Album für die Jugend

Historical context

Robert Schumann’s Album für die Jugend (Album for the Young) quickly found an appreciative audience upon its publication. As Schumann himself mentioned in confidence in 1849, his publisher reported that the Jugendalbum had a sale “equalled by few, if any, among recent compositions.” This popularity extended even to his own household. Years later, in 1854, Schumann’s wife asked him if their children still played pieces out of his Jugendalbum, a query Schumann himself also made regarding his children’s continued engagement with the work.

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