Schumann: Of Strange Lands and People

Here we have to imagine a child reading a book such as Robinson Crusoe and dreaming about distant, exotic places.  In 1838 ,when this piece was written, Europe was still colonising the world and travelers were writing about strange and exotic people and customs.
You will find on you tube performances of the Kinderscenen by the greatest pianists in the world. But in my opinion the best, most ideal performance is by Clara Haskill. Please listen to it.

There are also dozens of edited versions of this piece, but you will be surprised by what you discover if you get the Urtext. I advise you to study the Kinderscenen only form an Urtext - Henle, Wiener Urtext etc.

This is the only piece for which Schumann has written metronomic speeds, and they are astonishingly fast. Not one great artist plays this piece at the speed that Schumann has indicated - 108 to the quarter note. I myself like playing it at 80.

Enjoy the delicate, bell-like quality of the melody notes and make sure that you play your right hand thumb as lightly as possible, since it is playing part of the accompaniment and not the melody.

Last but not least, I don't like to play repeats in long works, but this collection of exquisite little gams is so beautiful that I play all the repeats.

As Liszt wrote to Schumann, "I love your Kinderscenen so much that I often play each piece over and over before going to the next.