Schumann is the first. Schumann - who is he? A failed pianist, a brilliant composer or a sharp music critic? Music expresses the moods, feelings, character of people
Robert Schumann and children's music.
Hello, our dear listeners. Today you will listen to the music of the wonderful German composer Robert Schumann, and the students of the Children's Music School will perform it for you.
Robert Schumann lived a very long time ago. He was born 200 years ago in 1810. Since childhood, he showed his talent - he wrote poetry and plays, studied foreign languages, and tried to compose for the piano. From the age of 13 he led the school orchestra, which he himself organized from his friends, for which he himself wrote musical and choral plays. Despite such talent, his mother insisted that Robert receive a law degree. But his love for music won and Schumann decided to devote himself entirely to his favorite work and become a virtuoso pianist. In secret from his teacher, he even developed his own method for developing finger fluency on the instrument, for which he designed a special mechanical device, which played a fatal role in his fate. This kind of finger training led to an incurable disease in my right hand. Schumann had to give up his dream of becoming a virtuoso, and he decided to devote all his energy to composing music.
Fate decreed that, having lost the opportunity to perform, he began to compose a lot, and his wife, Clara, a brilliant pianist and daughter of Schumann’s teacher, introduced the public to these works.
The Schumann family toured a lot. They even went on tour in our country. The Russians received the famous couple very warmly. And Russian composers promoted Schumann's music and gave it high praise.
Unfortunately, Robert Schumann lived a short life; at the end of his life he was seriously ill, but continued to compose until his last minutes.
You are all still children. The world of children is different from the world of adults. Every day you have to deal with special things created just for you. These are children's books, children's games, children's films and cartoons. You wear children's clothes, which are different from adult clothes, and you eat and drink from children's dishes. Do you think children's music exists? And if it exists, then what is it?
You encounter children's music every day. During music lessons, you sing songs written by children's composers. You hear children's music on the radio, on television in special children's programs.
We call children's music written by composers especially for you. Most often, when adults start composing something for children - music, poetry, stories, fairy tales, they do it for their own sons or daughters, grandchildren or nephews.
Robert Schumann also wrote music for his children. He had five of them, and the older ones learned to play musical instruments. In those distant times when Schumann lived, when children's music was just beginning to be created, a wide variety of albums were in great fashion. They were colorfully decorated and placed in a prominent place in the living room. The guests wrote down poems, wishes, compliments, jokes in beautiful handwriting in the album, and also drew comic portraits and pictures.
This is how Schumann’s album contains a wide variety of plays under one cover. What are they talking about? Schumann's wife recalled that Robert Schumann loved to watch children's games and everything happening around him, and turned his observations into music. This album contained pieces that children could not only listen to their mother perform, but also perform them themselves, even if they were just starting to learn to play the piano. Gradually, the children grew up and new plays appeared, more difficult to perform, and so the second part of the album appeared.
The collection of plays was published under the title “Album for Youth.” It came out as a deluxe edition with gold letters and pictures.
Let's turn the pages of this album and get acquainted with the wonderful music, and through it, with the life of the children of that era. It’s not without reason that the composer himself noted that the album arose “from the very thick of family life.”
"Song"
The album begins with three very similar pieces. It's like a variation of the same melody. In the original gift collection, one of them was called “Lullaby for Ludwig.” Ludwig washed Schumann's youngest son, he was not yet a year old. Anna, his older sister, was entrusted with a very responsible task - to lull the baby to sleep. So my father wrote a simple song for this, very similar to a lullaby, which can be sung without words. Its light and calm melody sounds softly and leisurely against the backdrop of a rhythmically swaying, soothing accompaniment.
"March"
“March” is also placed at the very beginning of the album because it is given a lot of importance. Why?
Music now accompanies our lives. We hear it on radio and TV. Sometimes it even sounds very loud on the street or from passing cars. But before, when there was no recording equipment, everything was different. The townspeople were surrounded by silence, which was broken only by the clatter of horse hooves, the creaking of a passing cart, the barking of a dog or the slamming of doors, the cries of peddlers and other various noise sounds. But live music was very rare. Her performance was an event for the city. Only on holidays or weekends did a military band sound in the square or park. And this was only in those cities where a military garrison was located. The performance of the orchestra was always awaited with great impatience. Well, the main musical genre of a military orchestra is, of course, the march.
Schumann's “March” is very energetic, cheerful, with a clear “chopped” rhythm. But it is not heavy, but light and transparent due to the large number of pauses. This gives it a touch of “childishness”. We seem to see children marching and playing military.
"Poor orphan"
The next play is called "Poor Orphan". An orphan is a child left without parents. Children from both rich and poor families were left orphans. The fate of the poor was not easy. They were brought up in special shelters and were deprived of their native shelter and the love of their parents. The children were dressed in the same clothes, they had neither toys nor sweets. The teachers treated them very harshly. During their trip to Russia, Robert and Clara Schumann visited such an orphanage in Moscow. The difficult fate of an orphan found its response in the play “Poor Orphan”. The deeply sad music is imbued with plaintive, mournful intonations, reminiscent of a sobbing cry, and in its spare and measured rhythm - a funeral march.
