Georg Christoph Wagenseil’s (1715–77) concerto for four harpsichords, scored without orchestra, remains the only known work of its kind based on entirely original material. There are no other known works for four harpsichords besides Bach’s concerto in A minor for four harpsichords and strings, BWV 1065, itself an adaptation of Vivaldi’s four-violin concerto in B minor, RV 580. Wagenseil’s concerto provides an interesting footnote in the development of historical keyboard instruments. Alongside a few other Viennese keyboard works, the concerto features large bass intervals necessitating the use of the Viennese short octave—a keyboard configuration with multiply split bass keys unique to mid-18th-century Viennese keyboard building. This fact further establishes the relevance of early Viennese keyboard instruments in historical keyboard performance. Several aspects of performance practice unique to Wagenseil’s concerto are discussed in the introduction to the edition: continuo realization for a keyboard concerto without orchestra, negotiating the requirements of the Viennese short octave on instruments with chromatic keyboards, and interpreting the notational idiosyncrasies of the manuscript source.

Over 200 works of the well-known Edition Eulenburg series of scores from orchestral and choral literature, chamber music and music theatre are now available in digital format. You can now enjoy the yellow study scores digitally with one click in excellent reproduction quality. Über 200 Werke der berühmten Edition Eulenburg Partiturreihe für Orchester- und Chorliteratur, Kammermusik und Musiktheater sind nun auch in einer digitalen Aufbereitung erhältlich. In optisch hervorragender Darstellung kann man die gelben Studienpartituren mit einem Klick jetzt auch digital genießen.

Accompanied by a booklet of music examples (108 p.: ill.; 21 cm.).

The first thorough English-language exploration of the concerto as a musical form, this is an oft-quoted, authoritative survey. Examining the social, economic, and personal factors that influenced the concerto's growth, the work also summarizes the contributions of theorists, composers, and musicians and defines the genre's terms and the changing nature.

Rachmaninoff's compositions for piano and orchestra won him an important position among modern composers. The works that made his reputation include these three piano concertos, reprinted from authoritative full-score Russian editions.

xv + 186 pp.

Valeria Z. Nollan’s biography of perhaps the finest pianist of the twentieth century plunges readers into Rachmaninoff’s complex inner world. Sergei Rachmaninoff: Cross Rhythms of the Soul is the first biography of Rachmaninoff in English that presents him in the fullness of his Russian identity. As someone whose own life in Russian emigration ran in parallel ways to Rachmaninoff’s own—and whose meetings with the composer’s grandson in Switzerland informed her work—Nollan brings important cultural insights into her observations of the activities of this generation of creative artists. She also traces the intricacies of Rachmaninoff’s relations with the women closest to him—whose imprints are palpable in his compositions—and introduces a mystery woman whose existence challenges our established narrative of his life.