Kinderszenen

Sef Albertz's unique version for Guitar Quartet of the celebrated piano cycle «Kinderszenen» by Robert Schumann.

"In the middle of July 1996, I realised for the first time my wish to combine the «Kinderszenen» (Scenes from Childhood) with the sound of the guitar. From this time dates the first version for solo guitar, which already timidly moves away from a simple transcription, which means beyond the mere note-for-note transmission. Due to the wide range of nuances and its own sound variety, the guitar can sound like a small orchestra, so it is not surprising that in this version for four guitars, the idea of an “orchestration for guitars” has become a compositional principle. Thus, new melodic lines suddenly emerge into Schumann’s original, or special emphasis is given to some melodies that had previously played a less important role. The interesting aspect of this work was to create a new poetic space in which the music seems as if it had been composed for this instrumental ensemble: for guitar quartet.

All in all, this music seems to be surrounded by poetry. While working on No. 12 (Child falling asleep), I saw my dear son falling asleep in my arms. This has stayed with me indelibly and has connected me forever to this music".

Commissioned by GfzM e.V. Leipzig.

World Premiere: September 11th 2010 (Mediencampus Villa Ida), during the Concert Series Leipziger Herbst Con Guitarra! (Leipzig).

Recorded by Sef Albertz on his concept album «Bunch of Strings».