That particular passage is very reminiscent of Chopin's first prelude... the beginning and ending phrases especially. Almost all of us pianists loved and appreciated Chopin for his masterful contributions to piano literature, though as much as we loved him, we'd like to break totally new ground in the romantic style, yet his influence is inescapable.
Wow, what a nice idea to compose a "novel" (Roman) in music! Especially Plauderei (conversation) is loveley and really captures the feelings of a couple talking. But the biography is really tragic..