Kinderszenen

Scenes from Childhood, Op. 15, is an existing set of thirteen piano pieces by Robert Schumann in. In contrast to the Album for the Young, Op 68, are pieces that were written for children, but according to Schumann's own words as " aliasing a senior for the elderly ". The most famous piece of this cycle is the " reverie ". The Kinderszenen influenced the romantic program for miniature piano like no other previously written cycle.

Construction

Background and interpretation

Far away from the dominant virtuosity of the 19th century, whose externality he refused, Schumann composed small character pieces. On March 19, 1838, he wrote to Clara Wieck: " And that I do not forget what I have composed. Was it like an echo of your words even know where you wrote me, I'll come in also sometimes like a child - in short, it was neat to me like the wing dress, and I 've got to the 30 little cute things written, which I 've read about twelve and called Kinderszenen. "

Relationship to program music

Whether and to what extent the children scenes are to be regarded as program music, is among other things from Schumann's response to a disparaging criticism of Ludwig Rellstab out: " Ungeschickteres and Bornierteres but is not easy for me occurred, as it is written Rellstab about my Kinderscenen. The probably thinks, I imagine a crying child back and seeking the sounds afterwards. Conversely, it is -: the headings of course grew later and are actually nothing but finer cues for speech and comprehension. "

As Schumann general thought on the role of extra-musical influences on the music, for example, shows in his remarks to the Symphonie fantastique by Berlioz: " What ever the difficult question of how far the instrumental music should go in the representation of thoughts and events are concerned, so many anxious to see here. You certainly mistaken if you believe; the composer lay pen and paper in the miserable intention rightly to express this or that, to describe to paint. But you do not hit random influences and impressions from the outside too low. Unconsciously, in addition to the musical imagination often has an idea away, next to the ear, the eye, and this, the organ always working, then stops in the midst of the sounds and sound fixed some outlines, which condense with the advancing music in significant shapes and form can ... "

Idealization of childhood

In Romanticism was considered the idealizing childhood as a counterpoint to distress of everyday life and the adult world. Hölderlin writes: " Since I was a quiet child and of the all that surrounds us, knew nothing, I was not there more than now, after all the troubles of the heart and all the senses and rings! Yes! a divine being is the child, as long as it is not immersed in the chameleon color of man. It's what it is, and why it's so beautiful, " Schumann, speaks idealizing of childhood: ". . In every child lies a wonderful depth " moves the unspoilt naturalness of the child's world these into close proximity to nature, in the the romance provides a major source of poetry. Naturalness and childhood are ideal states, which has lost the normal adult and applies it later on. Philipp Otto Runge: "Children, we must be if we are to achieve the best."

Poetic content

In accordance with the specific romantic conception of music Schumann regarded music as a kind of high level language that allows to inform poetic content that can not be expressed in words.

In Kinderszenen typical elements of romantic poetry to be addressed, such as

• Longing for unknown distant worlds, adventure ( Of Foreign Lands and People )
• Interest in the unusual, individual, bizarre or humorous ( Curious Story )
• Departure from the everyday outside world, retreat into inwardness ( Reverie )
• Putting oneself in fantasy worlds ( Knight of the hobby-horse )
• Melancholy, world-weariness ( Almost too serious)
• Interest in the uncanny, Creepy ( Frightening )

Particularly clearly the poetic aspect to the final two pieces of child speaks Falling Asleep and The Poet. The first piece ends with an open circuit on the subdominant of E minor; the beginning of the second piece sets the cadence course to G major modulating continuously so that both pieces form an immediate musical connection. Immersion in the nocturnal dream world of slumbering child opens the gate for the poetic message of the last piece. This begins with a four-part chorale setting which refers to the quasi-religious character of the message: Musical poetry as divine inspiration and preaching. In the center of the piece a quiet cadenza-like passage, whose melody is strongly reminiscent of the beginning of the second of the Fantasy Pieces, Op 12 ( recovery ) appears. This is not, of course, as there is a passionate stormy " boom " but a delicate, almost mystical swinging of the soul into higher spheres, in the sense of a formulation of 17 -year-old Schumann: " On the flower head of nature, the soul approaches the poet got quieter and quieter the image of the deity ". "Always quieter and quieter " then also ends the piece in perfect peace.

