This is probably the most popular of the nine pieces that comprise Schumann's Waldszenen, a late effort in his distinguished and considerable piano output that came in the years prior to his catastrophic mental breakdown in 1854. The composer always had been eccentric and often displayed nervous problems. Yet his malaise never seemed to spill over into his art with any detrimental effects. True, his late piano works often exhibited less freshness of invention and less rugged individualism than was typical of his keyboard music ten years before. That said, "Vogel als Prophet" (The Prophetic Bird) is anything but lacking in imagination or boldness of expression. It opens with a quirky, ghostly theme that oddly foreshadows the music in some of Prokofiev's Visions Fugitives of seven decades later. The music is ethereal in mood, seeming to playfully roam about the clouds—or, in this case, fly about the clouds. In the middle section, Schumann presents a serene, somewhat grandiose melody of Romantic temperament that very quickly yields back to the main theme. This effort must be assessed as one of Schumann's most prescient creations, auguring not only the Prokofiev work mentioned above, but even certain aspects of Impressionism. The piece typically has a duration of three-and-a-half to four minutes.

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Schumann's Waldszenen (Forest Scenes), Op. 82 (1848-49) consists of nine short pieces similar in style and spirit to the composer's Kinderszenen (1838). "Eintritt" (Entrance) features unusual, asymmetrical phrasing. "Jäger auf der Lauer" (Hunter in Ambush) is an exciting, technically challenging piece in the cast of a typical nineteenth century hunting song. The difficulties of "Einsame Blumen" (Solitary Flowers) lie in maintaing balance between the two distinct voices in the right hand; otherwise, it is simple and melodic. "Verrufene Stelle" (Haunted Spot) evokes an air of eerie mystery with passages in slow dotted rhythms, while the fast, tricky triplets of "Freundliche Landschaft" (Friendly Landscape) create a surprisingly poetic effect. "Herbege" (At the Inn) presents a variety of material that requires great sensitivity to balance.

The best-known and most striking piece of the set is "Vogel als Prophet" (The Prophet Bird); its cross-relations, incomplete melodies, and extreme delicacy of texture create a weirdly beautiful atmosphere. "Jagdlied" (Hunting Song) is the second of the Waldszenen in this style and the example more typical of the genre. Rapidly repeated triplet chords both lend the piece rhythmic drive and pose a substantial technical challenge. The concluding "Abschied" (Farewell) is a touching song without words. Waldszen may rightly be regarded as Schumann's last really fine keyboard work. The diminishment of the composer's mental and emotional capacities in ensuing years led him to redirect his energies largely toward the compilation and revision of earlier works rather than the production of new music.

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