Kinderszenen


Kinderszenen, Op. 15, by Robert Schumann, is a set of thirteen pieces of music for piano written in 1838.

History and description

Schumann wrote 30 movements for this work but chose 13 for the final version. The unused movements were later published in Bunte Blätter, Op. 99, and Albumblätter, Op. 124. Schumann initially intended to publish Kinderszenen together with Novelletten ; the shared literary theme is suggested by the original title Kindergeschichten. He told his wife Clara that the "thirty small, droll things", most of them less than a page in length, were inspired by her comment that he sometimes seemed "like a child". He described them in 1840 as "more cheerful, gentler, more melodic" than his earlier works.
Movement No. 7 of the work, Träumerei, is one of Schumann's best known pieces; it is the opening and closing musical theme of the 1947 Hollywood film Song of Love, and Träumerei is the title of a 1944 German biographical film on Schumann. In Russia, a hummed choral a cappella version became known as mourning music, being played annually during the Minute of Silence on Victory Day.
Originally called Leichte Stücke, the section titles were only added after the completion of the composition, and Schumann described them as "nothing more than delicate hints for execution and interpretation". Timothy D. Taylor, however, has discussed the choice of titles for this work in the context of the changing situation of music culturally and economically, stating that the final movement, entitled Der Dichter spricht, marked a realisation among composers that, due to the decline of patronage structures in the 19th century, their musical works must take on new meanings.
There is no known complete manuscript of Kinderszenen.

Pieces

TitleKeyPlay
:File:Robert Schumann - scenes from childhood, op. 15 - i. of foreign lands and peoples.ogg|1. Von fremden Ländern und Menschen
Of Foreign Lands and Peoples		G major
:File:Robert Schumann - scenes from childhood, op. 15 - ii. a curious story.ogg|2. Kuriose Geschichte
A Curious Story		D major
:File:Robert Schumann - scenes from childhood, op. 15 - iii. blind man's buff.ogg|3. Hasche-Mann
Blind Man's Bluff		B minor
:File:Robert Schumann - scenes from childhood, op. 15 - iv. pleading child.ogg|4. Bittendes Kind
Pleading Child		D major
:File:Robert Schumann - scenes from childhood, op. 15 - v. happiness.ogg|5. Glückes genug
Happy Enough		D major
:File:Robert Schumann - scenes from childhood, op. 15 - vi. an important event.ogg|6. Wichtige Begebenheit
An Important Event		A major
:File:Robert Schumann - scenes from childhood, op. 15 - vii. dreaming.ogg|7. Träumerei
Dreaming		F major
:File:Robert Schumann - scenes from childhood, op. 15 - viii. at the fireside.ogg|8. Am Kamin
At the Fireside		F major
:File:Robert Schumann - scenes from childhood, op. 15 - ix. knight of the hobbyhorse.ogg|9. Ritter vom Steckenpferd
Knight of the Hobbyhorse		C major
:File:Robert Schumann - scenes from childhood, op. 15 - x. almost too serious.ogg|10. Fast zu ernst
Almost Too Serious		G minor
:File:Robert Schumann - scenes from childhood, op. 15 - xi. frightening.ogg|11. Fürchtenmachen
Frightening		E minor – G major
:File:Robert Schumann - scenes from childhood, op. 15 - xii. child falling asleep.ogg|12. Kind im Einschlummern
Child Falling Asleep		E minor
:File:Robert Schumann - scenes from childhood, op. 15 - xiii. the poet speaks.ogg|13. Der Dichter spricht
The Poet Speaks		G major