The Novelletten, comprising eight pieces, were composed between early January and mid-April 1838. During this period, Schumann (1810-1856)'s creative power reached an unprecedented peak. He successively completed masterpieces of piano music such as Kinderszenen Op. 15 and Kreisleriana Op. 16, while also working on works like the Fantasiestücke in C major Op. 17 and Sonata No. 2 Op. 22. Existing sketchbooks reveal that Schumann had decided on the title Novelletten from the very early stages of composition. It is the plural form of 'Novellete' (short story), which denotes something small by adding the suffix '-ette' to 'Novelle' (novel). Schumann was the first in the history of composition to use this title for a musical work. It is not surprising that Schumann, who often sought inspiration for his compositions in poetic literature, derived the title of this work from that domain. Speaking of the fusion of literature and music, two years prior, Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) had also created a new name for instrumental music in a narrative-poetic style, Ballade No. 1 in G minor. It is highly probable that Schumann, who highly esteemed that work, was inspired by Chopin's endeavor. (Schumann had met Chopin directly at the home of his piano teacher, Friedrich Wieck [1785-1873], in early October 1835.) Preparation for the publication of all eight Novelletten began at Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig after the summer of 1838, and they were initially intended to be dedicated to Chopin as Op. 16. However, in December of the same year, Schumann informed the publisher that he wished to designate the collection as Op. 19 and dedicate it to his friend, the pianist and composer Adolf Henselt (1814-1889). Three months later, in March 1839, Schumann changed the opus number once more; the Novelletten were finally published as Op. 21 in July of the same year. Unlike the title, the order of the eight pieces was not fixed from the outset and was even changed several times during the preparation for printing. From this, it is understood that the Novelletten differ from cycle works in the strict sense, which are generally performed in their entirety according to a fixed order, and today, performances of all eight pieces as a set are rather uncommon.