Bunte Blätter
Bunte Blätter, Op. 99, is a collection of piano pieces by Robert Schumann assembled from earlier unpublished pieces after the success of the Album for the Young , Op. 68. Upon publication the pieces were issued both as a complete set and individual pieces, the latter in differently colored covers.
History
Robert Schumann started work on assembling the collection of pieces that were eventually published as the Bunte Blätter Op. 99 and Albumblätter Op. 124 in late 1850. His original plan was to publish the pieces as a single collection entitled Spreu. When the music publisher F. W. Arnold objected to the proposed title, Schumann decided to split the collection.All of the pieces used, were works that Schumann had composed in the past and had either not intended for publication, or had been rejected for publication with earlier sets of pieces. Ernst Herttrich in his preface to the Henle score, comments that the specific criteria the composer used to select the pieces included in either this collection or the succeeding one are unknown, though the pieces are organised loosely from least to most difficult. Dates of composition range from 1834 to 1849.
Many writers have pointed out that several of the pieces had personal associations for the author, for example, the first piece in the collection, was a Christmas greeting the composer had composed for his wife Clara in 1838.
Movements
| Title | Average duration | Key signature |
| Stücke I Nicht schnell, mit Innigkeit - Not fast, with sensitivity | 2:20 | A major |
| Stücke II Sehr rasch - Very fast | 0:50 | E minor |
| Stücke III Frisch - Fresh | 0:50 | E major |
| Albumblätter I Ziemlich langsam - Pretty slow | 2:00 | F♯ minor |
| Albumblätter II Schnell - fast | 0:40 | B minor |
| Albumblätter III Ziemlich langsam, sehr gesangvoll - Pretty slow, very songlike | 1:50 | A♭ major |
| Albumblätter IV Sehr langsam - Very slow | 2:10 | E♭ minor |
| Albumblätter V Langsam - Slowly | 1:30 | E♭ major |
| Novelette Lebhaft - Lively | 2:50 | B minor |
| Präludium Energisch - Energetic | 1:20 | B♭ minor |
| Marsch Sehr getragen - Very drawn out | 7:50 | D minor |
| Abendmusik Im Menuetttempo - Minuet tempo | 3:30 | B♭ major |
| Scherzo Lebhaft - Lively | 4:35 | G minor |
| Geschwindmarsch Sehr markiert - Very marked | 3:30 | G minor |