Friedrich Schneider

Complete Piano Sonatas: Sonatas with Opus Numbers

Friedrich Schneider's extensive work for piano has not to date attracted any research attention, although he enjoyed an excellent reputation as composer and conductor and was one of the most highly regarded piano virtuosos of his time. Extant of his are no less than 42 piano sonatas composed in the surprisingly brief period from 1802 to 1814, hence still before Beethoven had written any of his late sonatas. 24 piano sonatas appeared in print, many others remain simply in manuscript. In the coming years we are presenting all of Friedrich Schneider's piano sonatas for the first time in modern editions. The sonatas are ordered within 4 volumes chronologically by year of composition, starting now with volume II, which gives an overview of Schneider's more mature sonatas. The edition is being edited by Prof. Ulrich Urban, who has for years dealt intensively with this composer's piano work.

Schneider's piano sonatas complement the view of this genre between Haydn and Beethoven and are an important expansion to the repertoire for both specialists and students, with technical demands representing the whole range from moderate to very difficult.