Robert Schumann
Fantasy Piece No. 1
(Opus 73)

Robert Schumann, pianist and composer, was born on June 8, 1810, in Zwickau, Germany and died on July 29, 1856 near Bonn, Germany.

Schumann was a composer in the Romantic Period (1825-1900) in music, whose life, although relatively short, was very romantic in spirit - today, it would make a good plot for a Soap Opera. For example, Schumann first met his future wife - piano virtuoso Clara Wieck (1819-1896) - while he was studying piano with her father, pianist Friedrich Wieck (1785-1873), and staying at their home, beginning October 20, 1830. Friedrich Wieck was so opposed to Clara marrying Schumann, that on June 15, 1839 she had to apply to the court for legal consent to marry without her father’s permission, which was necessary because she was under the age of 21 - she was 19. The court battle dragged on for well over a year with Friedrich Wieck publishing several slanderous pamphlets about Schumann and making large numbers of very unflattering charges. Consent was eventually granted by the court on August 1, 1840 and the couple were finally married on September 12, 1840 - exactly one day before Clara’s 21st birthday.

Fantasy Pieces Opus 73 (he also used the title Fantasy Pieces for his Opus 88 trio for violin, cello and piano) was written February 12-13, 1849, as three short pieces, originally entitled Night Pieces (Soiréestücke in German) for Clarinet and Piano.

Although he wrote for Clarinet in A (which sounds a semitone lower than the Bb Clarinet), most editions provide parts for both Clarinet in Bb and in A - neither is easier nor harder.

Bb Clarinet - 9”X12” - 8 pages - $14.95
Piano accompaniment part - 8 pages
CD - 15 Audio tracks

Back to Other Clarinet Solos with Full Orchestral Accompaniment