Fritz Kauffmann's Cello Concerto Op. 29

[tpaloj]

The recent Hans Franke and Kauffmann discussions have prompted me to study some of Kauffmann's music on IMSLP. It couldn't be helped: the Cello Concerto (Op. 29, IMSLP) won me over from the start. There are no recordings of it, are there?

I'd like to make a humble request to any members here: does anyone have the cello/piano score at hand they'd be willing to photograph or scan for me? It'd be much appreciated!

I will try to finish a sample of the work in the near future for my youtube channel (just the Tarantella movement remains to be reproduced) so that it could be used as reference for any interested performers out there, perhaps

[Alan Howe]

I can't be of much practical help at present, but allow me to encourage you to pursue this project. Thanks so much for the important work which you will be doing to promote Kauffmann's music.

[Reverie]

The cello concerto is certainly a very fine work - I completed the 1st mov a while ago. Just wondering why you need the cello/piano reduction ?

[tpaloj]

The piano reduction certainly isn't mandatory, but just in case: with concertante works, some publishers in the past tended not to write all the dynamic markings, slurs etc in the solo part of a full score. For example, see Kauffmann's 2nd VC, where the short score has a more detailed solo part. I'll finish the work without it, of course, but it'd be nice to have as a secondary source.

Glad to hear you also liked the piece! I think I'll finish my transcription regardless, since I'm already quite well underway with it.

[tpaloj]

Here is the complete Cello Concerto by Fritz Kauffmann! The score and performing materials were published in 1899, but the composition date could have been earlier than that. I was able to find an article stating that this concerto was performed at a music festival in Dessau in 1899. The IMSLP page states at the bottom that it was performed in 1902 by the cellist Julius Klengel with Arthur Nikisch (is there any source/review etc. of this performance?).

This isn't the first digital transcription of the work: the full concerto has been uploaded on the MuseScore repository since 2020, and Martin/Reverie had already transcribed the opening for a video in 2024 (incidentally that video appears to be removed since then).

The digital solo cello in a transcription like this is far from the ideal expressive instrument I would have wished to present, but I hope the video can still convey a general idea of Kauffmann's music. The middle movement, for one, is stunning.

[Mark Thomas]

Thanks so much for this, Tuomas.

[Alan Howe]

All I can say is: Wow, what a piece! This is proof, if indeed it was needed, that Kauffmann was a very fine composer. Thanks, so much, Tuomas for this magnificent realisation of an important missing piece in the cello repertoire jigsaw. If the 'Franke affair' has achieved anything, it's the rediscovery of Fritz Kauffmann. We should all be thoroughly grateful that he has at last emerged from the fog of obscurity perpetrated by the plagiarist Hans Franke.

[Ilja]

Tuomas, although I was aware you were working on this, the result is better than I dared to hope for. Alan's absolutely right in considering Kauffmann's emergence from neglect the best thing to come out of the unraveling of Hans Franke's "legacy" sofar. Many, many thanks for your work.

[tpaloj]

Thank you, all    It's a real "page-turner" of a concerto in my mind, and putting the score together came about much faster than I thought. Something about following the composer's clear and effective orchestration makes creating transcriptions like these a breeze.

It's unfortunate this concerto has slipped past recording companies for so long. Fleisher Library in Philadelphia has the full score and parts, and a piano reduction with the soloist's part can be found in the catalogue of RCM in London – it would not be hard for orchestras to source these. If there was any hope with Hyperion these days, this piece would make an obvious candidate for the Romantic Cello Concerto series #8...

[Alan Howe]

It's unfortunate this concerto has slipped past recording companies for so long

I hadn't even heard of Fritz Kauffmann before the Franke affair. Had anyone?

[eschiss1]

Yes.

[promusician]

Here is the complete Cello Concerto by Fritz Kauffmann! The score and performing materials were published in 1899, but the composition date could have been earlier than that. I was able to find an article stating that this concerto was performed at a music festival in Dessau in 1899. The IMSLP page states at the bottom that it was performed in 1902 by the cellist Julius Klengel with Arthur Nikisch (is there any source/review etc. of this performance?).

This isn't the first digital transcription of the work: the full concerto has been uploaded on the MuseScore repository since 2020, and Martin/Reverie had already transcribed the opening for a video in 2024 (incidentally that video appears to be removed since then).

The digital solo cello in a transcription like this is far from the ideal expressive instrument I would have wished to present, but I hope the video can still convey a general idea of Kauffmann's music. The middle movement, for one, is stunning.

I can try with my Cinematic Solo Strings Library to improve the realism of the cello part, so far I find the strings section of this sample library is pretty good, of course, when pairing with Noteperformer

[eschiss1]

Re the 1902 performance: I probably wrote that and will try to re-find my source for that, I'm guessing it was somewhere in the Neue Zeitschrift. I'm sure there was an earlier performance than that that I just hadn't found...

It's not listed in the Gewandhausorchester archiv, though the Klengel/Nikisch premiere in 1911 of Stephan Krehl's G minor concerto Op.37 is...

[Reverie]

Tuomas - well done for completing it! Wonderful to hear it all. Are you thinking of the violin concerto next      (that's pretty fine too from the bits I've looked at)

[Alan Howe]

Yes.

Ah, but your breadth of knowledge is truly unique, dear Eric!