Schumann’s first crack at the Andante and Variations we know as his Op. 46 was written in February, 1843. Rather than the two-piano arrangement we typically hear (if we get to hear this under-appreciated work at all), Schumann composed it for two pianos, two cellos and horn. This odd combination grew in part from his fascination with the valved horn, which was newly-invented and a novelty of the day. Schumann was the first top-drawer composer to take the instrument seriously.
We can only wonder why he thought to pair the exotic instrument with two pianos and two cellos. In the event, it turned out to be a challenge: not just to balance the unusual grouping of sonorities, but even to assemble a performance in his cramped living quarters when it came time for a try-out. The kerfuffle that ensued caused Schumann’s idol, Felix Mendelssohn, to suggest that the whole thing was a failure, and his word was all it took to persuade Schumann to revise the piece for a more-practical (but surely less interesting!) arrangement for piano duo.
In the revised version, he dumped two of the original ten variations, for no obvious reason. And he lost the changes of tone-colour, as well as the drama of chamber ensemble interplay – most notably with respect to the dramatic entries of the horn – which was the heart of his compositional thrust for the piece. All too often each piano in the duo version merely repeats what the other has just said, so that in spite of the characteristic harmonic progressions (which no one but Schumann could have written), the general effect is rather bland and even repetitive.
In a rare gathering of stellar talent at the 2026 Festival de Pâques in Aix-en-Provencewe find violinist Renaud Capuçon joining forces with two of his closest friends and collaborators – Martha Argerich and Lahav Shani – as well as musicians from the Munich Philharmonic.
