Cello Sonata No. 4 (Ries)

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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. [1] It is one of the final instrumental sonatas published by the composer before his death in 1838.

Contents

Composition history

Little is known of the precise circumstances under which the sonata was composed until Ries offered it to T. Boosey & Co, along with several other works in August 1823. Only the sonata, the composers Piano Octet, Op. 128 along with a piano fantasia on a theme from von Weber's Der Freischütz were accepted with only the sonata and the fantasia making it to publication in 1825. [1]

When published, the sonata included an alternate violin part to the cello part, this leads Bert Hagels to comment that the work was probably not composed with a concert performance in mind, but rather was intended for sale on the British amateur/private music market for private performance. [2] As published the sonata was dedicated to Sir Herbert Taylor at that time serving as Military Secretary to the British Army, presumably as a means of increasing sales. [1] Cole Tutino notes that the composers manuscript bears a different dedication to a "Madamme de Montagny", and speculates that she may have been the intended recipient of the manuscript which currently resides in the Bavarian State Library. [3]


Structure

The sonata is structured in three movements:

  1. Grave —Allegro
  2. Larghetto con moto
  3. Rondo: Allegretto

Bert Hagels in his comments that the opening movement of the sonata has some structural (but not musical) influences from Beethoven's, Op. 5, No. 2 Cello Sonata, Tutino agrees, speculating that may have been due to the fact that Ries had once arranged Beethoven's sonata for string quintet. [2] [4] Unlike the flute sonatas the composer wrote in England, this work is scored for two performers of approximately equal skill level and like the other cello sonatas he composed is a true duo, rather than a piano sonata with cello accompaniment. [2] Tutino concurs with this assessment, pointing out that both players would require fairly advanced skills in their respective instruments to successfully perform the sonata. [5] Martin Rummel in the notes to the Naxos recording of the sonata broadly agrees with the previous authors, singling out the concluding rondo as showcasing both players abilities, he also noted structural similarities to Beethoven's Op. 69 Cello Sonata and suggests that while the Opp. 20 & 21 Cello Sonata's were intended for Bernhard Romberg, this sonata was aimed at a playing style similar to that attributed to Jean-Pierre Duport the cellist for whom Beethoven composed his first cello sonatas. [6]

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Ferdinand Ries composed his Cello Sonata in C minor, WoO. 2 in 1799, when he was 17 years old. While the work remained unpublished and does not appear to have been performed in public during the composers lifetime, it is one of the composers earliest surviving compositions, predating his period of study with Beethoven and is the first of four cello sonatas he composed during his life.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piano Concerto No. 6 (Ries)</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarinet Sonata (Ries)</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flute Sonata No. 4 (Ries)</span>

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.

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'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.

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