Published
Geistervariationen (WoO 24)
Geistervariationen (Ghost Variations), also known as Thema mit Variationen in Es-Dur für Klavier (Theme and Variations in E-flat major for piano), WoO 24, is one of Robert Schumann’s final compositions, written in 1854. The variations were composed shortly before his admission to a psychiatric sanatorium and remain among his least frequently performed and circulated works.
WoO 24 was Schumann’s last work before he entered the sanatorium at Endenich, Bonn. In his preface to Thema mit Variationen (Geistervariationen), Wolf-Dieter Seiffert wrote that during this period Schumann believed himself surrounded by spirits who played music for him, music that was both “wonderful” and “horrible.” The spirits offered him “the most magnificent revelations,” but also threatened to send him to hell. Seiffert writes that between 17 and 18 February 1854 Schumann wrote down a theme that he believed had been dictated to him by angels, without recognising that it was actually a theme he himself had written some time earlier. A few days later he began composing a series of variations on it.
While he was still working on the variations, on 27 February he threw himself into the icy waters of the Rhine. He was rescued and taken home. After surviving this suicide attempt, he continued working on the piece. The following day he completed it and sent the manuscript to his wife Clara, who had already been separated from him on medical advice.