Arrau Plays Schumann, Vol. 2

The first entry in this series of the great pianist Claudio Arrau (1903-91) performing the works of Robert Schumann elicited a plea from longtime reader rev.b - could I please present the pianist's recording of Carnaval?

So today I am happy to offer a 1966 disc where Carnaval is coupled with the composer's Fantasie in C major.

Claudio Arrau

Carnaval, Op. 9

The notes for this record are in German, so let me resort to quoting from Wikipedia about the complex program for this work:

Carnaval, Op. 9, is a work by Robert Schumann for piano solo, written in 1834-1835 and subtitled Scènes mignonnes sur quatre notes (Little Scenes on Four Notes). It consists of 21 short pieces representing masked revelers at Carnival, a festival before Lent. Schumann gives musical expression to himself, his friends and colleagues, and characters from improvised Italian comedy (commedia dell'arte) ...

The 21 pieces are connected by a recurring motif. The four notes are encoded puzzles, and Schumann predicted that "deciphering my masked ball will be a real game for you." In each section of Carnaval there appears one or both of two series of musical notes. These are musical cryptograms, as follows:

A, E♭, C, B - German: A–Es–C–H (the Es is pronounced as a word for the letter S)

A♭, C, B - German: As–C–H

E♭, C, B, A - German: as Es–C–H–A

The first two spell the German name for the town of Asch ... in which Schumann's then fiancée, Ernestine von Fricken, was born. The sequence of letters also appears in the German word Fasching, meaning carnival. In addition, Asch is German for "Ash", as in Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Lastly, it encodes a version of the composer's name, Robert Alexander Schumann. The third series, S–C–H–A, encodes the composer's name again with the musical letters appearing in Schumann, in their correct order.

Let me refer you to the Wiki article for an explanation of the work's 21 sections, which is too involved for me to repeat here. The above is complicated enough. Actually, none of this is necessary for enjoyment of this famous work.

Fantasie in C major, Op. 17

The Fantasie had its genesis in 1836, with a work called Ruines that conveyed Schumann's sorrow at being separated from Clara Wieck, who later was to become his wife. This became the first section of the work. The following two were written for possible use to raise funds for a Beethoven monument in Bonn. Failing that, the composer offered the three pieces to the publisher Breitkopf & Härtel, which published it as the Fantasie in C major, the composer's opus 17.

Robert and Clara Schumann

Schumann prefaced the work with a quotation from the writer Friedrich Schlegel: "Resounding through all the notes / In the earth's colorful dream/ There sounds a faint long-drawn note / For the one who listens in secret" - an allusion to Clara Wieck.

The three sections are as follows:

I. Durchaus fantastisch und leidenschaftlich vorzutragen; Im Legenden-Ton [Quite fantastic and passionately delivered; In the tone of a legend]

II. Mäßig. Durchaus energisch [Moderate. Quite energetic]

III. Langsam getragen. Durchweg leise zu halten. [Taken slowly. Keep quiet throughout.]

* * *

Arrau's performances are outstanding. Here is High Fidelity's Harris Goldsmith on the disc: 

The Chilean-born but German-Romantic trained virtuoso is in peak form on the Philips disc. His tone - deep, right down to the bottom of the keys - is pure velvet. Every nuance and every detail is obviously the fruit of a lifetime quest, yet retains an essential spontaneity that courses through the entire musical structure [of the Fantasie] giving it life and pulse. Carnaval is equally impressive. Many might well favor a more headlong, tightly knit conception than Arrau's leisurely spacious one, but this is pianism and musicianship of a high order. The differentiation between staccato and legato in Pierrot and the resolute, bronzen clarity of his Paganini are but two of the countless felicities to be gleaned from this imaginative, generous rendition. The Philips disc ... is superbly processed and reproduces Arrau's uniquely individual sonority with resplendent realism.

I only disagree about the recording quality. It's impressive, but too close for my taste.

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