Quatre Pièces caractéristiques, op.5 and Quatre Pièces fugitives, op.15 by Clara Schumann in the context of the composer’s style evolution

Abstract

The article is devoted to consideration of the compositional, dramaturgical and stylistic features of two cycles of C. Schumann’s piano miniatures: Quatre Pièces characteristicistiques op.5 and Quatre Pièces fugitives op.15, which show the evolution of the composer’s style. An example of a concert-virtuoso interpretation is the cycle op.5. It is characterized by a variety of strokes and a wealth of dynamic nuances, as well as an emphasized brightness of musical images. Another cycle, op.15, is an intimate composition and demonstrates a departure from the brilliant virtuosity that was characteristic of the first period of the composer’s work. These opuses differ in the principles of the dramaturgical solution and the implementation of programmatic in them. However, they have certain stylistic constants: contrasting combinations of different textures and themes, whimsical rhythms.