Again the story is told, and tarrying not at
all we are led to a most delectable spot in the key of A major.
This trio is marked by genius. Can anything be more bewitching
than the episode in C sharp minor merging into E major, with the
overflow at the close? The fantasy is notable for variety of
tonality, freedom in rhythmical incidents and genuine power. The
coda is dizzy and overwhelming. For Schumann this Scherzo is
Byronic in tenderness and boldness. Karasowski speaks of its
Shakespearian humor, and indeed it is a very human and lovable
piece of art. It holds richer, warmer, redder blood than the
other three and like the A flat Ballade, is beloved of the
public. But then it is easier to understand.
Opus 39, the third Scherzo in C sharp minor, was composed or
finished at Majorca and is the most dramatic of the set. I
confess to see no littleness in the polished phrases, though
irony lurks in its bars and there is fever in its glance--a
glance full of enigmatic and luring scorn. I heartily agree with
Hadow, who finds the work clear cut and of exact balance.
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