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A furious piano piece of the Romantic period. Tiffany Poon plays Robert Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6 at the Dresden Music Festival 2023. The concert took place in the Palais im Grossen Garten. (00:00) Coming on stage (00:27) 1. Lebhaft (02:03) 2. Innig (03:36) 3. Etwas hahnbüchen (05:10) 4. Ungeduldig (06:30) 5. Einfach (08:21) 6. Sehr rasch und in sich hinein (10:05) 7. Nicht schnell mit äußerst starker Empfindung (14:07) 8. Frisch (15:14) 9. No tempo indication (16:46) 10. Balladenmäßig sehr rasch (18:15) 11. Einfach (19:51) 12. Mit Humor (20:36) 13. Wild und lustig (23:44) 14. Zart und singend (25:50) 15. Frisch (27:58) 16. Mit gutem Humor (29:22) 17. Wie aus der Ferne (32:56) 18. Nicht schnell The Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6, are a two-part piano cycle by Robert Schumann, each consisting of nine character pieces. Schumann wrote 19 pieces, the last of which remains incomplete. The work was composed in the two months following his engagement to Clara Wieck on August 14, 1837. In the first piece, he quotes a motif from the Mazurka No. 5 from her Soirées musicales Op. 6 in the Motto of C. W. He speaks to her of wedding thoughts, which he has incorporated into the pieces. To his friend Carl Montag, however, he spoke of “death dances, St. Vitus’ dances, dances of graces and goblins”. Schumann’s pseudonyms Florestan and Eusebius also play an important role here. The two characters symbolize his dual role in the fictitious Davidsbund, which also gives this cycle its name. Florestan is the “roaring, exuberant stormtrooper”. Eusebius represents the opposite pole as “the gentle youth who always remains modestly in the background”. In the first edition, the plays are either titled “Florestan and Eusebius” or just one of the two names. The Davidsbündler were a fictitious circle of living and deceased artists founded by Robert Schumann in 1833. The living met regularly in the Leipzig pub Zum Arabischen Coffe Baum. In contrast to the circle named the “Philistines”, they called themselves Davidsbündler. In the tradition of the secret societies that were very popular at the time, all members had imaginary names. Schumann, the most important Davidsbündler, often called himself Jeanquirit or Julius. He gave Clara Wieck, his later wife, who never took part in the Davidsbündler events, the name Zilia or Chiara or Chiarina. He called Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Meritis. The name Davidsbündler already appears in Schumann’s first musical essay Die Davidsbündler, which he published in the magazine Der Komet in December 1833. The continuation of these “Davidsbündler” fantasies can then be found in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik (NZfM), which Schumann founded in April 1834. The patron saint of the Davidsbündler was the biblical David, the crowned singer and conqueror of the giant Philistine Goliath. They pursued the goal of turning away from old, conservative standpoints and opening up new paths for the artistic forms of music and art. The Davidsbund and its members repeatedly played a role in Schumann’s works, in the Davidsbündlertänze Op. 6, of course, as well as in Carnaval Op. 9 and in the Piano Sonata in F sharp minor Op. 11. Tiffany Poon was born in Hong Kong in 1996. She started piano lessons when she was four. At age nine she moved to New York, where she attended the Juilliard School Pre-College program. Tiffany Poon made her concert debut at age 10. She graduated from high school in 2014 and continued her piano studies as part of the exchange program between Columbia University and The Juilliard School. She also studied philosophy and in 2018 graduated from Columbia with a Bachelor of Arts. Today she performs around the world, sometimes with an orchestra, sometimes solo. In 2017 she started a new project with the help of YouTube – to present her more human side, as well as her classical music. She has a great social media presence, with 320,000 followers on YouTube alone. And she also engages with the community. Tiffany Poon’s non-profit charity “Together with Classical” supports musicians in their training and brings together classical music lovers from all over the world. Her new album with works by Robert Schumann “Diaries: Schumann“ will be available from 9 February 2024. © 2023 Deutsche Welle Watch more concerts in your personal concert hall: and in our playlist with piano concertos: Subscribe to DW Classical Music: #tiffanypoon #pianist #robertschumann
