A. W. Ambros: Essays and Reviews in Music 1872-1876 Vol. 1

The present volume is the first part of a two-volume edition of musical essays and reviews from the pen of the musical writer August Wilhelm Ambros (18161876). The edition covers the years 1872 1876a time that Ambros spent as a music reviewer for the Wiener Zeitung and as a teacher of music and art history for the crown prince Rudolf in Vienna, among other things. For the Wiener Zeitung, or rather its supplement the Wiener Abendpost, Ambros wrote in the course of this five-year period numerous feature articles and essays about music, as well as short reviews. Until today these were little or scarcely known, because, with a few exceptions, they were available only in the contemporary sources, that is, scattered throughout different editions of the Wiener Zeitung. In the present edition they are published for the first time as a collection. The first volume contains, in total, 138 essays from the years 1872 and 1873. These consist chiefly of reports on the Viennese concert and opera performances, as well as reviews of sheet music printings and books on music, reports on exhibitions (music at the Viennese world exhibition 1873), portraits of composers, and essays on other music-related themes. Important events in Viennese musical life of the 1870s are described, including, for instance, the Viennese performances of the works of Richard Wagner and Johannes Brahms. Ambros reports on many artists and music ensembles appearing in Vienna, above all on the concerts of the Vienna Philharmonic, of the Hellmesberger Quartet, of the Florentine Quartet and of the Anton Door Trio. All the texts in the edition are not only converted into modern script, while still maintaining all the specific marks of the periods manner of writing, but are above all thoroughly annotated. The goal of the commentary is, on the one hand, to correct the faults and errors appearing in the text and, on the other hand, to provide the user with an aid to reading. In the commentary the reader will find information about the people and works named in the text, sources of quotations, and explanations of unusual and foreign words, as well as cross-references to other writings of Ambros and to other authors. Moreover, important musical history contexts are also identified in the commentary, so that even laymen can understand all the texts without having to seek help in diverse reference works. The edition also contains several indexes, for instance a chronological index of all reviewed musical events and, not least importantly, a complete index of names and compositions. The first volume of the edition will appear on the occasion of Ambros 200th birthday. This anniversary is a suitable occasion on which to present a part of Ambros oeuvre that has hitherto gone largely unnoticed. The edition thoroughly documents not only Ambros position within Viennese music criticism of the 1870s, but also an important chapter in European musical history.