Composers at the Proms
With the BBC Proms concerts starting this evening and starting a summer of great music at London's Royal Albert Hall, we have highlighted portraits of some of the composers featured:
Granted, none of Paganini's own compositions will be performed, but this evening's opening concert programs two works based on his themes (Rachmaninov's famous Rhapsody, aka the 'South Bank Show theme music' and Lutosławski's Variations). This portrait, published immediately following a concert in London by Paganini, shows him in a suitably inspired and diabolic state:
The Modern Orpheus, Opera House - June 3rd 1831. Sketches of the Musical World No.1, to be continued.
London Published by Thos. Mc.Lean, June 10th. 1831, 26 Haymarket. Printed by C. Mott 70 St. Martin's Lane.
Lithograph, sheet 355 x 295mm. 14 x 11½". Corners cut; small tears.
Niccolo Paganini, Italian violinist whose virtuosity became a legend (1782-1840).
Publisher's blindstamp below inscription.
[Ref: 16897] £280.00
Several of Beethoven's symphonies and piano concertos will be performed- this portrait shows him as as younger than the most famous images of him (but with an equally intense expression):
Ludewig van Beethoven.
[Anonymous printmaker, after Joseph Stieler]
London: D'Almaine & Co. 20, Soho Square. [n.d. c.1850.]
Lithograph on india. Sheet 367 x 262mm (14½ x 10¼"). Damage to right-hand edge of paper.
This print is described by the Beethoven-Haus Bonn as based on Joseph Stieler's famous portrait of Beethoven, although with several changes.
See Beethoven-Haus Bonn, Sammlung H. C. Bodmer, HCB BBi 10/27.
[Ref: 28659] £120.00 (£144.00 incl.VAT)
Prom 33 (August 8) will team Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 with the Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz:
Hector Berlioz.
G. Coubert pinx. A. Gilbert sculp.
[Published in the Gazette des Beaux-Arts.] [n.d. c.1859.]
Etching, with large margins. Plate 178 x 133mm. 7 x 5¼".
Hector Berlioz (1803-1869). after the portrait by Courbet.
The original oil is in the Musee d'Orsay, Paris.
[Ref: 24812] £160.00 (£192.00 incl.VAT)
J.S. Bach- his cantatas and preludes form the first half of the Vienna Philharmonic's concert on September 6th:
John Sebastian Bach.
London Published by W. Pinnock, 267, Strand, May 1.st 1823.
Etching. 292 x 228mm. 11½ x 9". Creasing to corners and soiling.
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), the renowned German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and have helped shape the musical developments ever since.
[Ref: 22959] £95.00 (£114.00 incl.VAT)
Bach, Beethoven and Berlioz can all be heard alongside the first Piano Concerto by one-time London resident Felix Mendelssohn on August 19:
[Mendelssohn.]
C. Jager pinx. R. Reyher sculps.
[Munich: F. Bruckmann, n.d., c.1840s.]
Proof engraving, 235 x 180mm. 9¼ x 7". Full margins.
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (born, and generally known in English-speaking countries as Felix Mendelssohn) (1809 – 1847), German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period.
[Ref: 22445] £130.00 (£156.00 incl.VAT)
Several works by another former London resident, Mozart, will be performed:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Born at Salzburg, Jany. 27th. 1756. Died at Vienna, Decr. 5th. 1791. Plate 1. Vol 11.
No.61 of R.Ackermann's Repository of Arts &c.Pub.1 Jany. 1814, at 101 Strand London.
Stipple. 240 x 150mm. 9½ x 6". Fine; stitching holes on left
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was one of the most influential composers of the Classical era, composing chamber music, piano suites, opera, symphonies, choral music and concertos.
[Ref: 26952] £160.00 (£192.00 incl.VAT)
A matinee concert on 'Handel in Rome' (July 20) includes Italian cantatas by Handel alongside concerti grossi by Archangelo Corelli:
[George Frideric Handel]
T. Hudson pinx.t J.J. Hinchliff sculp.t
Mixed-method engraving with large margins, platemark 390 x 290mm (15¼ x 11½"). Proof before title.
Portrait of George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759), engraved from a portrait by Thomas Hudson (Hamburg, State and University Library) by John James Hincliffe (c.1827-1838, fl.).
[Ref: 24557] £220.00
Arcangelus Corellius.
J. Cole Sc. [after Hugh Howard]
[n.d. c.1740.]
Copper engraving, fine dark image. 255 x 191mm. 10 x 7½". Repaired tears.
One of several engravings based on the famous portrait of Corelli by Hugh Howard (Oxford, Music Faculty collection).
From the Collection of J.S. Bumpus.
