh on chopin when chopin published his sonata in b flat minor op35
@@zegaoyi chopin wasn't too hot with schumann's works either. schumann dedicated his kreisleriana to chopin, but chopin apparently only liked the design of the cover page
@@unnamed_boi ouchhhh
@@zegaoyi schumann didn't really bash the sonata, he just expressed some confusion on its structure
@@19divide53 i mean, he wrote it in a really harsh manner lol
23:30 and 27:05! I like this calm and relaxed, yet very sincere interpretation.
Really excellent!!!
This always brings me to tears. It does not fail.
Estoy fascinada con estas preciosas grabaciones ,las he escuchdo por mis clases de piano aca donde vivo no llegan porque no se venden. 😂😂😂😂😂🙏🖐️ 🎼🎶🎶
Leif Ove Andsnes gained a prominent position from his feelings on and best technics playing compositions of the early romantic period. Amazing results to his credit therefrom and a reason first to name the best performed Grieg, Schumann, Sibelius, and so on after hearing the magic of his surprising interpretations.
È una musica di una bellezza inaudita e negli ultimi 10 minuti vola nel cielo infinito fino a raggiungere il sublime. Schumann è uno dei più grandi compositori non solo del romanticismo come spesso è scritto nelle più disparate enciclopedie; Schumann è tra i più grandi compositori della storia della musica. Grazie.
I just love the iv chord right before the final chords at the end of the 3rd movement. It's such a great way to round off the piece.
Thank God that there is this wonderful music -------
In the top 5 of Romantic piano literature. An work of a astonishing pathos and creativity.
Why isn't it the top three? Liszt B Minor, Beethoven Op 111. and Schumann Fantasie in C, nothing else compares to these three works. Chopin pales in comparison to any of these works.
Opinions, that why
@@samaritan29 Love those three, but there are some others that can share the podium with them imo. Offhand, I'd add Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy, Rach's 1st Sonata, Brahms' Handel Variations, Cesar Franck's Prelude, Chorale + Fugue, and Chopin's 4th Ballade.
@Devlin Corrigan Thanks for the question! I think Rach 1 is a great example of double-function form as the third movement recapitulates many of the themes from the first two. There are very few pieces (to my knowledge) that achieve this level of structure and I consider them to be the pinnacle of sonata form. Besides structure, I find the main themes of the first sonata to be more melodious and I appreciate how much time Rach takes to develop them. The drama and tensions that eventually emerge are astonishing, and I find that effect more powerful than the virtuosity of the second sonata. I also find it hard to explain my preference, so I'm curious to your thoughts as well. Cheers!
@@samaritan29 Chopin pales in comparison? Hard disagree
My first exposure to Andsnes playing was of the Schumann Concerto. I was late for an appointment because I would not get out of the car until it was over and I knew who the pianist was. It was a magnificent performance, as fine as I'd ever heard. My reaction to this is similar and I have studied this great work and heard it played by many great pianists for 60 years. We are lucky to be alive at the time of a musician like Andsnes.
So when the radio people announced his name, didn't you have a hard time knowing how to spell his three very much norwegian names?
But you must also listen to Artur Schnabel's live performance of the Schumann concerto. Only Schnabel takes the second movement at the proper (brisk) tempo, and the finale is pure bliss as it gallops to its joyful conclusion!
Thanks for the suggestion about Schnabel and the Schumann Concerto. I love his playing in Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, but I don’t believe I have heard the Schumann.
@@donaldallen1771 You are in for a treat in that case. He also recorded incandescent performances of Kinderszenen and Waldszenen late in his career. Not to be missed as well is the glorious Schumann piano quintet, recorded with the Pro Arte quartet in the 1930s Enjoy!
@@astrasfo The quintet is glorious indeed. I played it one summer (I am an amateur pianist) at Kneisel Hall in Maine with four good string players, three of them conservatory kids who were excellent string players and terrific people. There is nothing like playing a work like this to really get your mind around it. I've been privileged to have had similar opportunities with many other great chamber works.
