and bombastic piano playing, were not impressed by the abounding lyricism and subtlety of Schumann's concerto. Liszt sardonically described the work as "a concerto without piano." Nevertheless, in the following years it was performed all over Europe and gradually won acceptance. Even during the weeks when his mind began to fail, the concerto bound Schumann to Clara in love: in the asylum in which he had been hospitalized in 1854, he still remembered the work that "you played so splendidly." The concerto remained the cornerstone of Clara's solo repertoire long after her husband's death. This concerto is a synthesis in the best sense of the word: it combines discipline and free play, logical procedure and imaginative thought, in a poetical intense whole that never for a moment loses sight of its shape and form. Solo part and orchestra are joined in a true musical partnership that provides the pianist with a good deal of virtuoso material without ever resorting to mere tawdry effects. Schumann saw this concerto as "a compromise between a symphony, a concerto and a large-scale sonata." The first movement maintains the sonata-allegro framework, with the customary introduction, development and recapitulation sections, but within them Schumann, being a true Romantic, shows freedom of a fantasy rather than the more rigid structure. The opening of the movement belongs to the piano, with its impressive outburst: a declaration of importance and presence, with a series of descending chromatic chords played forte and a kind of dotted rhythm. This opening has an important role in the movement, reappearing later on in a larger scale in the development and in the recapitulation. The main theme, which follows the piano's opening, played by the orchestra, is lyrical, cantabile and highly expressive, shortly followed by the piano's developed version. This ritual goes on, as if the piano lacks the patience to await its turn. The movement's climax appears at the beginning of the recapitulation, in the dialogue between solo and tutti, accentuated by strong dynamics on the highest chords. The only cadenza Schumann composed for this concerto was written out in full, probably to prevent what he loathed somuch - the showing off by the soloist. It is surprisingly simple compared to the virtuoso part all through themovement, and sounds more like part of a piano sonata, a lyrical, expressive interval, rather than a display piece. A large coda concludes the movement, summing up the movement, the piano forming an integral part of the orchestra without solo part; its main role here is of accompaniment and coloring. The second movement's title, Intermezzo, speaks for itself: it is a kind of slow and serene musical interval following the preceding long movement, a Romantic song set in A-B-A form. The playful opening motif - four notes passed between piano and orchestra - is crafted from the first movement's main theme. It reappears toward the end of the movement, leading directly into the final movement without pause, while the central passage, carried prominently by the low strings, is more lyrical and sustained. The finale is also set in sonata-allegro form, but whereas the opening movement focused intensely on a single melodic idea, here the composer seems to have given his imagination free reign, as a whole series of distinct melodies spring forth in the exposition. The development begins with a wonderful string fugato, which is soon overlaid by yet another new theme. The movement comes to an end with a lengthy coda, a calm and continued development that is brilliant while retaining a light touch to the end. Tsilli Rudik * * * *
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