Forum poll: Best solo keyboard works ever
The numbers in bold print before the titles indicate their positions in the poll of the 200
best solo keyboard works ever written. 15 of Schumann's works placed in the poll with
Fantase in C placing highest at No. 9.
Traditional three and four movement works:
Schumann wrote three 4 movement piano sonatas. No. 3 is considered the best of the three...
(#64) Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 14 "Concerto Without Orchestra" (1836, rev. 1853) (30:30)
This four movement work is actually a sonata, and his the most highly regarded of
Schumann's three piano sonatas. Originally it had only three movements, with Clara
This four movement work is actually a sonata, and his the most highly regarded of
Schumann's three piano sonatas. Originally it had only three movements, with Clara
writing the slow second movement, but later Schumann added a scherzo, which he said
(# 9) Fantasie in C, Op. 17 (1836, revised 1839) (30 min)
A three movement work similar to a piano sonata, but the last movement is
unusual because it is a slow movement. It was influenced by Franz
Schubert's Fantasy in C "Wanderer Fantasy". A very popular and highly
regarded Schumann composition.
Alexei Volodin, piano (32 min) (Play)
regarded Schumann composition.
Alexei Volodin, piano (32 min) (Play)
Collections of Piano Miniatures:
(#34) Carnaval, Op. 9 (1834–1835) (28 min) Notes on Carnaval
Subtitled Scènes mignonnes sur quatre notes (Little Scenes on Four Notes),
Carnival consists of 21 short pieces representing masked revelers at Carnival,
a festival before Lent. Schumann gives musical expression to himself, his
friends and colleagues, and characters from improvised Italian comedy
(commedia dell'arte). It is a fairly popular work of Schumann's.
Boris Giltburg, piano (32 min) (Play)
(#36) Études symphoniques (Symphonic Studies), Op. 13 (1834) (31 min)
A 13 piece mixture of theme and variations format and concert etudes. It is a
very popular Schumann work, but is less famous than Franz Liszt's
Transcendental Études or Frédéric Chopin's two sets of Études.
Valentina Lisitsa, piano (32 min) (Play)
(#20) Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6 (1837) (32 min)
Dances of the League of David refers to Schumann's imaginary music society.
The 18 pieces were written by Eusibius and Floristan, the names of two
composers of different personalities in Schumann's mind. This is one of
Schumann's most admired works.
Boris Berezovsky, piano (34 min) (Play)
(#46) Kinderszenen (Scenes From Childhood), Op. 15 (1838) (18 min)
Schumann described this set of 13 short movements describing childhood as
"more cheerful, gentler, more melodic" than his earlier works. Movement
No. 7 of the work, Träumerei, is one of Schumann's best known pieces.
This is a fairly popular Schumann work.
Vladimir Horwitz (18 min) (Play)
(#22) Kreisleriana, Op. 16 (1838) (32 min)
Johannes Kreisler is one of E. T. A. Hoffmann's literary creations,"an eccentric,
wild, and witty conductor." Like the kaleidoscopic Kreisler, each of the twelve
movements has multiple contrasting sections, resembling the imaginary musician's
manic depression, and recalling Schumann's own "Florestan" and "Eusebius."
Schumann several times declared Kreisleriana his favorite composition and
it is considered one of Schumann's greatest compositions.
Yuja Wang, piano (32 min) (Play)
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