• Store
  • Sign-up
  • Sign-in
Menu
Practising the Piano
  • Home
  • Resources
    • Multimedia eBook Series
    • Online Academy
    • Video Lessons
    • Annotated Study Editions
    • Repertoire Resources
    • Piano Technique Resources
    • Amateur Piano Groups & Clubs
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Online Events
    • London Piano Courses
    • Practice Clinics
    • Online Performance Workshops
  • Blog
      • Practising
      • Learning Pieces
      • Technique
      • Performing
      • Teaching
      • Archive
  • About Us
    • Help & Support
    • Contact us
HomeInspirationSchumann’s Romance in F Sharp

Schumann’s Romance in F Sharp

By Graham Fitch, 2019-10-03 Posted in: Inspiration, Learning Pieces

In 1839, Clara Wieck received a Christmas present from her fiancé, Robert Schumann – a set of three Romances (published with some slight alterations the following year as opus 28). She was particularly smitten with the second one, describing it as “the most beautiful love duet”. Fast forward several decades to her deathbed, when Clara asked her grandson Ferdinand to play her husband’s F sharp major Romance for her. It was the last music Clara Schumann heard; she died on May 20, 1896.

Robert Schumann’s Romance in F sharp major, op 28 no 2, remains one of the composer’s best-loved short pieces for the piano. In ternary form, the mood is contemplative, serene and tender in the outer sections, somewhat turbulent and dark in the middle section. It is an ideal repertoire piece for the intermediate student and I think it makes a great encore. 

Written on three staves to make the main melodic line clear, the piece is still a bit of a trap when it comes to reading it (the key signature is six sharps, and there are plenty of accidentals along the way). Take care when learning the notes and you’ll find after a while that the plethora of black notes means the piece lies very well under the hands.  

On closer inspection we find that the profiled melodic line is shadowed in the other hand, giving the sense of two companions staying close together. I hear two cellos, and I imagine Robert and Clara walking hand in hand. The arpeggiated chords radiate outwards from the melodic lines in such a beautiful (and very pianistic) way. The two melodic lines could be played using just the two thumbs, but you may find it more comfortable to use some 2nd fingers here and there.

In the B section (from bar 17) the melody moves to the outer fingers (the top RH melody line is supported by the LH octaves). Make sure you observe the quaver rest in bar 21 – this articulation helps draw the ear to the left hand’s answer to the top line, forming a canon at the interval of a fifth between the two hands. For a focussed sound here, bring out the left hand thumb (the 5th finger lower notes can then create a shadow). 

On my shelf I have the Clara Schumann edition she made for Breitkopf & Härtel, as well as a Schirmer edition by Harold Bauer (he made highly personalised editions of all of Schumann’s piano works, and I have most of them). I can highly recommend this as a secondary source, despite the absence of fingerings. Bauer’s pedallings are always worth trying out, but what I find especially helpful are his ingenious hand redistributions. His solutions might not be immediately apparent but they usually work a treat. How many players must have struggled with this unfriendly-looking spot:

Here is Harold Bauer’s solution (note that he dispenses with the three-stave format, and puts the whole piece onto two staves):

Bauer’s Schumann editions for Schirmer appear to be out of print, but it is possible to pick them up online with a little digging. The Romances, op 28 were published together with the Arabesque, op 18 and the Blumenstück, op 19 as volume 1686 in the Schirmer catalogue. 

I discovered a rare edition by Leopold Godowsky in the Petrucci Library. Again, this has editorial tampering that belongs to a bygone age, but if used as a supplement to an Urtext score can provide plenty of food for thought – as well as some excellent fingering. 

This recording by Emil Gilels at first sounds very slow, but you will hear he is savouring every note, projecting the thumb lines and putting the arpeggiated chords way in the background. His control of sound and texture is second to none.

I have also published a detailed walk-through of this piece as part of my collection of resources for Grade 8 of the 2021 & 2022 ABRSM piano examination syllabus. Click here to view it on the Online Academy.

***   ***   ***

If you enjoyed this article then please click here if you’d like to sign-up to our mailing list to receive future articles, content updates and special offers. You may also be interested in the following resources:

Practising the Piano eBook Series 

There are surprisingly few books that deal with the art of practising. This multimedia eBook series contains hundreds of videos, audio clips, music examples and downloadable worksheets to show you exactly what need to do in order to get the most out of your practice time. Click here for more information.

