Sketches (4) for pedal piano, Op. 58

This collection of short works was written during the same year as Schumann's other set of pieces for pedal piano (pedalflugel), the Pieces (6) in Canon Form, Op. 56. Neither collection is performed very often on the instrument specified by the composer, but played instead on organ and sometimes on piano. The pedal piano has a curious sound to modern ears, though it resembles the organ in its sustaining sonorities. The Sketches (4) comprising Schumann's Op. 58 collection are related in their sharing of a thematic germ in the first notes of their chief melodies. The first two Sketches are marked Nicht schnell und sehr markiert (Not fast and very marked) and exhibit thematic similarity in more than just the first few notes of their respective main themes. In the first Sketch (C minor), the opening theme appears as a hesitant march-like creation that moves forward in jerky motions, but amid a measure of pomp. In the second piece (C major), the melody is more grandiose and celebratory, quite festive and regal in mood. The third Sketch (F minor) is marked Lebhaft (Lively), wherein there is an over anxious running accompaniment in the left hand of a dramatic motif of six notes related to the themes in the first two pieces is heard. The last of the Sketches (D flat major), marked Allegretto, features a variant on that same motivic morsel, but in playful, jaunty music. All of these pieces are worthwhile efforts, whether heard on pedal piano or organ, or even on piano.