Classical Music | Piano Music

Robert Schumann

Aufschwung, from Fantasiestücke, Op 12  Play

Ying Li Piano

Recorded on 07/07/2017, uploaded on 06/12/2018

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Schumann was surely one of the greatest masters of the romantic miniature, endowing smaller pieces in simple forms with layers of substance and expressivity. The Fantasiestücke (“Fantasy Pieces”) of 1837 is one of the most successful cycles. 

The opening Des Abends (“Evening”) sets the tone for the entire set. Dreamy and pleasant, its flowing melody evokes the floral smells and light breezes of a balmy summer evening. Cross-rhythms, yearning moods, and shifting melodies in the inner voices, are all characteristic of Schumann’s style at its most effective.

Aufschwung (“Soaring”) opens with what seems like a catapult, or a high diver setting up the dive. The actual soaring begins with the rippling arpeggios which Schumann has embedded in his second theme group. The music is almost as exhilarating to hear as it is to play.             Notes by Laurie Shulman

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