舒曼（Robert Schumann 1810-56）為浪潮派最具代表性之作曲家。在音樂上，他起步較晚，直至二十歲才決定成為音樂家，正式開始學鋼琴、作曲與音樂基礎訓練，因此作曲表達上，他似乎更多是自學，且創作思想上深受湘‧保羅（Jean Paul 1763-1825）敏感耽想式的文學語法，與霍夫曼（E. T. A. Hoffmann 1776-1822）奇特幻想之影響，而他的音樂想像極其特異與創新，又因缺乏足夠的音樂基礎訓練，且他在乎作品內涵深度更甚於合乎技法成規，使他的音樂極具獨創性，充滿個人色彩，卻也較難為他人明瞭，再加上他甚為喜愛在他的作品中，使用穿插對他個人有著特別涵意且帶有象徵意味的音樂文字遊戲，且善於運用歐洲其他藝文語彙，詮釋批評他所處之當代德國音樂環境，這層層疊疊的意象組合，及虛實間的時空轉換，的確使得他人難以深入舒曼音樂創作的精神內涵，有鑑於此，本文願以舒曼鋼琴作品『狂歡節』為例，並藉由對（一）舒曼所處之浪漫主義時代，（二）舒曼《狂歡節》的創作源由與文字遊戲（music spelling , anagram , cryptogram）的運用，（三）歐洲狂歡節（Carnival）與假面舞會（Masked Ball）傳統，（四）舒曼與他的虛擬大衛盟友（Davidsbund），（五）義大利藝術喜劇（Commedia dell' arte）角色運用等之具體探討，使得讀者除了能聆賞到外表單純之狂歡節舞會音樂外，也能感染舒曼豊富的想像力及他內心的密語，更深入舒曼『狂歡節』中之虛實交替幻想世界。
Schumann(1810-56) was one of the most representative composers of the Romantic period. He started his more serious musical training at the age of twenty, which hindered great deal in fluently presenting his prodigious stream of ideas in music. Just as his two favorite authors: E. T. A. Hoffmann and Jean Paul, he liked to hide under masks. His innermost secrets often hided behind plays of music spelling, anagram, and cryptogram. Furthermore, he puzzled the meaning of his music by using mysterious hints, allusions in letters, literary and musical quotations…etc.; therefore, the author wants to reveal the meaning behind his music, and uses Schumann's Op.9 "Carnaval" as an example to present how Schumann communicating his feeling through music.
