Piano Cycle Research Articles

Review: Schumann's Dichterliebe and Early Romantic Poetics: Fragmentation of Desire., by Beate Julia Perrey and Schumann's Piano Cycles and the Novels of Jean Paul., by Erika Reiman

Review Article| March 01 2005 Review: Schumann's Dichterliebe and Early Romantic Poetics: Fragmentation of Desire., by Beate Julia Perrey and Schumann's Piano Cycles and the Novels of Jean Paul., by Erika Reiman Schumann's Dichterliebe and Early Romantic Poetics: Fragmentation of Desire. By Beate Julia Perrey. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press. 2002. xx, 242pp.Schumann's Piano Cycles and the Novels of Jean Paul. By Erika Reiman. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press. 2004. xiii, 229pp. Julie Hedges Brown Julie Hedges Brown Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar 19th-Century Music (2005) 28 (3): 276–295. https://doi.org/10.1525/ncm.2005.28.3.276 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Julie Hedges Brown; Review: Schumann's Dichterliebe and Early Romantic Poetics: Fragmentation of Desire., by Beate Julia Perrey and Schumann's Piano Cycles and the Novels of Jean Paul., by Erika Reiman. 19th-Century Music 1 March 2005; 28 (3): 276–295. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/ncm.2005.28.3.276 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Content19th-Century Music Search This content is only available via PDF. Copyright © 2005 by The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Schumann's piano cycles and the novels of Jean Paul

Robert Schumann frequently expressed his deep admiration for the novels of Jean Paul Friedrich Richter, the late-eighteenth-century German novelist, essayist, and satirist. Schumann imitated Jean Paul's prose style in his own fiction and music criticism, and said once that he learned 'more counterpoint from Jean Paul than from my music teacher.' Drawing on the recent, groundbreaking work in musico-literary analysis of scholars such as Anthony Newcomb, John Daverio, and Lawrence Kramer, Erika Reiman embarks on a comparative study of Jean Paul's five major novels and Schumann's piano cycles of the 1830s, many of which are staples in the repertoire of concert pianists today. The present study begins with a thorough review of Jean Paul's literary style, emphasizing the digressions, intertextuality, self-reflexivity, and otherworldliness that distinguish it. The similarly digressive style that Schumann developed is then examined in his earliest works, including the enduring and highly original 'Carnaval' (1835), and in cycles of the later 1830s, notably 'Davidsbundlertanze' and 'Faschingsschwank aus Wien'. Finally, an analysis of three one-movement works from 1838-39 reveals links with Jean Paul's exploration of the idyll, an ancient genre that had experienced an eighteenth-century revival.Throughout, the author attempts to keep in mind the actual sound and performed experience of the works, and suggests ways in which an awareness of Jean Paul's style might change the performance and hearing of the cycles. Erika Reiman, received her Ph.D. in Musicology from the University of Toronto (1999) and has taught at Brock University, Wilfrid Laurier University, the University of Guelph, and the University of Toronto; she is also active as a pianist and chamber musician.

ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE SELF: MICHAEL FINNISSY'S ‘FOLKLORE’

The compositional output of Michael Finnissy includes several major cycles for piano solo, which stand out by reason of their dimensions and their scope. English Country-Tunes (1977/1982–85), Verdi Transcriptions (1972–92/1988–95/2002-), Gershwin Arrangements (1975–88) and Folklore (1993–94) are all long, technically demanding and full of expressive potential. Yet they have been outdone by Finnissy's most recent piano cycle: The History of Photography in Sound (1995–2001), a phenomenal endeavour, lasting over five and a half hours and employing every conceivable means of articulating musical expression and intellectual significance. Speaking of the scope of these works, however, does not merely entail their unusual length – although the extended duration, in comparison to what is considered customary for a solo piano piece, is indeed one of their prominent features. What is more significant here is their scope in terms of the wide array of ideas, concepts and statements that make up the musical text. In that respect, Folklore (like the other pieces mentioned here) is an unrelenting statement, reflecting upon or formulating a critique of many issues that are crucial to late-20th-century human existence. This article tries to demonstrate how all these layers of significance can indeed form the subject of a piece that is supposed to be ‘abstract’ (because textless, instrumental) music.

Principles of Formal Structure in Schumann's Early Piano Cycles

Principles of Formal Structure in Schumann's Early Piano Cycles

Principles of Formal Structure in Schumann's Early Piano Cycles

In Schumann's early piano cycles Papillons, Carnaval, and Davidsbündlertänze, the repetition of harmonic and motivic material across movements at various levels of structure plays a significant role in the large-scale tonal and formal organization. Analysis of the cross-referential process includes aspects of harmony, voice leading, and rhythm, as well as the unique extramusical conceits associated with each work, and demonstrates Schumann's increasingly sophisticated means of achieving structural coherence, culminating in the Davidsbündlertänze.