Schumann’s Blumenstück in D-Flat Major: Vladimir Horowitz, Live in 1966
Robert Schumann described his Blumenstück (“Flower Piece”) in D-flat Major, Op 19 as “variations, but not upon any theme,” adding that “everything is interwoven in such a peculiar way.” Indeed, the brief solo piano piece unfolds in a series of dreamy episodes through which runs a common thematic thread. Following its initial statement, the opening episode fades into the background, and it is the second section of the piece which recurs as …