Humoreske

Historical context

Robert Schumann described a period of intense creativity in 1839, stating he had been “composing, writing, laughing and crying, all at once,” a state of things he felt was “nicely described in his Op. 20, the ‘Grosse Humoreske’.” He noted his rapid work, explaining he would get an idea, write it down, and have it printed, composing “twelve sheets in a week.” Schumann also observed a striking connection with Clara, writing that he had “a very similar idea in March to Clara’s piece in G minor,” which she would find in the “Humoreske,” noting their “sympathies are really too extraordinary.”

Regarding the title, Schumann noted in 1839 that ‘Humoreske’ “conveyed nothing in French,” lamenting that “no good and apt words exist in French for ‘Das Gemütliche (Schwärmerische) and Humor,’ the latter being ‘a happy combination of Gemütlichkeit and wit’.” He also stated in 1839 that the Humoreske was to be published by Mechetti in Vienna within four or five weeks and was “already at the printers.”

Drawn from Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856, The letters of Robert Schumann (1907); May Herbert, Early Letters Of Robert Schumann (1888); Schumann, Robert, 1810-1856; Storck, Karl, 1873-1920; Bryant, Hannah, The letters of Robert Schumann; (1907) — public domain, archive.org.