Robert Schumann's "Scenes of Childhood" op. 15 (1838), "Album for the
Young" op. 68 (1848) and "Forest Scenes" op. 82 (1848/1849) play a major
role when learning how to play the piano, as they occupy an important
place in the transition from piano methods to the great piano
literature. At the same time, they provide a wonderful introduction to
the world of Romanticism.
When Schumann composed the "Scenes of
Childhood", he was not yet married to Clara and was fighting her
father's disapproval. When he wrote the "Album for the Young", whose
starting point was a small collection of his own pieces and arrangements
of pieces by other composers for his eldest daughter's 7th birthday,
Clara had already given birth to five children and lost one again. While
in the "Scenes of Childhood" a reflection on childhood takes place, the
"Album for the Young" actually consists of pieces for early piano
lessons. Finally, the "Forest Scenes," written almost in parallel, go
down in history as prime examples of Romantic character pieces in their
idealization of nature as well as an expression of escapism against the
backdrop of the revolutionary events of 1848/49.
This collection
of eleven pieces from all three work cycles is published as part of a
series of popular works from the Bärenreiter catalogue for the 100th
anniversary of the publishing house. The pieces are taken from the
following Bärenreiter Urtext editions: "Scenes of Childhood" op. 15
(BA09639), "Album for the Young" op. 68 (BA09641), "Forest Scenes" op.
82 (BA09640). In the "Album for the Young", in addition to the famous
"Advice to Young Musicians" (German, English and in Liszt's French
translation), the appendix contains further pieces from the
compositional environment of the Album that were unpublished during
Schumann's lifetime. In all three editions, Clara Schumann's original
pedal markings are included for the first time. The fingerings by Ragna
Schirmer take into account historical performance practice - Clara
Schumann's fingerings served as an essential starting point - as well as
playing on the modern concert grand piano.
