Music
1740 Improvisation for Lautenwerk
2016 SOLD for £ 2.5M including premium
On July 13 in London, Christie's sells the autograph manuscript of a work of instrumental music by Johann Sebastian Bach, designated by the reference 998 in the Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis (BWV). It is estimated £ 1.5M, lot 129.
This document is a masterpiece of spontaneity that brings us into the creative process of the most gifted musician. It was probably written in improvisation on the two sides of a reused sheet music. The sheet was later separated into two parts, presumably to facilitate its use.
The musical writing is easy but the creative impulse just missed to overflow the surface of the paper. The sheet is signed and titled in a poor French "Prelude (Fuga, Allegro) pour la Luth ô Cembal". The manuscript is complete of its three movements.
This music was composed for a solo instrument. The BWV classes it amidst the works for lute but Christie's catalog observes that this opus was not fully compatible with the lutes of its time.
It was probably intended for a Lautenwerk, an instrument similar to a harpsichord whose metal strings were replaced with gut strings plucked by quills. The mellow tone of a Lautenwerk supports a fast and playful music. The allegro of BWV998 can be danced.
BWV998 may be dated around 1740, at a time when Bach confronted the Lautenwerk with the lute for his friends. He owned two Lautenwerk. Besides his skilled hands, this instrument was never popular and disappeared almost completely. TheLautenwerck page in Wikipedia offers a recording of BWV998 on a recreated Lautenwerk.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's:
This document is a masterpiece of spontaneity that brings us into the creative process of the most gifted musician. It was probably written in improvisation on the two sides of a reused sheet music. The sheet was later separated into two parts, presumably to facilitate its use.
The musical writing is easy but the creative impulse just missed to overflow the surface of the paper. The sheet is signed and titled in a poor French "Prelude (Fuga, Allegro) pour la Luth ô Cembal". The manuscript is complete of its three movements.
This music was composed for a solo instrument. The BWV classes it amidst the works for lute but Christie's catalog observes that this opus was not fully compatible with the lutes of its time.
It was probably intended for a Lautenwerk, an instrument similar to a harpsichord whose metal strings were replaced with gut strings plucked by quills. The mellow tone of a Lautenwerk supports a fast and playful music. The allegro of BWV998 can be danced.
BWV998 may be dated around 1740, at a time when Bach confronted the Lautenwerk with the lute for his friends. He owned two Lautenwerk. Besides his skilled hands, this instrument was never popular and disappeared almost completely. TheLautenwerck page in Wikipedia offers a recording of BWV998 on a recreated Lautenwerk.
Please watch the video shared by Christie's:
1764 Private Music for a Viennese Prince
2015 SOLD for £ 270K including premium
The Viennese aristocrats loved maintaining orchestras for their private use. Contracts with musicians generally included exclusivity clauses.
In 1761 Joseph Haydn, 29 years old, was free following financial difficulties of his first boss. He was hired as vice chapel master by Prince Esterhazy. Esterhazy died in the following year. His brother and successor Nicolaus Esterhazy so acknowledged the exceptional skill of his employee that he gave up the exclusivity. Haydn will remain in his service until the prince's death in 1790.
On December 7 in London, Sotheby's sells the final for choirs, horns, oboes and strings of a cantata composed by Haydn in 1764 in the name day of his patron, certainly in Eisenstadt which was the favorite residence of the prince.
This manuscript, complete for that movement, is estimated £ 150K,lot 217. It includes 89 bars of music over 10 pages 34 x 23 cm. The staves traced by a clumsy hand and the autograph corrections confirm that this private piece was not intended for publication. The rest of this cantata is kept at the Library of Congress in Washington DC.
This manuscript is the authentic autograph version of this cantata, with an Italian text. This private music is indeed not easy to analyze even by the best connoisseurs. A Latin version was used at a time when the manuscript had not resurfaced. The manuscript itself has been subject to additions by an anonymous hand. These changes that hampered its reading are mostly erased now.
