composed in 1832
Agitato, A minor
Allegretto, E major
Andante, C major
Allegro, B-flat major
Lento, E-flat major
Molto Allegro, G minor
Robert
Schumann first heard Paganini in a concert in Frankfurt, which had been
an “inspiration to be more diligent, though he displayed a marked lack
of great, noble, priestly artistic pose.” This experience had strengthened
Schumann’s resolve to become a musician. The Etudes are piano transcriptions
of some of Paganini’s Caprices for solo violin. Schumann stayed very true
to the violin line, but at the same time experimented with the sound possibilities
of the piano. Schumann wrote in his diary in 1832: “The beautiful G minor
Caprice by Paganini. The day before yesterday I saw a picture that made
a horrible impression — Paganini exercising his enchantment — a murdered
woman — dancing skeletons and wafting, magnetic misting ghosts; yet the
composition of the picture was not without fantasy and life. It appeared
to me often during the writing of the Presto in G minor, and I believe
that the ending recalls it especially.”
Translation: William Melton
© Franz Vorraber
© Franz Vorraber