Carnaval, Op. 9 is a work for piano solo by Schumman, written in 1834-5 and subtitled Scènes mignonnes sur quatre notes (Little Scenes on Four Notes). It consists of a collection of short pieces represented masked revelers at Carnival, in which Schumman gves musical expression to himself, his friends, and characters from comedia dell'arte. and characters from improvised Italian comedy (commedia dell’arte). The 21 pieces are connected by a recurring motif. Apparently inspired by a set of variations that a fellow composer was doing on the name of Schubert, Carnaval remains famous for its resplendent chordal passages and its use of rhythmic displacement, and has long been a staple of the pianist's repertoire. The work was dedicated to violinist Karol Lipiński. Both Schumann and his wife considered his solo piano works too difficult for the general public. (Chopin is reported to have said that Carnaval was not music at all). Consequently, the works for solo piano were rarely performed in public during his lifetime, although Liszt performed selections from Carnaval. Today, despite its immense technical and emotional difficulty, it is one of Schumann's most often performed works.