Thanks again for the Schnabel Schumann info. He was a unique pianist and musician. One story: the great Menahem Pressler (who just turned 98 a few days ago) told us that when he was a young man, he lived in the same hotel in Manhattan as Schnabel did. Mr. Pressler had won the Debussy Competition not long before this time. He had heard that Schnabel was asked about playing Debussy in an interview and said "Anyone can play Debussy". Mr. Pressler was put off by that comment and when he encountered Schnabel in the elevator in their building, he never spoke to him. He regrets that now of course, though what Schnabel said was clearly off the mark.
is NOBODY talking about how this was dedicated to liszt? or that franz then dedicated THE sontata in b minor to schumann?
~flips table~
both godly works.
pity that both schumanns really hated the sonata
@@zegaoyi and that brahms hated it too apparently lol
@@Sam-gx2ti yea he slept through the whole performance
@@zegaoyi honestly i cant even be mad im just impressed, like how many extremely loud climaxes are in that piece, and how notorious was liszt for breaking strings? truly miraculous
Robert never listened to Liszt's sonata because at that time he already was at the asylum
This is one of the most painfully beautifull things I've ever heard in my life; even though I confess I know nothing about music, trying to follow the lines of the voices just makes me want to weep of silent acceptance mixed with some kind of jubilation... Nothing ever made me feel so exalted. Thanks for making this wonder available.
Schumann's harmonics... They are one of a kind
This and the textures.
Sen Der
Dear Sen Der
Forgive me but I believe you mean harmonies ?
@@jonathanalder2927 I did! English isn't my primary language, so I mixed them up! It's funny though, because there seems to be something called schumann resonance, which I guess is somewhat close to "schumann harmonics"
Y'all are just saying words
@@lolbruh1170 you just said five
If I died and stood before St. Peter, and he said I had to play one piece on the piano to get into heaven, the finale of this piece is the one I'd pick.
What a magnificent way to begin a piece. For a comparison, the opening to Shelley's Mont Blanc immediately comes to mind.
I love this pairing. That poem is a perfect accompaniment--
The everlasting universe of things
Flows through the mind, and rolls its rapid waves,
Now dark-now glittering-now reflecting gloom-
Now lending splendour, where from secret springs
I love the opening of the first movement, the second movement I like how it tends to speed up towards the end, and the last movement has that sweet romantic sound!!
So full of hope.
A breathtaking piece gloriously performed here. - I just heard it last month (May 2022) in Berlin, performed by Arcadi Volodos who, if anything, was able to draw an even wider pallet of colours from the last movement. Along with "Carnaval" this is arguably the greatest of Schumann's piano works.
Andsnes is a terrific pianist. I'm glad to see him represented in your collection. I do think that when he sees those dotted notes, he goes a little crazy. To my taste, he takes most of the rapid, dotted-note passages too quickly for the listener to appreciate what's going on in Schumann's masterfully crafted music.
"Have you read Adorno on Schumann's Fantasia in C Major? He talks of his twilight. It's not Schumann bereft of reason, but just before. A fraction before. He knows he's losing his mind. It torments him but he clings on one last time. It's being aware of what it means to lose oneself before being completely abandoned."
This was composed in 1836, that's ridiculous to call it just before he loses reason. Look at his Morning Songs op 133 composed in 1853. They are full of very specific reasoning, with absolutely all of his faculties within grasp. Adorno is a buffoon who, like similar figures of those times, says whatever will help establish him as an opinionated authority. Much of it is repetitive myth with little basis in underlying facts, which is not surprising for him having been a Marxist which is basically the same thing in the world of sociology and economics.
@@lerippletoe6893 ....... it's a quote from Michael Haneke's 'The Piano Teacher"
@@daphne5693 that would eliminate the relevance of parallels to Marxism but not the criticism of the statement itself just by the biographical circumstances of Schumann and the quality of his output for many more years to come.
Notice also the reference in the first movement coda to Beethoven's song cycle "An die ferne Geliebte". And remember that Schumann was still courting Clara when he wrote this. She must have been a remarkable woman, as well as an incredible pianist. (Leif Ove is pretty hot stuff, too.) The Wikipedia article is well worth reading.
This is the most intellectual and amazing 2nd movement I ever heard
......and then, we have to stop listening at some point and descend back to earth. Whereupon, we think, "Darn you, Kumar, for keeping us up so late."
Don't clap between movements!
ok, have this ad instead
Ad: "There is a HUGE fundraising deadline coming up..."
Me: "I don't CARE just give me MUSIC!!!"
