36 LIMELIGHT MAY 2017 http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au
OLOST & FOUND
FromHaydntoBerlioz,
works once thought dead
andburiedcontinueto
turn up.Gavin Dixon
explores a world of
surprises and serendipity
in the rediscovered works
of the great composers
A
newStravinskyworkarrivesinAustraliaat
the end of June, the first in many decades.
In fact, hisFuneral Songis over 100 years
old,butthescorewaslostformostof
the20thcenturyandonlycametolight
in2014.Thefindwasamajordiscovery,butjustone
of many in recent times, with intrepid librarians and
researchersaroundtheworldregularlyidentifying
long-lostmanuscripts.Sohowdoesmusicbythegreat
composerssooftendisappear?Andwhereshouldwe
belookingforthenextlong-forgottenmasterpiece?
ThemostfamousrediscoverywasoftheHaydnCello
ConcertoinCMajor,whichmadeatriumphantreturn
totherepertoirein1962withaperformanceinPrague
by cellist Miloš Sádlo conducted by Charles Mackerras.
Haydnwrotetheconcertointheearly1760s,earlyin
hisemploymentbytheEsterházyfamily,anditwas
premieredbyJosephFranzWeigl,principalcellistinthe
Esterházy orchestra. The concerto appeared in a thematic
cataloguethatHaydndrewupofhisownworks,butfor
almosttwocenturiesthemusicitselfwasthoughtlost.
Then, in 1961, Oldrˇich Pulkert, archivist at the Prague
National Museum, discovered the score among papers
fromRadenínCastleinSouthernBohemia.Thecastlehad
been home to Philipp Franz, Count Kolowrat-Krakowsky,
acitycouncillorinHaydn’sday,whomusthaveacquired
the score soon after it was written. The castle archive
wasconfiscatedduringtheSecondWorldWar,andthe
CelloConcertowasdiscoveredduringinventoryworkto
establish ownership. With its triumphant return to the
concertstage,theconcertowashailedasamajoraddition
totherepertoire,andwassoonadoptedbymanyofthe
world’s leading cellists, including Pierre Fournier,
MstislavRostropovichandJacquelineduPré.
Whenworksenduplanguishingforgotteninlibrary
archives, it is often because they have displeasedsomebody.InthecaseofBerlioz’sMesse Solennelleit
wasthecomposerhimselfwhoassignedthescore
tooblivion,orintendedto.TheMasswasanearly
work,writtenin1820.Itwaswellreceivedatitsfirst
performances, but the composer gradually began to
doubtitsworthand,accordingtohis(entertainingbut
often unreliable)Memoirs,heeventuallyburntthescore.
Andsoitseemeduntil1991,whentheautographscore,
theveryoneBerliozclaimedtohavedestroyed,turned
up in the Church of St. Carolus-Borromeus in Antwerp.
Aninscriptiononthetitlepagerevealeditsstory.
Dated1835,themessagefromviolinistAntoine
Bessemsstatedthatithadbeengiventohimbythe
composer.Bessems,anativeofAntwerp,wasacollege
friendofBerliozinParis.Hismusiccollectionwas
laterinheritedbyhisbrotherJoseph,anddepositedat
St. Carolus-Borromeus, where he was organist. Over
a century later, the Mass was rediscovered by Frans
Moors, Joseph Bessems’ modern-day successor.
Performerscanalsoberesponsibleforshelvingmusic
that fails to impress. Pianist Paul Wittgenstein (older
brotherofphilosopherLudwig)commissionedmany
worksforpianolefthandafterlosinghisrightarmin
theFirstWorldWar.ButWittgenstein’smusicaltastes
were more conservative than many of the composers he
commissioned. One was Paul Hindemith, who predicted
Wittgenstein’s response to his 1923 Piano Music with
Orchestra (for Piano Left Hand), imploring the pianist
“Iwouldbesorryifyouarenotpleasedwiththepiece
–perhapsitmightsoundabitstrangetoyouatfirst.”
Wittgenstein was predictably unimpressed and never
performedtheconcerto,norallowedanyoneelsetoseeit.
ThescorewaseventuallyfoundinaPennsylvania
farmhousein2002.Wittgenstein,fleeingtheNazis,
had settled in upstate New York in 1938. After his
death in 1961, Wittgenstein’s widow, Hilde, moved tohistory