Michael Cooper wrote:

>I can't recall to aural memory at the moment exactly what this passage in
>the Nutcracker sounds like, but I recall reading on a record jacket when
>I was much younger that the scene closed with "piano music of Schubert and
>Schumann".  So it is quite plausible that it was borrowed by Tchaikovsky,
>possibly having something to do with "Carnaval" being music that was
>familiar to children at the time.  Or as Walter suggests perhaps they were
>simply both well-known themes.  I don't know why Schubert was referred to
>in the record jacket, or if my memory is simply mistaken.

I think I posted some weeks ago the observation that the common point was
the citation of the traditional "Grossvater" melody, which Schumann uses
in a number of his quasi-programmatic piano cycles-'Carneval' among them.
I personally don't recall any instance in which Schubert set this tune,
and believe me, the scene does not close with piano music by ANYBODY---I've
conducted enough "Nutcracker" productions to know that...

Best wishes-Joel Lazar
Bethesda MD