

Rodolphe Kreutzer
42 Etudes for Violin solo
Published in early 1806, Kreutzer’s “40 Études ou Caprices” for violin – there are 42 today – are the product of his years-long employment at the Conservatoire de Paris and are the most comprehensive collection of studies from his quill. Their systematic and complete reappraisal of essential violin technique make them an indispensable tool of the trade for every serious student of the violin (conservatory level). In the intervening two centuries, numerous reprints by various publishers followed the Parisian first edition, frequently adapted by famous soloists and teachers. Just a few years after the first edition, Kreutzer published a complete revision of this standard work in which he exchanged or heavily altered etudes. This second version of the collection forms the basis for our Urtext edition, which nevertheless presents the variants from the early edition as well. The virtuoso and sought-after violin pedagogue Ingolf Turban acted as a consultant for this edition and furnished it with modern markings so that it provides an ideal foundation for contemporary violin instruction.
Read more about this edition in the Henle Blog.
Content/Details
About the Composer
Rodolphe Kreutzer
Violinist, composer, teacher and conductor from France. Acclaimed in equal measure as a virtuoso and composer, he went on to hold the most prestigious musical positions of the time over the course of his career and moved in the highest circles. His compositions include numerous stage works, violin concertos, symphonies as well as chamber music.
1766 | He is born on 16 November in Versailles, the son of a musician. He receives violin lessons from an early age from his father. |
1778–80 | He receives lessons in composition and violin with Anton Stamitz. |
1780 | On 25 May he performs a concerto by his teacher Stamitz as part of the Concerts spirituels in Paris. |
1784 | Kreutzer performs his first violin concerto at the Concerts spirituels. |
1785 | Following the death of his parents he is given special support by Queen Marie Antoinette and the Duke of Artois. He becomes a member of the royal court orchestra, performs more of his own violin concertos and composes chamber music. |
from 1789 | As an acclaimed virtuoso, he moves to Paris. His operas “Paul et Virginie” (1791) and “Lodoïska” (1792) both enjoy great success at the Comédie-Italienne. |
from 1793 | Kreutzer is a violin teacher at the Institut national de la musique. He moves in aristocratic circles, and his salon becomes one of the most important meeting places for cultural exchange in Paris. |
1796/98 | Concert tours take Kreutzer to Germany, Austria and Italy among other places. |
from 1801 | As solo violinist at the Opéra he succeeds Pierre Rode. |
1802 | He becomes a member of Napoleon’s chapel orchestra. |
1806 | He becomes a member of Napoleon’s private orchestra. |
1810 | A broken arm brings Kreutzer’s solo career to an end, although he is still able to play in the orchestras. |
1815 | He is appointed to the post of Maître de chapelle du roi. |
1817 | Kreutzer becomes 1st conductor of the Opéra. |
1824–26 | He becomes musical director of the Opéra. |
1831 | Kreutzer dies on 6 January in Geneva. |
About the Authors

Norbert Gertsch (Editor)
Dr. Norbert Gertsch, born in 1967 in Rheinkamp/Moers, studied piano solo at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and read musicology and philosophy at the Paris Lodron University in Salzburg and the Ruperto Carola University Heidelberg on a scholarship from the “Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes”. In 1996 he wrote his doctoral thesis on Ludwig van Beethoven’s Missa solemnis (as part of the New Complete Edition) under Ludwig Finscher.
In the following year, he began to work at G. Henle Publishers, initially as an editor for electronic publishing. After working on a two-year project (1999–2000) sponsored by the German Research Foundation (DFG) preparing a new Beethoven Catalogue of Works, he became a scholarly editor at G. Henle Publishers. In 2003 he became Editor-in-Chief, in 2009 Deputy Managing Director and Head of Publishing. As of 1 January 2024, the Executive Board of the Günter Henle Foundation has appointed Dr. Norbert Gertsch, as the new managing director, succeeding Dr. Wolf-Dieter Seiffert.
Gertsch has published many Urtext editions for G. Henle Publishers, including volumes for a new edition of Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas together with Murray Perahia.

Ingolf Turban (Additional markings and practical comments)
Product Safety Informations (GPSR)

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Norbert Gertsch zeichnet im Vorwort zur Urtextausgabe wunderbar die zum Teil abenteuerliche Hintergrundgeschichte der Etüden nach. So klärt er zum Beispiel das Rätsel um die Frage auf, ob es nun ursprünglich 40 oder 42 Etüden waren. Dank Gertschs akribischer Detail- und Quellenarbeit erhält der interessierte Leser im Vorwort sowie in den Bemerkungen am Ende einen umfangreichen Einblick in die verschiedenen von Kreutzer selbst überarbeiteten Fassungen. ... Die in farblich abgesetztem Graudruck gehaltenen Fingersätze und dynamischen Zeichen von Turban zeugen von einer sehr feinsinnigen, musikalisch klanglichen Gestaltung der einzelnen Phrasen und sind ein weiteres Highlight dieser Ausgabe. ... Es bleibt zu resümieren, dass es sich hier um eine sehr empfehlenswerte Ausgabe handelt.
das Orchester, 2020Cette nouvelle parution de Henle – sortie à l’automne 2019 – est basée surtout sur la première édition et le manuscrit contenant 25 études et 3 esquisses. Elle présente les coups d’archet et les doigtés originaux de Kreutzer. Des doigtés alternatifs et des courtes explications de travail, préparés par Ingolf Turban, conformes aux habitudes de jeu actuels, sont imprimés en gris pour les distinguer des annotations de l’auteur. Grâce aux pages pliantes aucune tourne est nécessaire. Un vrai bonheur dans le travail! Il ne reste plus, chers élèves, qu’à plonger dans le contenu et grimper les marches vers l’excellence!
L’éducation musicale, 2021recommendations
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