In 1761 Joseph Haydn, 29 years old, was free following financial difficulties of his first boss. He was hired as vice chapel master by Prince Esterhazy. Esterhazy died in the following year. His brother and successor Nicolaus Esterhazy so acknowledged the exceptional skill of his employee that he gave up the exclusivity. Haydn will remain in his service until the prince's death in 1790.
On December 7 in London, Sotheby's sells the final for choirs, horns, oboes and strings of a cantata composed by Haydn in 1764 in the name day of his patron, certainly in Eisenstadt which was the favorite residence of the prince.
This manuscript, complete for that movement, is estimated £ 150K,lot 217. It includes 89 bars of music over 10 pages 34 x 23 cm. The staves traced by a clumsy hand and the autograph corrections confirm that this private piece was not intended for publication. The rest of this cantata is kept at the Library of Congress in Washington DC.
This manuscript is the authentic autograph version of this cantata, with an Italian text. This private music is indeed not easy to analyze even by the best connoisseurs. A Latin version was used at a time when the manuscript had not resurfaced. The manuscript itself has been subject to additions by an anonymous hand. These changes that hampered its reading are mostly erased now.
1772 The Beginning of the Mass
2014 SOLD 580 K£ including premium
In Christian liturgy, the Kyrie is the song that makes the transition between procession and mass. Before entering the church, the faithful require the mercy of the Lord for the unbelievers.
On May 20 in London, Sotheby's sells the autograph manuscript of a Kyrie for four-part chorus and orchestra by Wolfgang 'Amadeus' Mozart, lot 199 estimated £ 300K. This unfinished work includes five pages in four sheets (three pages are blank) on a 23 x 30 cm format with twelve staves per page.
The document is neither signed nor dated. The handwriting analysis dates it precisely in 1772 during a few months spent in Salzburg when Wolfgang was 16.
The missed target of Leopold's trips to Italy with his brilliant son was to obtain for both of them a prestigious musical position in one of the many princely courts. Their come back to Salzburg after the second and penultimate trip coincides unexpectedly with the death of the archbishop who was for nearly twenty years the care taking patron of Leopold.
In Italy, Wolfgang showed the extent of his know how without neglecting religious music. It is logical that sacred music caught the attention of his father and himself during the interregnum at Salzburg.
Unfinished manuscripts are common throughout the career of Wolfgang They demonstrate his continuous attention to his work as a composer.
This manuscript narrowly missed to be lost. In 1938, a Jewish musician from Munich fleeing Nazi Germany purchases it in order to own a property that is more discreet than a big amount of money. He separates the title page certainly with the intention to reassemble the document in South America. The title page disappears when the ship that carried it is torpedoed.
POST SALE COMMENT
The autograph manuscripts in several pages by Mozart have become rare on the market. This one was sold for £ 580K including premium.
On May 20 in London, Sotheby's sells the autograph manuscript of a Kyrie for four-part chorus and orchestra by Wolfgang 'Amadeus' Mozart, lot 199 estimated £ 300K. This unfinished work includes five pages in four sheets (three pages are blank) on a 23 x 30 cm format with twelve staves per page.
The document is neither signed nor dated. The handwriting analysis dates it precisely in 1772 during a few months spent in Salzburg when Wolfgang was 16.
The missed target of Leopold's trips to Italy with his brilliant son was to obtain for both of them a prestigious musical position in one of the many princely courts. Their come back to Salzburg after the second and penultimate trip coincides unexpectedly with the death of the archbishop who was for nearly twenty years the care taking patron of Leopold.
In Italy, Wolfgang showed the extent of his know how without neglecting religious music. It is logical that sacred music caught the attention of his father and himself during the interregnum at Salzburg.
Unfinished manuscripts are common throughout the career of Wolfgang They demonstrate his continuous attention to his work as a composer.
This manuscript narrowly missed to be lost. In 1938, a Jewish musician from Munich fleeing Nazi Germany purchases it in order to own a property that is more discreet than a big amount of money. He separates the title page certainly with the intention to reassemble the document in South America. The title page disappears when the ship that carried it is torpedoed.
POST SALE COMMENT
The autograph manuscripts in several pages by Mozart have become rare on the market. This one was sold for £ 580K including premium.
