Author Description

Robert Schumann's Scenes from Childhood is a set of thirteen pieces for piano, written in 1838. The seventh one, Reverie or "Träumerei," means dreaming. Playing soft, slow pieces is never easy, and requires great bow control, focusing on weight and speed. This arrangement is also quite rhythmically challenging, using long slurs, and ties, which require planning and careful counting for entries. Rubato is used throughout the piece and the tempo changes call for the students to pay close attention to the director. There are opportunities for all to practice vibrato and also some position work in the violin and viola parts.