“Since playing on the Piano as a child Schumann’s Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood), I always heard it in my head with orchestral ‘dressing’. Schumann’s 200-birth anniversary in 2010 gave me finally the initiative to realize my youth’s wish.

The Kinderszenen are a touching tribute to the eternal, universal memories of childhood from a nostalgic adult perspective. Unlike his Album for the Young, Op. 68, the Kinderszenen were not intended to be played by children. Schumann claimed that the picturesque thirteen titles attached to the pieces were added as an afterthought – in order to provide subtle suggestions to the performer.

In working on the orchestration of this descriptive work, I wanted to preserve and even enhance the three different personalities of Schumann that are so obvious in the various 13 miniatures: the masculine, impulsive and impetuous Florestan, the dreamer and feminine Eusebius, and the rationalist and lucid Raro.
Thus vigorous Brass writing help to enhances the Florestan movements, soft woodwinds solos and dreamy string describe the Eusebius movements, and the whole orchestra illustrates the more ‘earthy’ pieces of Raro.
I allowed myself only one structural change: at the very end – as movement No. 14, I have re-entered the 6th movement (‘Important Event’): It reappears now as an Epilog to the entire work, but now in G Major – the main key of the work, orchestrated for the full orchestra.
Two separate orchestrations are available from KALMUS for this work: the first – for full symphonic orchestra, the second – for chamber orchestra.” Yoav Talmi