Presents
Ludwig van Beethoven
Piano Concerto No.1 in C Major, Op.15
Arranged for 2 Violins, Viola, Violoncello, Bass and Piano by Vinzenz Lachner
In Europe from around the end of the eighteenth-century and for most of the 19th century there was an insatiable demand for arrangements. Why? Today we take for granted the ease with which music can be heard. Compact discs and online streaming services are widespread and inexpensive. But in the 19th century, music-lovers could only hear music performed live. And after the French Revolution, European governments were highly suspicious of large gatherings of men and discouraged them by means of police surveillance, fearing revolutionary plotting. To rehearse and perform a symphony, of course, took a large group of men. Add to this that a huge new market for chamber music came into existence about this time as home music making became one of the most popular pastimes for the emerging bourgeois classes of Western Europe. Both composers and publishers, with an eye toward profits, made a regular practice of having chamber music arrangements made of large scale works by well-known composers. Unfortunately, many of these arrangements were unauthorized by the original composers and sold by unscrupulous publishers. Beethoven was well aware of this situation and lamented "Arranging is so in vogue nowadays that it would be futile for a composer to try to prevent it; but one can at least rightly demand that the publisher indicate it on the title page, so that the composer’s honor is not diminished and the public not deceived." But Beethoven also realized that there was money to be made in authorized arrangements and was not above even arranging such works himself. For example, he arranged his Symphony No.2 for Piano Trio. Of course, he was too busy to make more than a few himself, so he took to authorizing his friends and students to undertake such projects.
The practice of arranging large
scale works after a famous composer's death became even more common. Many got
their hand in but most of these arrangements were not very satisfactory. It is
not an easy thing to take a concerto for piano and orchestra and turn it into a
chamber music work for piano and string quintet. The result largely depends upon who was doing the arranging.
Vinzenz Lachner
(1811-1893 seen on the left), the
younger brother of Franz and Ignaz Lachner, was not only an accomplished
composer in his own right have written symphonies and chamber music works which
were performed in public, but also an esteemed conductor. His arrangement of
this work, according to the critics of the day and ever since, has never been
equaled. Lachner's work helped to popularize the concerto which otherwise might
not have received such a large venue. In all likelihood, Beethoven would have
been pleased.
Long out of print,, we are pleased to offer it again and recommend it to both professionals and amateurs will find it a very satsifying work. And in the concert hall, it is sure to make a strong impression.
Parts: $44.95