[Ref: 17217] £140.00 (£168.00 incl.VAT)
Two of Britain's greatest composers are combined on the August 24 matinee (Henry Purcell's Chacony arranged by Benjamin Britten):
Purcell.
Engraved by W. Humphrys from a drawing by Edw.d Novello after the original picture by Sir Godfrey Kneller in the possession of Edw.d Bates Esq.e.
London. Published by I.Alfred Novello, Music Seller to their Royal H.sses the Dukes of Cambridge & Glo'ster. 67, Frith Street Soho Square.
Engraving. Plate 280 x 217mm. 11 x 8½". Slight rubbing.
Henry Purcell (1659-1695) was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music.
From the Collection of J.S. Bumpus. NPG: D30449.
[Ref: 17199] £180.00 (£216.00 incl.VAT)
(we don't have any portraits of Britten, unfortunately!)
Several of Wagner's operas will be given concert performances. His overture to The Mastersingers of Nuremberg will open the Last Night:
Richard Wagner.
Lenbach, pinx. W. Unger, sc.
Gazette des Beaux-Arts. Imp.V_ve A.Cadart, Paris. [n.d. c.1880.]
Etching with large margins. Plate 201 x 151mm (8 x 6").
Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813-1883), the German composer, conductor, theatre director and essayist, primarily known for his operas (or "music dramas", as they were later called). Unlike most other great opera composers, Wagner wrote both the scenario and libretto for his works.
[Ref: 29933] £75.00 (£90.00 incl.VAT)
Also in the Last Night programme is an aria by Gioachino Rossini:
Rossini.
[n.d. c.1830.]
Lithograph. 272 x 215mm. 10¾ x 8½".
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (1792-1868) was an Italian composer, famous for his operas, sacred music, chamber music, songs and some intrusmental and piano compositions.
From the Collection of J.S. Bumpus.
[Ref: 17251] £180.00 (£216.00 incl.VAT)
And it would be impossible to imagine the Last Night of the Proms without 'Rule, Britannia!' by Thomas Arne:
Dr. Arne.
Engrav'd by J. Heath, from an Original Drawing by E.F. Burney, Esqr.
[n.d., c.1810.]
Engraving, sheet 310 x 215mm. 12¼ x 8½". Trimmed to plate and laid on to album page.
Thomas Augustine Arne (1710 - 1778), composer, in a small oval on the side of a pedestal supporting an urn, from which a flaming phoenix emerges. Probably a frontispiece to one of his works.
Arne's most famous work is the patriotic song, 'Rule, Britannia!'.
[Ref: 13867] £170.00 (£204.00 incl.VAT)
Granted, none of Paganini's own compositions will be performed, but this evening's opening concert programs two works based on his themes (Rachmaninov's famous Rhapsody, aka the 'South Bank Show theme music' and Lutosławski's Variations). This portrait, published immediately following a concert in London by Paganini, shows him in a suitably inspired and diabolic state:
London Published by Thos. Mc.Lean, June 10th. 1831, 26 Haymarket. Printed by C. Mott 70 St. Martin's Lane.
Lithograph, sheet 355 x 295mm. 14 x 11½". Corners cut; small tears.
Niccolo Paganini, Italian violinist whose virtuosity became a legend (1782-1840).
Publisher's blindstamp below inscription.
[Ref: 16897] £280.00
Several of Beethoven's symphonies and piano concertos will be performed- this portrait shows him as as younger than the most famous images of him (but with an equally intense expression):
[Anonymous printmaker, after Joseph Stieler]
London: D'Almaine & Co. 20, Soho Square. [n.d. c.1850.]
Lithograph on india. Sheet 367 x 262mm (14½ x 10¼"). Damage to right-hand edge of paper.
This print is described by the Beethoven-Haus Bonn as based on Joseph Stieler's famous portrait of Beethoven, although with several changes.
See Beethoven-Haus Bonn, Sammlung H. C. Bodmer, HCB BBi 10/27.
[Ref: 28659] £120.00 (£144.00 incl.VAT)
Prom 33 (August 8) will team Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 4 with the Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz:
G. Coubert pinx. A. Gilbert sculp.
[Published in the Gazette des Beaux-Arts.] [n.d. c.1859.]
Etching, with large margins. Plate 178 x 133mm. 7 x 5¼".
Hector Berlioz (1803-1869). after the portrait by Courbet.
The original oil is in the Musee d'Orsay, Paris.
[Ref: 24812] £160.00 (£192.00 incl.VAT)
J.S. Bach- his cantatas and preludes form the first half of the Vienna Philharmonic's concert on September 6th:
London Published by W. Pinnock, 267, Strand, May 1.st 1823.
Etching. 292 x 228mm. 11½ x 9". Creasing to corners and soiling.
