Schumann asserted at several occasions that he wrote the Kreisleriana within a few days in April and May 1838, practically at the same time as the Kinderszenen op. 15 and the Novelletten op. 21. The composer aptly described the cycle as wondrously intricate despite its great simplicity, so eloquent, from the heart.

The present edition is based on the music text of the Gesamtausgabe of Robert Schumanns works, edited by Clara Schumann together with Johannes Brahms and others between 1879 und 1893. This publication is almost entirely free from arbitrary alterations in the text.