Robert Schumann - Stückchen, Op. 68, No. 5 (trans. Saulls)

Описание: Musical Miniatures for the Classical Guitar - Steven Saulls, Classical Guitarist

About the composer and the music...

Robert Schumann (1810–1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic of the early Romantic era. His work is known for its intense emotional expression, poetic character, and innovative musical structures. Schumann's career spanned a variety of genres, from piano cycles and songs to symphonies, chamber works, and opera.

Born in Zwickau, Saxony, to a bookseller, Schumann was immersed in literature from a young age. He studied piano under Friedrich Wieck but ended his performing career due to a hand injury, which is now speculated to have been caused by a variety of factors, including mercury poisoning from syphilis treatments. In 1840, after a long legal battle against her father, Schumann married Clara Wieck, a brilliant pianist and composer in her own right. That same year, inspired by his love for Clara, he wrote almost 140 lieder (German art songs), a period known as his "year of song". Schumann co-founded and edited the influential "Neue Zeitschrift für Musik" (New Journal for Music) from 1834 to 1843. In his writings, he promoted young, innovative composers like Frédéric Chopin and Johannes Brahms, and introduced his artistic alter egos, the impetuous "Florestan" and the dreamy "Eusebius".

Schumann struggled with mental illness throughout his life, suffering from severe depression and nervous exhaustion. His mental state deteriorated in 1854, leading to an attempted suicide by drowning in the Rhine River. He spent his final years in a sanatorium near Bonn, where he died in 1856 at age 46.

Robert Schumann's "Stückchen" (German for "little piece") is the fifth piece in his Album for the Young, Op. 68. Composed in 1848 for his children, the collection is intended for piano students but also contains much of Schumann's characteristic emotional depth and poetic sensibility. The piece is short and has a clear, beginner-friendly form, making it a good learning tool for budding pianists. It features a lyrical melody, similar to other early pieces in the collection like "Melodie" and "Trällerliedchen," over an Alberti bass-style accompaniment. Like all of Schumann's music, "Stückchen" prioritizes poetic and expressive content over technical virtuosity. This gives students an early opportunity to focus on lyrical phrasing (cantabile style) and musical nuance. While simple in form, the piece contains a rich harmonic texture that is characteristic of Schumann's Romantic style.

About the performer...

Steven began studying the guitar at age nine and has attended some of the finest music schools in the world including the Berklee College of Music (Boston), and the Mozarteum (Salzburg, Austria). He holds both a Bachelor of Arts degree from Western Washington University (1980) and a Master of Music degree from the University of Arizona (1982).

Over the past 40 years, Steven has performed hundreds of concerts throughout the United States, Central & South America and Europe. His recordings 'Modern Music for the Classical Guitar', ‘Espressivo’, and ‘Classical Guitarist Steven Saulls Performing Works by J.S. Bach, Manuel Ponce, and Federico Moreno Torroba’ have received wide acclaim both nationally and internationally. In addition to solo concerts, he has performed over 200 chamber works including guitar concerti (with orchestra) by Vivaldi, Ponce and Rodrigo.

About the recording...

Recorded at The Steven Saulls Guitar Studio, Sahuarita, Arizona/Guitar handcrafted by Martin Blackwell.

Copyright© 2023 Steven Saulls, Sahuarita, Arizona