Youthful energy is juxtaposed here with vulnerability and romantic dwellings. Schumann was 28 when he composed the virtuosic Novelets op.21 (1838). This was in 1838, the same year he began his Kinderszenen. The Gesänge der Frühe (1853) are among Schumann's last piano works, prior to his mental breakdown. It is not uncommon for a composer to be inclined to introspection in his final phase. The
… aimless wandering of the Gesänge should not be suspicious in this respect, even though we know that Schumann was no longer at his best then. Mrs. Schumann again stands in her husband's shadow here. Only half of her her wonderful Soirées Musicales are performed. These are then top pieces, which make one curious for more. The Notturno (No.2) alone reveals a talent that was in no way inferior to Chopin, Mendelssohn and Brahms. Martin Helmchen plays all this on a Bechstein fortepiano from 1860. (HJ)more
