It is a character of ETA Hoffmann, Kreisler, eccentric and extravagant chapel master, full of spirit, who gives the idea to Schumann, in 1838, to write this composition. Schumann wanted to transpose this character musically and this is how these fantastic, partly burlesque "Kreisleriana" pieces are born - these pieces, always giving the impression of being improvised, are the direct echo of romantic artistic genius embodied in the person of chapel master Kreisler. If ever music is characterized by its demonic character, then it is that of these eight brilliant fantasies composed in a few days by Schumann! The new edition, reviewed and corrected in detail by Ernst Herttrich, offers a remarkable preface from the hand of this Schumannian expert and presents the main editorial problems, which are here resolved in an exemplary manner.
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