The orderly chaos inside Schumann’s head

Schumann has managed to acquire a reputation for somewhat disorganized music. Gould, for example, who was obsessed with the architecture of the musical text, never touched any of Schumann’s piano repertoire. But a closer, or rather different look reveals a logic all its own and a glimpse inside Schumann’s head — as it were. And even if by classic architectural standards Schumann’s edifice wouldn’t stand, on its own terms, the structure holds together remarkably.

Given Schumann’s fragile mental state, we often hear him described as a composer of “chaotic” music. This description is not entirely untrue, and the concept of chaos is most definitely germane even to his more “orderly” music. On the surface of it, the finale of the F-sharp minor sonata lends itself perfectly to this description. But are we missing something when describing it simply as chaotic? This is the question I try to answer in my blog.

And here is my performance of this amazing movement: