FANTAS1E IN C MAJOR, OP. 17
The first movement of the Fantasie was composed on its own and
initially titled Ruines. The composition was written in distress over
an extended parting from Schumann's beloved Clara Wieck. The
first movement contains a musical quote from the last song in
Beethoven's song cycle An die feme Geliebte (Op. 98, No. 6) or
"To the distant beloved", a very appropriate reference. The
second movement is a March-Trio-March structure; it finishes
with a coda known as one of the most difficult passages in the
piano's literature. The final movement is a unique contrast to the
previous movement; it is quite slow and introspective, bringing the
piece to a calm rest. The latter two movements were written to
create a complete work for submission to Franz Liszt (to whom
the work is dedicated). Liszt was, at that time, endeavoring to
build a monument to Beethoven at his birthplace, Bonn. A strange
detail is that the first movement was written before the intention
of the Beethoven monument existed, making the connection of
the quote in the first movement a coincidence. In its original form,
the work was titled as GroBe Sonate fur den Pianoforte and the
movements were titled Ruinen (ruins), Trophan (trophies), and
Palmen (palms) respectively. They were then changed to be Ruins,
Triumphal Arch, and Constellation, but were removed entirely
before publication. The piece was published, however, prefaced
with a quote from a poem by Friedrich von Schlegel:
Durch alle Tone tbnet
Im bunten Erdentraum
Ein leiser Ton gezogen
Fur den, der Heimlich lauschet
Through all sounding tones
In this colorful earth's dream
A quiet tone emerges
For he, who listens in secret.
STETSONUNIVERSITY
School of Music
SENIOR RECITAL
Jeremy Vigil, piano
Studio of Michael Rickman
Sunday, April 13,2014 | 8:00 p.m.
Lee Chapel, Elizabeth Hall
STETSON
UNIVERSITY
School of Music
421 N. Woodland Blvd. Unit 8399 | DeLand, FL 32723
stetson.edu/music I concert line 386.822.8947
