R. Schumann "Album for the Young"
Robert Schumann - the famous German romantic composer, whose contribution to the treasury of world music culture can not be overestimated. The maestro, who composed works in various genres, left a rich legacy, but among his creations there is one that deserves special attention. This "Album for the Young" is a collection of miniatures that are unique examples of colorful and original music for children. The composer masterfully combined in them a high aesthetics with a rational selection of musical and artistic means, so today these plays, which are very popular, have always been included in the pedagogical repertoire for beginning musicians.
History of creation
1848 not only Robert Schumannbut all German citizens were very tense. A bourgeois-democratic revolution began in the country, the ideas of which the composer strongly supported. However, despite the troubled political situation in the country, Robert had many happy moments in his life, which were brought to him by his own children. Schumann loved his kids very much and spared no effort to take care of them. He read books to them or told fantastic stories, while voicing them, improvising on the piano.
Special events in the life of the Shuman family were the birthdays of children. My father always tried to come up with some special surprise-gift. The same happened on the day when the eldest daughter of the composer Maria was seven years old. The girl received as a gift a notebook, on the title page of which there was an inscription: "A Piece written by Pope on the 7th anniversary of Marie, September 1, 1848". Subsequently, the girl self-taught this miniature and sang it as a gift to her father.
Schumann's wife - a talented pianist Clara Wick has repeatedly hinted to her husband that the works that children usually study are “very bad”. Perhaps it was precisely these words that pushed the composer to the idea of composing any simple pieces and merging them into an album. The composer enthusiastically set to work, and after two days was ready eight miniatures. Starting work on September 2, seven days later, he announced that the work was completed, but new works appeared again and again, as the maestro, overwhelmed with inspiration, could not stop.
In addition to his compositions, the original version of the album Schumann added several miniature plays by other composers: I.S. Baha, Gf Handel, L.V. Beethoven, F. Schubert. In a similar way, the maestro intended to acquaint the little performers with the history of music.
Initially, Schumann intended to divide the album into four parts, each of which was devoted to a particular season, but later in connection with the addition of new plays reflecting the world of children's impressions and interests, his intentions changed. The composer conditionally distributed miniatures according to the degree of complexity into two notebooks.
Composing an album was only half the story. Further, it was necessary to publish it, but then many problems arose. Turning to the publishing house "Brightkopf and Hertel", Robert wished the collection to be elegantly decorated: each miniature was decorated with an engraving, and aphorisms were inserted between the works that constitute the "Life Rules for Musicians" - the most famous literary work of the composer. Negotiations with representatives of the publishing house ended in vain, because for them the project looked absolutely unprofitable: the income would be minimal, and the fee requested by the composer is very large.
To the aid of Schumann, discouraged by such a refusal, came the admirer of his talent, the composer Karl Reinecke. He agreed with the Hamburg publishing house "Schubert & Co", and the collection entitled "Christmas Album for Children" finally saw the light at the end of December 1848, and was also released for sale. This turned out to be very timely, since it coincided with the formation in the homes of German citizens of a special culture of raising children, in which music education became an important element. The collection was sold so quickly that the following year it was released again and even as a gift. In 1851, a new revised edition entitled “Album for the Young” was published with an appendix in which “Life Rules for Musicians” were printed. And it was a more approximate version of what the composer originally intended.
Interesting Facts
- Robert Schumann and Clara Wieck had 8 children: Maria, Eliza, Julia, Emil, Ludwig, Ferdinand, Eugene and Felix.
- That first play, which Schumann presented his daughter Maria to the birthday, was not included in the final version of the Album for the Young. Also, they did not get into the collection "Medvezhsky dance" and "Song of a poor child."
- Robert Schumann, since he was the son of a book publisher, was well versed in printing. Therefore, when the Album for the Young was given to the printing house, the composer himself chose a paper grade, type of typographic font, and also slandered with the artist A.L. Richter features an engraving on the title page.
- The famous aphorisms of Robert Schumann, of which there were originally thirty-one, and then the number increased to sixty-eight, were first printed on May 31, 1850 in the New Musical Gazette. At that time they were called "Home and life rules for musicians."
- "The rules of life for musicians" was highly appreciated and first translated into Russian by Vladimir Vasilyevich Stasov and Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
- The album for youth "Robert Schumann in the Soviet Union was reprinted several times. The most famous were the editorial offices of such famous pianists and teachers as Alexander Borisovich Goldenweiser, Viktor Karpovich Merzhanov and Pavel Grigorievich Egorov.
Content
The Album for the Young, by Robert Schumann, which at present is a mandatory part of the pedagogical repertoire of music schools, includes 43 piano miniatures, which were originally divided into two parts by the composer. The first compilation includes 18 plays for younger performers, and the second compilation includes 25 pieces, but for older pianists and more experienced ones. However, such a distinction can be considered conditional, since in the first and second parts there are plays that are not inferior to each other in complexity of execution and in artistic content.
In this cycle, Robert Schumann vividly displayed the world of childhood with his interests and impressions, joys and sorrows, therefore the images captured in the plays of the collection are very diverse. The composer draws colorful portraits in "Merry Peasant", "Furious Horseman", "Santa Claus", "Brave Horseman", "Horseman", "Little Morning Traveler", "Alien", "Stranger" and Sheherezade. "Pictures of nature are very picturesque in "May, dear May!", "Spring Song", "Gathering Grapes", "Winter I" and "Winter II".
The romance of wandering, which the boys dream of as a child, is presented in the Song of the Italian Sailors and the Sailor's Song, and the lyrical images that resonate in the girls' hearts are reflected in three plays left by the author without a name. These are sublime elegies that sound like a hymn to a soul in love. Continuing the lyrical line, it is necessary to dwell on the miniatures that open up the Album: “Songs”, “Melodies”, “Chorale” and “Pieske”. Here Schumann depicts the innocence of a child’s soul, the beauty of a peaceful landscape and innocent reverie, and in “First Loss” of “Poor Orphan” the composer makes the young performer consciously empathize with the miniature characters.
"Album for the Young" - this cycle Robert Schumannconsisting of piano miniatures can rightly be called a masterpiece that has passed the test of time. Today, it is probably impossible to find a pianist who, at the initial stage of his studies, would not perform plays from the famous collection. It is also important to note that it was Schumann’s Album that prompted Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to create a beloved by all.Children's album", about which the great maestro made a note on the title page of his cycle.
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