Viola sonata : Mendelsohn

[Acrobat]

Hello,
As a violist, i'd like to see what this sonata looks like, because i just found 1 recording on youtube of that piece,and it's only the adagio so...
Well, thanks if anybody has it, it would be cool.
Bye

[pml]

It’s unlikely to be posted, since it was never included in the so-called “complete works” back in the 19th century, and therefore its first publication is very likely to have been too recent to be uploaded here. A lot of Mendelssohn’s works fall under this restriction (though interestingly the string symphonies do not – but no one who contributes to the site has access to these, apparently).

Regards, Philip

[chimark]

International published an edition in 1994, so it should be easy to purchase. Not sure when the first publication was though, so it's rare that International is a first . . .


Mark

[kalliwoda]

Deutscher Verlag für Musik (now part of Breitkopf&Härtel) published this in 1966 as offprint (Vorabdruck) of the new complete edition.
This should be free by the "Urtext" provisions in the EU.
Worldcat shows other editions by Muzyka (1970), Amadeus (1990), Masters Music (2000), not sure if any of these or the International (1994) are reprints of the DVfM edition.

[pml]

There are various versions around as Kalliwoda points out, but generally these are not able to be hosted by IMSLP, according to Canada’s principle of Editio princeps, which allows a 50 year term for these sorts of works – which is why my first post stated that it was very unlikely the viola sonata would be available to be hosted at IMSLP; most of the Mendelssohn works which were not published in the Breitkopf & Härtel “complete” works edition have either only been published in the late 20th century, or in some cases have not been subsequently published at all (yet). It seems peculiar that we’ve passed the first Mendelssohn bicentenary year a couple of years ago and there are still extant works which are very hard to get hold of, but there it is.

Cheers, PML

[KGill]

Unless of course someone can find evidence that the sonata was performed publicly during Mendelssohn's lifetime - in that case, Canada's own Rule of the Shorter Term would kick in and it could be hosted here accordingly. If Masters or International reprinted the 1966 edition, that would mean it's public domain in the US; we know that it's PD in the EU according to the editio princeps statutes (which call for a maximum of 30 years, if I recall correctly). So actually, if the edition was reprinted by Masters and/or International after all, it would be a candidate for the US server even if it couldn't be hosted in Canada.

[Carolus]

The Masters is a reprint of the DVfM score. Editions first published in the DDR before 1978 or so were not accorded any US copyright protection - even if they have a valid notice. The contemporary DDR composers were back-doored under GATT/TRIPS, but any edition over 25 years old on 1/1/1996 was ineligible for restoration. Even many of those less than 25 years old on that date have now lapsed into PD as an NIE was never filed. As for Canada's version of editio princeps, keep in mind that the 50-year clock started ticking with the first performance of a work such as this if the performance (or recording) preceded the appearance of the work in print. The purpose of the editio princeps provision was to encourage publication of works of recently deceased (less than 50 years) authors while filtering out things of long-dead authors. The bar is set pretty high to obtain that 50-year term (as it should be).

[pml]

@ Kenny, unfortunately, public performance is the kicker – for a lot of the juvenilia, performances were only private ones at chez Mendelssohn in Berlin. The MWV may well have details of first public performances, but this is considerably recent (2009) to prevent being easily accessible for IMSLP contributors to consult.

@ Carl, indeed a large proportion of the DDR-published edition failed to gain protection at the time, but on the other hand it may not have received public performance until 1961 (at the earliest), which I think would be the fatal year in respect of the interpretation of the editio princeps. For example, the early operas/singspiels such as Der Onkel aus Boston have sat around for nearly one hundred and eighty years without a public performance – e.g. 2007 is the earliest date for a revival of that work!

So those works would have to go on IMSLP·US, I suppose. (I’d almost forgotten we have that as an option!)

Cheers, PML

[Melodia]

Well if anyone TRULY cares, the MWV is easily available via interlibrary loan, as I did that once. It's all in German though...

[Acrobat]

Ok, thank you very much, i'll try fiding it.

[Carolus]

As an aside, I was looking over Canada's law with respect to posthumous works again yesterday. The statute does not differentiate between private and public performances. It simply states that the clock starts ticking once a work is "published, performed, or delivered." This would presumably include even a case where the composer performed the work by himself on the piano (assuming he mentioned it in a letter or something). As I mentioned above, the intent here is most likely to prevent the type of absurdities which arose in the USA, where a newly-discovered work by a composer like Mozart could be locked up for 95 years. Similar to the USA, on January 1, 2003, all unpublished, unperformed and undelivered works of composers who died before July 25, 1947 entered the Canadian public domain. As in the USA, the only claim which can be made for such works is upon the edition.

[pml]

Thanks for that extra information Carolus – the public/private distinction was puzzling! Fortunately we are in possession of knowledge of performances for most of the Mendelssohn juvenilia – Felix’s parents helped get a lot of the orchestral and vocal works a reading in their Sunday soirées. (Case in point, the A flat concerto for 2 pianos just uploaded - premiered by Fanny and Felix.)

[Acrobat]

That's a nice piece of information
I live in France in fact