"Stranger"
Schumann prepared a musical surprise for his children, and for you and me, the listeners: in the second part of the Album, the sad and plaintive “Poor Orphan” unexpectedly turns into the evil “Stranger”. Why this happened is difficult to explain. Maybe this is some kind of fairy tale about witchcraft and transformations? After all, Schumann was a great master of telling various magical stories to his children. But the same melody that evokes compassion and sorrow in the listener, in the new play sounds very assertive, energetic, tough and frightening. Schumann’s “stranger” is an aggressive, unfriendly stranger. His musical portrait is presented in the extreme parts of the play, and in the middle one can hear the fear of small children who are frozen with fear and surprise and look with trepidation at the “Stranger”, from whom a clear threat emanates.
"First Loss"
Perhaps the most tender and sincerely sad play in “Album”, which tells us about childhood experiences and sorrows, is “The First Loss”. Her appearance was associated with a real event. In the Schumann family there lived a bird - a siskin - in a cage. The children were always very happy with her. One day they found the bird lifeless, lying with its paws up. The word “loss” means the loss of some close being. The sadly touching beautiful melody conveys the deep experience and grief of children who had to face such feelings for the first time.
In the "Album for Youth" there are two plays whose music tells us about the horsemen. But horse riding happens under different circumstances. A hunter rides on horseback, chasing a hunted animal. A circus performer prances around the arena performing breathtaking stunts in front of an audience. And the boy rides on a stick, only playing at being a real horseman. Each time the nature of the race and the mood of the rider will be different. Likewise, Schumann’s plays turned out to be completely different from each other.
"Bold Rider"
The first of them is “Bold Rider”. The nature of the music is a little mischievous: the boy saddles a stick like a horse and gallops around the room at full speed. He spurs his “horse” with a twig, now and then bumping into the table, then the door. This is why we hear sudden accents in music.
"Rider"
The play “The Horseman” is of a completely different nature. A picture of a real rapid race unfolds before us. All music is permeated with a steady forward movement with a very clear rhythm. She is full of tension and anxiety. Sudden changes between very quiet and very loud sounds create a feeling of unexpected danger. At the end of the play, the fading clatter of horse hooves can be heard for a long time, as if the rider was hiding in the distance.
"Father Frost"
Now we will listen to a play whose name is “Santa Claus”. What do you think music should be like? Cheerful, a little humorous and always kind. After all, kindness is the main quality of Santa Claus, who brings small children a whole bag of wonderful gifts and lights up colorful lights on the New Year holiday. Now listen to the first bars of Schumann’s play “Father Frost.”
What is this? Another surprise from the composer? After all, the music does not at all correspond to the character of the good-natured Santa Claus. Or maybe Schumann made a mistake or failed to correctly depict in music a ruddy and smiling old man happily playing with children? After all, instead of him we get an angry and spiteful old man, who strikes fear not only into small children. The music sounds very harsh, harsh, with accents reminiscent of biting slaps. What riddle did Schumann present us with?
The answer lies in the inaccurate translation of the play's title. In German it is called "Knecht Ruprecht" - literally translated means "Servant Ruprecht", and not at all Father Frost, who would be called Santa Claus. So who is “Servant Ruprecht” and what does he have to do with Santa Claus?
In Russia, Father Frost traditionally comes to the New Year with his assistant, his granddaughter Snegurochka. In the Czech Republic, Father Frost (Mikulas in Czech) comes on Christmas with his assistant - a devil in a red cloak, who rings the bell so that the doors will be opened for Mikulas.
In Germany, the country where Schumann lived, Santa Claus is accompanied by his servant Ruprecht, an angry and spiteful character who carries rods for children who misbehave or disobey their parents. He walks with a shuffling gait in a long sheepskin coat sprinkled with snow, with the fur facing out; his face is stained with soot. Instead of a gift, Ruprecht can slip a lump of coal or a frozen potato to naughty children. This is exactly what Schumann portrayed in his play. But a short title cannot explain who the servant Ruprecht is, and there is no similar character in Russia. So the translator had to replace him with Santa Claus, which does not at all correspond to Schumann’s plan.
Now it becomes clear why in the extreme parts of the play, which paint a portrait of Ruprecht, there is such “angry” and threatening music. And in the middle, you can imagine the children frightened by his appearance. And yet the play ends with enlightenment. After all, the servant Ruprecht is just a funny character in Christmas rituals and cannot spoil the wonderful atmosphere of the holiday.
"The Cheerful Peasant"
Don't be left with the feeling that Schumann in his Album for Youth portrayed only angry and spiteful characters like Ruprecht and the Stranger. He also has good-natured, merry fellows. One of the plays is called “The Cheerful Peasant Returning from Work.” The widely flowing melody is full of cheerfulness and joy. After all, the hard work in the field is over, and now the peasant can rest. He doesn't sing his song too fast. After all, the peasants do everything slowly, thoroughly, even when they dance or sing. We hear one voice singing the song in the first part, and a higher voice singing along with it in the second part. The voice sounds in the bass and is duplicated in the upper voice, as if a father and son were singing - after all, peasant children often helped their parents work in the fields. The peasant's song surprisingly subtly conveys the rural flavor.
Our journey through the “Album for Youth” ends. We heard a lot of very good music. Basically, these were a variety of musical portraits - both children and adults, a whole gallery. Only a great composer, whose name is Robert Schumann, could so reliably express in music the subtlest colors of human mood. Let his portrait, as a reminder of our meeting, remain as a keepsake for each of you.
Robert Schumann
The renowned Robert Schumann is rightfully considered one of the greatest musicians and composers of his time. Almost no one can compare with him in the insight with which he conveyed the subtlest nuances of the human soul. He hated inertia and led an active struggle for the introduction of new progressive elements into the art of music.
