Blumenstück is a series of short, connected and thematically related episodes,[1] of which the second forms a recurring refrain while undergoing changes in both key and mood.
In his letter of 15 August 1839 to Ernst Becker, Schumann dismissed both works as simply delicate salon pieces fit only for ladies to play;[4] however, they both contain great beauty and are full of intimate charm.
[4] Both works were dedicated to Majorin Friederike Serre auf Maxen,[6] the wife of Major Anton Serre, who together lent Schumann great encouragement in his romance with Clara Wieck,[4][7] despite being close friends of her father Friedrich Wieck, who was implacably opposed to the marriage.
[8] Blumenstück features a falling four-note motif that Schumann had previously used to refer to Clara Wieck in Carnaval, Op.
[9] Rather than in his manuscript book, Schumann sketched Blumenstück in his Brautbuch; it was offered, along with the song cycle Myrthen, Op.