I think that Schumanns' Fantasie is the chef-d'oeuvre of all the Romantic period!
Poor of you; there are so many nice pieces to discover instead of this real chore
@deodatdechampignac nah, poor you. still a long way to go to learn to appreciate this magnificent and complicated piece. Richter and Schiff have attested to that!
simple-minded people like German stuff because they are able to understand it
deodatdechampignac people like Chopin and Listz’s music even more. Your assertion doesnt even make sense.
Never mind ! ( by the way do not compare those great musicians like Chopin or Liszt with this German street corner vendor of music notes in bulk !)
One of schumanns best works
Volodos : one of the most amazing figures to ever dig into a keyboard has unseemly ideas about this music ! I knew Andsnes would put the anxiety and euphoria back into this music ! THIS MUSIC IS indeed a miracle so much of Schumann especially the really late cycles are miracles and the lied are an entire world in themseles. Andnes has really thought about howthis work is and brings out . I would have to hear him speakabout this ofcourse to know for sure but what I get here is fabulous !
1:44 is magical
18:28 It strongly reminds me of his toccata Op.7!
I mean the harmony, not the technical difficulty.
And it's just as hard as anything in the Toccata
Same
Love the piece, love your notes about it equally as much. Thx.
7:45 that chord progression is amazing
I agree; I hear so much of the C Minor Fantasie of Mozart...
Thanks for pointing it out ( clip of the progression: ruclips.net/user/clipUgkx4QGle7YnVpV5c1tD9s6e9zB0e4-RYn6s )
The composition is so complex. It’s like watchin orchestral sheet paper
Una delle più sublimi pagine musicali che abbia mai ascoltato. Un capolavoro.
So lovely to have the sheet music alongside the (beautiful) playing. Thank you
23:30 is like rachmaninoff suite in d minor. Its so heavenly good
The 3rd movement has one of the best harmonie progressions EEEVVVEER
This is about the last RUclips recording that I hadn't heard, and I never expected anything would come close to rivalling the first two - Argerich and Horowitz. But it really does. This performance follows closest of all Schumann's directions, to the letter, and also well communicates all the differing moods throughout. I love every aspect of the first movement, find the second slightly on the quick side of my ideal, and would prefer more ardour in the last movement's Coda, though strictly speaking, he's right not to exceed forte at the final climax. I confess I'd never heard of Andsnes till today, but he deserves to be in the pantheon of all-time greats on the evidence of this. As I've said elsewhere, I do prefer bars 58 - 60 and 250 - 252, first movement, to be played as triplets, but the only real rhythmic mistake I could detect was a slight memory lapse over the length of the melodic quaver in bar 95 of the final movement, which he plays as a semiquaver - that's the one place where Schumann varies the rhythm in this figure. On reflection, I would still put the others slightly ahead, because they reveal more of the hidden texture than does Andsnes, and really do reach the heights of ecstasy in the final Coda. I wonder when this was recorded. Thanks for uploading it.
You should also check out his rendition of Pictures at an Exhibition on this channel- it's easily the most jaw dropping account I've ever heard.
I like how you refer to " the heights of ecstasy" in the final Coda. Listen to Kissin! He reaches that ecstasy!!
I love this performance from Leif. It's solid and masterful, no quirks to speak of, just immensely satisfying. Reading along with the score, he adheres to every marking, except the beginning of the march which should still be mezzo-forte, not forte. Other than that, to me a definitive performance.
People said Rachmaninoff often imitated Chopin. Now I think he was imitating Schumann
Depends on the piece
Yeah Ballade 3 ending chords and sonata 2 first mvt sound very Rachmaninoff like (since he recorded these it's easy to guess those inspired him).
@@Scherzokinn Sonata 2 by which composer?
@@bergeronscores605 Chopin.
@@Scherzokinn , I don't quite see, the similarity between Ballade 3 ending and Racmaninoff.
SCHUMANN's music is deeeeeeeeeeep!
Lovely music! In case somebody reads this: the 2nd movement is to be played "mäßig", not massig, as stated in the description (which means "massive" and is quite misleading in my opinion).
Ha. Massig and Mäßig are almost opposites.
I’m working on this piece, the 1st movement it’s absolutely the most difficult….what a work, insanely beautiful…
The composer of mystery.... Perhaps, he wished his fine music to speak for him.... And I have no doubt that this is the prominent case here.
