"At the time he composed this sonata, Beethoven was already struggling intensely against...his deafness. After his attack of deep despondency, accompanied by suicidal thoughts, his...

"At the time he composed this sonata, Beethoven was already struggling intensely against...his deafness. After his attack of deep despondency, accompanied by suicidal thoughts, his extraordinary vitality regained the upper hand. This renewed energy led first to his Sonata op. 53, dedicated to Count Ferdinand von Waldstein. Schumann’s work Carnaval op. 9 is mischievously subtitled delightful scenes on four notes. This is a reference to the note sequence of A, E-flat, C, and B natural, which in German go by the letters A S C H. These make up the name of the birthplace (Asch) of Ernestine von Fricken, his sweetheart of the moment." -Diatkine

Jean-Nicolas Diatkine comes from a family of recognised doctors and considers commitment to others to be the basis of his profession. It seemed impossible for him to do without this basic attitude in the exercise of his profession, which is why he always sees his artistic development as a return to the essential values to which he has devoted himself over the last thirty years.