Fantasy No. 2, op. 339, on Melodies by Franz Schubert for Piano and Horn (or Violin)
Carl Czerny, born in Vienna in 1791 and died there in 1857, started out as a talented piano student of Ludwig van Beethoven. He rarely performed in public, however: very early on he shifted his focus to pedagogical work as a piano teacher and to composition. As a teacher he was extremely successful, and as a composer immensely productive – his oeuvre comprises over 1,000 works.
In 1834, Hofmeister’s Monatsberichte announced “Three Brilliant Fantasies on the Most Popular Motifs from Franz Schubert’s Works” as Opus 339. That year, however, only the first fantasy was published – in a version for piano four hands, a version for piano with accompaniment of horn, violin, or cello, and a version for piano and physharmonica.
It was not until 1837 that the two further fantasies, No. 2 and No. 3, followed. For these two, though, only editions for horn and violin have survived.
This new edition presents, for the first time, the extensive and virtuosic piano part together with the accompanying instruments. This now makes it possible to compare the different voice leadings. The horn part of the 2nd fantasy is notated in E; here, perhaps – as was customary at the time – a semitone-deepening crook could be used. The re-notation was laborious and time-consuming, but the work was well worth it, and each version certainly has its own charm. You can listen to both here – unfortunately with the inevitable shortcomings of a sample-based audio file.