Jesus ❤
The last few bars i was in tears 😊
Bar at 28:59 to the end ... simple but wow
Love Andsnes - especially his Rachmaninoff, none of that overly self indulgent rubato going on, clear and to the point.
Yes, his recordings of the Rachmaninoff concertos are marvelous, also the live ones!
When everyone is enjoying the music but you are broken hearted because of what's happening to Willem and Jude.
Me right now
@@iRENE_t I hope you are alright after those two last chapters. It has been a month and I'm still not over it
Me too
I’ve been staring at the wall while listening to this for like 20 minutes, i need some time to recover my strength
Me too
me rn
Next month I will be so lucky to hear this and op. 15 played by Volodos, as well as Schubert D850.. can't wait!
How was it
@@calebhu6383 A very special evening. I already had the chance to hear some of the greatest living pianists before (Zimerman, Pollini, Sokolov, Schiff.. to name a few), but he was the one who surprised me the most. A very talented pianist and artist. Incredible touch and sound production. I remember that during op 15 you couldn't hear a pin drop. He somehow managed to create an atmosphere that is difficult to describe.. one that can only be experienced in some live performances. So I really recommend to attend his recitals, it is really worth it.
18:37 The lick
Actually it is at 18:40
Sorry but no, the lick is not just 4 ascending steps. The end of the lick is essential to it, and that is missing here, isn't it.
@@nandoflorestan How is this just 4 ascending chords? Please listen again
Lmfao
7:30 wow, sounds so modern.
Thank you A Little Life!
If you were going to send a rocket into space intended to show other civilizations the best works of Earth's creatures (slim pickins in the last four years), I think this piece would have to be included, with the Bach St. Matthew Passion, the Schubert C-major Quintet, the Mozart Jupiter, and the last quartets of Beethoven. This is a very incomplete list (where's Chopin? Mendelssohn? Brahms? SHAKESPEARE!). Andsnes is a very great pianist and this is a magnificent performance, in my opinion. I've played this piece for most of my life and so I know it very well. This performance is pretty special.
10:09~10:24 love that part
I will commit unspeakable acts against whoever thought 10:40 was a good spot for an ad
The ending is heavenly.
The F -> D major transition between 2:53 and the section starting at 3:10 is very interesting.
Surely!
Argerich's rendition is really good, too. She takes it to a new level in certain ways.
Thank you so much for all these amazing recording videos with scores!
Schumann is still taking us there.
Looked this song up because im currently reading the book , A Little Life. Jude was playing it and I understand why, love u judy❤️
Me too
I had to take a minute to pull myself together, so I looked this up
@@velvetyblue its by far my favorite book, ill carry jude in my heart forever
@@velvetyblue lmk what you think of the book!
Love your videos, Mr. Kumar! Definetely one of the best concert music related channels. Could you be so kind and make us another video about the Schumann Fantasie op. 17? Perhaps comparing the recordings of Sokolov and Nelson Freire (1984, Toronto recital), two favorites of mine.
The end... A reminiscence of the ending of the first prelude of the Well Tempered Clavier (Book I)?
yeah, maybe because of the tone, c major
Same key, certainly...!😗
Just saw this last night at Jordan Hall with Marc Andre Hamelin playing, (he just decided not to play chopin's second sonata, which I was introduced to on this channel, and play the fantasie instead) and it was mesmerizing. The other pieces were wonderful as well, but this one was so captivating, it is so romantic and makes you feel like there is nothing that you would rather listen to, even if it doesn't capture everything in music, Hamelin had such a fine touch that you felt trapped there, like your brain was glued to the piece.
Totally agree. This piece is the best I know at creating an entire world that, for 30 brief minutes of your life, you can just live in. Music that's not like that certainly has its place, but listening to this is a simply incredible experience.
