Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 04/12/2005, uploaded on 01/27/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Among the most popular of Schumann's compositions for the piano is the F-sharp major Romance of his op. 28 set, composed during the year leading up to his marriage to the virtuoso pianist Clara Wieck. The middle of a set of three, it is framed by a boisterous piece in B-flat minor and a dry, contrapuntal finale. The F-sharp Romance, however, is a superb example of Romantic lyricism. Written partially on three staves as opposed to the traditional two so as to make the melodic line more visible, its opening eight measure melody is refreshing simple in its construction. Even its harmonic accompaniment, venturing only briefly into the key of the dominant, is uncomplicated. Furthermore, the melody's limited compass and both its placement in the middle of the harmony as well as its physical position on the keyboard allow it to sing out above the busy arpeggios that accompany it.

Following the repetition of the melody, it moves into the upper voice and concerns itself with the rhythm of its final four measures. This short motif is treated sequentially and traces a course through the darker hues of minor keys. Scarcely longer than the melody itself, the music then returns to the opening measures of the Romance. After the fifth bar of this return, the melody at once seems to break free of its restraints. Such an outburst is, nevertheless, short-lived and the melody soon floats back down to earth and the Romance ends gently with a faint echo over a dominant pedal.       Joseph DuBose

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Romance in F-sharp major, op. 28 no. 2        Robert Schumann

This is a song without words.  Interestingly, it is written on three staffs as opposed to the traditional two.  The melodic line is written in the middle staff, as if it were a singing line, independent from the accompaniment.  This "vignette" is poetry in music, both intimate and profound.     Carlos César Rodríguez

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Courtesy of International Music Foundation.

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