Pleyel, Ignaz (1757-1831)

Pleyel's output of concertos is comparatively small although the works were issued in numerous editions by European publishing houses during his lifetime. Perhaps the most confusing aspect of the Pleyel concertos is the existence of multiple versions of the same work arranged for different solo instruments. Many of these arrangements stem from Pleyel himself and are, therefore, of equal authenticity. The difficulty in these cases does not lie in establishing a work's authenticity so much as determining whether a particular version of it should be accorded primacy. In her landmark thematic catalogue Rita Benton lists eight concertos (Benton 101-108; nine if one includes Benton 103A and its variants) and a host of arrangements. She also lists a number other works arranged as concertos (Supplement I) and a number of unidentified concertos. Among the authentic concertos are four concertos whose primary solo instrument designation is violoncello (Benton 101, 102, 104, 108); one work is described as a 'Concerto for Viola or Violoncello' (Benton 105) and a further work as a 'Concerto for Clarinet, Flute or Violoncello'(Benton 106). One of the authentic works - the Concerto in D (Benton 102) - is known only from an entry in the Breitkopf Catalogue (Supp. XV 1782-84). Little is known of the genesis of any of these works although it is interesting to note that there are more concertos for violoncello than for any other instrument. Although Lebermann claimed that the viola version of this concerto was an adaptation of the earlier violoncello setting, Rita Benton's research established that as in the case of the Concerto Benton 106 the two should be considered equally 'original'. The work probably dates from 1790, the year the earliest editions by Andr and Artaria appeared. This edition is based on a copy of Artaria's print preserved in the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien under the shelfmark IX. 176/a. The title page reads: CONCERTO / per / Violoncello principale / del Sigr / IGN: PLEYEL / N.2 / in Vienna presso Artaria Comp. 252.319.816. fl.2.50xr The Artaria print is for the most part accurately engraved although there are inevitably a number of errors and inconsistencies. The notation of articulation and dynamic markings has been standardised throughout, and, where missing, markings have been reconstructed from parallel passages. These are indicated by the use of dotted slurs or brackets where appropriate. Like most eighteenth-century sources, the print is inconsistent at times in its notation of appoggiature ; these have also been standardised to minimise confusion. Obvious wrong notes have been silently corrected; otherwise, any editorial emendation with no authority from the source is placed within brackets. Allan Badley