Schumann: Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood), Op. 15
14 scenes, free to read, hear and print, in the composer's own order.
Open the sheet music libraryThirteen short pieces Schumann wrote in 1838, which he described to Clara Wieck as an echo of something she had once said to him, that he sometimes seemed to her like a child. They are not pieces for children but memories of childhood, written for grown-up players: Of Foreign Lands and Peoples, Blind Man's Buff, Child Falling Asleep, and No. 7, Träumerei, one of the most loved melodies ever written for the piano.
They are in Schumann's order. Several are within reach of a player a few years in, and the whole set lasts under twenty minutes, so it can be learned as one piece a scene at a time.
About the pieces
Kinderszenen Op. 15
Scenes from Childhood, and emphatically not music for children: Schumann wrote them as an adult remembering, and the seventh, Traumerei, became one of the most played pieces of the century.
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 1: Von fremden Ländern und Menschen
The first of Schumann's Scenes from Childhood, Of Foreign Lands and Peoples, is a simple, faraway melody over gently rocking triplets, like a story that begins once upon a time. Schumann wrote the set in 1838, looking back at childhood as a grown-up.
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 2: Kuriose Geschichte
Curious Story, the second of Schumann's Scenes from Childhood, is a bright, bouncing little tale in D major with dotted rhythms and a playful middle section. Schumann wrote the set in 1838, looking back at childhood as a grown-up.
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 3: Hasche-Mann
The third of Schumann's Scenes from Childhood, written in 1838. Hasche-Mann is the game of blind man's buff, and the music scurries: fast right-hand runs and short left-hand chords, all over in well under a minute.
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 4: Bittendes Kind
The fourth of Schumann's Scenes from Childhood, written in 1838; the title means the pleading child. The same short, gentle question is asked over and over, and the piece ends on an unresolved chord, as though the child is still waiting for an answer.
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 5: Glückes genug
The fifth of Schumann's Scenes from Childhood of 1838; the title means 'Happy enough'. A short, contented tune is passed between the hands, each one answering the other in imitation.
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 6: Wichtige Begebenheit
The sixth of Schumann's Scenes from Childhood, the important event. It is a bold, pompous 3/4 piece in full chords and octaves, a child's idea of something very grand indeed.
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 7: Träumerei
The seventh of Schumann's Scenes from Childhood of 1838, and by far the most famous. The title means dreaming, and one rising phrase is heard again and again, passed between the voices over gentle, shifting harmonies.
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 8: Am Camin
By the Fireside is a warm, cosy scene: a melody over gently pulsing off-beat chords, with a repeat and a slowing coda as the evening settles.
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 9: Ritter vom Steckenpferd
Knight of the Hobby-Horse gallops along on syncopated chords that land on the off-beats while the left hand keeps a steady bass, just like a child riding a wooden horse.
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 10: Fast zu ernst
Almost Too Serious is a hushed, slightly anxious piece in G-sharp minor, with a melody that keeps arriving just after the beat because its notes are tied across it.
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 11: Fürchtenmachen
Frightening alternates calm, gentle phrases with sudden fast outbursts marked Schneller, like a grown-up telling a scary story and making the children jump.
Kind im Einschlummern - Kinderszenen No. 12 (Child Falling Asleep)
Child Falling Asleep, the twelfth of the Scenes from Childhood. It ends on an unresolved chord, because the child has gone under before the music finishes.
Kinderszenen, Op. 15 No. 13: Der Dichter spricht
The Poet Speaks closes the set: a quiet chorale in which the poet steps forward, with a free recitative in the middle like spoken words, before the chorale returns and fades away.