Waldszenen op. 82
Kinderszenen op. 15
Papillons op. 2
Album für die Jugend op. 68
Etudes Symphoniques op. 13
Arabeske op. 18
Blumenstück op. 19
Anhang:
Fünf nachgelassene Stücke

Robert Schumann carried children in his heart. The various compositions that, directly or indirectly, deal with children and their environment are telling. The Kinderszenen op. 15, twelve short pieces which evoke the child’s universe and its various moods in an extraordinarily striking manner, are beyond praise. Unlike Kinderszenen or Waldszenen, Album für die Jugend op. 68 has a rather didactic purpose and the volume is indeed meant to be rendered by children. The 43 short pieces have been arranged in two sections: 18 “für Kleinere” and 25 “für Erwachsenere”. Although some pieces may be too demanding for the averagely talented child, other titles have become a vital part of piano repertoire for children.

Etudes Symphoniques op. 13 (1834/35) proves Schumann to have an unbridled imagination and to be a brilliant craftsman as well. Coming after Beethoven’s Diabelli-variations, it can be seen as another milestone in the art of variation with respect to piano music.

For the present recording, Jan Vermeulen opted for an instrument made by Johann Nepomuk Tröndlin (1790-1862) and built according to the Vienna tradition in Leipzig between 1830 and 1835. Vermeulen explains his approach to Schumann as follows: “In this recording, I have tried to approach Schumann’s metronome markings as closely as possible. It was a time-consuming and not a self-evident activity to get rid of automatism and dubious traditions, but I am convinced that this effort has got me so far as to approach Schumann’s original intentions.”