Its four movements; Allegro, a lovely Adagio cantabile, Presto and sparkling Allegro giocoso are a brilliant testament to his prodigious writing gifts.
A possible reason for its popularity was its light-hearted nature, with its six movements in the style of a divertimento; welcomed by listeners as entertainment, like a serenade.
This meticulously presented score including a detailed preface and a critical commentary is part of Breitkopf’s series of chamber music by Busch.
Earlier composers had featured just one wind instrument with a string group. With his septet, Beethoven paved the way for others. Each instrument has beautiful solo passages (mostly the violin and clarinet), but the others come into their own featuring their special tonal qualities, including a long cello solo in the Trio, and tricky triplet virtuoso passages for the horn.
SONATA NO. 1 in E minor, OP.73 for Violin & Piano Joachim Raff (1822-1882) BREITKOPF Urtext EB 9386 The first of Raff’s five violin sonatas is titled “Grand Sonata” which like Schumann’s grand second sonata in D minor, implies virtuosity and expansiveness. Its four movement are headed Allegro, (Agitated with elegiac pathos), Scherzo (Very fast and fine), Adagio (Not too slow) and Presto (Agitated, very determined). Raff was close to Brahms during its creation, continuing the tradition of sonata form. It was first played in 1854 by violinist Ferdinand Laub at Liszt’s house to illustrious guest Hector Berlioz and a few days later, Raff played the work with Joseph Joachim at another private gathering in Weimar. In subsequent public performances the critics were not impressed with the complexity and general nature of the work; however the public was quick to sing its praises. Despite its popularity at the time, it fell into oblivion. Raff’s music was admired by Mendelssohn, Liszt, Bulow, Clara Schumann, Brahms and Joachim. His prolific output produced 11 symphonies, violin and cello concertos, chamber music, piano works, operas and much more. It is said that his symphonies influenced Bruch, Strauss and Sibelius. This much-neglected composer is now making a deserved comeback, with this brilliant Urtext edition fastidiously edited by Franziska and Lion Gallusser helping the cause. Violin and piano sonata duos are sure to revel in its dramatic virtuoso passages and poetic beauty.
SEPTET in E flat, Op.20 Beethoven BĀRENREITER URTEXT Score TP 944 & Parts BA 10944 Scored for clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola, cello and double bass, the Septet premiered at Beethoven’s benefit concert in Vienna in April 1800. He had composed this large ensemble work at the same time as his First Symphony, which was also on the program, along with his piano concerto, a Mozart symphony, excerpts from Haydn’s Creation and a few improvisations with Beethoven at the piano. Concerts were long in those days. However these sponsored events had commercial value as well as audience appeal, and his publisher, at his suggestion, soon printed the septet in versions solely for strings, and as a flute quintet. Beethoven also transcribed it as a trio for clarinet, piano and violin. Within a year, the original septet was performed throughout Europe and had become hugely popular, so much so that Beethoven declared that it overshadowed works that were of greater merit or importance.
Despite Beethoven’s impatience with it, it remains one of the most felicitous in the entire chamber music repertoire. This beautiful work from the burgeoning 29 year old remans a favourite with chamber aficionados and still receives universal applause, as it did in his day. Bärenreiter’ scholarly-critical edition is everything one expects from this esteemed publishing house, correcting numerous earlier discrepancies to accurately reproduce the original notation.
SERENADE for STRING ORCHESTRA in C, Op. 48 Tchaikowsky (1840-1893) BREITKOPF & HĀRTEL Urtext Score PB 5721 Tchaikowsky’s symphonies, his violin and piano concertos, Romeo and Juliet and 1812 overtures and perhaps above all, his Swan Lake and Nutcracker ballet music are known and loved by music lovers worldwide. With already a great body of work behind him, in 1880 Tchaikowsky began sketches for a serenade for string orchestra. Later that year it received its premiere in Moscow and soon garnered widespread acclaim in many more performances. Walter Damrosch directed the work in New York in 1885 and the composer himself conducted it in Baltimore and Philadelphia in 1891. Tchaikowsky called the Serenade,”A piece from the heart”. Originally conceiving it as either a symphony or a quintet, he settled on a string work, specifying that he wanted “the largest number of strings possible.” Although it has its dramatic and even melancholy moments, the Serenade is sunny in temperament and overflows with gorgeous melodies. Clever use of double-stops contributes to the lush string sound. Its first movement pays homage to Tchaikowsky’s idol, Mozart. His second movement, a graceful Waltz, reminds one of his inimitable ballet tunes, followed by a poignant Elegy, while the Finale incorporates effervescent Russian dance and folk tunes. No other string work is so firmly entrenched in the modern repertoire, A fulsome Preface and detailed Critical Notes by editor Tanja Geschwind complements this splendid production of the full score.
VIOLIN JUNIOR – A Creative Violin Method for Children Ros Stephen SCHOTT www.schott-music.com www.schott-music.com/en/violin-junior/ welcome
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