1780s compiled volume of autograph manuscript of nine symphonies by Mozart
1987 SOLD for £ 2.5M by Sotheby's
1804-1805 A Sketchleaf by Beethoven
2012 SOLD 250 K€ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Ludwig van Beethoven is probably the most studied of all musicians. An autograph leaf of exercises or sketches forpiano, written on both sides, for sale by Sotheby's in Paris on October 17, is of great interest to specialists. It is estimated € 100K. Here is the link to the catalog.
This 22 x 31 cm folio was offered in the estate auction after the death of the master, in 1827. It was acquired at that auction by a great collector named Aloys Fuchs, who added a title "Skizzen von Ludw.v Beethoven's hand". In 1831, Fuchs presented it to Chopin with a dedication.
The work was known to friends of the collector André Meyer when it was framed and hanging on the wall in his home.This is by dismounting it in the preparation for the sale that the unpublished back was rediscovered.
This back page could be linked to the preparation of a sonata achieved by Beethoven in 1804-1805. The front side, which is ultimately less remarkable, is hardly datable.
POST SALE COMMENT
The passion for Beethoven is well alive : € 250K including premium.
Ludwig van Beethoven is probably the most studied of all musicians. An autograph leaf of exercises or sketches forpiano, written on both sides, for sale by Sotheby's in Paris on October 17, is of great interest to specialists. It is estimated € 100K. Here is the link to the catalog.
This 22 x 31 cm folio was offered in the estate auction after the death of the master, in 1827. It was acquired at that auction by a great collector named Aloys Fuchs, who added a title "Skizzen von Ludw.v Beethoven's hand". In 1831, Fuchs presented it to Chopin with a dedication.
The work was known to friends of the collector André Meyer when it was framed and hanging on the wall in his home.This is by dismounting it in the preparation for the sale that the unpublished back was rediscovered.
This back page could be linked to the preparation of a sonata achieved by Beethoven in 1804-1805. The front side, which is ultimately less remarkable, is hardly datable.
POST SALE COMMENT
The passion for Beethoven is well alive : € 250K including premium.
1808 A Creation by Beethoven
2016 SOLD for £ 380K including premium
Ludwig van Beethoven is a creator. In Vienna at the end of the decade of the 1800s, his musical activity is intense and multifaceted. He is sure of his genius but proclaims too loudly this high opinion of himself.
A musical autograph is surfacing from the collection of a bibliophile. This draft document consisting of two pages 20 x 30 cm with 15 staves per page is estimated £ 150K for sale by Sotheby's in London on October 20, lot 12.
This previously unknown piece helps to understand Beethoven's creative process here applied to his 5th Piano Concerto in E flat major. The composer wants freedom, in music and in politics. In this opus 73 he reinforces the role of the soloist in the face of the accompaniment and lengthens the duration.
The design phase of this concerto extends over several months, in an atmosphere of fear of war and hatred against the Napoleonic empire. The draft certainly laid down in the late 1808 interweaves the ideas that will lead to the first and final movement of the concerto, demonstrating that early in that new project the maestro had an overall vision of his future opus.
The concerto is completed in 1809 but Beethoven can not interpret it by himself due to his increasing hearing disability. This very innovative work that could not leave indifferent the music lovers gets a mixed reception two years later with a triumph in Leipzig and doubts in Vienna.
Beethoven created in this opus 73 the structure of the symphonic concerto that will so much inspire Liszt and Brahms. However he is frustrated by his infirmity and will not prepare another concerto. The name of Emperor Concerto popularly given to this opus displeases the maestro.
A musical autograph is surfacing from the collection of a bibliophile. This draft document consisting of two pages 20 x 30 cm with 15 staves per page is estimated £ 150K for sale by Sotheby's in London on October 20, lot 12.
This previously unknown piece helps to understand Beethoven's creative process here applied to his 5th Piano Concerto in E flat major. The composer wants freedom, in music and in politics. In this opus 73 he reinforces the role of the soloist in the face of the accompaniment and lengthens the duration.
