"SYMPHONIC ETUDES" BY R. SCHUMANN: HISTORY OF CREATION AND THE PROBLEM OF INTERPRETING "POSTHUMOUS VARIATIONS"

Abstract

The article describes the history of the main editions of the "Symphonic Etudes" by Robert Schumann. The main stages of the cycle concept formation and its leading dramatic principles are highlighted in the historical context. The chronological "path" of five posthumously published manuscript variations is analyzed separately: having received several variants of their arrangement within the cycle, they were eventually excluded by the author from the latest editions. On the examples of the famous performances by Alfred Cortot, Vladimir Sofronitsky, Sviatoslav Richter and Maria Grinberg, various possibilities for a more complete interpretation of the "Symphonic Etudes" are presented, expanding them with the artistically valuable material of the five "posthumous variations". The article will be useful both for pianists and performers of Schumann's music, as well as for students and musicologists whose scientific interest lies in the piano music of the German composer.