The Schumann Toccata, is the only of Schumann's original compositions that was inspired by considerations of technical difficulty. Unlike his contemporaries, Chopin, Liszt, von Henselt and many others, he did not write studies for the piano, though he early fell under the spell of Paganini and transcribed for piano several of the latter's violin caprices.
Whether this was because of the injury he sustained while trying to strengthen the fourth finger of his right hand that ended his ambition of becoming a concert pianist, or whether it was the result of his nature as a "pure" musician and thus immune from the virtuosic tendencies of the time, is impossible to say.
When the work was completed in 1836, Schumann believed it was the "hardest piece ever written." It may well have been at the time as the final version of Liszt's Transcendental Etudes was not completed until 16 years later. Chopin's Opus 10 Etudes were published in 1833 but they are so pianistic that while many are extremely difficult, for the most part they tend to fall more naturally under very well trained fingers and hands.
Do not be deceived by the lack of apparent bravura of what you hear. The opening passages are right hand breakers, the streches are uncomforable and relentless, and unless you have tried playing this piece, you can't imagine the pain. I secretly believe playing this piece is really what done him in.
Few toccatas of note were written after the Baroque era. The Schumann Toccata seems to be the only significant Toccata written until a revival of the organ toccata in the late 19th Century. Sergei Prokofiev, Aram Khachaturian, Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy have written wonderful toccatas for the piano, and some composers have composed toccatas for orchestra.
Below you will hear the Schumann Toccata played very musically by some and as fast as possible by others. Some, like Richter, can do both. My favorites are Lhévinne, both recordings by Horowitz, and Pogorelich who plays the Toccata marvelously and emphasizes polyphony in the music that is seldom really heard. And to paraphrase what Ferdinand Leitner, the great German Conductor, once said to me about Haydn, "Isn't that young Gilels something?"
JOSEF LHÉVINNE Russian Pianist (1874-1944)
SVIATOSLAV RICHTER Soviet Pianist (1915-1997)
and what appears to be a later performance
SIMON BARERE Russian-American Pianist (1896-1951)
Oh my ...
VLADIMIR HOROWITZ Russian-American Pianist (1903-1989)
Recorded in 1934
and 25 or 30 years later
EMIL GILELS Soviet Pianist (1916-1985) Recorded between 1934 and 1938
GRIGORY GINZBURG Russian Pianist (1904-1961) Recorded in the early 1960s
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