{"id":1052,"date":"2018-07-04T02:36:14","date_gmt":"2018-07-04T09:36:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.timsummers.org\/?page_id=1052"},"modified":"2020-03-13T04:54:31","modified_gmt":"2020-03-13T11:54:31","slug":"schumann-robert-op-110-piano-trio-no-3-in-g-minor","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.timsummers.org\/?page_id=1052","title":{"rendered":"Schumann, Robert: Op. 110, Piano Trio No. 3 in G minor"},"content":{"rendered":"
The word \u2018dynamic\u2019 is a good one for music.\u00a0 We take our musical dynamics rather for granted \u2014\u00a0 piano, forte<\/i>, crescendo <\/i>and diminuendo <\/i>\u2014 as indicators of volume. But they\u2019re much more than that, as the word itself can remind us: thermodynamics, dynamo, dynamite, dynasty.\u00a0 It is a word for motion, power, and change \u2014 the opposite of static \u2014 and it has a long history.\u00a0 Music benefits from a deep understanding of the meaning of \u2018dynamic\u2019.\u00a0 Forte<\/i> is about force and purpose, not just loudness. It\u2019s about mass, acceleration, and direction.\u00a0 It can be Sturm (storm, wind)<\/i>; it can be Drang (stress, pressure, impulse) \u2014<\/i> and sometimes it\u2019s just loud.\u00a0 Piano<\/i> is about dolce (sweet) <\/i>as much as it is about lontano (distant)<\/i>. Dynamics define and alter the physical and emotional motions of music.\u00a0 In a way, it\u2019s all dynamics, everything that\u2019s written, even the notes.<\/span><\/div>\n
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On page 16 of the score of Robert Schumann\u2019s Piano Trio No. 3, the symbol f <\/i><\/b>appears 46 times in twelve bars. This doesn\u2019t mean that the music is incredibly loud; it means something seeks reinforcement, something is struggling to find a way out, something is in desperate motion. Combine these with the other elements on the page, and the more general dynamics will come roaring forth, doubled and redoubled. In Schumann, such turbulence is everywhere, and relief is all the sweeter for being precarious and often fleeting.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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\"\"<\/a>Just to set our ears on their way, we can take a look at the opening bar. Even those who don\u2019t read music can begin to see the instant roar of motion. The page itself becomes dynamic (bewegt<\/i>).\u00a0 The question \u2018what does it mean?\u2019 becomes indistinguishable from the question \u2018how does it move?\u2019\u00a0 A page like this leaps off the page. Amidst all this motion, one may come to feel, as they say, moved (bewegt<\/i>).<\/span><\/div>\n
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And perhaps a bit of notice about the word \u2018Romantic\u2019 is in order, just to round things off\u2026 also an old word, derived from the telling of stories (roman)<\/i>.\u00a0 Such stories would just be stories, unless they leapt from the page or from memory somehow, illuminating themselves, and releasing energy.<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The word \u2018dynamic\u2019 is a good one for music.\u00a0 We take our musical dynamics rather for granted \u2014\u00a0 piano, forte, crescendo and diminuendo \u2014 as indicators of volume. But they\u2019re much more than that, as the word itself can remind us: thermodynamics, dynamo, dynamite, dynasty.\u00a0 It is a word for motion, power, and change \u2014 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":21,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t