Kinderszenen
Kinderszenen (German pronunciation: [ˈkɪndɐˌst͡seːnən]; original spelling Kinderscenen, "Scenes from Childhood"), Opus 15, by Robert Schumann, is a set of thirteen pieces of music for piano written in 1838. Schumann wrote 30 movements for this work, but chose 13 for the final version. The unused movements were later published in Bunte Blätter, Opus 99, and Albumblätter, Opus 124.[1] Discussing the set, Schumann told his wife Clara that the "thirty small, droll things" were inspired by her comment that he sometimes seemed "like a child". In 1840, he described them as "more cheerful, gentler, more melodic" than his earlier works.[2]
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,[3] and Träumerei is the title of a 1944 German biographical film on Schumann.[4]
Originally called Leichte Stücke (Easy Pieces), 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".[5] 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 (The Poet Speaks), 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.[6]
In 1974, Eric Sams noted that there was no known complete manuscript of Kinderszenen.[7]
Movements
Title | Key | Play |
---|---|---|
Of Foreign Lands and Peoples |
1. Von fremden Ländern und MenschenG major | |
A Curious Story[8] |
2. Kuriose GeschichteD major | |
Blind Man's Bluff |
3. Hasche-MannB minor | |
Pleading Child |
4. Bittendes KindD major | |
Happy Enough |
5. Glückes genugD major | |
An Important Event |
6. Wichtige BegebenheitA major | |
Dreaming |
7. TräumereiF major | |
At the Fireside[9] |
8. Am KaminF major | |
Knight of the Hobbyhorse |
9. Ritter vom SteckenpferdC major | |
10. Fast zu ernst Almost Too Serious |
G-sharp minor | |
11. Fürchtenmachen Frightening |
E minor - G major | |
12. Kind im Einschlummern Child Falling Asleep |
E minor | |
13. Der Dichter spricht The Poet Speaks |
G major |
Notes and references
- ↑ Polansky, Robert (Spring 1978). "The Rejected Kinderscenen of Robert Schumann's Opus 15". Journal of the American Musicological Society. 31 (1): 126–131. JSTOR 831388. doi:10.1525/jams.1978.31.1.03a00070.
- ↑ Eric Frederick Jensen (16 January 2012). Schumann. Oxford University Press. pp. 162–. ISBN 978-0-19-983068-8.
- ↑ "Träumerei" played by Katharine Hepburn in the film Song of Love on YouTube
- ↑ Träumerei on IMDb
- ↑ 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. JSTOR 837021. doi:10.2307/893060.
- ↑ 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. JSTOR 837021. doi:10.2307/837021.
- ↑ Sams, Eric; Schumann; Goebels, Franzpeter (1974). "Schuman scenes". The Musical Times. 115 (1572): 146. JSTOR 955016. doi:10.2307/955016.
- ↑ Original spelling: Curiose Geschichte
- ↑ Original spelling: Am Camin
External links
- Media related to Kinderszenen at Wikimedia Commons
- Kinderszenen: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)