Robert Schumann ： Novelletten fis-moll Op.21-8

The eighth piece, which brings the 8 Novelletten to a close, is a brilliant miniature that unfolds with energetic motion from the outset while maintaining a sense of tension. Forcefully driving passages alternate with singing melodies and more shadowed episodes, creating marked changes of character within its compact span. A central attraction lies in distinguishing the character of each section without interrupting the overall flow. In performance, the rapid passagework should remain clear and even, while harmonic changes are brought into focus and the inner voices are given sufficient weight. The pedal should support the resonance without allowing the sound to become blurred; when the contrasts in dynamics are shaped without undue haste, the work’s momentum and poetic character come fully to the fore.