Bohemian Violin Sonatas
Volume I
The names of the composers included here read like a “Who is Who” of the heyday of Bohemian musicians and composers from the 18th and beginning of the 19th century. They include F. Benda, J. Stamitz, J. L. Dussek and J. B. Vanhal, in their time names that were known throughout Europe, and who predominantly worked at noteworthy courts in different countries. Today their music is largely overshadowed by that of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. Yet the Bohemians particularly excelled as far as the violin sonata was concerned. Our two volume edition will provide the curious (and indeed already quite advanced) violinist with a colourful bouquet of worthwhile discoveries.
About the Authors
Sonja Gerlach (Editor, Figured bass realisation)
Sonja Gerlach was born in Hannover in 1936. She did a secondary school teaching degree (Staatsexamen) in music and mathematics in Berlin. From 1965 to 1999 she was a research associate and editor at the Joseph Haydn-Institut in Cologne. In addition to her work as an editor and researcher she addressed questions concerning the chronology of Haydn’s symphonies. She is also very interested in problems of ascertaining authenticity of works in Haydn’s different genres.
In 2000 she retired and moved to Munich where she now lives.
Zdenka Pilková (Editor)
Dr. Zdeňka Pilková, CSc (1931 Praha-1999 Praha) studied musicology and ethnography at Charles University Prague and graduated in 1955 (The dramatic Works of Jiří Benda, edited 1960 Prague) and received her PhD in 1968 (The Music Section of Umělecká beseda 1863-1963).
Her professional career began in 1955 in the Music Departement of the Czech Radio Prague, from 1964-1991 she worked in the Institut for Musicology (Czech Academy of Sciences). As a visiting lecturer she was active at Charles University Prague. Her special field was Czech music of the 18th century, especially G. Benda, F. Benda, J. Mysliveček, A. Kamel, J. Neruda. She presented papers at numerous international conferences and lectured in Europe and overseas. Dr Pilková collaborated with Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians and coordinated the Czech participation in the project "The Symphony 1720-1840", Garland NY. In her private life Zdeňka Pilková was a member of the Studio of Chamber Dance in the style of Isadora Duncan. She published about 60 studies on the personalities of composers of the 18th-19th centuries.