By the year 1854, Robert Schumann (1810-1856) was already suffering from his worsening nervous condition and a painful hearing disorder. One day in February he wrote down a “spirit theme” that he had claimed as a gift of an angel, and then joyfully composed a set of variations around the theme. Little did he know this theme was in fact one of his own, having used (in different guises) in a Lied titled Frühlings Ankunft Op. 79 No. 19 in 1849, and the slow movement of his Violin Concerto, four months before he wrote the “spirit theme”. After completing the fourth variation, he threw himself into Rhine river for a suicide attempt. The day after that, he finished the fifth and final variation, and that was some of the last music written by Schumann. The set, later known as Geistervariationen (Spirit Variations), had remained unpublished until 1939.

This set of Variations by Brahms, a very close friend of Robert and Clara Schumann, was published in 1863. The set used the exact version of the theme as in Geistervariationen, and was dedicated to Julie Schumann (1845-1872), daughter of Robert and Clara. Clara had explicitly asked Brahms not to put the date when Robert composed the theme onto his score. Each of the 10 variations is distinct in expression, and together it somehow forms a celebratory tribute towards Schumann. Brahms explored the vivid colours of piano duet, employing an almost orchestral palette of timbre.

In E-flat major, the Theme, marked leise und innig (quietly and tenderly) is supported with simplistic chordal harmony. The Variation 1 features an embellished version of the theme with chromatic notes and broken chords in flowing semiquavers, concluding with a signature hemiola-like pattern. By Variation 2 the melody is already very much hidden, but the harmony and the structure are retained in every subsequent variation. The variation is march-like and heavy in texture. The rising and falling melodic lines in Variation 3 is supported by undulating triplets. The subsequent slowly proceeding Variation 4 is in the parallel minor, and is sombre in mood. An unyielding bass line with repeated notes on the upbeat resembles low timpani. Variation 5 is a relief from the funereal E-flat minor, leading into B major and a swinging 9/8 meter. 

It regains the energy at Variation 6, when it returns to E-flat major and 2/4 time. The joyful atmosphere is brought by the juxtaposition of dotted rhythm in the melody and the undulating sextuplets. Variation 7 is in a swaying 6/8 rhythm, alternating between high and low part reminiscing timbral contrasts in Brahms’s symphonies. The next Variation 8 arrives at an unexpected key of G minor, somewhat hinting a similarity to the Hungarian melancholy. The tempestuous Variation 9 is in C minor and 4/4 time, filled with forceful dotted rhythms and upward runnings. It finally returns to a steady march in Variation 10, with a slow but intense buildup characterised with dotted rhythms, semiquaver pickups and horn-like gestures. The brief coda attached to the final variation slowly leads back to the reappearance of the initial theme, ultimately sinking into the deepest register of the piano.