Ferdinand Ries was a German composer. Ries was a friend, pupil and secretary of Ludwig van Beethoven. He composed eight symphonies, a violin concerto, nine piano concertos, three operas, and numerous other works, including 26 string quartets. In 1838 he published a collection of reminiscences of his teacher Beethoven, co-written with Beethoven's friend, Franz Wegeler. Ries' symphonies, some chamber works—most of them with piano—his violin concerto and his piano concertos have been recorded, exhibiting a style which, given his connection to Beethoven, lies between the Classical and early Romantic styles.
Cello Sonatas No. 1 and No. 2, Op. 5, are two sonatas for cello and piano written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1796, while he was in Berlin. While there, Beethoven met the King of Prussia Friedrich Wilhelm II, an ardent music-lover and keen cellist. Although the sonatas are dedicated to Friedrich Wilhelm II, Ferdinand Ries tells us that Beethoven "played several times at the court, where he also played the two cello sonatas, opus 5, composed for Duport and himself". Although Jean-Pierre Duport was one of the King's teachers, it is now thought to have been his brother Jean-Louis Duport who had the honor of premiering these sonatas.
Ferdinand Ries composed his Cello Sonata in A major, Op. 21 in 1808, along with the C major, Op. 20 sonata while resident in Paris. However it was not until 1810 that the two works were published by Simrock with dedications to the cellist Bernhard Romberg.
Ferdinand Ries composed his Concerto for Two Horns in F major, WoO 19 in 1811, while staying in Kassel following his failure to obtain the position of Kapelmeister to the court of the Kingdom of Westphalia. Written for two virtuoso horn players in the Kassel Orchestra, Johann Michael and Johann Gottfried Schuncke, the concerto was premiered at a concert on 23 February 1811. Despite a favorable review of this performance, Ries elected not to have the work published, nor did he assign it an opus number.
Ferdinand Ries composed his Cello Sonata in C major, Op. 20 in 1808, along with the A major, Op. 21 sonata while resident in Paris. However it was not until 1810 that the two works were published by Simrock with dedications to the cellist Bernhard Romberg.
The Piano Concerto No. 6 in C major, Op. 123, by Ferdinand Ries was composed around 1806. Composed in a proto-Romantic style, similar to the concertos of Johann Nepomuk Hummel, it also shows evidence of the influence of Beethoven's C minor Piano Concerto, Op. 37 which Ries had performed at his public debut in 1804.
The Piano Concerto No. 8 in A-flat major, Op. 151 "Gruss an den Rhein", by Ferdinand Ries was composed around 1826 and published in 1829 by Simrock. While still showing the structural influence of Beethoven's piano concertos, the writing for the piano is more akin to that of later composers such as Chopin, Mendelssohn & Schumann.
The Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 24 by Ferdinand Ries, was composed around 1810 while the composer was living in Bonn. It appears to have been written for his father, Franz Anton Ries, who gave the first performance of the work at a concert in Bonn on 15 December 1810.
The Trio for Piano, Clarinet and Cello in B-flat major, Op. 28, was composed by Ferdinand Ries in either Bonn in 1809 or Aachen in 1810 during the period he left Vienna to avoid being drafted into the Austrian army. It was published in 1811 by Simrock with a dedication to a Mademoiselle Clairette Ludwigs.
Ferdinand Ries composed his Clarinet Sonata in G minor, Op. 29, in Bonn in 1809 according to his thematic catalog, but it was not published until 1812 by Simrock without a dedication. Its composition history is unclear but it may have been written with a particular clarinetist in mind. The work has sometimes been transcribed for violin.
The Flute Sonata in G major, Op. 87, is a composition for piano and flute by Ferdinand Ries that was published at The Regents Harmonic Institution in London in 1819. Little information about the works composition history is known as the composers manuscript is undated, but Alan Bradly in the preface to the score published by Artaria Editions indicates that the work may have been composed around 1815 along with a number of other works for the same instrumental combination.
Ferdinand Ries's Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 125 was composed in London in 1823, but was not published until 1825 by T. Boosey & Co. It is one of the final instrumental sonatas published by the composer before his death in 1838.
The Piano Concerto No. 5 in D major, Op. 120 "Concerto Pastorale", by Ferdinand Ries was composed between 1813 and 1816 and published in 1823 by the firm of Sauer & Leidesdorf with a dedication to Prince Oscar of Sweden.
The Piano Concerto No. 4 in C minor, Op. 115 by Ferdinand Ries was composed in Bonn in 1809 but was not published until 1823 when it was released by both H.A. Probst of Leipzig and Birchall & Cº of London with a dedication to Ignaz Moscheles.
Ferdinand Ries composed his Violin Sonata in A-flat major, WoO. 5 in 1800, when he was 18 years old. There is no evidence the work was performed during the composer's lifetime, and it remained unpublished at his death. The manuscript survives at the Berlin State Library.
Ferdinand Ries composed his Violin Sonata in E-flat major, WoO. 7 in 1804, when he was 22 years old. Surviving in manuscript form in the Berlin State Library, there is no evidence the work was performed during the composer's lifetime and was amongst a number of compositions that remained unpublished at the composers death.
Ferdinand Ries's Violin Sonata in E-flat major Op. 18, was published in 1810 by Simrock with a dedication to a "Mademoiselle Maria Held". As with all of the composers published violin sonatas the work is for piano with violin accompaniment.
Ferdinand Ries's Violin Sonata in D minor, Op. 83, was composed in Paris in 1808, the same year as the composer's violin sonata Op. 10 and the Op. 20 and Op. 21 cello sonatas. The composition was not published, however, until 1818, after he had moved to London, in a simultaneous edition by both Clementi & Co and Chappell & Co. with a dedication to the "Princess Hatzfeld".
Ferdinand Ries's Violin Sonata in F minor, Op. 19, was published in 1810 by Simrock with a dedication to two friends, Franz Christian Kirchhoffer and composer Ludwig Wilhelm Maurer. As with all of the composers published violin sonatas the work is, like many of the composers flute sonatas, for piano with the second instrument, in this case the violin providing accompaniment.
Ferdinand Ries composed the Violin Sonata in B-flat major, Op. 10 in 1808, while he was in Paris. During the same period he also composed his Op. 20 & Op. 21 cello sonatas and a D-minor violin sonata that remained unpublished until 1818. The B-flat major sonata was first published in 1810 by both Breitkopf & Härtel and Simrock with a dedication to a "Monsieur Eichhof, directeur Général de l'Octroi de Navigation du Rhein". Subsequent editions were published in the 1820s.
