Faschingsschwank aus Wien, Op.26
in B♭ major · Op. 26
Robert Schumann 1810–1856
B♭ major
Key
Op. 26
Catalogue
Score
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Themes & character
Viennese carnival·Hidden political joke·Five-movement suite·High spirited finale
At a glance
- Catalogue
- Op. 26
- Key
- B♭ major
About the piece
Faschingsschwank aus Wien, Carnival Prank from Vienna, was composed in 1839 during Schumann's stay in the city, and is cast as a five-movement suite rather than a single piece. The boisterous opening movement famously smuggles in a few bars of the banned French revolutionary tune La Marseillaise, a small act of musical mischief under Austria's watchful censors.
Schumann described it as a "grand romantic sonata" in spirit, and it is genuinely large in scale, ending in a fast, high-spirited finale that matches its festive title.
The composer
Robert Schumann
1810–1856
Robert Schumann was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber groups, orchestra, choir and the opera. His works typify the spirit of the Romantic era in German music.
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