The design phase of this concerto extends over several months, in an atmosphere of fear of war and hatred against the Napoleonic empire. The draft certainly laid down in the late 1808 interweaves the ideas that will lead to the first and final movement of the concerto, demonstrating that early in that new project the maestro had an overall vision of his future opus.
The concerto is completed in 1809 but Beethoven can not interpret it by himself due to his increasing hearing disability. This very innovative work that could not leave indifferent the music lovers gets a mixed reception two years later with a triumph in Leipzig and doubts in Vienna.
Beethoven created in this opus 73 the structure of the symphonic concerto that will so much inspire Liszt and Brahms. However he is frustrated by his infirmity and will not prepare another concerto. The name of Emperor Concerto popularly given to this opus displeases the maestro.
An unrecorded draft for #Beethoven's last piano concerto emerges for sale: #SothebysBooks https://t.co/EhZMii7c2c pic.twitter.com/12eCXoeVHs
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) September 16, 2016
1835 The Autograph of Melusine
2012 SOLD 430 K£ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Felix Mendelssohn was a child prodigy. His first symphonies for strings, written at the age of 12 years, already showa great maturity, and he wrote at age 17 (in 1826) The Dream of a Summer Night, a scenic music considered as one of his masterpieces.
His place in the history of music is considerable. Goethe compared him to Mozart whom he had met, but Mendelssohn is also and especially known for his revival of Bach's music. Schumann admired his genius.
Throughout his short life, his concert overtures demonstrate his desire to compose for theater. The autograph manuscript of The Fair Melusine (Konzert-Ouvertüre zum Märchen von der Schönen Melusine) is estimated £ 400K, for sale by Sotheby's in London on November 28.
This working document close to the final version of the overture is a precious assessment of the composition process of Mendelssohn. Written in Leipzig in 1835, it includes 45 pages of music. Here is the link to the catalog.
This lot comes from the family of Arturo Toscanini to whom it had been presented by Rudolf Serkin.
POST SALE COMMENT
This outstanding autograph manuscript was sold £ 430K including premium.
Felix Mendelssohn was a child prodigy. His first symphonies for strings, written at the age of 12 years, already showa great maturity, and he wrote at age 17 (in 1826) The Dream of a Summer Night, a scenic music considered as one of his masterpieces.
His place in the history of music is considerable. Goethe compared him to Mozart whom he had met, but Mendelssohn is also and especially known for his revival of Bach's music. Schumann admired his genius.
Throughout his short life, his concert overtures demonstrate his desire to compose for theater. The autograph manuscript of The Fair Melusine (Konzert-Ouvertüre zum Märchen von der Schönen Melusine) is estimated £ 400K, for sale by Sotheby's in London on November 28.
This working document close to the final version of the overture is a precious assessment of the composition process of Mendelssohn. Written in Leipzig in 1835, it includes 45 pages of music. Here is the link to the catalog.
This lot comes from the family of Arturo Toscanini to whom it had been presented by Rudolf Serkin.
POST SALE COMMENT
This outstanding autograph manuscript was sold £ 430K including premium.
1844-1853 Schumann between Faust and Madness
2011 SOLD 713 K£ including premium
For ten years, 1844 to 1853, Robert Schumann worked on his Faust. The first objective of the Romantic composer was to pay tribute to Goethe on the occasion of the centenary of the birth of the poet in 1849.
Considering the musical manuscript of Schumann's Faust, we understand why he did not succeed. The work contains several superimposed layers of variants, with different colors of ink and pencil.
This quest for perfection is yet during one of the most creative periods of Schumann. If he wanted his Faust to be appreciated as the best of his art, he failed. During his lifetime, these pages were not published and not completely played.
This manuscript of 122 pages 34 x 27 cm is indeed a remarkable entry into the genius and madness of one of the leading masters of music. Estimated £ 600K, it is for sale by Sotheby's in London on November 30. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
The estimate was well targeted. This remarkable autograph manuscript was sold £ 713K including premium.
Considering the musical manuscript of Schumann's Faust, we understand why he did not succeed. The work contains several superimposed layers of variants, with different colors of ink and pencil.
