Robert Schumann

The 13 pieces comprising Kinderszenen last about 20 minutes and are played as a continuous set. Thus, after one ends the next is performed without the usual long pause between separate works in a collection. Here, "Bittendes Kind" (Pleading Child) follows the energetic mischief of "Hasche-Mann" (Catch Me if You Can) with a sudden and quite effective change of mood: now the child pleads and as listeners take in Schumann's music, they will be disarmed by the lovely melody and its completely ingenuous innocence and sweetness. The theme is a typical Schumann creation in its arched, short-breathed character and in its changing manner on subsequent appearances, where its cute charm eventually yields to a more serious and expressive demeanor. The melody is restated at the end in much the same manner as Schumann presented it at the outset, then meekly closes on a single ascending note as if the child is making one final, half-hearted plea. Like most pieces in Kinderszenen, this one is short, having a duration of a minute in a typical performance.