Romance Op.28 No.2 in F-sharp major

Description

The second of Schumann's Three Romances, Op. 28, composed in 1839. It is the most frequently performed of the three, and dates from the period when he was concentrating on writing for the piano.

In F-sharp major and 6/8, a singing melody flows continuously throughout, engaging in a dialogue-like interplay with the accompaniment that produces the rich sonorities typical of Romantic music. The melody lies in the middle register, shared between the two hands, with accompanying figures wrapped around it above and below. It runs about two minutes with roughly 755 notes, and its range from C-sharp 1 to A5 reaches deep into the bass, but at 57 keys it fits a 61-key keyboard with an octave shift.

An intermediate piece, it calls for expressive phrasing that sustains long melodic lines with a singing tone. F-sharp major, with six sharps, sits largely on the black keys and falls comfortably under the hand once it is familiar. So that the inner melody is not buried by the accompaniment, check in the hand colours which hand holds each melody note, and practise bringing out the melody alone at a slower playback speed; the piece will then make its full effect.

Three romances Schumann composed in 1839, marked by lyrical, beautiful melodies typical of Romantic-era piano music.