Schumann Fantasiestücke, Op. 12, "Aufschwung"

Robert Schumann's Fantasiestücke, Op. 12, are eight pieces for piano, written in 1837. Schumann titled the work inspired by the 1814 collection ofnovellas Fantasiestücke in Callots Manier by his favourite author, E. T. A. Hoffmann, and dedicated it to Fräulein Anna Robena Laidlaw (1819–1901), an accomplished and attractive 18-year old Scottish pianist with whom Schumann had carried on a brief flirtation.

Schumann composed the pieces with the characters Florestan and Eusebius in mind, representing the duality of his personality. Eusebius depicts the dreamer in Schumann while Florestan represents his passionate side. These two characters parlay with one another throughout the collection, ending self-reflectively with Eusebius in "Ende vom Lied"


Here is a perfect interpretation of Aufschwung by Rubinstein....



Rubinstein plays Aufschwung