Czerny Violin Sonatas

[Martin Eastick]

This is certainly a must-buy for me!https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/carl-czerny-sonaten-fuer-violine-klavier/hnum/3097656.
I initially thought that one of these would have been his Op686, in B minor and published in 1842, but no! This would appear to be the early 1807 (already recorded) coupled with a Sonate Concertante in E flat - also without opus number. Now all we need is a premiere of the Op686!!

[eschiss1]

I hesitate to guess at the amount of almost entirely unknown Czerny out there, published and in manuscript. I hope to hear both of these works, anyway... thanks

[Alan Howe]

Agreed, Eric. It's mind-boggling.

[TerraEpon]

Well considering he has like over 800 published works alone...

[Alan Howe]

Wikipedia has this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Carl_Czerny

[izdawiz]

    and    .. not to mention  compositions without opus numbers 

[matesic]

I was beginning to think c.1000 compositions over a composing career of say 50 years is comfortable enough, but then I noticed just how many of them are variations and fantasies on other composers' works. Somehow he also found time to study unfamiliar scores, unless he went regularly to the opera and had a phonographic memory. Is there a recording or work anyone would particularly recommend, or is Martin's statement that "all we need is a premiere of the Op686" to be taken literally?

[Alan Howe]

No, Martin's statement was made in the context of his works for violin and piano, I'm sure.

[Martin Eastick]

Yes, Alan, I was referring to Czerny's violin & piano works - more specifically the sonatas! Op686 is the ONLY violin sonata (unless I have carelessly missed anything else from the R.Cocks listing of c.1860) amongst his myriad of works that have opus numbers, and was published during his lifetime (1842). Both those offered on the new CPO recording are unpublished works - and there may well be more..................!

Czerny, in his serious works (as opposed to those innumerable sets of variations etc. written for an apparently insatiable public, and, not to mention of course, his immense contribution to didactic piano literature), certainly produced many works in virtually all forms, of real substance and quality. However, music from his later years - say from 1840 onwards, has perhaps received less attention? It may well be that CPO WILL also record Op686 - one can but hope - and I would certainly like to hear this. In the meanwhile, though, I eagerly await the new release, and look forward with keen anticipation to hearing the Grande Sonate Concertante of 1848.

[eschiss1]

Among the still-unpublished works however there are also iirc about 2 dozen string quartets (a couple recorded- still about two dozen even if you subtract the one or two that have been published), many masses and liturgical works, etc. It was those, not his many fantasias (some of which I expect I would probably enjoy anyway), I had in mind. (And the best of his 11 piano sonatas - recorded by Martin Jones and the subject of an interesting, downloadable, dissertation - and other published chamber works seem to be fairly good.)

[sammygfunx]

Hi Martin,

Yes!  As far as I can tell, Op. 686 is the only violin sonata that remains unrecorded.  The Lessing/Klaas/Kuerti album is wonderful (I think recorded in 2013/2015 but not released until this past year).  I am hoping to record Op. 686 with the same violinist I recorded Op. 211 and 104, although still working out details/dates as we live in different states now    It is certainly high on my wish-list for what I hope to record this year, if I can find time for it.

Cheers!

Sam