This quest for perfection is yet during one of the most creative periods of Schumann. If he wanted his Faust to be appreciated as the best of his art, he failed. During his lifetime, these pages were not published and not completely played.
This manuscript of 122 pages 34 x 27 cm is indeed a remarkable entry into the genius and madness of one of the leading masters of music. Estimated £ 600K, it is for sale by Sotheby's in London on November 30. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
The estimate was well targeted. This remarkable autograph manuscript was sold £ 713K including premium.
1847-1853 Manuscript of the 2nd Symphony by Robert Schumann
1994 SOLD for £ 1.5M by Sotheby's
Pre sale post by Chicago Tribune.
1883 Five Movements for a Modern Dance
2015 SOLD for £ 330K including premium
In 1883, Tchaikovsky proofreads his opera Mazeppa and conceives his next work which will be the orchestral suite No. 2. The romantic composer, influenced both by Western and Russian musics, will shake up the conventions to open the way for modern music.
The suite consists of five movements, for an orchestra of wind instruments in wood and brass, percussions, accordions, instruments of the quartet and a harp. The audacity of harmonies and tones is growing throughout the suite.
After an almost classical introduction (first movement), the next two are a waltz and a burlesque scherzo, burlesque meaning here that it is from folk inspiration. With the fourth movement entitled Rêves d'enfant (in French), the tempo slows for introducing harmonic melodies that anticipate the polyphonic music. The fifth movement titled Danse baroque is extremely fast (vivacissimo), on the model of the Cossack dance by Dargomyzhsky.
Tchaikovsky threw his first ideas on provisional drafts, abundantly reworked, which he gave or destroyed when the work was close to its final version. On May 28 in London, Sotheby's sells the working manuscript of movements 1, 4 and 5 of the orchestral suite No. 2, lot 303 estimated £ 250K.
Interestingly, the manuscripts of the movements 4 and 5 are mingled. The unconventional dreamlike lullaby of the fourth movement and the wild dance of the fifth movement are thus inseparable. They jointly announce the end of classical music.
The suite consists of five movements, for an orchestra of wind instruments in wood and brass, percussions, accordions, instruments of the quartet and a harp. The audacity of harmonies and tones is growing throughout the suite.
After an almost classical introduction (first movement), the next two are a waltz and a burlesque scherzo, burlesque meaning here that it is from folk inspiration. With the fourth movement entitled Rêves d'enfant (in French), the tempo slows for introducing harmonic melodies that anticipate the polyphonic music. The fifth movement titled Danse baroque is extremely fast (vivacissimo), on the model of the Cossack dance by Dargomyzhsky.
Tchaikovsky threw his first ideas on provisional drafts, abundantly reworked, which he gave or destroyed when the work was close to its final version. On May 28 in London, Sotheby's sells the working manuscript of movements 1, 4 and 5 of the orchestral suite No. 2, lot 303 estimated £ 250K.
Interestingly, the manuscripts of the movements 4 and 5 are mingled. The unconventional dreamlike lullaby of the fourth movement and the wild dance of the fifth movement are thus inseparable. They jointly announce the end of classical music.
1894 Passions for Beyond the Grave
2016 SOLD for £ 4.55M including premium
A child prodigy, Gustav Mahler becomes a conductor and uses his spare time for musical composition. His other passion is to Catholic mysticism despite he is a Jew. He is inspired by the symphonies of Liszt and Bruckner and by the grandiose construction of Wagner's operas.
Attending von Bülow's funeral in 1894, Mahler is dazzled by the ode to the Resurrection by Klopstock. He immediately begins his second symphony in five movements starting with the symphonic poem Todtenfeier which he had composed in 1888. The next phases form a dramatic crescendo leading to the exalted fortissimo of the fifth movement.
Mahler's second symphony is monumental by its duration close to an hour and a half and by its orchestra requiring 90 musicians accompanied by choirs and by soloists in soprano and alto. The conductor Semyon Bychkov comments : “At the end of it you feel that you have arrived in heaven having gone through hell”.
