Robert Schumann (1810-1856) : Kinderszenen op 15 (1838)

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Von fremden Ländern und Meschen – Kuriose Geschichte 1:41 – Hasche-Mann 2:39 - Bittendes Kind 3:12 – Glückes genug 3:57 - Wichtige Begebenheit 4:33 - Träumerei 5:22 - Am Kamin 7:37 – Ritter vom Steckenpferd 8:26 - Fast zu ernst 9:05 – Fürchtenmachen 10:23 – Kind im Einschlummern 12:02 – Der Dichter spricht 14:05

“...lately I often feel like I am exploding with music.” (Robert Schumann to Clara Wieck, 1838)

Robert Schumann composed Kinderszenen in February and March 1838, during a separation from his fiancée Clara Wieck. He writes to her: “Perhaps an echo of your words when you wrote me, ‘I sometimes seemed to you like a child.’ In short, it was as if I were clothed in wings when I wrote the thirty droll little things, of which I selected about twelve and named them ‘Kinderszenen’ ... they make quite an impression when I perform them, particularly on me.” Clara was also impressed: “It’s true, isn’t it, that they belong only to the two of us? I simply can’t put them out of my mind, they are so simple, so heart-warming, so very much you”

Depictions of children at that time tended glorify an innocent existence close to God and nature. This was about to change, Dickens wrote Oliver Twist in 1837-1839. In music they were almost completely absent, except for nursery rhymes and etudes intended to build technique. Kinderszenen is a pioneering work in wholly adopting the perspective of a very small child. Schumann intended the cycle as a recollection of moments from his early childhood, and not as children seen from an adult perspective. In contrast to Dickens he followed the prevailing romantic ideal of injecting himself into his work. These pieces, as all our earliest memories, are snapshots of emotions without language.

Judging from Kinderszenen Schumann had a happy childhood. There are no tantrums, no pain, and not even fear. But the pieces are far from boring. We enter a lyrical fantasy with memories of sweet songs and funny stories, but also relentless catch-me games. A quiet plea is immediately followed by jubilant joy and a pompous procession. Sentimental and discontinuous daydreams are replaced by fireside jousts and a quite violent and possibly dangerous ride on a hobby horse. The last parts are more mellow. A melancholic interlude precedes a strange game where we alternatly play innocent, scurry away, and jump out to give a scare. Towards the end we fall asleep and in the trance-like epilogue there are fragments of a chorale and an otherworldly melody, before all ends in perfect peace.

Schumann writes that he “poeticized” rather than composed Kinderszenen, and gave each short piece a title, as if it were a poem, to convey the theme and intended meaning. Some are straightforward. “Hasche-Mann” is a game of tags and the “Steckenpferd” a hobby-horse that can be ridden with gusto. Some are more enigmatic. The first title suggests something strange but it is just a cosy melody, perhaps the feeling of listening to a fairy tale? And in the last, who is the “Dichter”? Perhaps it is the composer, finally removing himself from the child who has faded away.

Kinderszenen made quite an impression not only on Clara. They were an immediate commercial and artistic success. At the time Schumann was renowned by the elite for virtuoso piano compositions, but here he aimed for emotional intensity without difficult gymnastics. The original subtitle “Leichte Stücke” was a stroke of genius and meant that also amateurs bought and played them. At the same time influential critics like Liszt were very positive. And in the long run they have acquired a fame that Schumann could not have dreamed of, “Träumerei” is one of the most well-known piano compositions ever.

Joachim Parrow November 2013