Alfred Cortot - Masterclass on Schumann’s “The Poet Speaks“ (Paris, 1953) [English Subs]

Alfred Cortot - Masterclass on Schumann’s “Der Dichter Spricht“, from “Kinderszenen“, Op. 14 (1953) “It seems to me that this last piece, The Poet Speaks, which is the title Schumann gave to this immortal work should be conceived as a kind of intimate reverie. It’s not just about making a beautiful sound and expressive phrasing. You also need to create a sense of dreaming. The truth is, you need to dream this piece, rather than play it...(Cortot begins to play’The Poet Speaks’) These two phrases are not connected. They are two different elements of the same musical state. Here, like a here again, another, tenderly asking the way... And from this point, you should convey the music not just through the notesbut through some kindof inspiration drawn from its immortal spirit. Now the sonorities should fade fainter and dimmer... and you are left simply... in the presence of a dream which haun