Schumann's Fantasy, Op. 17

Schumann’s Fantasy, Op. 17

Schumann’s Fantasy, Op. 17, was written in 1836 and completed in 1838. It was intended to be published as a sonata entitled Grand Sonata: Ruins, Trophies, Palms by Friedrich Kistner of Leipzig in order to fund the development of a Beethoven monument that Liszt planned at Bonn. However, the project fell through. Consequently, the piece was eventually published by Breitkopf and Hartel as a fantasia, due to its unconventional sequence of movements. The descriptive titles were ultimately removed and the work was attributed to Liszt instead of Beethoven. He also quoted Schlegel, a well-known German scholar at the time, at the top of the score:

Durch alle Tone tonet (Through all the sounds)
Im bunten Erdentraum (In earth’s motley’s dream)
Ein leiser Ton gezogen (One soft note can be heard)
Für den, er Heimlich lauschet. (By him who listens stealthily).

Schumann began to compose this work while he was forbidden to have contact with his romantic interest, Clara Wieck. Consequently, music was the only way for the two to communicate. Schumann’s love and passion for Clara is evident. He later wrote, “The first movement of the work is perhaps the most passionate of all I have ever composed, a deep yearning for you” (Verlag III). The first movement is truly breathtaking and indeed conveys a flight of imagination. Perhaps it is reasonable for the publisher to deem this piece a fantasy, because it certainly departs from the conventional sonata form: the exposition is not repeated and there are several changes in tempo, especially in the Im Legendenton section. However, there is a contrast between the first and the second subjects. Schumann is wise to differentiate the running sixteenth notes in the function of articulation. As a result, the harmonic rhythm of the second subject seems slower. He later establishes C minor tonality in the development to stand out against the exposition. Immediately afterwards, the tonality is again established in C major. It seems that he often uses chromatic scales to imply that something significant is approaching. For example, near the end of the movement, the chromatic motion drives to a fermata. Overall, the music in this movement flows constantly and effortlessly until the very end, regardless of the formation of the several themes which develop.

The second movement, which is in E-flat major in sonata-rondo form, sounds heroic. The section that stands out the most is the A-flat

major Etwas Iangsamer segment, which exhibits off-beat rhythm. Schumann tends to set his melody in inner voices, and this movement is particularly interesting in that each section has its own character. Regardless, the dotted rhythm is prevalent in this movement. For example, the dotted rhythm in the opening has a march-like theme.

The last movement is emotionally profound. There is a definite steadiness in which each of the melodic, harmonic, and formal thoughts progressively grow. It calls to mind the act of blowing up a balloon and letting it deflate before inflating it once again. Each of the actions it includes is in extreme slow motion. In another words, Schumann successfully concluded Fantasy by ultimately providing various controlled, rounded themes.