Sibelius: Romance in C Major, Op. 42

Description

When Breitkopf & Härtel published the "Romance in C" in 1909, it did so on a rather grand scale, which included the publication of Otto Taubmann's arrangement for violin and piano. The otherwise rather critical Sibelius enthusiastically gave it a thumbs-up to the publisher, calling it "excellent!" Nevertheless, this version soon fell into oblivion, while the original found its way into the repertoire as a worthy successor to the serenades of Dvořák and Tchaikovsky.

Taubmann solved his demanding assignment with amazing skill. The Romance is not a concerto movement in disguise, but features the dark, dense string writing typical of Sibelius. Taubmann literally draws the solo part from out of the string texture. with a masterly sense of dramaturgy, he doubles the piano and violin only in a few measures. Taubmann also sometimes deliberately leads the solo part with its open G string below the piano accompaniment, which is basically unusually low and notated over wide stretches only in the bass clef. This new publication now makes it possible to rediscover this effective arrangement of medium technical difficulty.