Is Kinder Sehen a good way to learn Schuman's piano music

[nyonyo]

Hi all,

Could you please give me your views if Kinder Sehen is a good way to learn Schuman's piano music?   I like this work, because they are mostly very short but has many musical style.

RS

[nyonyo]

Sorry, I meant Kinderszehen.....

RS

[jlh]

Sorry, I meant Kinderszehen.....

RS

I'm sure you also meant "Schumann" as well... 

[nicco]

I'm sure you also meant "Schumann" as well... 

Not to mention "Kinderszenen"

They are quite simple little pieces, but require some knowledge about the composer, and an imaginative mind to create a convincing performance.

[thalberg]

Yes, you should definitely learn it.  It's so beautiful.  I love it.

Just do a good job with it, or it will sound like child abuse.

[iumonito]

Not to mention "Kinderszenen"

They are quite simple little pieces, but require some knowledge about the composer, and an imaginative mind to create a convincing performance.

(Cough cough)  Kinderscenen.  Schumann meant the archaic spelling, to make it more fairlytale/remote, I suspect.

[daniloperusina]

(Cough cough)  Kinderscenen. 

Never seen that spelling before..the word actually spells 'szenen' in german, meaning 'scenes' in english.

[mikey6]

They're a lot trickier than they sound - not technically, but in order to recapture a child's innocence which most adults are incapable of doing.
But they were my first Schumann work, and they're gorgeous works so learn them anyway.

[steve_m]

I'm sure you also meant "Schumann" as well... 

No, William Schuman's opera about two guys named Sehen, one of them being a bit kinder than the other.

[iumonito]

Never seen that spelling before..the word actually spells 'szenen' in german, meaning 'scenes' in english.

Ciao, Danilo, I think a very good place to look is at the score.   

By the way, top the original poster, yes: Kinderscenen is an excellent place where to learn Schumann.  There are easier entry points, though, most notably the Album for the Young, Op. 68 (the first 18 are very  very good and easy enough to read).  If that is boring for you (it isn't it for me, they feel like a lifetime challenge) and you have enough technique, another excellent entry point is the first of the Novelleten, Op. 21 No. 1.

Good luck!

[mcgillcomposer]

You might also consider Papillons. It is also a set of character pieces (much like Op. 15), and doesn't pose much of a technical challenge, thus allowing you to work on issues of musicality.

[lani]

Yes, the first Schumann piece I played was Of Foreign Lads and People (at nine years old).  I still love that piece-it certainly directed my love of the Romantic style above all else! My next favorite piece and not to difficult (but originally a song) is Widmung (Dedication), Schumann's wedding gift to Clara.  The Lizst transcription is the best. 

[pianowolfi]

I would definitely recommend to learn them. Kinderszenen are very precious masterworks and, as mikey said already, a lot trickier than they sound, first of all "Blindman's buff" and " Knight of the hobby-horse", where the accents on the third count contrast with the slight accent you might give to the first count. "Child falling asleep" is one of my alltime favorites, this one is so transdcendent and magical.  btw "Kinder sehen" makes sense too as it means "Children see"; the way children experience the world.