The Emotional, Dramatic, Fantastic Characters Of Schumann's "Phantasiest(?)cke" (Op.12)

Robert Schumann was one of the most important representatives of romantic pianists in the first half of 19th Century in Europe. Schumann was not only a composer, but also an outstanding music reviewer and litterateur, well known as "Leader of Germany romantic music". Schumann's music has very emotional contents, expressing his rich personal thoughts. All piano works written by Schumann are good examples for every piano learner to study and practice.This article studies "Phantasiestiicke" (OP.12) written by Schumann, illustrates Schumann's music style and understanding for creation. Meanwhile, by analyzing detailed performing skills, we get a deeper insight into Schumann's typical performing characteristics.This article is divided by five chapters.In the first chapter, we introduce the life of Schumann and background of creating "Fantasy Album", to better analyze this piano from artistic perspective.In the second chapter, we focus on analyzing lyricism of "Phantasiestucke". We further demonstrate through detailed examples in this piano to build a clear and comprehensive understanding of "Phantasiestiicke"In the third chapter, we study dramatic component of this piano. By studying the duality of Schumann's personal character, we identify root source of these dramatic components, and further illustrate specific dramatic characteristic in "Phantasiestucke"In the fourth chapter, we focus on the fantasy of this piano with detailed analysis on "Subject", "Image of Music" and "Vocabulary of Music"In the last chapter, the author further analyze the relations between "Image of Music" and "Keyboard touching style", coupled with personal practices with "Phantasiestiicke", in order to better understand emotional contents of Schumann's piano and improve performing skills.