Novelette - 'Novelette' in Music

'Novelette' in Music

The word was used by the composer Robert Schumann as a title for some piano pieces, a choice that reflected his literary background and interests. The music in question (op. 21, and op. 99 no. 9) is episodic, however, and does not especially resemble a narrative. He was followed by Niels Gade, Theodor Kirchner, Stephen Heller and much later by Poulenc, Lutosławski ("Novelette for Orchestra"), Chaminade, Tcherepnin, and George Gershwin ("Novelette in Fourths").