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Robert Schumann: Album for the Young, op. 68, incl. pieces from the Supplement

by Robert von Heeren

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1.
Melody - C major - op. 68 - No. 1 00:57
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2.
Soldier's March - G major - Cheerfull and firm - op. 68 - No. 2 00:46
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3.
Warble Ditty - C major- Not fast - op. 68 - No. 3 00:56
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4.
Chorale - G major - op. 68 - No. 4 02:32
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5.
Little Piece - Not fast - C major - op. 68 - No. 5 00:58
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6.
Poor Orphan - A minor - Slowly - op. 68. - No. 6 01:16
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7.
Little Hunter Song - Fresh and Cheerful - F-major - Op. 68 - No. 7 01:44
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8.
Wild Rider - A-minor - Op. 68 - No. 8 00:45
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9.
Little Folksong - In plaintive tone - D minor - Op. 68 - No. 9 02:02
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10.
Happy farmer, returning from work - Fresh and lively - F-major - Op. 68 - No. 10 00:58
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11.
Sicilian - Mischievous - A-minor - Op. 68 - No. 11 02:15
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12.
Servant Ruprecht - A-minor - Op. 68 - No. 12 02:58
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13.
May, dear May, -- You'll be back soon! - Not fast - E-major - Op. 68 - No. 13 02:43
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14.
Little Study - G major - To play quietly and very indifferently - op. 68-No. 14 03:21
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15.
Springtime - Song - To be played intimately - E-major - Op. 68 - No. 15 03:08
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16.
First Loss - Not fast - E-Minor - Op. 68 - No. 16 01:54
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17.
Little Morning Wayfarer - Fresh and Strong - A-major - Op. 68 - No. 17 01:34
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18.
Little Reaper's Song - Not very fast - C-major - Op. 68 - No. 18 01:31
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19.
Little romance - Not fast - A-minor - Op. 68 - No. 19 01:31
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20.
Rural Song- At a moderate tempo - A-major - Op. 68 - No. 20 02:55
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21.
*** Slowly with expression - C-major - Op. 68 - No. 21 02:06
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22.
Roundelay - Play very tied - A-major - Op. 68 - No. 22 02:11
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23.
Rider's Piece - Short and definite - D-minor - Op. 68 - No. 23 02:26
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24.
Little Harvest Song - With a cheerful expression - A-major - Op. 68 - No. 24 02:16
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25.
Lingering Sounds from the Theater - Somewhat agitated - A-minor - Op. 68 - No. 25 02:10
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26.
*** - Not fast, to be performed nicely - F-major - Op. 68 - No. 26 03:02
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27.
Little Canonical Song - Not fast with intimate expression A-minor Op. 68 No. 27 02:17
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28.
Rememberance - Not fast, play very sungful - A-major - Op. 68 - No. 28 03:07
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29.
Foreign Man - Play strongly, powerful - D-minor - Op. 68 - No. 29 02:51
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30.
*** - Very slowly - F-major - Op. 68 - No. 30 06:15
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31.
War Song - Very powerful - D-major - Op. 68 - No. 31 02:15
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32.
Sheherazade - Rather slowly - A-minor - Op. 68 - No. 32 04:18
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33.
Wine Harvest Time, happy time! - Blithesome - E-major - Op. 68 - No. 33 02:47
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34.
Theme - Slowly with intimate sensation - C-major - Op. 68 - No. 34 02:06
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35.
Mignon - Slowly, tenderly - E flat major - op. 68 - No. 35 03:58
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36.
Italian Marinari Song - Slowly, fast - G-minor - Op. 68 - No. 36 02:02
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37.
Sailor Song - Not fast - G-minor - Op. 68 - No. 37 02:35
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38.
Wintertime I - Rather slowly - C-minor - Op. 68 - No. 38 02:26
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39.
Wintertime II - Slowly - C-minor - Op. 68 - No. 39 06:12
info
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40.
Little Fugue - Prelude - A-major - Op. 68 - No. 40a 02:11
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41.
Little Fugue - Lively, but not too fast - A-major - Op. 68 - No. 40b 02:35
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42.
Nordic Song - In the folk tone - F-major - Op. 68 - No. 41 02:13
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43.
Figurated Chorale - F-major - Op. 68 - No. 42 03:34
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44.
New Year's Eve Song - At a moderate tempo - A-major - Op. 68 - No. 43 02:31
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45.
For the very little - Moderato - C-major - Op. 68 - Supplement 00:33
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46.
Cuckoo in the hiding place - Very quiet - F-major - Op. 68 - Supplement 01:21
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47.
On the Gondola - Not fast - (Poco - Allegro) - C-major - Op. 68 - Supplement 01:45
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48.
Lagoon in Venice - B-minor - Op. 68 - Supplement 02:52
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49.
Bear Dance - Allegro - op. 68 - Supplement 01:08
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50.
Fragment - Intimate - E-flat - Major - Op. 68 - Supplement 01:10
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51.
Doll's Lullaby - C-major - Op. 68 - Supplement 00:26
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52.
Rebus - Poco Lento - D-minor - Op. 68 - Supplement 01:01
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53.
Blindman's Buff - As fast as possible - D-major - Op. 68 - Supplement 00:55
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54.
Preludio - Andante - A-major - Op. 68 - Supplement 02:30
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55.
Little Waltz - Grazioso - G-major - Op. 68 - Supplement 00:48
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about

