Interpretation of Schumann's 'Humoreske' in B flat major, op. 20, within the context of Jean Paul Richter's romantic concept of 'humor' [Public version

This research began with the realization that Schumann's idea of "humor" (which the title of his work implies) might be very different from our own, and should be understood within the cultural and philosophical context of his time. To this end, I decided to base my research on the writings of celebrated author Jean Paul Richter, whom Schumann idolized, and who devoted a large section of his "Introduction to Aesthetics" to the subject of humor; the profound psychological connections between Schumann and Jean Paul, which I point out, are also very revealing. I went on to summarize some concepts within Jean Paul's definition of humor which seemed the most naturally analogous with the act of musical interpretation, such as romantic irony, "the Absurd" and "humorous sensuousness". In the final part of the research I put these ideas to use by experimenting with the interpretation of different sections of the "Humoreske"; in the written exposition I provided recordings to demonstrate the different possibilities which arise from this analogy, as well as a written explanation of the thought process behind each one. For the presentation I will demonstrate this at the piano. These recordings are the "final" result of my research in the sense that they represent a clear answer to the research question. However, while the process of conscious experimentation was illuminating- and can be repeated with any other work by the composer!- I believe that the most important result of this research would be impossible to document or present here: that is, the more subtle, subconscious way in which understanding Schumann's connection with the spirit of his time will continue to influence my playing.

Conclusions:

In this research, I was able to demonstrate some of the implications that Jean Paul's concept of "romantic humor" can have on the performance of the Humoreske. These can range from minute decisions regarding timing, dynamics and pedalling to more general issues of character and form (which eventually also manifest themselves in the smallest of details).

A few examples include Jean Paul's differentiation between "serious" and "whimsical" ironic presentation, which proved to be a particularly helpful resource having direct implications on the character of my interpretation. This can be seen in the contrasting versions I produced of the section titled "Nach und nach immer lebhafter und starker" (bars 358-423): a "serious" interpretation allows the irony to speak for itself by maintaining a stable rhythm and a continuous dynamic development, whereas a "whimsical" reading allows for a freer use of rubato, accentuating the alternation between light/heavy articulation.

Another good example involves the "empty conclusions", which, according to Jean Paul, are characteristic of humor. This relates strongly to the unusual codas at the end of several sections of the Humoreske; for instance, when working on the closing measures of the G minor "Einfach und zart" (bars 640-642) I tried to achieve a kind of expressionless effect which contrasts with and even undermines the music that precedes them . I did this by experimenting with an intentionally unclear pedalling and a more rigid realization of the rhythm.

Jean Paul's ideas concerning objectivity and subjectivity, or the difference between author/composer and artistic persona, were not so easy to translate into concrete interpretational choices- although they did inspire me to try different approaches with the opening of the piece ("Einfach"). I found that a fluid tempo here lends itself more naturally to an "objective" interpretation, whereas a more personal approach requires a consistently beautiful, melodic quality of tone which is easier to achieve at a slower pace.

More examples of the possible influence that these and other ideas by Jean Paul can have on an interpretation of the Humoreske can be found in part III of the research - "Experimentation at the piano". There I provided recordings of my own playing of different sections of the work, as well as a written explanation of the thought processes behind them. Each recording represents one possible answer to the research question ("What implications can Jean Paul's "romantic humor" have on the performance of Schumann's Humoreske?"), although none of them can be considered a "definitive" answer: naturally, the mental process which generated them was very subjective and derived from my own associations.

Some of these recordings reflect an interpretation which I might have also reached without additional impulses from Jean Paul; others are radically different from anything that I could have produced naturally, and this is for me another positive result. Also, the experimentational nature of the research was in itself an educational experience, as I don't normally work this way when preparing a piece for performance.

The most theoretical issues addressed in Introduction to Aesthetics are those concerning the romantic ideal of the "Sublime" and what Jean Paul calls "the inverse Sublime". These provide a philosophical depth to romantic humor and lead to the definition of humor as an "embodiment of metaphysical truths in concrete details", or laughter in which pain is mixed with "greatness".

These ideas, as well as some others which I discuss in part II, are too general to be linked directly to the interpretation of any particular passage. However, I found them to be the most interesting and inspiring of all, as they go some way towards explaining the contradiction between the title of the work and its content which intrigued me from the outset- that abiding sense of melancholy in the Humoreske which Schumann himself acknowledged.

So, while the process of conscious experimentation was illuminating (and can be repeated with any other work by the composer) I believe that the most important result of this research would actually be impossible to document or present in the form of a recording -that is, the more subtle, subconscious way in which understanding Schumann's connection with the spirit of his time will continue to influence my playing.

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