(, "Scenes from Childhood"), 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 (Opus 21); the shared literary theme is suggested by the original title Kindergeschichten (Children's Tales). 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, , 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 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. The Indian apparel brand, Raymond, used as the theme music in its advertising campaign, "The Complete Man".
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". 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.
There is no known complete manuscript of Kinderszenen. Pieces
+TitleKeyPlay1. Von fremden Ländern und MenschenOf Foreign Lands and PeoplesG major2. Kuriose GeschichteA Curious StoryD major3. Hasche-MannBlind Man's BuffB minor4. Bittendes KindPleading ChildD major5. Glückes genugHappy EnoughD major6. Wichtige BegebenheitAn Important EventA major7. TräumereiDreamingF major8. Am KaminAt the FiresideF major9. Ritter vom SteckenpferdKnight of the HobbyhorseC major10. Fast zu ernstAlmost Too SeriousG minor11. FürchtenmachenFrighteningE minor – G major12. Kind im EinschlummernChild Falling AsleepE minor – E major13. Der Dichter sprichtThe Poet SpeaksG major
Discography YearPianistPianoLabel1979Jörg DemusConrad Graf (c. 1835)SKC1982Richard BurnettConrad Graf (1841)FSM2007Andreas StaierErard (1837)Harmonia Mundi2007Piet KuijkenStreicher (1850)Fuga Libera2009Piet KuijkenStreicher (1850)Fuga Libera2010Jan VermeulenJohann Nepomuk Tröndlin (1830–1835)Accent2011Eric ZivianFranz Rausch (1841)Avie Records2014Penelope CrawfordConrad Graf (1835)Musica Omnia2018Yuan ShengStreicher (1846)Piano Classics
Notes
References
External links Autograph manuscript of "Von fremden Ländern und Menschen", preserved in the Robert Schumann House
, Cyprien Katsaris , Clifford Curzon