Fairy Tale Pictures for Viola and Piano op. 113

In 1838, Robert Schumann complained: "The piano is becoming too cramped for me; I often hear a lot of things in my current compositions that I can hardly hint at." Thus, in 1840, Schumann dedicated himself primarily to song. In the following years, symphonies and chamber music works followed. The "Fairy Tale Pictures op. 113 for Viola (or Violin) and Piano" were written by Schumann in March 1851. The four short character pieces convey an elegiac mood. The four movements are not titled with fairy tale names, but simply bear tempo markings: "Not fast," "Vivacious," "Quick," and finally "Slow, with melancholic expression." The autograph has not been accessible until now and is being evaluated for the first time in this urtext edition. This has allowed for the clarification of some questionable text passages.