Robert Schumann was born on June 8, 1810 in the small town of Zwickau, in Saxony. His father was at first a simple bookseller, and then, having accumulated enough money, founded a book publishing house, where the works of classics and works of Walter Scott and Byron translated into German were published.
Robert Schumann
The father, who from a young age dreamed of engaging in literary activities, in every possible way encouraged his children’s desire for the humanities. They found widespread support for the versatile abilities of the youngest son Robert.
The great composer's mother, who came from a poor burgher family, inherited from her father a negative attitude towards an artistic career. She did her best to prevent her son from entering the musical environment and thereby caused him a lot of grief. Apparently, Robert inherited acute sensitivity and nervous excitability from his mother.
In his childhood and adolescence, Schumann had two hobbies - literature and music. For a long time, he could not give preference to one or another type of creative activity and correctly determine his true calling.
At the gymnasium, the future composer enthusiastically indulged in literary exercises, made independent translations of the works of classics, studied ancient works and enthusiastically read the works of Schiller and Goethe. A particularly vivid impression from reading a novel or poem gave rise to musical associations and images. Thus, the result of reading the works of romantic writers Jean Paul and Hoffmann was the creation of the miniatures “Butterfly” and “Kreislerian” in the 1830s. Fifteen-year-old Robert Schumann, on his own initiative, headed a literary circle at the gymnasium. At that time, he had already written several lyric poems, three dramas and two novels. In addition, the young man showed interest in issues of musical aesthetics.
A trip with his father to Carlsbad and a visit to the concert of pianist Moscheles made an unforgettable impression on young Schumann, and he began to think about a career as a musician. Acquaintance with music began in early childhood, and at the age of six Robert wrote his first musical compositions (short dances and fantasies for piano).
The provincial teacher Kunsht could not give the young talent anything other than the most general information about music, however, the lack of knowledge was compensated by his excellent playing of the piano. Classes with Kunsht allowed Schumann to become a virtuoso pianist and perform not only in home concerts, but also at gymnasium evenings. The school orchestra he organized played works by the best composers of the century; in addition, this orchestra and choir performed a psalm written by Schumann for the first time on stage.
Even in his high school years, Robert, who was distinguished by his special powers of observation and ability to note the most characteristic things, became interested in creating accurate musical characteristics in which his school friends recognized themselves without much difficulty. This penchant for portrait sketches, not lost over the years, became a distinctive feature of Schumann's later music.
Piano
Gradually, the future composer became more and more involved in musical life, this was greatly facilitated by visiting chamber evenings in the Carus house, where quartets by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, Robert’s favorite composer, were performed. So the decision to become a great musician gradually grew stronger.
However, the death of his father forced Schumann to choose a different path. At the request of his mother, he had to forget about professional musical creativity and, after graduating from high school, enter the Faculty of Law at the University of Leipzig.
Having moved to a major cultural center in Germany, Schumann plunged into a vibrant social and musical life. In the house of one of his Zwickau acquaintances, Robert became friends with the musician-teacher Friedrich Wieck and his daughter Clara. This meeting turned out to be significant, since all of Schumann’s further work and life became closely connected with the name of Clara Wieck.
Under the guidance of an experienced teacher, Robert began piano lessons, and soon a circle of serious music lovers grouped around the young talent. Together with his friends, Schumann studied chamber music, the works of Beethoven, Bach and Schubert; The result of his acquaintance with chamber music was the writing of a quartet in E minor for piano and strings, which, unfortunately, has not been preserved to this day.
Among the progressive youth of the 19th century, an enthusiastic attitude towards Schubert's work prevailed. Like many others, Robert Schumann became influenced by this composer's "surprisingly psychological music", which manifested itself in many of Schumann's early works.
It is also worth noting Schumann’s passion for the work of Johann Sebastian Bach, which became a real school of composition for the young musician, giving clarity and harmony to his restless and ardent imagination. In addition, the moral purity and sublimity of Bach's works contributed to the strengthening in Schumann's mind of the idea of music as a means of ennobling and elevating a person.
Already in the first year of his stay in Leipzig, Schumann clearly realized that music was his only calling. Studying “dry and cold law” weighed heavily on Robert, but the desire to leave the university and devote himself to music met stubborn resistance from his mother.
The attacks of melancholy and dreamy concentration, which were the consequences of the composer’s intense struggle to choose a profession, could only be dispelled by visiting the most beautiful corners of Germany.
Over the years of travel, Schumann managed to visit the Rhine and Main valleys, Bavaria, Munich, where the young composer met with the famous Heinrich Heine, Bayreuth and Italy. Despite the fact that his wallet was often empty, traveling gave Robert a lot of new impressions and his good mood did not leave him.
In 1829, Schumann transferred to Heidelberg, the recognized center of German romanticism, where he continued his music studies. Soon the gifted pianist became a welcome guest in the homes of Heidelberg music lovers. Once he even took part in a large public concert, where he performed Moscheles' variations.
The friendly atmosphere and recognition of the young musician’s talent contributed to the intensification of his creative activity; a large number of works were written in Heidelberg, including the famous “Butterflies”, “Abegg” variations, Toccata in C major and a piano arrangement of two caprices by Paganini.
The hated jurisprudence became more and more burdensome, but Robert’s letters to his mother asking him to be freed from his painful studies at the university did not have the necessary force. Only thanks to the intervention of Friedrich Wieck did Schumann gain the right to do what he loved.