The "Album for the Young" (Album für die Jugend) was written in 1848. Schumann originally composed only a few short piano pieces, which he wanted to give to his eldest daughter Marie for her birthday as a gift. But Schumann had an idea: in his opinion, the piano pieces that the children had to learn in piano lessons at that time were musically bad. So, he could compose much more beautiful piano pieces for children and summarize them in one album. By the way: “Albums” were quite popular at that time and were just books with blank pages, so anything could be put or stuck into them. They were used to collect little things; hence each album became something individual and unique, a bit like a dairy. Encouraged by his wife Clara Schumann, he quickly composed more than 50 pieces. He removed many of them for unknown reasons. Maybe some of the pieces were in his eyes incomplete or not interesting enough or it was simply too much. He arranged the remaining pieces, limited the collection to 43 pieces and did in the same year sent it to his publisher. The other pieces, which he removed from the collection, appeared much later after Schumann's death and are often referred to as "Supplement" (a few pieces can be found on CD 2), but Schumann never meant to publish them.

From the very first bars of the Album, the piano player is kept in a good mood with swinging music but is at the same time challenged: as simple as the "Melody" or the "Warbling Song" may sound, these pieces are not easy to play! This starts with the choice of a suitable tempo, goes on to legato playing and phrasing, not to mention to come up with a beautiful “singing” piano tone. Schumann was obviously not interested in conceiving merely an educational textbook in the sense of a piano school for piano lessons. Instead, he wanted to bring the youth to the taste for wonderful - and nevertheless demanding - but still playable music. What a wonderful idea compared to the often-boring scales and other dry exercises (“Etudes”) that many piano students still suffer today…
From this point of view, one might think that the Album for the Young is not a textbook of piano playing, but simply a random collection of beautiful music for piano solo…

Not quite!

If you take a closer look at the pieces and their order, you will not only notice that their degree of difficulty gradually increases, but you will also notice that he addresses different playing techniques such as pedal (which is used for the first time in no. 14 “Little Study”) or staccato playing in individual pieces (e.g. in no. 6 and 7) and skillfully wraps them in beautiful music full of character and romantic tone. He always pays attention to style, expression, and sound. Every single piece is carefully composed and completely elaborated: One beautiful gem follows the other

credits

released December 21, 2023

Cover art by Manuela Buechler, AI Design, Switzerland

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Robert von Heeren Essenbach, Germany

Robert von Heeren, 1964, studied for eight years (1983-1991) classical music with classical guitar and piano at the Berufsfachschule für Musik in Plattling and the Richard Strauss Konservatorium Munich in Bavaria, Germany. In 1990 he passed the 1st state examination as a state-certified music teacher and as best of his class. ... more

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