Ruth Slenczynskaâ¢SCHUMANN Ruth Slenczynska ... - Ivory Classics

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Robert Schumann In the introduction to his critical writing, Robert Schumann bewailed the lack of good contemporary music. “On the stage Rossini reigned; at the piano nothing was heard but Herz and Hunten; and yet but a few years had passed since Beethoven, Schubert and Weber had lived among us.” That was written about 1833, when Schumann founded the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, and was also well started on a noble series of piano works. As editor of the Neue Zeitschrift it was Schumann’s fancy often to sign his reviews with pen names, and people them with pen names that stood for his friends. Wherever Zilia or Chiarina appears, Clara Wieck (later to become Schumann’s wife) is understood. Meritas refers to Felix Mendelssohn; Florestan and Eusebius reflect the passionate or reflective sides of Schumann’s nature. And so on. While editing the Zeitschrift, Schumann also was doing his best to write piano music that would be a corrective to Herz and Hünten. The Carnaval, Opus 9, which dates from 1834- 35, is subtitled “Scènes mignonnes sur quatre notes.” But why “tiny scenes on four notes?” Well, Schumann had fallen in love with a girl named Ernestine von Fricken, and she came from a town named Asch. Each of the four letters in the name of that town has, a musical equivalent in German. “S” is the same as “Es,” which is our E flat. The German “H” is our B natural. These four letters — ASCH — also occur in Schumann’s name. Moreover, “As” in German is A flat. Thus Schumann exuberantly went to work, devising a triple set of themes — A, E flat, C, B; A flat, C, B; E flat, C, B, A. The first group of notes in nearly every piece of the Carnaval is based on one of those three combinations. “Let me make a few observations regarding this composition,” wrote Schumann, “which owed its origin to pure chance. The name of a city in which a musical friend of mine lived consisted of letters belonging to the scale which are also contained in my name, and this suggested one of those musical games that are no longer new, since Bach provided the model. One piece after the other was completed during the carnival season of 1835, in a serious mood, by the way, and under peculiar circumstances. I afterwards gave titles to the numbers, and named the entire collection Carnaval.” The work opens with a spirited Préambule. After the trumpet-call opening, a brillante section follows, ending in a kind of Gilbert and Sullivan summation. Then Pierrot, the stumbling clown makes his pompous way across the stage, joined by Arlequin in the next number. A Valse noble follows where right hand octaves introduce the expressive melody. Next the – 4 –
dual parts of Schumann’s personality are paired off: Eusebius (the title is Schumann’s alias for the softer side of his own personality) and Florestan (Schumann the man of action). It is interesting to note that Florestan has the same initial sequence of notes as the Valse noble, but how differently Schumann treats the two! Coquette comes on stage, traipsing right out of Florestan in a flirty waltz; there is a reply (Réplique); and then the funny little Sphinxes appear which are never played, nor are they meant to be, but which give the clue to the Carnaval by printing the three thematic combinations that Schumann evolved from the good city of Asch. Three forms of the musical cryptogram are given in Sphinxes. First is a four note idea, E flat, C, B, A, standing for SCHA, an abbreviation for Robert and Clara Schumann Schumann (SCHumAnn). Then come the three notes A flat, C, B, standing for Asch, using A flat as AS. The third is a four note phrase A, E flat, C, B, standing again for Asch. The game doesn’t end there, though, for each piece is as well a miniature cartoon or caricature of a friend, a composer, or one of the figures of Italian comedy, with an occasional valse or mood piece thrown in. The whole is then wrapped up as a document of the Davidsbündler, Schumann’s imaginary – 5 –
Page 1 and 2: Ruth Slenczynska•SCHUMANN CARNAVA
Page 3: Ruth Slenczynska, Pianist Original
Page 7 and 8: of descriptive piano pieces bearing
Page 9 and 10: Voigt, the accommodating confidante
Page 11 and 12: the wings of New York’s Town Hall
Page 13 and 14: Ivory Classics recording team after
Page 15 and 16: CREDITS l l l l l l l l Recorded at

Ruth Slenczynskaâ¢SCHUMANN Ruth Slenczynska ... - Ivory Classics

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Ruth Slenczynskaâ¢SCHUMANN Ruth Slenczynska ... - Ivory Classics