César Franck

Sonata in A - Andantino quietoso op. 6 - Melancolia

César Franck's Sonata for piano and violin is one of the most highly esteemed works in the violin literature, a masterpiece of cyclical form - with its grace and expressive power, it is almost paradigmatic of the era of musical Romanticism. The sonata was composed in 1886 and is dedicated to the Belgian violinist and composer Eugène Ysaÿe.

The composer's correspondence clearly shows that Franck was directly involved in the printing of his work. Consequently, the new critical-practical edition is essentially based on the first edition of the separate violin part and the piano part of the first edition of the version for violoncello and piano published during Franck's lifetime: numerous engraving errors still present in the first edition of the violin version have been corrected in this edition. In addition to the sources mentioned, the two autograph manuscripts of the violin sonata were consulted when individual readings needed to be clarified.

The edition also contains two small individual movements for the same instrumentation: the early "Andantino quietoso" op. 6 (1843), a testimony to the piano virtuoso Franck, who composed for performances with his violin-playing brother Joseph, and the "Mélancolie", first published posthumously (1911), which is based on a solfège exercise and, as with the violin sonata, shows Franck at the height of his creative powers.

An informative text section (German/French/English) on the history of the composition and reception of the three works as well as a complete list of sources, notes on the edition and a critical report (English) round off the edition.