How the (cradle) song ends: what is the final tone of Fauré’s Berceuse?

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Dominik Rahmer

Gabriel Fauré’s Berceuse op. 16, a captivating miniature for violin and piano, is hardly a problematic piece from an editorial standpoint. There is, however, one detail here that at second glance can cause a bit of a headache. Continue reading →

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So, how much bass do you want? Beethoven’s Sextet Op. 81b

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Annette Oppermann

 Wouldn’t you wonder, too, if you saw a sextet on a concert programme, and then seven musicians came out on the stage? That’s exactly what happens to many people when they open our Urtext edition of Beethoven’s Sextet op. 81b for 2 Horns and Strings (HN 955). For here besides the horn parts they find not four but five string parts – and with good reason: Continue reading →

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“La dernière pensée musicale de Chopin” – a Sham?

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Norbert Müllemann

Mystery swirls around Chopin’s Mazurka in f minor, op. post. 68, No. 4. Is this really the ‘Master’s last inspiration’? Continue reading →

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Sometimes you have to dig deeper! Or: What the violist should really play in Hoffmeister’s concerto.

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Norbert Gertsch

Most violists groan whenever the names Hoffmeister and Stamitz are mentioned. Too often, and over and over again, they have to spend time on these solo concertos under enormous pressure to succeed. Hardly any audition for an orchestra position takes place without one of the concertos (mostly only the opening of the 1st movement) having to be performed with piano accompaniment in the first elimination round. Continue reading →

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Missing bass octave in Debussy’s Prélude “Ce qu’a vu le vent d’ouest”?

Posted on December 26, 2011 by Peter Jost

Whether the Pope is infallible is anybody’s guess, but composers are certainly not – as can be proven by some of the mistakes in their autographs. Continue reading →

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Alta Viola – Twice is better

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Dominik Rahmer

Descriptions of musical instruments in older musical prints and manuscripts are often very individual and can give rise to speculation. For example, what exactly is meant by the term “alta viola” – a normal viola or a different instrument? Continue reading →

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How does Chopin’s Second Ballade end?

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Norbert Müllemann

Many pianists are familiar with the problem that there are different versions of the ending of Chopin’s second Ballade. The question is, why are there different versions and – perhaps even more importantly – which version is the “correct” one?  Continue reading →

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Beethoven, Für Elise WoO 59 – Do you strike the right note?

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Annette Oppermann

d or e – that is the question … when pianists sit down to play Beethoven’s “Für Elise”. Continue reading →

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