Scenes from Schumann was composed in haste (after many months of feeble doodling with some favourites of his Lieder for a handful of players) in response to a sudden, unexpected deadline.  Perhaps this piece should be the real op. 1 (it was irksome that, when I began numbering, it came out at thirteen!).  My feeling about this defiant denial of / escape from the imprisoning Zeitgeist was guilt, doubt, shame, fear;  but none of this is audible for a second in the notes: which also, from the very first rehearsal onwards, sounded right and good, pleased the (sometimes quizzical) players and then the (ditto) audience too.