Jubilees

 

Jubilees 2012

24
Jan
2012

King Frederick II “The Great” – 300th Birthday

Two books of sonatas, two flute concertos, a “flute book” – the Prussian monarch clearly does not rank among Breitkopf’s leading composers. And yet the works of the royal music lover are rewarding additions to the mosaic of 18th-century flute music, which have been gracing the publisher’s catalogue for a long time now.

All works by King Frederick II "The Great"
 
27
Apr
2012

Friedrich von Flotow – 200th Birthday

He’s a “one-work composer” not only in Breitkopf’s catalogue: Friedrich von Flotow, whose name is almost always paired with another, “Martha,” and – at least among tenors – with the beloved aria “Ach so fromm.” In Victor von Bülow (Loriot), Flotow found a congenial stage director several years ago. This is hardly surprising considering that they’re both from prominent Mecklenburg noble families. In any event, “Martha” continues unabatedly to rank with Nicolai’s “Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor” and Lortzing’s masterworks among the most important German “Spielopern” and still cuts a fine figure on today’s stages. Who knows, we could be in for a wave of “Martha” productions in the Flotow anniversary season 2011/12!

Flotow, Martha
 
01
May
2012

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck – 450th Birthday

It took a long time for Edition Breitkopf to discover the (organ) composer Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck: until 2005, to be precise, when the first two volumes of the “Complete Works for Keyboard Instruments” were published. These works were setting standards around 1600 just as the editorial work of Pieter Dirksen and Harald Vogel is doing four hundred years later. Sweelinck’s life, in turn, was so unspectacular that neither his exact birth date, nor even the month of his birth, is known. But this shouldn’t disturb true Sweelinck fans, who can thus congratulate their composer again and again throughout his anniversary year!

Sweelinck, Complete Keyboard Works