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), the renowned German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and have helped shape the musical developments ever since.
[Ref: 22959] £95.00 (£114.00 incl.VAT)
Bach, Beethoven and Berlioz can all be heard alongside the first Piano Concerto by one-time London resident Felix Mendelssohn on August 19:
C. Jager pinx. R. Reyher sculps.
[Munich: F. Bruckmann, n.d., c.1840s.]
Proof engraving, 235 x 180mm. 9¼ x 7". Full margins.
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (born, and generally known in English-speaking countries as Felix Mendelssohn) (1809 – 1847), German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period.
[Ref: 22445] £130.00 (£156.00 incl.VAT)
Several works by another former London resident, Mozart, will be performed:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Born at Salzburg, Jany. 27th. 1756. Died at Vienna, Decr. 5th. 1791. Plate 1. Vol 11.No.61 of R.Ackermann's Repository of Arts &c.Pub.1 Jany. 1814, at 101 Strand London.
Stipple. 240 x 150mm. 9½ x 6". Fine; stitching holes on left
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was one of the most influential composers of the Classical era, composing chamber music, piano suites, opera, symphonies, choral music and concertos.
[Ref: 26952] £160.00 (£192.00 incl.VAT)
A matinee concert on 'Handel in Rome' (July 20) includes Italian cantatas by Handel alongside concerti grossi by Archangelo Corelli:
T. Hudson pinx.t J.J. Hinchliff sculp.t
Mixed-method engraving with large margins, platemark 390 x 290mm (15¼ x 11½"). Proof before title.
Portrait of George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759), engraved from a portrait by Thomas Hudson (Hamburg, State and University Library) by John James Hincliffe (c.1827-1838, fl.).
[Ref: 24557] £220.00
Arcangelus Corellius.
J. Cole Sc. [after Hugh Howard]
[n.d. c.1740.]
Copper engraving, fine dark image. 255 x 191mm. 10 x 7½". Repaired tears.
One of several engravings based on the famous portrait of Corelli by Hugh Howard (Oxford, Music Faculty collection).
From the Collection of J.S. Bumpus.
[Ref: 17217] £140.00 (£168.00 incl.VAT)
Two of Britain's greatest composers are combined on the August 24 matinee (Henry Purcell's Chacony arranged by Benjamin Britten):
Engraved by W. Humphrys from a drawing by Edw.d Novello after the original picture by Sir Godfrey Kneller in the possession of Edw.d Bates Esq.e.
London. Published by I.Alfred Novello, Music Seller to their Royal H.sses the Dukes of Cambridge & Glo'ster. 67, Frith Street Soho Square.
Engraving. Plate 280 x 217mm. 11 x 8½". Slight rubbing.
Henry Purcell (1659-1695) was an English organist and Baroque composer of secular and sacred music.
From the Collection of J.S. Bumpus. NPG: D30449.
[Ref: 17199] £180.00 (£216.00 incl.VAT)
(we don't have any portraits of Britten, unfortunately!)
Several of Wagner's operas will be given concert performances. His overture to The Mastersingers of Nuremberg will open the Last Night:
Lenbach, pinx. W. Unger, sc.
Gazette des Beaux-Arts. Imp.V_ve A.Cadart, Paris. [n.d. c.1880.]
Etching with large margins. Plate 201 x 151mm (8 x 6").
Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813-1883), the German composer, conductor, theatre director and essayist, primarily known for his operas (or "music dramas", as they were later called). Unlike most other great opera composers, Wagner wrote both the scenario and libretto for his works.
[Ref: 29933] £75.00 (£90.00 incl.VAT)
Also in the Last Night programme is an aria by Gioachino Rossini:
[n.d. c.1830.]
Lithograph. 272 x 215mm. 10¾ x 8½".
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (1792-1868) was an Italian composer, famous for his operas, sacred music, chamber music, songs and some intrusmental and piano compositions.
From the Collection of J.S. Bumpus.
[Ref: 17251] £180.00 (£216.00 incl.VAT)
And it would be impossible to imagine the Last Night of the Proms without 'Rule, Britannia!' by Thomas Arne:
Engrav'd by J. Heath, from an Original Drawing by E.F. Burney, Esqr.
[n.d., c.1810.]
Engraving, sheet 310 x 215mm. 12¼ x 8½". Trimmed to plate and laid on to album page.
Thomas Augustine Arne (1710 - 1778), composer, in a small oval on the side of a pedestal supporting an urn, from which a flaming phoenix emerges. Probably a frontispiece to one of his works.
Arne's most famous work is the patriotic song, 'Rule, Britannia!'.
[Ref: 13867] £170.00 (£204.00 incl.VAT)
