Album for the Young

Album for the Young (Album für die Jugend), Op. 68, was composed by Robert Schumann in 1848 for his three daughters. The album consists of a collection of 43 short works. Unlike the Kinderszenen, they are suitable to be played by children or beginners. The second part, starting at Nr. 19 (Kleine Romanze), is marked Für Erwachsenere (For adults; For more grown-up ones) and contains more demanding pieces.

List of pieces

1.  Melody (Melodie), C major
2. Soldiers' March (Soldatenmarsch), G major
3. Humming Song (Trällerliedchen), C major
4. Chorale (Ein Choral), G major
5. A Little Piece (Stückchen), C major
6. The Poor Orphan (Armes Waisenkind), A minor
7. Hunting Song (Jägerliedchen), F major
8. The Wild Rider (Wilder Reiter), A minor (This piece is more commonly known in English as The Wild Horseman)
9. Folk Song (Volksliedchen), D minor
10.  The Happy Farmer, Returning from Work (Fröhlicher Landmann, von der Arbeit zurückkehrend), F major
11. Sicilienne (Sizilianisch), A minor
12. Knecht Ruprecht, A minor
13. May, Sweet May (Mai, lieber Mai), E major
14. Little Etude (Kleine Studie), G major
15. Spring Song (Frühlingsgesang), E major
16. First Sorrow (Erster Verlust), E minor
17. The Little Morning Wanderer (Kleiner Morgenwanderer), A major
18. The Reaper's Song (Schnitterliedchen), C major

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19. Little Romance (Kleine Romanze), A minor
20. Rustic Song (Ländliches Lied), A major
21. * * * (untitled), C major (based on Prison-Terzetto ("Euch werde Lohn in bessern Welten") from Beethoven's Fidelio)
22. Roundelay (Rundgesang), A major
23. The Horseman (Reiterstück), D minor
24. Harvest Song (Ernteliedchen), A major
25. Echoes from the Theatre (Nachklänge aus dem Theater), A minor
26. * * * (untitled), F major
27. A Little Canon (Kanonisches Liedchen), A minor
28. Remembrance (4 November 1847) (Erinnerung), A major (the date of Felix Mendelssohn's death)
29. The Stranger (Fremder Mann), D minor
30. * * * (untitled), F major
31. Song of War (Kriegslied), D major
32. Sheherazade, A minor
33. Gathering of the Grapes – Happy Time! (Weinlesezeit – fröhliche Zeit!), E major
34. Theme (Thema), C major
35. Mignon, E-flat major
36. Italian Mariners' Song (Lied italienischer Marinari), G minor
37. Sailors' Song (Matrosenlied), G minor
38. Wintertime I (Winterzeit I), C minor (sometimes considered one piece with Wintertime II)
39. Wintertime II (Winterzeit II), C minor/C major
40. Little Fugue (Kleine Fuge), A major
41. Northern Song (Salute to G.) (Nordisches Lied), F major (dedicated to Niels Gade; it is based on the cryptogram‎ G-A-D-E)
42. Figured Chorale (Figurierter Choral), F major
43. New Year's Eve (Sylvesterlied), A major

There are also more fragments and pieces part of Schumann's Op. 68 that he never published; they have been recorded by Marco Tezza.

Selected recordings

• Angela Brownridge, Helios, 55039
• Angela Brownridge, Hyperion Records (1989)
• Jörg Demus, Nuova Era CD.B.154.8
• Rico Gulda, Naxos Records, 8.555711
• Luba Edlina, Chandos Records, 9731
• Gernot Oertel, W.O.C. (double compact disc)
• Marco Tezza, OnClassical (includes works that Schumann never published, supplement to Op. 68)
• Carlo Zecchi, Aura CD.A.722 (selection)

External links

• Album für die Jugend: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project. (Breitkopf & Härtel)
• Free scores for Album für die Jugend in the Werner Icking Music Archive (WIMA) – also MIDI files
• Score at kostenlose-klaviernoten.de
• No. 14. Little Etude, Arrangement for piano and violin (free copy)
• Album (Selection). MP3s (No. 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 16, 19) free download at Piano-Society