Fantasy pieces

by Harald Krebs

Fantasy Pieces examines from several vantage points a vital life-force of Robert Schumann's music, namely metrical conflict. Harald Krebs's imaginative yet rigorous study makes use of Schumann's fascinating projections of his own personality - the characters Florestan and Eusebius - as one means of addressing the biographical and aesthetic context of the music. Krebs develops an original theory of metrical conflict by adapting the concepts of consonance and dissonance to metrical analysis. He includes a wealth of illustrations from the whole range of Schumann's work and offers numerous insights important for performance. This is a book that will appeal not only to students and scholars of music theory, but to all musicians interested in the life, work, and unique personality of Robert Schumann.