# Listening to Schumann - Episode One - The ABEGG Variations



## Vesteralen

Schumann wrote to his mother shortly after he turned 21 years of age in rather cryptic terms indicating that his Opus 1 was about to be published. He had been working on this theme and variations for some time after giving up law school to study piano with Wieck.

He claimed to base the theme of this piece on the name of a dancing partner, Countess Pauline von Abegg (whose exact existence as such is questionable). At any rate the notes A - B flat - E - G - G do indeed make up the basis of this piece and are set out in the theme portion in a deceptively simple-sounding manner.

I thought I'd just pass on an interesting fact I learned from the introduction to the volume of Schumann's Piano Music in score that I borrowed from my library. It seems that the A-B-E-G-G- Variations were originally planned to be a virtuoso piece for piano and orchestra with a thematically unrelated introduction.

The intro in the book also points out that, though it's easy to assume by his first twenty or so published pieces that Schumann at this stage in his life and career was only interested in writing for piano solo, his desk at the time of his Op 1 publication contained an unpublished vocal piece, a quartet, a concerto, and even a symphony.

Anyway, back to the piece - Study of the score shows the left hand playing a steady stream of eighth-note chords while the right hand plays octaves of the A-B-E-G-G phrase in four diminished steps (first notes A - G sharp - F sharp - E) repeated twice; then in reverse (G - G - E - B flat - A) ; then, in augmentation (first notes G - A - C - D) repeated twice, followed by a final F chord.

The *first variation *starts out with the overall direction of "energico" at the same time that the right hand is instructed to play "legato". Aurally, the theme is pretty apparent as the trunk of the tree from which this branch shoots off, though it isn't until measure nine that we actually hear the theme in the left hand as the right hand is going a mile a minute with sixteenth notes.

Certain phrases, such as those found at measures thirteen to sixteen do seem to bear out the analysis in the BBC Guide that this early work shows the influence of "note-spinning" composers like Moscheles, who formed a large part of Schumann's musical education at this point. But, the syncopation of the final four measures of the piece (played once and repeated later) seem like quintessential Schumann to me.

The *second variation *is pretty short and consists mostly of the left hand playing single note twists on the theme with the right hand offering a steady rhythmic accompaniment.

The *third variation *is, to me, the most interesting one. There is a kind of Chopinesque series of what I can only describe, accurately or not, as sixteenth-note triplets in runs going on with the right hand, while the left hand works the thematic material around in chords. There's a fun dance-like momentum to this variation that makes it the highlight of the piece for me.

Things slow down a bit with *the next variation*, with sustained chords in the left hand and a lot of tremelo effects in the right. Very ethereal and pretty.

The *finale* sounds like a finale and doesn't disappoint. This is, fittingly, the most Schumannesque of the sections and the budding genius stamps his mold on the piece unmistakably from the bravura middle section till the quiet and restrained final notes.

I've heard this piece many times over the last forty years or so, but I just recently listened to it as performed on a fortepiano. Things, of necessity, have to slow down just a bit when played on this instrument, but the clarity of the notes as heard has its own special charm.


----------

