Variation 1

Variation 1 continues the melancholy mood, the slow tempo, and the rising dotted-note rhythm of the Schumann piece. The Clara theme now appears as the bass line.

Variation 1 - Clara theme as bass line

With its dotted-note rhythm and its rising, cry-like character, the treble recalls the middle section of the original theme The two-bar cry is stated once, re-stated higher and more urgently, the third time falling away, finally a fourth time ending quietly. As in the original theme, the section ends with a shift to A major.

The middle section, marked forte, continues the dotted-note rhythm, this time in descending sequences, but each of the three repetitions begins higher and has fuller chords, creating a rising intensity until the third, which is emphasized with a rolled, six-note chord. The section ends with a descent, diminuendo, alternating the hands, the left leading the way while the right follows in staccato.

Variation 1, middle section (bars 9-17)

The third section begins with the right hand returning to repeat the first two bars of the variation, although the bass no longer plays the Clara theme, replaced now with repeated repeated low C-sharps and ended by echoing the dotted-note figure of the treble.

Variation 1, opening of section 3 (bars 17-18)

In the closing six bars, the dotted-note figure appears in the treble, the tenor, and the bass. Again the intensity rises over the first four bars of the section and falls over the final four. While section 3 begins in C-sharp minor, it moves to A major, then to D major before returning to C-sharp minor.

Variation 1, close of section 3 (bars 19-24)