String Quartets (Schumann)

The three string quartets by Robert Schumann were composed in 1842. They are:

• String Quartet Op. 41 No. 1 in A minor
• String Quartet Op. 41 No. 2 in F
• String Quartet Op. 41 No. 3 in A

Background and first performance

The quartets Op. 41 are Schumann's only string quartets, and were composed after studying the quartets of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. He had sketched some ideas for quartets a few years before 1842, but they had been abandoned; in February of that year he considered again writing quartets.[1][2]

Because of depression he was unable to compose for a period; eventually on 4 June he started work on the first quartet, and he finished the third quartet on 22 July. They were first performed on 13 September, as a present for his wife Clara on her 23rd birthday.[1][2]

They were first published in 1843 by Breitkopf & Härtel, and dedicated to Felix Mendelssohn.[3][4][5]

Movements

String Quartet No. 1

1. Andante espressivo (A minor, 2/4) — Allegro (F major, 6/8)
2. Scherzo: Presto (A minor, 6/8)
3. Adagio (F major, 4/4)
4. Presto (A minor, 2/2)

String Quartet No. 2

1. Allegro vivace (F major, 3/4)
2. Andante quasi variazioni (A-flat major, 12/8)
3. Scherzo: Presto (C minor, 6/8)
4. Finale: Allegro molto vivace (F major, 2/4)

String Quartet No. 3

1. Andante espressivo (A major, 4/4) — Allegro molto moderato (A major, 3/4)
2. Assai agitato (F-sharp minor, 3/8)
3. Adagio molto (D major, 4/4)
4. Finale: Allegro molto vivace (A major, 2/2)

References

1. String Quartet No. 1 Op. 41, Robert Schumann LA Phil. Retrieved 14 January 2018. Via Wayback Machine.
2. Peter F. Ostwald, Schumann: the inner voices of a musical genius. UPNE, 1987. Page 173.
3. Schumann String Quartet No. 1: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
4. Schumann String Quartet No. 2: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
5. Schumann String Quartet No. 3: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project