Practising the Piano Online Academy

Building on my blog posts and eBook series, the Online Academy takes my work to the next level with a comprehensive library of lessons, masterclasses and resources combined with insights from other leading experts. Aimed at piano teachers and pianists, it will transform the way you approach playing or teaching the piano!

Please click here to find out more about the Online Academy or on one of the options below to subscribe:

  • Monthly subscription – Subscribe for £13.99 a month to get full, unlimited access to all Online Academy articles and updates (click here to sign-up for this option)
  • Annual subscription – Save on the monthly subscription with an annual subscription for £119.99 per year and get free eBooks and editions worth over £70! (click here to sign-up for this option)

Tags: Clara SchumannEmil GilelsHarold BauerRobert SchumannRomance in F sharp major

Related Posts

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

By Graham Fitch, 2015-06-04
Posted in: Blog

It's years since I last saw The Wizard of Oz. Remember the story? The Good Witch of the North tells the heroine, Dorothy, the only way she can get back home after the tornado is to go to the Emerald City and ask the Wizard for help. She has to…

Read More

Tags: Chopin Waltz in E minorEmil GilelsGrieg NocturneWizard of OzYellow Brick Road
Follow the Yellow Brick Road
Brahms’s Buried Treasure

Brahms’s Buried Treasure

By Graham Fitch, 2020-05-14
Posted in: Learning Pieces

The six Klavierstücke that make up the op. 118 set were published in 1893 and dedicated to Brahms’ lifelong friend, Clara Schumann. In the late summer of 1893, Brahms sent Clara manuscripts of the pieces, which thrilled her. She wrote to him how remarkable it was that he had managed…

Read More

Tags: annotated study editionBrahmsBrahms IntermezzoBrahms Intermezzo in A op. 118Clara Schumann
Brahms’s Buried Treasure
Where Do We Find Musical Expression?

Where Do We Find Musical Expression?

By Informance, 2018-07-02
Posted in: From the Ground Up, Inspiration

This week’s guest blog post features an article on finding musical expression when learning new pieces by Ken Johansen. In this post, Ken suggests practise methods using examples from various pieces featured within his From the Ground Up series to help you discover an interpretation for yourself from the inside rather than relying on external…

Read More

Tags: expressionFrom the Ground Upinterpretationlearning a pieceRobert SchumannSchumann Album for the Young
Where Do We Find Musical Expression?
Beethoven Piano Sonata in C Major (Op. 3 No. 2)

Beethoven Piano Sonata in C Major (Op. 3 No. 2)

By Informance, 2021-12-09
Posted in: Learning Pieces

Pianist and captain of The Piano Boat, Masayuki Tayama, gives a guided tour of Beethoven’s third piano sonata in C major, Op. 2 No. 3.

Read More

Tags: beethovenbeethoven on board
Beethoven Piano Sonata in C Major (Op. 3 No. 2)
The Story Behind Chopin’s Fantasie-Impromptu

The Story Behind Chopin’s Fantasie-Impromptu

By Graham Fitch, 2020-10-08
Posted in: Learning Pieces

Even though the Fantaisie-Impromptu was composed in 1834, the world had to wait until 1960 to hear the piece as Chopin intended it. This much-loved work was made popular through the version published by his close friend and musical executor, Julian Fontana, but it contains quite a number of textual discrepancies.  How…

Read More

Tags: ChopinChopin fantaisie-impromptuchopin fantasie-impromptu
The Story Behind Chopin’s Fantasie-Impromptu
Bach, Trills & Creating a Singing Tone

Bach, Trills & Creating a Singing Tone

By Informance, 2023-03-16
Posted in: Learning Pieces, Practising

In this month’s practice clinic, Graham Fitch answers questions on fingering and executing trills, a Beethoven Sonata and creating a singing tone in Calme du soir by Moszkowski.

Read More

Tags: bachbeethovenfingeringMoszkowskiornamentspractice clinicsinfoniassinging tonetone
Bach, Trills & Creating a Singing Tone

Previous Post

Q-Spots Series: Bach Invention in D Minor

Next Post

The Fantasie-Impromptu

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

*

Sign-up To Our Mailing List!

Sign-up to our email newsletter for free resources, news updates and special offers!

TOPICS

  • Practising
  • Learning Pieces
  • Technique
  • Performing
  • Teaching

LINKS

  • Online Academy
  • Informance
  • Help & Support
  • Contact Us

© 2025 Practising the Piano All Rights Reserved

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
  • Privacy Policy
  • T&Cs
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website.OkMore Information