Description
Scene follows scene with no telling where the story is heading in "A Curious Story," the second piece of Kinderszenen, Op. 15. The 1838 set is not music for children but thirteen scenes of childhood recalled by an adult. Its consistent vantage point is not the child listening to the tale but the person remembering the scene.
A spirited dotted-rhythm theme in D major and triple time sets it going, and key and character change several times along the way. The abrupt turns inside this short piece are entirely deliberate. Some 620 notes fill a little over a minute.
Switching character from scene to scene is the intermediate challenge here. Soften the dotted rhythm and the momentum goes; sharpen it too much and the storytelling tone does. Change colour at each turn, as a narrator changes voice. The tempo is better left largely alone — dynamics and colour carry the changes here.
A suite of 13 pieces Schumann composed in 1838, including "Träumerei," evoking an adult's poetic recollection of childhood.
Browse all songs in Kinderszenen Op.15 →Sheet Music
Sheet music provided by Mutopia Project
About the Composer
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Robert Schumann was a leading German Romantic composer born in Zwickau. His poetic style reflects his deep literary sensibility, and his wife Clara Schumann was herself a renowned pianist and composer. His pedagogical piano collection Album for the Young remains beloved for its simple yet evocative miniatures for children and families. This site includes pieces from that collection and from Kinderszenen, Op. 15.
View all works by Schumann →