Das Veilchen (The Violet)

Quick Facts

• A Lied (German art song) for voice and piano using poetry by Goethe
• Written in 1853¹

About the Piece

• Das Veilchen may have been the last Lied that Clara Schumann wrote. Following the death of her husband, Robert Schumann, Clara ceased composing.²
• Fun fact – Goethe’s poem has been set by several composers, including Mozart, Reichardt, Nikolai Medtner, and Othmar Schoeck. Mozart’s setting almost certainly inspired Schumann’s version.³
• Additional fun fact – Clara Schumann played for Goethe several times as a child.⁴

English translation of the poetry

1. “Das Veilchen (Schumann, Clara),” IMSLP, accessed March 1, 2023, https://imslp.org/wiki/Das_Veilchen_(Schumann%2C_Clara).
2. Nancy B. Reich, Notes in accompanying booklet, The Songs of Clara Schumann performed by Stephan Loges and Eugene Asti, Helios 55275, 2007, compact disc.
3. Georg Predota, “The Music of Poetry: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ‘Das Veilchen,'” Interlude (2020), accessed March 1, 2023, https://interlude.hk/the-music-of-poetry-johann-wolfgang-von-goethe-das-veilchen/.
4. Thomas Synofzik, Notes in accompanying booklet, Clara Schumann: Complete Songs performed by Dorothea Craxton and Hedayet Djeddikar, Naxos 0747, 2009, compact disc.