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A novelette is "a short piece of lyrical music, especially one for the piano". [1]
The word was used by the composer Robert Schumann as a title for some piano pieces, a choice that reflected his literary background and interests. The music in question (op. 21, and op. 99 no. 9) is episodic, however, and does not especially resemble a narrative. The name may also allude to Clara Novello. [2]
Schumann was followed by Niels Gade, Theodor Kirchner, Stephen Heller, Anatoly Lyadov, and much later, by Poulenc ( Trois novelettes ), Lutosławski ("Novelette for Orchestra"), Chaminade, Tcherepnin, Josef Tal, and George Gershwin ("Novelette in Fourths").