''Robert Schumann’s “Davidsbündlertänze”'' is one of the last major works made by

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company ...

's founding choreographer and balletmaster-in-chief,

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

. It is set to

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

's ''

Davidsbündlertänze ''Davidsbündlertänze'' (''Dances of the League of David''), Op. 6, is a group of eighteen pieces for piano composed in 1837 by Robert Schumann, who named them after his music society Davidsbündler. The low opus number is misleading: the work ...

'' (''Dances of the League of David''),An imaginary society of artists created by Schumann the members of which represent various aspects of his personality but united in the common aim of fight the

Philistines The Philistines ( he, פְּלִשְׁתִּים, Pəlīštīm; Koine Greek ( LXX): Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: ''Phulistieím'') were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan from the 12th century BC until 604 BC, whe ...

, those who oppose art or innovation in the arts. During his adult life Schumann headed a circle that included much of the Germany musical elite, including

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...

and

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

. Op. 6 (1837). The idea for setting this piano work very likely came from a work created by

Robert Joffrey Robert Joffrey (December 24, 1930 – March 25, 1988) was an American dancer, teacher, producer, choreographer, and co-founder of the Joffrey Ballet, known for his highly imaginative modern ballets. He was born Anver Bey Abdullah Jaffa Khan in Se ...

for his own Joffrey Ballet Company, the premier of which took place at the City Center Theater in the late 1970s. Joffrey, in turn, received his inspiration from Jonathan Watts, a protege of Joffrey's and director of the Joffrey apprentice company, who, at the suggestion of pianist Neil Stannard, created a ballet titled ''Evening Dialogues'' to this same score. This initial version of the Schumann cycle was featured on tour with the Joffrey second company in the mid 1970a. The premiere took place on June 19, 1980, at the

New York State Theater The David H. Koch Theater is a theater for ballet, modern and other forms of dance, part of the Lincoln Center, at the intersection of Columbus Avenue and 63rd Street in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Original ...

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

. A series of dances for four couples, the ballet draws on the life of Schumann, in particular his reunion with

Clara Wieck Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...

after a 16-month estrangement in the year of its composition.

Original cast

Karin von Aroldingen Karin Anny Hannelore Reinbold von Aroldingen (9 September 1941 – 5 January 2018) was a German ballet dancer. She danced as a soloist at the Frankfurt Opera Ballet before joining the New York City Ballet in 1962 after receiving a personal ...

Suzanne Farrell Suzanne Farrell (born August 16, 1945) is an American ballerina and the founder of the Suzanne Farrell Ballet at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Farrell began her ballet training at the age of eight. In 1960, she received a scholarship ...

Kay Mazzo Kay Mazzo (born January 17, 1946) is an American former ballet dancer and educator. In 1961, she joined Jerome Robbins' company, Ballets USA. The following year, she joined the New York City Ballet, and was promoted to principal dancer in 1969. S ...

Heather Watts Heather Watts (born Linda Heather Watts; September 27, 1953) is a ballet dancer, most known for her time with the New York City Ballet. Biography Born in Long Beach, California, her dream as a little girl was to be an actress. An acting coa ...

Adam Lüders Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as ...

* Jacques d'Amboise *

Ib Andersen Ib Andersen (born 14 December 1954) is a Danish ballet dancer, choreographer, and painter. Biography Early days Born in Copenhagen, Andersen was first exposed to dance through ballroom dancing. At age 7, he was accepted into the Royal Danish ...

* Peter Martins

Footnotes

Reviews

NY Times
by Jack Anderson, November 21, 1980

External links

Robert Schumann’s “Davidsbündlertänze”
on the Balanchine Trust website {{DEFAULTSORT:Robert Schumann's Davidsbundlertanze Ballets by George Balanchine 1980 ballet premieres New York City Ballet repertory Davidsbundlertanze, Robert Schumann's

Original cast

See also

Footnotes

Reviews

External links