Schumann/Grützmacher - Kinderszenen, Op. 15 (1838) arr. for cello and piano

Описание: Robert Schumann (8 June 1810 – 29 July 1856) was a German composer and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career as a virtuoso pianist. He had been assured by his teacher Friedrich Wieck that he could become the finest pianist in Europe, but a hand injury ended this dream. Schumann then focused his musical energies on composing.

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Kinderszenen, Op. 15 (1838) arr. for cello and piano by Friedrich Grützmacher.

1. Von fremden Ländern und Menschen (0:00)
(Of Foreign Lands and Peoples / Des pays mystérieux)
2. Kuriose Geschichte (1:37)
(A Curious Story / Histoire curieuse)
3. Hasche-Mann (2:43)
(Blind Man's Buff / Colin-Maillard)
4. Bittendes Kind (3:17)
(Pleading Child / L'enfant qui prie)
5. Glückes genug (4:28)
(Happy Enough / Bonheur parfait)
6. Wichtige Begebenheit (5:09)
(An Important Event / Grande nouvelle)
7. Träumerei (6:05)
(Dreaming / Rêverie)
8. Am Kamin (8:57)
(At The Fireside / Au coin du feu)
9. Ritter vom Steckenpferd (9:47)
(Knight Of The Hobbyhorse / Sur le cheval de bois)
10. Fast zu ernst (10:29}
(Almost Too Serious / Peut-être trop sérieux)
11. Fürchtenmachen (12:05)
(Frightening / Faire peur)
12. Kind im Einschlummern (13:37)
(Child Falling Asleep / L'enfant s'endort)
13. Der Dichter spricht (15:43)
(The Poet Speaks / Le poète parle)

Matilda Colliard, cello & Stefano Ligoratti, piano

Schumann wrote 30 movements for this work but chose 13 for the final version. The unused movements were later published in Bunte Blätter, Op. 99, and Albumblätter, Op. 124. Schumann initially intended to publish Kinderszenen together with Novelletten (Opus 21); the shared literary theme is suggested by the original title Kindergeschichten (Children's Tales). He told his wife Clara that the "thirty small, droll things", most of them less than a page in length, were inspired by her comment that he sometimes seemed "like a child". He described them in 1840 as "more cheerful, gentler, more melodic" than his earlier works.

Originally called Leichte Stücke ("Easy Pieces"), the section titles were only added after the completion of the composition, and Schumann described them as "nothing more than delicate hints for execution and interpretation". Timothy D. Taylor, however, has discussed the choice of titles for this work in the context of the changing situation of music culturally and economically, stating that the final movement, entitled Der Dichter spricht (The Poet Speaks), marked a realisation among composers that, due to the decline of patronage structures in the 19th century, their musical works must take on new meanings.

Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Grützmacher (1 March 1832 – 23 February 1903) was a noted German cellist and composer in the second half of the 19th century. He composed mostly for cello (including several concertos and many technical studies), but also wrote orchestral pieces, chamber music, piano music and songs.

In 1848, he was discovered in Leipzig by the famous violinist, Ferdinand David, who arranged some concerts for him. In 1850, he became solo cellist in the Leipzig theatre orchestra, the Gewandhaus Concerts, and professor at the Leipzig Conservatory. He played in the David String Quartet.

In 1860, Grützmacher moved to Dresden to be principal cellist of the court orchestra, and head of the Dresden Musical Society. In 1877, he became a professor at the Dresden Conservatory. He concertized all over Europe and Imperial Russia, where he became a friend of the famous cellist Karl Davydov. He played the first performance of Richard Strauss's Don Quixote in Cologne in 1898. He was the teacher of Wilhelm Fitzenhagen and Hugo Becker whose editions are still used.

Grützmacher is most famous today for taking samples of four different works to form his edition of Luigi Boccherini's Concerto in B-flat, still being published and performed. He is also known for rearranging J. S. Bach's Cello Suites with additional chords, passages and embellishments. His cadenzas for the cello concertos by Boccherini and Joseph Haydn are often performed to this day. He made frequent tours throughout Europe and Russia as a solo cellist and chamber musician.