In the autumn of 1830, the talented pianist returned to Leipzig and continued his interrupted studies with Wieck, but the teacher’s school-craft system could not fully satisfy the searches of the young Schumann. A year later, he turned to the famous pianist-teacher Hummel for lessons. Having received consent, Robert enthusiastically began daily music lessons.
However, his dream was not destined to come true: using mechanical methods of stretching his fingers, Schumann injured his right hand, and he had to forget about his career as a virtuoso pianist forever. Musical, critical and social activities became his salvation, but Robert was never able to recover from the terrible blow of fate, his psyche was broken.
Schumann's first critical article on Chopin appeared in print in 1831. Three years later, together with his like-minded people, he founded the weekly magazine “New Musical Newspaper”, which became an exponent of the progressive ideas of the progressive public in the field of music.
“Novaya Muzykalnaya Gazeta” wanted to return ideological art to its former significance, led an active struggle against the meaningless, outwardly brilliant music that was fashionable at that time, and provided all kinds of support to young talents on its pages.
The main correspondents of the magazine were Florestan and Eusebius - the opposite essences of Schumann himself. The first of them is an ardent and enthusiastic person who passionately polemicized against backward petty-bourgeois views and exposed the vices of virtuosity.
Unlike Florestan, Eusebius is calm and dreamy, he is a poet at heart, and although he was a little frightened by the unbridled temperament of his comrade, he and the latter had no fundamental differences in their views on the music of that time.
The period of Schumann's active musical and critical activity, lasting from 1834 to 1844, left his descendants with many interesting and significant things. Articles about Schubert, Chopin, Beethoven, a detailed analysis of Berlioz’s Symphony Fantastique, a number of review works on the state of piano music of the 19th century, as well as aphorisms presented in the form of “Advice to Young Musicians” still have a special educational and aesthetic value today.
In the same decade, Schumann's bright personality as a composer was fully revealed. He wrote a large number of different works. In his work of the 1830s, preference was given to piano music, which provided more freedom than vocal or symphonic music, and was easier to play with Schumann’s imagination.
During this period, such works for piano were written as “Carnival”, “Symphonic Etudes”, Fantasia in C major, sonatas that make up a concert without an orchestra, “Davidsbündlers”, “Fantastic Pieces” and “Children’s Scenes”, which became an integral part of the golden Piano Music Foundation.
In subsequent years, Schumann paid more attention to vocal and chamber music; among the piano works of the 1840s, the piano concerto in A minor and the “Album for Youth” deserve special attention.
Inner attitude and feelings had a significant influence on the work of Robert Schumann; strong emotions were embodied in highly artistic musical and poetic images.
The tragic love for Clara Wieck became a source of continued inspiration for Schumann. The young people in love were forced to stop their meetings because the girl’s father, Schumann’s former teacher, opposed their marriage. Many of Schumann’s works of those years reflected the complex emotional experiences of a man in love, and the minor sonata, “dedicated to Clara by Florestan and Eusebius,” became a cry from the heart for his beloved.
In 1838, Schumann moved to Vienna in the hope of improving his material well-being there. However, all his efforts were in vain: the Austrian censorship was extremely suspicious of his magazine, and the artistic world of Vienna was revealed from a very unsightly side. Having achieved no positive results other than the publication of Schubert's previously unknown Symphony in C major, Schumann returned to Leipzig.
The most turbulent period of the young composer's life ended in 1840, when his long-awaited wedding to Clara Wieck took place. This event became a new source of creative inspiration for Schumann. He turned to many musical genres: vocal lyric poetry, large forms of chamber music, opera, symphony, oratorio and musical drama.
The period from 1840 to 1845 includes the First Symphony in B major (“Spring”), the D minor symphony, later revised into opus 120 No. 4, string quartets, piano quintet in C major, secular oratorio “Paradise and Peri”, etc. The piano quintet is striking in its particular beauty of music, in which the passionate tension of the first movement gives way to lyrical and tragic images of the second and ends with brilliantly festive melodies.
In 1843, Robert Schumann's teaching career began; he agreed to teach piano, composition and score reading classes at the newly opened Leipzig Conservatory. However, the role of a teacher turned out to be unacceptable for the talented composer. The very next year, he abandoned his job at the conservatory and went on a concert tour of Russia as the husband of Clara Wieck, a world-famous pianist.
At that time, Schumann's work was still little known in Russia and received recognition much later thanks to the activities of the progressive part of the musical society. One of the first interpreters of Robert Schumann's music in Russia was the famous pianist Anton Grigorievich Rubinstein.
The return to Leipzig was marked by an attack of mental illness. Thinking that a change of place would have a beneficial effect on Schumann's condition, the family moved to Dresden. However, the theatrical life of the Saxon capital was completely dependent on the tastes of the court aristocracy, and the composer, who was ill at that time, did not receive recognition at court.
A small circle of music lovers formed around Schumann, which included some professional musicians (F. Hiller and R. Wagner). Alienated from active musical and social activities, the composer completely devoted himself to creativity.
In 1845 – 1846 he wrote the Second Symphony in C major, then the opera “Genoveva” - the only work of the musical-dramatic genre by Schumann. Excellent music could not compensate for the shortcomings typical of German romantic opera: detail and psychologization of images usually came at the expense of effectiveness and theatricality.
