Symphonic Etudes

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The Symphonic Etudes, opus 13 is a set of etudes for solo piano by Robert Schumann. It began in 1834 as a theme and sixteen variations, plus a further variation on an entirely different theme. The theme for the sixteen variations was by the Baron von Fricken, father of Schumann's then fiancee Ernestine von Fricken (whom he had earlier honoured as "Estrella" in Carnaval). The baron, an amateur musician, had written a Theme with Variations for flute.

Of the sixteen variations on Fricken's theme, only eleven were published by Schumann. The work was first published in 1837 as XII Etudes Symphoniques. Only nine of the twelve etudes were specifically designated as "variation". The final, twelfth, etude is a variation on the theme from the Romance Du stolzes England freue dich (Proud England, rejoice!), from Heinrich Marschner's opera Der Templer und die Jüdin, which was based on Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe. The earlier Fricken theme occasionally appears briefly during this etude.

The entire work was dedicated to Schumann's English friend, the pianist and composer William Sterndale Bennett. Bennett played the piece frequently in England to great acclaim, but Schumann thought it was unsuitable for public performance and advised his wife Clara not to play it.

In 1852, Schumann republished the set under the name Études en forme de variations, and made several revisions.

In 1861, five years after Schumann's death, his father-in-law Friedrich Wieck published a third edition under the editorial pseudonym "DAS" (an acronym for Der alte Schulmeister). This edition attempted to reconcile the differences between the earlier two, and bore both the previous titles XII Etudes Symphoniques and Études en forme de variations.

On republishing the set in 1890, Johannes Brahms restored the five variations which had been cut by Schumann. These are now usually played, but in positions within the cycle which vary somewhat with each performance; there are now twelve variations and these five so-called posthumous variations which exist as a supplement.

The originally published sections (all except the last based on Fricken's theme) are as follows:

  • Theme - Andante
  • Etude 1 (Variation 1) - Un poco più vivo
  • Etude II (Variation 2) - Andante
  • Etude III - Vivace
  • Etude IV (Variation 3) - Allegro marcato
  • Etude V (Variation 4) - Scherzando
  • Etude VI (Variation 5) - Agitato
  • Etude VII (Variation 6) - Allegro molto
  • Etude VIII (Variation 7) - Sempre marcatissimo
  • Etude IX - Presto possibile
  • Etude X (Variation 8) - Allegro con energia
  • Etude XI (Variation 9) - Andante espressivo
  • Etude XII (Finale) - Allegro brillante (based on Marschner's theme).

The five postumously published sections (all based on Fricken's theme) are:

  • Variation I - Andante, Tempo del tema
  • Variation II - Meno mosso
  • Variation III - Allegro
  • Variation IV - Allegretto
  • Variation V - Moderato.

The Adagio and Allegro brillante sections were orchestrated by Tchaikovsky, and have been recorded [1].

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