The Fantasy Pieces op. 88 are Schumann’s first contribution to the genre of the piano trio and date from his very prolific “chamber music year” 1842. However, Schumann needed an unusually long time to give the work its final form: the Fantasy Pieces were released only in the autumn of 1850 after several revisions. The brevity and the modest technical demands of the four charming character pieces make them an ideal entry into the world of Schumann’s chamber music also for non-professional musicians. The Fantasy Pieces, taken from the volume Schumann • Piano Trios HN 916, are now available from Henle for the first time also as a practical single edition.