The production of “Genoveva” did not receive a wide response from the public, and projects for new operas - “The Bride of Messina” according to Schiller and “Hermann and Dorothea” according to Goethe - remained unfulfilled, only the overtures to these works were preserved. Schumann's most important creative achievement was the creation of music for Byron's dramatic poem "Manfred", which embodied the poet's rebellious spirit. In 1844, the composer began working on scenes from Goethe's Faust, which were completed only in 1853.
The tense socio-political situation, which ended with the revolutionary events of 1848 in Germany, became the reason for Robert Schumann to write three male choirs based on revolutionary texts: “To Arms”, “Black-Red-Gold” and “Song of Freedom”.
However, the composer experienced an overwhelming sense of fear of social upheaval, probably due to his progressive illness and desire for solitude. At the height of the Dresden uprising of 1849, Schumann and his family moved to the small town of Kreisch, located near the Saxon capital.
In mid-1850, the composer received an offer from the Düsseldorf authorities to take the place of the city bandmaster and head of the singing society. Having accepted the offer, Schumann set to work with enthusiasm, but it was only a temporary boost.
Soon, the painful mental illness made itself felt again: a state of excessive excitement was replaced by periods of severe apathy, hallucinations and fear of an impending catastrophe. Robert Schumann became increasingly withdrawn and unsociable, which negatively affected his conducting work. The dissatisfaction of the musicians and the administration of the singing society forced the composer to leave the place of conductor in 1853 and again plunge into creativity.
Over the last three years of his life, such wonderful works as the Rhine Symphony in C major, the overtures “The Bride of Messina” and “Herman and Dorothea”, numerous songs, romances, ballads for voice, chamber and instrumental works were written.
The best of them are rightfully considered the Rhine Symphony, especially its fourth movement (the work consists of five movements), which depicts the appearance of the gloomy and majestic Cologne Cathedral, and the concerto for cello and orchestra, which is a new example of the concert genre. The songs and romances of the last creative period are the result of the development of Schumann's vocal lyrics. Nevertheless, in almost all of the composer’s latest works there is a sense of decline in creative powers.
In the spring of 1854, Robert Schumann threw himself into the Rhine, attempting to commit suicide. He was saved, but clear consciousness never returned to him. The talented composer spent two years in Endenich near Bonn, in a mental hospital. Here he died on July 29, 1856.
Contemporaries were not given the opportunity to understand the full depth of Schumann's creativity. The unique musical language of the works, new images and forms required more attentiveness and tension, but the concert audience of that era was satisfied to a greater extent with superficial entertaining music that did not require deep understanding.
In Schumann's works, the entire objective world depends on the mood of the composer, on his internal experiences: the musical description of nature reflects the emotional state of the author, and fairy-tale-fantastic images are the embodiment of his own visions, caused by the play of artistic imagination.
In addition, Schumann's lyrical works contain living reality, represented by musical portraits, sketches and scenes. Thus, the constant interaction of the external and internal world fills Schumann's music with contrast, which finds expression in piano and vocal works.
The novelty of composer's thinking was manifested in a unique musical language, in which melody, rhythm and harmony seemed to obey any movement of fantastic images and changeability of moods.
Subjective psychological motives and the autobiographical nature of creativity in no way detract from the universal value of Schumann’s music, which did not receive due recognition in Germany during the lifetime of its creator. The true value of Robert Schumann's work was noted much later.
MUSIC EXPRESSES THE MOODS, FEELINGS, CHARACTER OF PEOPLE
First loss
Frederic Chopin. Prelude No. 4 in E minor;
Robert Schumann. First loss;
Ludwig van Beethoven. Sonata No. 17 in D minor (fragment of the 3rd movement).
1st lesson
Program content. Expand children's understanding of the shades of moods and feelings expressed in music.
Progress of the lesson:
Educator: You listened to two plays by S. Maykapar, in which different shades of sad mood are expressed.
The first piece is anxious, excited, and the second sounds like a sad reflection. These plays are called: “Anxious Minute” and “Thought”.
You know that many works, although they do not have such names, always express the experiences and feelings of a person. Listen to a piece by Polish composer Fryderyk Chopin called "Prelude". A prelude is a short piece for piano or other instrument. Sometimes the prelude precedes another piece, but it can also exist as an independent piece. What is the character of this prelude by F. Chopin? (Does it.)
Children. The music is sad, plaintive, mournful.
P e d a g o g Yes. Listen to how plaintive the melody sounds. Two sounds are repeated in it. This intonation (plays descending second) often in music it conveys a sigh, a cry, a complaint. And the accompanying chords give the sound of the melody a mournful and excited character. (Plays accompaniment chords.)
These chords also have their own melody, listen, it moves slowly downwards. This prelude has a strong climax where the music sounds very intense. Where do you hear it? (Performs a play.)
Children. In the middle.
P a g o g The prelude has two parts. They start the same way. (Performs fragments.) The climax is in the second part of the play. The melody suddenly soars upward, sounds excited, like a desperate cry (performs fragment). Then weeping, plaintive intonations appear again, the melody fades, fades, and the same sounds are repeated. (Fragment plays.) The melody freezes, suddenly freezes, stops. (Performs fragment.) What do the last chords sound like? (Does them.)
Children. Very sad, quiet.
P e d a g o g Yes. Quiet, gloomy chords with low bass sound very sad and mournful. (Does the entire prelude.) Similar intonation of complaint (plays her) also sounded in S. Maykapar’s play “Anxious Minute”. But in her this intonation “flickered” at a fast pace and created a restless, confused, anxious character. . (Performs fragment.)
