Schumann's Carnaval, Op. 9, was inspired by the letters of the Bohemian town Asch, the hometown of his secret fiancée Ernestine von Fricken, which correspond to the four notes in the work's subtitle.
Composer Biography
Schumann introduced two alter ego figures, Florestan (sprightly and impulsive) and Eusebius (dreamy and melancholic), into his works as members of the fictional 'League of David' (Davidsbund).
Performer Biography
Freddy Kempf's third prize at the 1998 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in Moscow caused an outcry in the Russian press, which called him 'the hero of the competition'.
Compositional Technique
The Toccata in C major, Op. 7, is considered one of the most difficult piano pieces ever written, with Schumann himself believing it to be the hardest in the entire repertoire.
Performer Biography
Freddy Kempf, the pianist on this album, gained national prominence at age eight performing Mozart with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and won the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition in 1992.
Composer Biography
Schumann's Toccata in C major, Op. 7, can be played without the right middle finger because he had permanently injured that finger with a homemade training apparatus.
Composer Biography
Robert Schumann, the composer, was diagnosed by specialist psychiatrists as manic-depressive and suffered from hypergraphy, an irrepressible creative frenzy.
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Schumann: Carnaval / Arabeske in C Major / Toccata in C Major / Fantasiestucke
