In the middle of the 19th century when Europe was overwhelmed by revolutionary upheavals Robert Schumann wrote '',.. it is in music only that I could find an alternative to the atrocities that were intruding from the outside.'' ''The Christmas Album'' composed by him in September of 1848 was a sound contrast to the reality. It was renamed in its first edition by the editor J. Schubert who found the author's title unpractical and gave it a new one ''40 Piano Pieces for Children''. The composition received its final name ''Album for the Young'' in the 2nd edition that appeared within the composer's lifetime. Schumann himself wrote about this work ''. . . these are my youngest musical children that are especially dear to my heart, they have just come from the family circle. The first piece was composed by me, in fact, for our eldest child by his birthday, then the pieces came one after another. I felt as if started composing for the first time. You can feel the old humour sometimes. These pieces differ considerably from ''Children Scenes''. ''Children Scenes'' is a reflection of the past by the eyes of the adult and for the adult while ''The Christmas Album'' looks forward rather than behind, it has premonitions and the pictures of the future for the more young''. Contents: A Canon Remembrance The Stranger * * War Song Sheherazade ''Gathering of the grapes -merry time!'' Theme Mignon Italian Mariners' Song Sailors' Song Winter Time I Winter Time II A Little Fugue Northern Song Figured Choral New Year's Eve