R. Schumann’s play “The First Loss” begins with the same plaintive intonation (he performs it and shows other descending intonations of the melody).
Robert Schumann was not only an outstanding German composer, but also a pianist, conductor, and teacher.
From the age of 7, R. Schumann studied piano, composed, studied at the gymnasium, and later at the university. At the age of 20, he heard the play of the great, world famous Italian violinist Niccolo Paganini. N. Paganini's playing made such a vivid impression on R. Schumann that he decided to devote himself to music forever.
He knew how to see the wonderful, extraordinary in life, hidden from the views of other people, and embody everything he experienced in sounds. R. Schumann wrote a lot of varied music - symphonies, choral music, opera, romances, piano pieces; Surprisingly, he created portraits of people in music, conveying their feelings and moods.
A dreamer and inventor, R. Schumann loved children very much and wrote a lot for them. In his “Album for Youth” he reveals the world of children's joys, sorrows, and the wonderful world of fairy tales.
Russian composers highly valued the work of R. Schumann. P. Tchaikovsky especially loved him. Under the impression of his “Album for Youth,” P. Tchaikovsky wrote his wonderful “Children’s Album.”
Listen to Schumann's play "The First Loss" again.
2nd lesson
Program content. Teach children to listen to musical intonations, distinguish the form of works, and find climaxes.
Progress of the lesson:
P a g o g At the last lesson, you listened to two sad works - a prelude by F. Chopin and R. Schumann's play “The First Loss”. We noted that these works have similar intonations and complaints. (Performs fragments.) In F. Chopin's prelude we heard a bright climax - the rise of the melody, which expresses a feeling of aching melancholy, sorrow, sounds tense, with prayer, protest. ( Plays the climax.) Where is the climax in R. Schumann’s play “The First Loss”? (Does it.)
Children. At the end. The music sounds loud and insistent.
P e d a g o g Yes. The chords at the end of the piece sound with protest and bitterness. The experiences of a child expressed in this play are as deep as those of an adult. The first loss that the child experienced caused so much sadness and grief in his soul! The music sounds pitiful (performs fragment), then excitedly (a fragment of the middle part sounds), then with protest (plays last four bars), that's very sad (performs the last two measures). Let's listen carefully to the whole play. Tell me, is the first, plaintive melody of the play repeated? When does it sound? How many parts are there in the play? (Plays a piece.)
Children. Three parts. The melody is repeated at the end, but does not last long.
P a g o r. Correct. The melody with plaintive intonations sounds twice in the first part of the play. In the middle part the music becomes insistent and intense. The same fragments of melody seem to interrupt each other with bitterness and excitement. After all, when an unpleasant thought disturbs a person, it constantly reminds of itself and does not give rest. (Plays the middle part.) It’s the same in music - the restless intonation of the melody sounds as if in different modes. But here we again hear the melody of the beginning of the play - plaintive, sad. Here, in the third movement, it does not sound completely, without ending, protesting, menacing chords appear, but they soon become soft and sad. (Performs the third part of the play.)
3rd lesson
Program content. Teach children to compare works that have similar emotional and figurative content. Distinguish shades of moods expressed in music.
Progress of the lesson:
Educator. Both in the lives of adults and in the lives of children, there are a variety of sad experiences: light sadness (as in S. Maykapar’s play “Thought” - a fragment sounds), and sadness and sorrow (as in R. Schumann’s play “The First Loss” or in F. Chopin’s prelude - performs fragments of these works), and anxiety (as in S. Maykapar’s play “Anxious Minute”).
What mood is expressed in this music? (Performs a fragment of the third movement of the 17th sonata by L. Beethoven.)
Children. Tender, sad, restless.
P a g o r. Correct. I played you an excerpt from the third movement of L. Beethoven's 17th sonata. This music is so beautiful! She is quivering, impetuous, flying, illuminated by light and sadness.
Let's listen to the intonations of the melody: they sometimes sound plaintive when the endings of small phrases-intonations are directed downward (plays three intonations in the first two measures), sometimes affectionately interrogative when the melody rises at the end of phrases (plays fourth intonation, in measures 3-4). The persistent repetition of these plaintive and affectionately interrogative intonations gives the music trepidation and anxiety. Let's remember S. Maykapar's play "Anxious Minute", in which the melody is also built on a change in intonation, sometimes plaintive, drooping (pointing down) then interrogative (directed upward). (Performs fragment.)
Let's remember the wonderful work of W. A. Mozart, which you all love, his 40th symphony. How many different shades of feelings are intertwined in this music - tenderness, sadness, excitement, trepidation, anxiety, determination, and again tenderness (snippet sounds). Let's listen once again, in recording, to other works that express different shades of sadness - a prelude by F. Chopin, a fragment of a sonata by L. Beethoven. (Recording sounds.)
F. Chopin. Prelude No. 4 in E minor. Recommendations for implementation
The mournful, sad-excited character of the prelude is created by the repeated descending intonation of the melody. It is important to avoid staticity and feel long phrasing. Colorful harmonization plays an important role in creating an image. The accompaniment chords should sound smooth, harmonious, soft, with a clear line of melody sounds in the upper voices.
L. Beethoven. Sonata No. 17 in D minor(fragment of part 3). Recommendations for implementation
The gently excited, iridescent, flying melody of the main part of this movement is performed without accents, with a sense of long phrases, softly, with moderate pedaling.
