SKU: BR.EB-9441

ISBN 9790004189184. 9 x 12 inches.

The two sonatas of Johannes Brahms's op. 120 are widely hailed as crowning points of the repertoire for clarinet and piano. Moreover, in the version for viola and piano arranged by Brahms himself, they rank among the most frequently played viola works of the 19th century. They far surpass in compositional substance the relatively few original sonatas written for these instrumentations during the same period.Of the two fellow works, the Sonata No. 2 in E flat major is the more accessible. Diverging from the classical-romantic tradition, Brahms used the key of E flat major here not to express the heroic or monumental, but to obtain lyrical, chiefly restrained characterizations. The serenade-like beauty of the principal theme, which opens the sonata, has always been particularly admired. In his review of the world premiere, the renowned Viennese music critic Eduard Hanslick, a friend of Brahms's, raves with the words it was as if it had fallen from the Heavens. The closing set of variations also follows with gentle gracefulness this lyrical character. However, the middle movement, with its tempestuous outer sections in E flat minor and the hymnic trio in B major provides a passionate and serious contrast, which allows the flanking idyll to unfold its beauties all the more insistently.

SKU: BT.SLB-02032701

230 X 305 inches. French-English-Italian.

Henri Casadesus was passionate about early instruments, as we know from a number of photographs showing him with viola d’amore, the subject of a manual he wrote entitled Tecnique de la viole d’amour. The Concerto en Ut mineur was first published in 1947 by Mica Salabert. The first edition gives the so-called “original” part for solo violocello together with the score which, according to the preface, has been adapted for viola or cello or violin by Casadesus. However, stylistic analysis of the piece, together with some musicological research carried out after the appearance of the first edition reveals that the “original” version for violoncello, on which the adaptation was supposed to be based, cannot be attributed to Johann Christian Bach, but is rather a work imitating his style written two centuries later. In spite of this, Concerto en Ut mineur encountered considerable success and continues to be studied and performed by both violinists and violoncellists today.

Henri Gustave Casadesus nourrissait une profonde passion pour les instruments anciens, qu’illustrent notamment plusieurs photographies qui le représentent avec la viole d’amour, un instrument pour lequel il écrivit le traité Technique de la viole d’amour. Le Concerto en ut mineur fut publié pour la première fois en 1947 par Mica Salabert. Dans la première édition imprimée du Concerto en ut mineur, la partie du violoncelle soliste était qualifiée d’« originale » tandis que la partition, d’après la préface citée, est la version d’Henri Casadesus, réadaptée pour alto, violon ou violoncelle. Toutefois, d’après l’analyse du style de la pièce et des recherches musicologiques successives jamais contestées du reste par la famille Casadesus il apparaît que la version « originale » pour violoncelle, de laquelle découlerait l’adaptation, n’est pas attribuable non plus Johann Christian Bach, mais aurait été composée selon sa manière deux siècles après. En dépit de cela, ce concerto a connu une bonne fortune et est encore étudié et interprété aujourd’hui par les altistes et les violoncellistes.