In 1849 Schumann gifted chamber music works to three wind instruments: the clarinet with the “Drei Fantasiestücke” op. 73 the horn with the Adagio and Allegro op. 70 and the oboe with these “Drei Romanzen” op. 94. In the first Romance we have a ballade-like mood in a minor. The second romance resembles a song without words and is in A major while the finale with its calling motifs and piano arpeggios recalls the popular poems of Northern Europe of the time. Composed in December 1849 the Romanzen were presented to Schumann’s wife Clara as a Christmas present. This manuscript does not survive but it has been possible to consult some autograph sketches for our Urtext. Theeditor’s preface and commentary provide extensive information about the sources and the textual problems encountered.

Beethoven composed his Clarinet Trios op. 11 and 38 in 1798 and 1802/03. The op. 11 was given the nickname “Gassenhauer Trio” because its third movement is a set of variations on a theme from Joseph Weigl’s opera L’amor marinaro (“Gassenhauer” means a “popular song”). Playing with many possibilities in these nine variations Beethoven sometimes lets the piano appear alone and sometimes has it rest. In places the mood is that of a sort of funeral march and there are harmonic and rhythmic surprises throughout. The op. 38 “Grand Trio” the later of the two was a reworking by Beethoven himself of his op. 20 Septet. He provided – as also in the case of op. 11 – an alternativeviolin part in order to give the work broader distribution and thus greater popularity. The violin parts are likewise included with our Urtext edition which – just as back then- makes it doubly valuable.

It is not known exactly how many violin sonatas Joseph Haydn composed since the authorship of several works attributed to him is uncertain. There is even some evidence that the present G major Sonata Hob. XV:32 may be Haydn’s only original work in this genre. The striking correspondence of its opening with the theme of the second movement from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Sonata in G major K. 301 which is likewise a two-movement violin sonata could be regarded as a conscious quotation.

Piano trios belong among the great genres of Classical chamber music and Brahms too turned his attention to this genre early on. He wrote his opus 8 in fall and winter 1853/54 thus at the age of 20. The two other piano trios were created 28 years later namely op. 87 in C major and 32 years later op. 101 in c minor. Brahms was working on another Trio in E flat major at the same time that he was working on the C major Trio however it seems to have been destroyed. He returned to his first piano trio in 1889 and revised it so thoroughly that he wrote to Clara Schumann: “I have re-written my B major trio.” The Henle Urtext edition reproduces the second version of the Trioop. 8 (published in 1891) first then follows this up with a reprint of the first version in its Appendix.

Debussy occasionally reacted to musical trends in his compositions as was the case with American ragtime. Aside from Golliwogg’s Cakewalk in Children’s Corner (HN 382) The little Negro is even today a standard piece in modern crossover orientated piano teaching. Debussy did actually compose the piece for a piano method namely that of Théodore Lack published in 1909. In 1934 the publishing house Leduc produced a single version in which measures 22 to 54 are repeated unlike in the first edition. The piece is not particularly difficult and is very effective. Debussy occasionally reacted to musical trends in his compositions as was the case with American ragtime. Aside from Golliwogg’s Cakewalk in Children’s Corner (HN 382) The Little Negro is even todaya standard piece in modern crossover orientated Piano teaching. Debussy did actually compose the piece for a Piano method namely that of Théodore Lack published in 1909. In 1934 the publishing house Leduc produced a singleversion in which measures 22 to 54 are repeated unlike in the first edition. The piece is not particularly difficult and is very effective.