Raff, Joachim

International Music Score Library Project [IMSLP] entry: Joachim Raff

Joseph Joachim Raff [1822-82] was a prolific German-Swiss composer. In his time, he was much admired, and popular. But he fell into obscurity towards the end of the 19thC, and only a few of his pieces are ever heard nowadays. In addition to the usual IMSLP and Wiki pages, there is a web site devoted to his life and works.

Piece	MP3	Midi	Genre
Cavatina, Op. 85, No. 3.		MIDI	piano salon
	Sequenced in 2024 from a copy in my collection. This cavatina is marked Larghetto quasi Andantino and is the third of six pieces in Raff's Op. 85. The original was for violin and piano, but there are transcription for many combinations. This particular transcription for piano is by Ernst Pauer [1826-1905], a well-known pianist, and an early advocate for `historically informed' performances, but perhaps best known as an arranger. It is in a collection of Gleanings from the works of Celebrated Composers, published by Augener & Co., London, undated with no copyright notice. The occasionally eccentric phrasing and dynamics are taken from the score. Composed in 1859, first published in 1861-62, and dedicated to Ludwig Straus [1836-99], an Austrian violinist and conductor, and leader of the Halle orchestra.
Scherzo, Op. 99, No. 3.		MIDI	piano classical
	Raff's Op. 99 is 3 Sonatilles , which seems to mean Sonatinas . This is, beyond reasonable doubt, the second movement of the third of these; but as neither I nor IMSLP have a complete score, I can't check. The piece was composed in 1861 and published 1864-65. As a Scherzo, a short playful piece, it's marked Presto [very fast]. It mostly doesn't sound that fast, but the second theme is a bit of a scramble, and it's too fast for MIDI, so I've sequenced it by halving the lengths of the notes and the metronome marking. As most of the piece is marked staccato, I haven't used the pedal. Sequenced in 2024 from The Joy of Romantic Piano, Book Two, selected and edited by Denes Agay [1911-2007], a well-known Hungarian composer, arranger and anthologist. The collection is Copyright © 1976 by Yorktown Music Press Inc. Until the copyright expires or I manage to find and compare a PD version, access to this piece is restricted, sorry.

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Andy Walker, anw [at] cuboid4.me.uk [remove digit to construct address]