Metronome markings

The first edition of the Kinderszenen contains no verbal tempo indications but only metronome markings. While this probably will not come by Schumann himself, but he knew them and thereby authorized, that he was not corrected in later editions. This metronome numbers have been ignored in many cases, such as can be seen from the above table. There, the issue of Conrad Kuhner ( 1880 ) and proposed by Emil von Sauer in his edition of 1922 metronome markings are given in addition to the original specifications of the first edition. The editors differ from the original information in different ways from, mostly in terms of a slowdown, but sometimes also accelerating. Particularly glaring falls from the difference in the piece Hasche man. While Kuehner the already fast original tempo reduced to = 108 = 138, it exaggerates Sauer on an almost utopian = 184 The only piece that has the same metronome mark in all three editions, the poet is talking about. In the factory edition of Clara Schumann, the metronome markings are completely omitted, so that here the player complete freedom is left because of the same lack of verbal tempo indications.

In almost all recordings of Kinderszenen most tempos from the original metronome markings differ in part blatantly, mostly in terms of a sharp slowdown. For example, the pieces Of Foreign Lands and People and reverie are played much slower than it usually corresponds to the respective metronome number. It seems the (now recognized as incorrect ) to have enforced rumor with Schumann's metronome was something not right, and therefore were not its provisions binding. In remarkable contrast to this view is the fact that most performers Schumann's metronome markings or follow the forest scenes largely accurate, at least approximately. The Schumann Prize winner Michael Struck advocates also take the metronome numbers of children Scenes serious.

Reviews

• Franz Liszt: "In the Kinderszenen [ ... ] to that grace, those always the right striking naivete of those mental train, the children often so peculiar touches us and while their credulity elicits from us a smile, we at the same time through the revealed sets acuteness of their questions in embarrassment - a train which is to be found in the dawn of civilization of the peoples and those sound more imaginative simplicity is what draws you to the miraculous. "
• Ernst stooping: " Curiously, these are simple compositions whose excitation probably the Munich Universalist Graf Pocci was with his songs and piano pieces for boys and girls, even from the contemporary ( RelIstab ), as the later criticism it mostly in the sphere of Ludwig Richter into offset, been misunderstood. The childhood scenes are [ ... ] created from an imagination that has here only visible for some beautiful moments in offset and hineingeträumt in the children's paradise. Biedermeier tightness and narrowness but knows the creator of the children's scenes, unlike Ludwig Richter not whose imagination in this Biedermeier circles at home, and so much that they no longer leave this 'house'. Schumann does the opposite. In the cadence of the last tone-piece, the poet speaks upgraded his imagination in a quote from the fantasy land back to flight into the realm of the great musical creations. "
• Hans Pfitzner: "We propose to: Kinderszenen by Schumann, No. 7, reverie. Each of the small pieces of this opus is a musical entity of pure charm, poetry, music, and above all the most personal nature; but who understands the cause of music might know, not that this reverie all alone protrudes through the quality of the melody. Who does not understand them, for is it a bit in song form with tonic, dominant, subdominant and dennächstliegenden keys - without any deviation from the norm [ ... ]. But for us, knowing what a miracle of inspiration! What's to say about it, that could, tap the, the this melody [ ... ] does not go > through and through < understanding? - Nothing. I can speak of the nobility of the musical language of the absolute model lots, deep personal, primal peculiar melody, German, Hinterzarten, maid Lichen same - it is as if the words fleas before the sounds around in a circle, they can add all not removed say what pronounce the melody itself. The title will make a small indication of the mood, she will be better understood if one imagines that it is not the reverie of a child (that is not actually in the scenes of children belonging ) and secondly a reverie, is not about a reverie, - a no nonsense, serious, deep up losing, just dangling fine and yet strong feeling can guess about how the argument based on the well-known Schumann hand head. Until the Unlimited could be in this way on - rave without summon the magic of music with words; there is a drop music from the bottom of the source; We are also degenerated and lost if we wean us this beauty in music. "