Sonate / Andantino quietoso op. 6 / Mélancolie

Pioneering new Urtext edition.

Informative text on the genesis and reception history of the sonata and its versions (Ger/Fr/Eng).

Two small individual movements for Violin and Piano published for the first time.

Detailed Critical Commentary (Eng).

Cesar Franck’s Sonata For Piano And Violin is one of the most treasured works in the Violin repertoire, a masterpiece of cyclic form with a gracefulness and expressive force almost paradigmatic for the age of musical Romanticism. This work was composed in 1886 and was dedicated to the Belgian violinist and composer Eugène Ysaÿe.

Franck’s correspondenceproves that he was directly involved in the printing of the sonata. Consequently, Barenreiter's scholarly performing edition draws mainly on the first edition of the separate Violin part. For the Piano part, the first edition of the version for Violoncello and Piano, which appeared during FranckFranck’s working copy and his fair copy) were consulted to clarify questionable readings.

Bärenreiter’s new edition also includes two short separate movements for the same instrumentation: the early Andantino quietoso Op.6 (1843), a hauntingly beautiful piece composed for performances with Franck’s violinist brother Joseph, as well as Mélancolie, first published after Franck’s death in 1911. This second piece is based on a solfège exercise and written at the height of the composer’s creative powers, at about the same time as his famous Violin sonata.

The edition is rounded off by an informative text on the genesis and reception history of the three compositions (Ger/Fr/Eng), a complete list of sources, editorial notes and a Critical Commentary (Eng).