Popp: Max Reger
Chronological thematic catalogue of the works of Max Reger and their sources
Since the 1980s scholarly research into Reger has built up a picture of the diversity, complexity and variety of Reger’s work and shown that the composer was the first to depart from the supposed logical evolution of music history. In the musical scene, on the other hand, ideas prevail that are clichéd and based on a small canon of works. This is now about to change. Since the beginning of the twenty-first century a thematic catalogue of the works of Max Reger and their sources has been put together in the Max-Reger-Institut Karlsruhe funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. This will be a fitting addition to our series of thematic catalogues of the works of Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin and Schumann. It contains in-depth information in a readable form on the complete original works and arrangements, both published and unpublished, completed or fragmentary. Information concerning the genesis, place and state of the handwritten and printed sources are presented comprehensively and reflect the current state of research. Thus not only scholars but also performers, music lovers and concert organizers will be able to get to know Reger’s neglected but in many ways surprising works. Numerous indexes will make the Reger Thematic Catalogue easy and clear to use and it has all of the prerequisites to soon become the definitive reference work for Max Reger.