Presentation
Included:
1. Presentation - 14 slides, ppsx;
2. Sounds of music:
Beethoven. Sonata No. 17. III movement. Allegretto
Mozart. Symphony No. 40. I movement. Allegro molto
Chopin. Prelude No. 4 in E minor
Schumann. First loss
Maykapar. An anxious moment
Maykapar. Meditation, mp3;
3. Accompanying article, docx;
4. Sheet music for independent performance of works by a teacher, docx.
« Album for Youth op.68 was created by Robert Schumann in 1848. The history of its creation is closely connected with his father’s personal musical experience. In October, Schumann wrote to his friend Karl Reinecke - “I wrote the first pieces for the birthday of my eldest daughter, and then the rest.” The original title of the collection was “Christmas Album.”
In addition to the musical material, the draft manuscript included instructions for young musicians, revealing Schumann’s artistic credo in a brief aphoristic form. He planned to place them between plays. This idea was not implemented. For the first time, the aphorisms, the number of which increased from 31 to 68, were published in the New Musical Newspaper in a special supplement entitled “Home and Life Rules for Musicians,” and then reprinted in the supplement to the second edition.
The success of the first edition of the “Album for Youth” was greatly facilitated by its title page, designed by the famous German artist, professor at the Dresden Academy of Arts Ludwig Richter. The artist's son, Heinrich Richter was Schumann's composition student in 1848-49. Schumann indicated the ten most important plays, in his opinion, for which, according to his explanations, the artist created vignettes for the cover of the publication. These plays are Vintage Time, The First Loss, The Merry Peasant, Round Dance, Spring Song, Song of the Reapers, Mignon, Knecht Ruprecht, Brave Rider and Winter Time.
There was an opinion among teachers, contemporaries of the author, that the “Album” was illogically structured and the plays were too difficult for children to perform. Indeed, the plays are not arranged in order of increasing difficulty and the amplitude of their complexity is extremely high, but let us remember that in the time of Schumann, in the middle of the 19th century, there was no systematization of educational materials. In addition, the author did not at all strive to follow the canons of the modern pedagogical repertoire. During this period of time it was natural for various schools to publish material for six to seven years of study.
The significance of the Album for piano pedagogy is that R. Schumann was the creator of a completely new and deeply innovative piano style, which is probably why the pieces turned out to be much more difficult than the repertoire that teachers used at that time. An analogy arises with J.S. Bach, who also was ahead of his time, creating pieces for students much more difficult than the generally accepted level of learning.
To appreciate the novelty of this music, it is enough to pay attention to the educational repertoire that teachers used at that time. These were not only the popular piano schools of the best teachers of that time - Hummel, Moscheles, Hertz, Kulak, Reinecke, but also the works of numerous dropouts.
Robert Schumann was separated from them by a huge distance. Everything is new in his “Album” - harmony, piano presentation, rhythms, pulsation, psychologism of the pieces. But the main thing was the program content.
The range of musical themes and genres of that time was limited; these included numerous sonatas, etudes, variations and small plays, usually of the dance genre.
Schumann, on the other hand, sets as his goal to reveal the world of the child and composes psychological miniatures, often, however, putting out the titles of the plays after they are written, but they are surprisingly accurate.
Undoubtedly, the music of these plays reflected the influence of F. Mendelssohn, whom Schumann called the Mozart of the 19th century and greatly appreciated. This is especially evident in two untitled plays, and the play Remembrance was written on the day of Mendelssohn’s death and in its composition, style of presentation and texture is reminiscent of Mendelssohn’s “Spring Song”.
But, of course, Schumann's pianism is much broader and more varied. In fact, in the Album there is no difference between children's and adults' ways of presenting musical material; Schumann simply adapts the texture of his pieces for a child's hand. Perhaps this reflects the similarity with Grieg’s children’s plays.
For each image, Schumann chooses his own means of expression, his own sound effects, sometimes choral, sometimes orchestral, sometimes homophony, sometimes polyphony, or a texture rich in echoes and canonical movement.
There is a complete absence of technique in its pure classical form, scales, arpeggios, and it is difficult to determine what is and is meant by technical difficulties, so important for Schumann is the subordination of technique to the artistic image.
The study of the works included in the Album has long become mandatory for the education of a pianist and his comprehension of the peculiarities of the piano style of this composer.
Let's look at the most popular plays from the Children's Music School repertoire.
Melody. It often appears in the Programs in the first class repertoire, which is an obvious mistake. The play is intended only for very capable children and not earlier than the third or fourth grade. In essence, this is a little romance or a children's song. Very complex phrasing, hidden voice guidance, long drawing of three horizontal lines and subtle following of the left hand with all movements of the right - these are the main pedagogical tasks.
March. Let us pay attention to the fact that there are almost no executive instructions from the author. The gradation of forte is very diverse. Staccato chords are played like the pizzicato of string instruments, but require an attack of sound rather than a languid touch. This is the simplest piece in the collection.
First loss. Second, third grade. The play is difficult in content and polyphonic texture. The most common mistakes are rhythmic difficulty with the off-beat beginning and students' frequent rudeness in the sonority of the last chords. The accuracy of voice guidance and subtle dynamic gradations and tempo shifts make its performance possible only with advanced students. The original title was “The Death of a Siskin,” which is reflected in the drawing on the cover of the publication. It is based on a family story that could only become known to the artist from the words of the author himself. At the beginning of the reprise, it is appropriate to transfer the “A” sound from the right hand to the left hand.
