Op. 82. Par ELGAR EDWARD. Edward Elgar spent the summer of 1918 in the countryside. In August he received reports of the approaching end of the First World War, and this good news so inspired him that he was able to finish an initial draft of his great Violin Sonata in barely four weeks. Writing about it in his diary, he notated laconically: “Wrote some music”. His wife Alice was more enthusiastic…

In 1848, the thirteen year old Henryk Wieniawski wrote the first sketches to his Polonaise in D major. The composition was published in Germany in 1853 as Polonaise de Concert in D major op. 4 for violin with piano or orchestra accompaniment. When the work was re-published in Paris (1858), the title changed to Polonaise Brilliante. Tremendously popular already during the composer's life time, this…

Morceau De Lecture Pour Trombone et Piano. Par GUILMANT ALEXANDER. Alexandre Guilmant was one of the greatest representatives of the French Romantic organ school, and composed almost exclusively for his instrument. A rare exception is this ' Morceau symphonique”, written in 1902 for the Paris Conservatoire' s annual trombone class competition. The charming piece soon found its way into the reperto…

Telemann's Sonata (solo) for traverse flute and basso continuo comes from his 'Tafelmusik' published in 1733, one of the most important instrumental cycles of the late Baroque period. The prominent themes of the Sonata, especially of the first and last movements, seem to have impressed G. Fr. Handel so much that he took them up in his Organ Concerto #15 in D minor. The edition strictly follows the…

Par SCHUMANN ROBERT. 'Andante and Variations op. 46 Anh. for 2 pianos, 2 celli and horn': even in Schumann's collected works, one finds such an unusual scoring only once. No wonder the piece was initially left unprinted and only first released as a posthumous work. Schumann's widow Clara and Johannes Brahms apparently fervently believed in the piece and organized a posthumous world premiere with f…

For Guitar Vol. 1. Par STOVER RICHARD RICO. The product of decades of scholarly investigation, Volume 1 contains 67 musical works by the virtuoso Paraguayan guitarist Agustín Barrios Mangoré (1885-1944). This is the first edition of Barrios' music based on all available sources: manuscripts, phonograph recordings and published editions (pre-1970s). Written in standard notation only, the two volume…

Par DVORAK ANTONIN. On 18 January 1887 Antonín Dvorák (1841–1904) started composing his Romantic Pieces for violin and piano, opus 75 (B 150), completing that version on 25 January. They were performed for the first time in a private house two days later, with the composer writing to his publisher in Berlin: ‘Played here yesterday and very well received.’ For this edition reference has been made…

Saint-Saëns: Havanaise in E major Op. 83 Breitkopf Urtext - ed. by Christiane Strucken-Paland - in cooperation with G. Henle Verlag A Cuban Dance from France The ?Havanaise? possibly has its roots in the friendship of the composer with the Cuban-born violinist Rafael Diaz Albertini. It is thus perfectly plausible that Saint-Saëns borrowed the Cuban syncopated slow dance Habanera out of kindness …