Schumann Beyond the Myths: Jarred Dunn on Poetry & Schumann Daydreams

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! 📩 Subscribe to The Piano Pod newsletter and receive our free PDF, 12 Lessons from Season 6 HERE. 🌐 Visit The Piano Pod If you enjoyed this conversation, please subscribe to the show, share the episode, and tell us in the comments what stayed with you. Yamaha Artist, pianist, and researcher Jarred Dunn returns to The Piano Pod for our second Season 7 alumni conversation. Two seasons ago, Jarred appeared with his teacher and collaborator, pianist Anna Górecka—the daughter of Henryk Mikołaj Górecki—to discuss their landmark recording, Górecki’s World of the Piano. The album later became a Prix Opus finalist in the Contemporary Album of the Year category. This time, Jarred joins us to explore his latest album, Schumann Daydreams, released by Lexicon Classics. What if one of classical music’s most renowned composers has been reduced to a diagnosis—his distinctive musical language too often explained away as a symptom of mental illness—and we have been missing both the poetry in his music and the extraordinary imagination behind it? In this conversation, Jarred invites us to reconsider Robert Schumann beyond the familiar myths surrounding his mental and emotional life. We discuss daydreaming, poetry, trauma, spontaneity, and the abrupt changes of direction that make Schumann’s music feel so deeply human. Jarred also takes us inside the album, piece by piece, as we explore the emotional journey of Schumann’s Piano Sonata No. 1 in F-sharp Minor, Op. 11, and shares what happened behind the scenes during the recording sessions at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts. We also discuss his recently published book, Górecki’s Solo Piano Music, and the Kallmünz Summer Piano Festival in Germany, where he serves as Artistic Director. CORRECTION During the introduction, Górecki’s World of the Piano is mistakenly described as Jarred’s first album. It is his fourth album. 🎧 LISTEN TO SCHUMANN DAYDREAMS: HERE. 🎥 WATCH THE BEHIND-THE-SCENES FILMS: The Making of Schumann Daydreams Jarred’s behind-the-scenes series explores the album’s conception, his evolving relationship with Schumann, the F-sharp-minor Sonata, and the roles of poetry, spontaneity, and surprise in interpreting this music. 📖 READ JARRED’S BOOK: Górecki’s Solo Piano Music MUSIC PLAYLISTS Explore music connected to our Season 7 conversations: YouTube Playlist Spotify Playlist: LEARN MORE 🎹 Jarred Dunn 🎼 Kallmünz Summer Piano Festival