Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Carnaval or Fantasiestucke?

My teacher is letting me decide whether I want to learn all of Carnaval or all the Fantasiestucke so I was just wondering which you guys think would be better for a recital. I've already learned Warum? and Grillen from the Fantasiestucke but I really love Carnaval... well, I love both of the sets (if that's the right word to use) but I guess please just vote or something because I'm indecisive.

Thanks, and I'd also appreciate any advice on the harder parts of both "sets" like Reconnaissance from Carnaval and Traumeswirren from Fantasiestucke. No, I can't be more vague.

P.S. What is "Sphinxes" exactly??

Re Sphinxes, from Wikipedia:
I can't advise you about choosing between Op. 9 and Op. 12, though. I love them both, and don't play either.

Steven

So presumably that was the one part which Cortot managed without mistakes?

(Just kidding... )

(And I know I shouldn't be laughing, but some jokes are just too funny not to be made, shared and appreciated. WTG, Jason!)

Steven

Op. 12

Don't get me wrong, I'm the biggest Schumann fan in the world, but I think Carnaval is overrated.

(It's a minority opinion, though...)

LOL, no agreement there, but the big example -IMHO, please!- of overrated Schumann has to be the Papillons. I'm sure the piece has many layers of psychological significance, and all the vignettes inter-related in the most sophisticated manner, but the end product just sounds hopelessly disjointed, abrupt and tedious.

hehe

I like Papillions.

I like Papillons too. I didn't really get the sense that its overrated because I don't see it performed nearly as often as Carnaval or the Fantasiestucke.

Maybe I'll just try to learn both...

But you will encounter Papillons more frequently in the practice rooms for the simple reason that it's not as transcendentally difficult as Carnival! Even the Fantasiestuke contain several movements (notably the infamous 'In der Nacht') which are harder than anything in Papillons.

But my dislike of Papillons was more in jest... sort of stirring up a bit of controversy if you like. Frankly, who am I to be criticizing a composer who's writing for the piano I rate alongside Chopin, Liszt and Brahms.

Hey, what about Faschingsschwank?

Well since we're now offering other suggestions to akonow (Faschingsschwank aus Wien is a nifty idea and should be done more often), how about a plea for a Schumann work which IMO is unjustly ignored: the Humoreske Op.20?

Delightfully 'Hoffmanesque', you could say. Horowitz made a blisteringly effective recording. It's rather made me impatient with the (few) others.

Go for it akonow!

There we're in complete agreement - the Op. 20 Humoreske is wonderful!

Plus, I'll vote for the almost completely neglected Op. 8 Allegro. I've never heard it performed live, but the de Larrocha recording is one of my long time favorites.

Since we're suggesting other Schumann pieces, I suppose I should chime in and declare my love for the Fantasiestucke Op. 111. It's almost a compact piano sonata. It's quite effective and not a terribly difficult -- I learnt it a few years ago. Horowitz was apparently very fond of it. Perhaps akonow should give it a shot?

There's also the Gesänge der Frühe Op. 133. I am strangely touched by this lovely, lyrical work.

I think the Noveletten are nifty, especially the polonaise.

Steven

I am currently performing the complete Fantasiestucke and I recommend it. It is a beautiful music.
I never performed the Carneval so I can't say anything about it.

More unaccountably neglected Schumann. Richter was magisterial in the 8th (marked 'Sehr lebhaft', IMO the best of the lot) and then there's Horowitz in the 1st. Totally mesmerizing, glacial tempo (well, compared to Rubinstein) and all.

I only studied the 1st and 2nd. Anyone do the others?