Walter Meyer wrote:

>The passage at the end of Schumann's *Carnaval* sounds, at least to
>me, like the end of the "Christmas party scene" in the first act of
>Tchaikowsky's *Nutcracker* before the room is deserted and the Christmas
>tree starts growing.  I don't think either was lifting from the other but
>suspect that both were drawing on the same well-known theme.  Am I right?
>If so what theme, and why?

At the point you mention in 'Nutcracker', Tchaikovsky quotes from the
'Grandfather Dance' (Grossvater-tanz), which was a popular German
folk-tune.  I'm not familiar with the Schubert piece, but perhaps it
also uses the same theme?

Brett Langston
The Tchaikovsky Web Site
http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/blangston/pitch