Brave Rider. More precisely, the correct name is “Furious Rider”. First or second class. The technical content is not difficult, children love the play and it is quickly learned; difficulties usually arise with the execution of various endings of melodic phrases and difficulties in texture.
Folk song. Often stands in programs next to the Brave Rider, which is not entirely correct. Third class. The piece is difficult due to its subtle pedaling. The name rather refers to the extreme sections, and the middle is similar to folk dance. Conducting the main melody in a reprise in the middle voice is difficult for students. Imitation of Weber and Mendelssohn.
Cheerful peasant. Second or third grade. The teacher must take into account that in the edition of A.B. Goldenweiser has long phrasing leagues, and the author’s leagues are semantic and song-like.
Sicilian dance. In Russian editions, the play has other names: “In the Character of Siciliana” and “Silian Song”. The play is written in a complex three-part form. In the style of barcarolle and folk dance. Alternation of different strokes - legato and portamento. The tempo is not too slow; you can add the word “graceful” to Schumann’s remark. The middle episode is played strictly at the same tempo - a quarter is equal to a quarter, which is quite difficult for children.
Knecht Ruprecht- literally “servant Ruprecht” - a character in German mythology, one of the household spirits that always appears at Christmas, when children receive gifts from the infant Christ, Knecht Ruprecht scares naughty children and threatens them with rods. In our publications, this play is widely known under the name Santa Claus, which is a mistake.
Unfortunately, many wonderful plays are forgotten and not played, especially in high schools. Among them is the play - "Horseman", in which the so frequent and favorite image of romantic composers sounds, it is enough to recall Schubert’s “The Forest King”, F. Liszt’s “Mazeppa”, G. Wolf’s romance “The Fire Horseman”. This is a kind of ballad in miniature with interesting effects of zooming in and out of sound. The play " Spring song"- excellent material for playing chord combinations on the pedal, and “ Song of the Sailors"- depicts the singing of a one-voice, and then a four-voice choir. " Winter" first and second– amaze with the depth and brightness of the music and were thought of by Schumann as something unified, like a minicycle. Therefore, their separation in many modern publications is hardly justified. The middle episode of Winter II is a bright genre scene of children's entertainment, while the second part is based on the old German song Grossvater.
The teacher needs to know that the play “Little Etude” is never played as an instructional sketch for a test or exam, which is a common mistake of inexperienced teachers.
The teacher should also draw the student’s attention to the fact that all Schumann’s decorations are played not at the expense of the note on which they are placed, but at the expense of the previous one, and in arpeggiato, the top sound of the chord always falls on the strong beat.
There are many editions of Schumann's Album for the Young. The most common editions are the lifetime edition of 1848, the edition of N. Rubinstein, the German edition of Sauer, the edition of A.B. Goldenweiser, the facsimile edition of 1956. In 1992, an edition by V. Merzhanov was published indicating the pedals, phrasing and fingering of Robert Schumann.
Biography
Schumann House in Zwickau
Robert Schumann, Vienna, 1839
Major works
Here are presented works that are often used in concert and pedagogical practice in Russia, as well as works of large scale, but rarely performed.
For piano
- Variations on the theme "Abegg"
- Butterflies, op. 2
- Davidsbündler Dances, Op. 6
- Carnival, op. 9
- Three sonatas:
- Sonata No. 1 in F sharp minor, op. eleven
- Sonata No. 3 in F minor, op. 14
- Sonata No. 2 in G minor, op. 22
- Fantastic Pieces, op. 12
- Symphonic Etudes, op. 13
- Scenes from Children, Op. 15
- Kreisleriana, op. 16
- Fantasia in C major, op. 17
- Arabesque, op. 18
- Humoresque, op. 20
- Novellettes, op. 21
- Vienna Carnival, op. 26
- Album for Youth, op. 68
- Forest Scenes, op. 82
Concerts
- Konzertstück for four horns and orchestra, op. 86
- Introduction and Allegro Appassionato for piano and orchestra, op. 92
- Concerto for cello and orchestra, op. 129
- Concerto for violin and orchestra, 1853
- Introduction and Allegro for piano and orchestra, op. 134
Vocal works
- "Myrtles", op. 25 (poems by various poets, 26 songs)
- "Circle of Songs", op. 39 (lyrics by Eichendorff, 20 songs)
- "Love and Life of a Woman", op. 42 (lyrics by A. von Chamisso, 8 songs)
- "The Poet's Love", op. 48 (lyrics by Heine, 16 songs)
- "Genoveva". Opera (1848)
Symphonic music
- Symphony No. 2 in C major, op. 61
- Symphony No. 3 in E flat major “Rhenish”, op. 97
- Symphony No. 4 in D minor, op. 120
- Overture to the tragedy "Manfred" (1848)
- Overture "Bride of Messina"
see also
Links
- Robert Schumann: Sheet music at the International Music Score Library Project
Musical fragments
Attention! Music fragments in Ogg Vorbis format
- Semper Fantasticamente ed Appassionatamente(info)
- Moderato, Sempre energico (info)
- Lento sostenuto Sempre piano (info)
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See what “Robert Schumann” is in other dictionaries:
SCHUMANN, ROBERT ALEXANDER (Schumann, Robert Alexander) ROBERT SCHUMANN (1810 1856), German composer. Born in Zwickau (Saxony) on June 8, 1810. Schumann took his first music lessons from a local organist; at the age of 10 he began to compose, including... Collier's Encyclopedia