You sit, transfixed. A dream unfolds before your waking eyes. This is so-called daydreaming or reverie, the release of focus and care. Feelings recalled from childhood flood your consciousness, and for a few moments, the real and imagined worlds are one and the same. (Listen)
This is “Träumerei” (“Daydreaming”), by the 19th-century German composer Robert Schumann (1810–1856). It’s the seventh short piano piece in a set of 13 short piano pieces that he called “Kinderszenen,” which translates as “Scenes From Childhood.” Today Schumann’s best-known single work, it was at the time part of an effort to recover from a financial shortfall and marry the love of his life, Clara Wieck.