Oddly, within a day or so, I too saw this - 4th May - at Saffron Hall, with Andras Schiff. I took the score along, and followed. Technically, it was as faultless as this performance, but it was a rather quirky reading - very fast, very mechanical and generally too loud. He elected to play Schumann's earlier ending which, though interesting to hear - with its return to the An die ferne Geliebte quote of the end of the first movement and its subtle change of harmony - was clearly rejected because ultimately, his passionate desire for his own distant beloved superseded the original noble plan to make a musical tribute to Beethoven. The rest of Schiff's programme - Bach, Bartok and Janacek - was excellent, with a quite exceptional Bach encore. Back to the Schumann, I know exactly what you mean by 'doesn't capture everything in music'; I feel it's an early, experimental work where we see glimpses of his mature style with regard to harmony and rhythmic complexity, but he doesn't yet seem to have learnt how to write a good tune in this. I'm currently obsessed with it but still can't decide whether I like it !
Schiff can be quirky, although his recorded performance on Nonesuch is less mannered. And I prefer the original ending that Schumann discarded (and Schiff rediscovered in a Budapest library). After all, Schumann's quote from Schlegel at the beginning of the piece translates as "in earth's variegated dream, a quiet sustained note sounds through all other notes for those who secretly listen." What better way to end the Fantasy than to reference "An die ferne Geliebte" again for Clara, whose secret love he shared with her alone. Even Liszt might not have known, although he was the dedicatee.
Hamelin played this on Thursday 11/15/18 and I had to miss it. This was at Carnegie. I wish I could rewind time back to last Thursday. Carnegie acoustics are not great for a solo piano so I hear.
@@austinhill5772: I hope you make good use of it! No other state school has a proper concert hall, and many of the best musicians in the world playing in it all year round. I guess you're musical, for why else would you be reading comments on this compelling piece of Schumann!
a "Fantasy " meant a free flowing work, spontaneous with little structural form. more a musical stream of consciousness , usually of the heart.
Chopin is very well loved by most people but Schumann isn't as popular because he doesn't have that instant 'hit' with people through the use of technique, embellishment and harmony. However, although I do love Chopin, my 'favourite' composers would be those whose personalities and hence music I am more in tune with and Schumann represents me better than Chopin. Chopin's music encompasses all sorts of emotions and writing is sublime with forays into unexplored harmonies but his music on the whole, even in 'fierce' pieces, is less 'direct' than Schumann's and more sentimental/vulnerable. On the other hand, Schumann, although less Lisztian, is 'raw' and you can see all his passion much more clearly. Thus his music, although less technically and harmonically 'exciting', makes me more at ease. Whatever it is, this comparison shows that this romantic idea can be expressed through so many different yet solid ways of writing music.
Spot on comment. And it seems like pianists like Schumann much more than audiences do, the raw nature of the music is easier to connect with if you're the one playing it.
Martha Argerich has a very good reading of this. The work is amazing. Long lines. Complex structure. Wish he could have kept this direction.
5:28 just a personal note
Chasing ideas from 3:25 & 24:57. Wonderful progressions.
Jude and Willem 💔
It took me a few listens to really like it, but now its amazing...
Why do you find it necessary to comment on a great performance of a masterpiece with language like that? The behavior of an unruly child.
@@donaldallen1771 Loosen up, no one gives a shit.
E' il problema di chi si avvicina alla musica classica
the c major chord that ends the first and fourth movement sounds so rich and full despite only being 2 notes on each hand. i cant explain it but it sounds more full than an 8 note chord
with beethoven's op111 2nd mov, I sincerely want the 3rd mov of schumann's op17 at my funeral
+Ludwig Beethoven Funny. I've had the exactly the same thought about the 3rd movt. of Op. 17. I've also considered the Aria of the Goldberg Variations.
guys, second mvt of Schubert's Quintet in C Major beats it all
Sebastian Fuss When my mother died, the music I put on in the room was the second mvt of the Schubert Cello Quintet. Nothing else would have been right.
Pianist Arthur Rubenstein said much the same thing. on hearing the Quintet for the first time "ever since that night my desire is to be escorted, at the hour of my death, by the sound, real or imaginary, of its' heavenly Adagio's peace and resignation." Rubenstein "My Young Years" 1973
I would love to have Bach's Goldberg variations and Beethoven's 31st sonata.
Oh to finally move on to a new realm. To a greater existence. Oh to love.
Very good choice of the interpreter of this masterpiece because Andsnes is an excellent pianist. Thank you
7:30 is one of my favorite moments
I'm so extremely glad in this upload it isn't "LL" playing. You have a very fine taste sir Ashish Kumar.