Fantasiestücke Op.88

Schumann’s
so-called chamber music year in 1842 was in
fact barely six months long. Beginning in June he composed the three
string quartets, the piano quintet and piano quartet followed in
December by the Fantasiestücke
for piano trio. On listening to Fantasiestücke
we inevitably feel that Schumann was relaxing somewhat here, writing
what came to be known as Hausmusik,
compositions written for domestic music-making, in contrast to the
deadly serious business of string quartets. Schumann himself noted
its delicate
nature and
we might note the sudden shift from the internationally recognised
Italian tempo and character designations to the more homely German
ones. This in turn complements a switch from the sonata-form style of
the quartets, piano quintet and piano quartet to the more intimate
character pieces that we find in the Fantasiestücke.

The
opening Romanze
is
a miniature, gentle and undemanding. The Humoreske
is
a medley of semi-independent miniatures, mostly marches, which
despite some thematic cross-references, seem oddly random. The last
two movements are rather more subtle, for instance the violin heads
off the middle section of the Duett
with
an inversion of the cello’s opening melody. This mirroring
technique is continued in the march-like Finale
that
also conceals some clever contrapuntal working out.