Schumann's 'Davidsbündlertänze' (Dances of the League of David) represents an artistic battle against the 'Philistines of the Art,' with Schumann adopting three pseudonyms: Florestan, Eusebius, and Master Raro.
Composer Biography
Schumann's 'Carnaval' is autobiographical, featuring musical sketches of his loves, friends, and contemporaries, including his then-betrothed Ernestine von Fricken ('Estrella') and his future wife Clara Wieck ('Chiarina').
Instruments
This album features performances on an 1846 Streicher piano, provided by the Frederick Collection of Historical Pianos.
Performer Biography
Yuan Sheng, the pianist on this recording, has gained international recognition for his performances and research on the music of Bach, with The New York Times praising his Bach performances as 'models of clarity, balance and proportion.'
Compositional Technique
The 'Davidsbündlertänze' is structured with a complex tonal plan, moving through various keys and returning to the initial ones, creating a sense of recapitulation and new horizons.
Composition History
In 'Faschingsschwank aus Wien' (Carnaval Prank in Vienna), Schumann slyly quoted the forbidden French national anthem, 'La Marseillaise,' as a joke during Metternich's repressive regime.
Album & Artwork
The album's cover art features 'Reefs by the Seashore' (c. 1824) by Caspar David Friedrich, a German Romantic landscape painter.
