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Scenes from childhood, op. 15 = Kinderscenen, for the piano

Op. 15

Robert Schumann 1810–1856
Robert Schumann
Op. 15
Catalogue
Score
First page of Scenes from childhood, op. 15 = Kinderscenen, for the piano

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Difficulty
Our estimate Intermediate
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Themes & character
Adult memories of childhood·Character miniatures·Contains Traumerei·Warmly autobiographical

At a glance

Catalogue
Op. 15

Movements

1
Von fremden Landern und MenschenG major

Of foreign lands and people, an inviting, slightly wondering opening.

2
Kuriose GeschichteD major

A curious story, told with playful, unpredictable turns.

3
Hasche-MannB minor

Catch me, a quick game of chase.

4
Bittendes KindD major

A pleading child, tender and unresolved.

5
Gluckes genugD major

Happy enough, a small, contented dance.

6
Wichtige BegebenheitA major

An important event, told with mock seriousness.

7
TraumereiF major

Dreaming, the most famous number in the set.

8
Am Kamin

At the fireside, warm and settled.

9
Ritter vom Steckenpferd

Knight of the hobbyhorse, a galloping child's game.

10
Fast zu ernst

Almost too serious, a moment of unexpected gravity.

11
Furchtenmachen

Frightening, alternating between playful menace and comfort.

12
Kind im Einschlummern

Child falling asleep, drifting and unfinished.

13
Der Dichter spricht

The poet speaks, a quiet epilogue that steps outside the child's world entirely.

About the piece

Composed in 1838, Kinderszenen is not music for children to play but an adult's remembrance of childhood, thirteen brief scenes strung together like a set of vivid, half-remembered images. Schumann originally sketched around thirty such pieces before selecting these thirteen for publication. The famous seventh piece, Traumerei, has long outgrown the set, but the whole cycle rewards being heard together, closing with Der Dichter spricht, the poet speaks, a wistful epilogue in which the adult narrator briefly steps back into view.

The composer

Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann
1810–1856

Robert Schumann was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber groups, orchestra, choir and the opera. His works typify the spirit of the Romantic era in German music.

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