Kinderszenen
Kinderszenen (original spelling Kinderscenen, (English: Scenes from Childhood), Opus 15, is a set of 13 pieces for solo piano by Robert Schumann. It was published in 1838. Schumann was looking back on his childhood when composing these pieces. He had originally written 30 movements for Scenes from Childhood. He chose only 13 for the final set. The unused movements were published years later in Bunte Blätter, Opus 99, and Albumblätter (English: Album Leaves, Opus 124).
Schumann originally titled the work Leichte Stücke (English: Easy Pieces). The titles for the individual pieces were only added after the music was complete. Schumann described the titles as "nothing more than delicate hints for execution and interpretation".[1] Timothy Taylor has discussed Schumann's choice of titles for this work in the context of the changing situation of music in 19th century culture and economics.[2] In 1974, Eric Sams noted that there is no known complete manuscript of Kinderszenen.[3]
Movements
| Title | Key | Play | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Von fremden Ländern und Menschen Of Foreign Lands and Peoples |
G major | ||
| 2. Kuriose Geschichte A Curious Story[4] |
D major | ||
| 3. Hasche-Mann Blind Man's Bluff |
B minor | ||
| 4. Bittendes Kind Pleading Child |
D major | ||
| 5. Glückes genug Happy Enough |
D major | ||
| 6. Wichtige Begebenheit An Important Event |
A major | ||
| 7. Träumerei Dreaming |
F major | This is one of Schumann's best known pieces; it was the title of a 1944 German biographical movie on Robert Schumann.[5] Träumerei is also the opening and closing musical theme in the 1947 Hollywood movie Song of Love, starring Katharine Hepburn as Clara Schumann Wieck.[6] | |
| 8. Am Kamin At the Fireside |
F major | ||
| 9. Ritter vom Steckenpferd Knight of the Hobbyhorse |
C major | ||
| 10. Fast zu ernst Almost Too Serious |
G-sharp minor | ||
| 11. Fürchtenmachen Frightening |
E minor | ||
| 12. Kind im Einschlummern Child Falling Asleep |
E minor | ||
| 13. Der Dichter spricht The Poet Speaks |
G major |
References
- Thorpe, Day; Schumann, Robert; Von Irmer, Otto; Lampe, Walther (December 1990). "Music Reviews: Kinderszenen, Op. 15; Album für die Jugend, Op. 68 (Urtext)". Notes (2nd Ser.). 11 (4): 605–606. doi:10.2307/893060. JSTOR 837021.
- Taylor, Timothy D. (December 1990). "Aesthetic and Cultural Issues in Schumann's "Kinderszenen"". International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music. 21 (2): 161–178. doi:10.2307/837021. JSTOR 837021.
- Sams, Eric; Schumann; Goebels, Franzpeter (1974). "Schuman scenes". The Musical Times. 115 (1572): 146. doi:10.2307/955016. JSTOR 955016.
- original spelling: Curiose Geschichte
- Träumerei on IMDb
- Träumerei played by Katharine Hepburn in the movie Song of Love at YouTube
Other websites
- MSN Movies page on Robert Schumann Archived 2007-07-14 at the Wayback Machine