Kreisleriana, Op. 16

Quick Facts

• A set of eight pieces for solo piano written and published in 1838
• The subtitle for the piece is “Fantasies for Piano.”
• Dedicated to Schumann’s friend, Frédéric Chopin¹
• Based on Johannes Kreisler, a fictional musician who appears in the writings of E. T. A. Hoffmann.

About the Piece

• Each of the eight pieces explores an extreme of the character’s state of mind through rhythmic and harmonic instability. Very fast, very slow, intimate, bombastic – all facets of Kreisler’s personality are explored by the composer.²
  • English translation of the tempo marking at the beginning of each movement:
    1. Very Animated
    2. Very intimate and not too fast
    3. Very agitated
    4. Very slow
    5. Very lively
    6. Very slow
    7. Very fast
    8. Fast and playful³
• Fun fact – Schumann doubted Kreisleriana‘s success in the concert hall and thought audiences wouldn’t be able to grasp their meaning. One can speculate that he wrote the pieces more as a creative outlet for his emotional turmoil. During this period, Schumann was several years into petitioning the courts for permission to marry Clara due to her father’s disapproval.⁴
  • The composer’s (eventual) wife, Clara Schumann, successfully performed them but rarely as a complete set – rather, she would choose select pieces.⁵

1. “Kreisleriana, Op.16 (Schumann, Robert),” IMSLP, accessed April 17, 2023, https://imslp.org/wiki/Kreisleriana,Op.16(Schumann,_Robert).
2. Natasha Loges, Notes in accompanying booklet, Schumann: Arabeske, Kreisleriana & Fantasie performed by Stephen Hough, Hyperion 68363, 2021, compact disc.
3. “Kreisleriana, Op.16 (Schumann, Robert),” IMSLP.
4. Grant Hiroshima, “Kreisleriana, Op. 16,” L. A. Phil, accessed April 17, 2023, https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/pieces/2160/kreisleriana-op-16.
5. Natasha Loges, Notes in accompanying booklet, Schumann: Arabeske, Kreisleriana & Fantasie.