Etudes and German Cellists in the 19th Century
Forgotten Cello Music, the podcast about Cello Music that has been….forg…I mean is not played often.
Once again, another episode that was planned to be more of a “report” type but turned into personal experience and opinion piece. I hope you appreciate some of it regardless. Ep. 58
The main point of it was to explore Etudes in a way that could be relatable and also informative. Most music students get the usual treatment with etudes I would imagine. That is, teachers utilize the “traditional” or at least, those etudes that their own teachers used with them. And so, pass the tradition on down to the next generation of students.
There are scores of useful etudes that are passed down this way. And we often learn a great deal by learning the same etudes from previous generations. For one, the teachers are ultra-familiar with the technique and fingerings (and bowings), making the passing on of information more efficient.
However, what about introducing something “new” or alternate or even in addition to those etudes that were singled out as the chosen lot for students to advance in the best way possible? Why not inject some new life into the learning experience?
In my reading and consequent exploring of alternate etudes I have found there to be mountains of quality music just waiting for us.
Names of Cellist/Composers
In Episode 58, I explored the likes of Carl Schröder, Ferdinand Büchler, Sebastian Lee, Joseph Werner, August Kummer, and Hermann Heberlein. These 6 comprised the bulk of studies that ended up as background music in this episode. While the etudes I chose from Schröder, Büchler, and Lee were from a well-known compilation by Alwin Schröder, they cannot so often be identified by the majority of students (and possibly teachers).
Take a listen all the way through. Tell me, after listening and looking up Hermann Heberlein’s Vol. 1 of his “Self Instructor” if these cello duet arrangements aren’t great material for the studio!
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Maybe you would like an arrangement I’ve made: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/publishers/aaron-sinnett-sheet-music/3022778
— (The Cello duet of “Lied Ohne Worte/Song Without Words” by Mendelssohn is one I am particularly fond of myself.)
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