In 1965 the businessman Gilbert Kaplan is in his turn overwhelmed by the second symphony. He has conductor skills which he thereafter devotes exclusively to this piece.
Written from April to December 1894, the autograph manuscript of the second symphony in 232 pages 35 x 27 cm remains complete with its reworks, its withdrawals and its additions. It has never been bound.
Coming from the deceased estate of Kaplan who had acquired it in private sale in 1984, the manuscript is estimated £ 3.5M for sale by Sotheby's in London on November 29, lot 36. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Attending von Bülow's funeral in 1894, Mahler is dazzled by the ode to the Resurrection by Klopstock. He immediately begins his second symphony in five movements starting with the symphonic poem Todtenfeier which he had composed in 1888. The next phases form a dramatic crescendo leading to the exalted fortissimo of the fifth movement.
Mahler's second symphony is monumental by its duration close to an hour and a half and by its orchestra requiring 90 musicians accompanied by choirs and by soloists in soprano and alto. The conductor Semyon Bychkov comments : “At the end of it you feel that you have arrived in heaven having gone through hell”.
In 1965 the businessman Gilbert Kaplan is in his turn overwhelmed by the second symphony. He has conductor skills which he thereafter devotes exclusively to this piece.
Written from April to December 1894, the autograph manuscript of the second symphony in 232 pages 35 x 27 cm remains complete with its reworks, its withdrawals and its additions. It has never been bound.
Coming from the deceased estate of Kaplan who had acquired it in private sale in 1984, the manuscript is estimated £ 3.5M for sale by Sotheby's in London on November 29, lot 36. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Gustav Mahlers in Hamburg vollendete Auferstehungssinfonie am 2. Nov 16.30-19.00 in Hamburgs Lichtwarksaal zu sehen: https://t.co/KiE3lRtuhO pic.twitter.com/PZdU6xjkdq
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) November 1, 2016
1908 The Creative Process of a Russian Symphony
2014 SOLD 1.2 M£ including premium
Sergei Rachmaninov is the last great Russian Romantic composer. His music is inspired by Tchaikovsky and by the Russian chant, with generosity and sincerity.
The early ambition of this virtuoso pianist is the symphony. In 1897, Rachmaninov's first symphony is a total failure which causes him a deep depression.
Having achieved success with works for piano, he prepares his second symphony in 1907. Directed by himself, the first performance is held in St. Petersburg on January 26, 1908, followed immediately by another one in Moscow.
The autograph manuscript of the second symphony by Rachmaninov was unknown until its unexpected arrival on the market in 2004. Purchased by a foundation, it has been on view at the British Library but has not yet been submitted to a detailed musicological study that promises to be exciting.
This document of 320 pages 35 x 26 cm extensively corrected and annotated is indeed the sole support of the entire creative process of Rachmaninov for this symphony, from his first unpublished intentions up to the corrections deemed necessary by himself after the concerts of St. Petersburg and Moscow.
This manuscript is estimated £ 1M for sale by Sotheby's in London on May 20, lot 208.
POST SALE COMMENT
This outstanding manuscript has been sold for £ 1.2M including premium, in line with the estimate.
The early ambition of this virtuoso pianist is the symphony. In 1897, Rachmaninov's first symphony is a total failure which causes him a deep depression.
Having achieved success with works for piano, he prepares his second symphony in 1907. Directed by himself, the first performance is held in St. Petersburg on January 26, 1908, followed immediately by another one in Moscow.
The autograph manuscript of the second symphony by Rachmaninov was unknown until its unexpected arrival on the market in 2004. Purchased by a foundation, it has been on view at the British Library but has not yet been submitted to a detailed musicological study that promises to be exciting.
This document of 320 pages 35 x 26 cm extensively corrected and annotated is indeed the sole support of the entire creative process of Rachmaninov for this symphony, from his first unpublished intentions up to the corrections deemed necessary by himself after the concerts of St. Petersburg and Moscow.
This manuscript is estimated £ 1M for sale by Sotheby's in London on May 20, lot 208.
POST SALE COMMENT
This outstanding manuscript has been sold for £ 1.2M including premium, in line with the estimate.
