Variations on "Trockne Blumen"
| Variations on "Trockne Blumen" | |
|---|---|
| by Franz Schubert | |
 Dried flowers atop a grave | |
| Key | E minor |
| Catalogue | D 802 |
| Opus | 160 (posthumous) |
| Composed | 1824 |
| Performed | 1862 |
| Published | 1850 |
| Scoring | flute and piano |
Franz Schubert's Variations on "Trockne Blumen" for flute and piano, D 802, Op. posth. 160, is a work in E minor written in January 1824. It is a set of variations on the 18th Lied of his song cycle Die schöne Müllerin (D 795), "Trockne Blumen" ("Dried Flowers"). It was published in April 1850, 22 years after Schubert's death, and had its first documented performance in 1862 by the flautist Franz Doppler.
Background
Considered one of the most important 19th-century works for the flute,[1][2] it was written while Schubert was suffering from a relapse of the syphilis he contracted exactly one year prior.[3] Schubert likely wrote the work for Ferdinand Bogner, a professor at the Vienna Conservatory, and with whom Schubert played in an amateur orchestra for which he wrote his first symphonies.[4][1][5] The piece, written before Die schöne Müllerin was even published,[1] was itself not published until April 1850 by Anton Diabelli's firm,[6] and received its first known performance in 1862 by Franz Doppler.[4] The autograph survives and is housed in the Wienbibliothek im Rathaus.[6]
Music
The piece, highly demanding for both instruments,[4][7] begins with a "large-scale" introduction[1] before the first statement of the theme and seven subsequent variations. A typical performance is 19 minutes.[8] The variations are noted to differ significantly in character and affect from the original song; according to musicologist Lawrence M. Zbikowski, "Schubert's variations make scant reference to the sombre and tortured emotions of the song, and are soon overtaken by the high spirits of virtuosic play between the instruments".[9]
Recordings
The variations have been recorded by, among others, Jean-Pierre Rampal with Robert Veyron-Lacroix,[10] Louis Moyse with John Buttrick,[11] Emmanuel Pahud with Éric Le Sage,[12] and János Bálint with Zoltán Kocsis.[13] The variations have sometimes been performed with violin substituting for the flute, for instance by Gidon Kremer, who performed it with András Schiff at a 1982 Salzburg Festival concert[14] and recorded them with Oleg Maisenberg in 1993 for Deutsche Grammophon.[15]
References
Citations
- 1 2 3 4 Seiffert 2000, Preface, p. III.
- ↑ Newbould 1999, p. 221.
- ↑ Bodley 2023, p. 363.
- 1 2 3 Marisi 2010, p. 4.
- ↑ Bodley 2023, p. 506.
- 1 2 Seiffert 2000, Comments, p. 32.
- ↑ Schonberg, Harold C. (1974-11-03). "Music: A Happy Pairing". The New York Times. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
- ↑ Gibbs 2017.
- ↑ Zbikowski 2003, p. 307.
- ↑ "Jean-Pierre Rampal Plays Schubert, Schumann & Debussy (Studio Recordings 1951, 1955 & 1958)". Presto Music. Retrieved 2026-07-29.
- ↑ "Louis Moyse Plays: Duruflé, C.P.E. Bach, Telemann, Schubert - Volume 5". Presto Music. Retrieved 2026-07-29.
- ↑ "Beethoven, Schubert, Weber: Works for Flute and Piano". Presto Music. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
- ↑ "Dvorak & Franck: Violin Sonatas (Arr. for Flute and Piano), Schubert: Variations On Trockne Blumen". Presto Music. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
- ↑ "Gidon Kremer / András Schiff – Salzburg Festival 1982". Salzburg Festival. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
- ↑ "Schubert/Liszt: Erlkönig: Duos & Transcriptions". Presto Music. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
Sources
- Bodley, Lorraine Byrne (2023). Schubert: A Musical Wayfarer. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-20408-7.
- Gibbs, Christopher H. (2017). "Notes on the Pre-concert Recital: Introduction and Variations on "Trockne Blumen," D. 802, for flute and piano (1824)" (PDF). Mostly Mozart Festival. Lincoln Center. p. 2.
- Marisi, Rossella (2010). From Grief to Hope and Joy: Franz Schubert's Variations on the Song "Trockne Blumen". European Studies Conference, University of Nebraska Omaha.
- Newbould, Brian (1999). Schubert: The Music and the Man. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-21957-1.
- Seiffert, Wolf-Dieter (2000). Seiffert, Wolf-Dieter (ed.). Variations on "Trockne Blumen" E minor op. post. 160 D 802 (PDF) (Urtext Edition). Fingering by Klaus Schilde. Munich: G. Henle Verlag. ISMN 979-0-2018-0474-3. HN 474.
- Zbikowski, Lawrence M. (23 January 2003). "The Blossoms of 'Trockne Blumen': Music and Text in the Early Nineteenth Century". Music Analysis. 18 (3): 307–345. doi:10.1111/1468-2249.00098. ISSN 1468-2249.