Robert Schumann, Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6

I can't admit to knowing much about the Schumann's Davidsbündlertänze (literally, "Dances of the Davidsbündler," however much that helps), other than they're a set of 18 miniature pieces Bobby composed early on. Some say that his solo piano output early in his career, which was probably when he was most piano-focused, is his strongest work. I don't know. It's all good.

Four years before these pieces were composed, Schumann finished his brilliant Toccata (YouTube), which is that rare combination of incredibly difficult and musically awesome. So we can be sure that by 1837, when he was 27, Bob was on a roll.

I decided to record seven of the pieces. I haven't played or studied them seriously; they're short, pretty approachable, and take less time to record than, well, longer things.

There are two versions of the Davidsbündlertänze. In the first version, Schumann labeled each piece with the character each represented: Florestan was the passionate, fiery, crazy guy, and Eusebius was the romantic, soft one. The whole thing strikes me as a little over the top — Brahms would've agreed, and perhaps Schumann did too, as these indications are absent from the second version. For kicks, I've marked the pieces I've recorded with "F." or "E.", as the composer did in the manuscript copy. If this interests you, indulge in the Wikipedia link above. Take that information with a grain of salt, though, because some things in the article are plain false. The suite doesn't end with "12 low C's." I count three.


Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6
Composed 1837

II. Con intimo sentimento (B minor) — E. — mp3

IV. Con impazienza (B minor) — F. — mp3

VIII. Con freschezza (C minor) — F. — mp3

X. Alla ballata; Molto vivo (D minor) — F. — mp3

XI. Semplice (D major) – E. — mp3

XIV. Dolce e cantando (E-flat major) — E. — mp3

XVIII. Non presto (C major) — E.* — mp3


* Over the 18th and last piece Schumann wrote: "Quite redundantly Eusebius added the following; but great happiness shone in his eyes the while."

A free PDF of the score (second ed., probably published by Breitkopf & Härtel) can be found here — click "Complete score of all pieces."