Die Jahrenzeiten von Joseph Haydn

5R, First Edition of the piano transcription of Hayden's The Seasons.  

Description

Engraved title page and two pages of Publishers' advertisements at the end.  Original orange wrappers.  Somewhat worn and frayed at the edges, rebacked.  Covers worn and scuffed.  Some soiling internally and a few pencil notes on the score.  This was clearly a well used and well travelled copy.  Housed in a vellum covered custom made box with title and author stamped in upper cover in gilt italics.  The inside cover of the box has the binder's ticket of Albert Gunther of Wien.  It also has he ex libris of George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood.  He was a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, the chairman of English National Opera, editor of Kobbe's Opera Guide and one of the leading English patron and supporters of opera and classical music during the twentieth century.  First page of the score has a near contemporary (somewhat Illegible) ownership. inscription.  The title page has the ownership stamp of Professor Karl Kaiser of Vienna.  Loosely inserted is a cream envelope with the card of Mr. & Mrs. Jacques Samuel with the inscription "With most sincere good wishes. September 1949". Jaques Samuel was a piano maker and a small scale dealer in reconditioned pianos from his house in Notting Hall, he opened a shop in the 1940's.  The business continues to this day.  Almost certainly, Samuel took this copy out of Vienna when he left as a refugee.  He must have met Harewood in London musical circles and given this copy to him.  The Seasons is a late work of Haydn, and although he was old and increasingly frail, it is full of life and musical invention,  This first edition of the piano reduction is regarded as the most authentic of the early edition.  Haydn had promised the printing of the score to Breitkopf in 1801 so it must of been published that year or the following year.  This is the issue with the libretto in the German,  This is clearly a much used copy of the score with a moving story which links tow important figures in twentieth century English musical life.

Notes

Rust bound  music book encased in white  vellum box, somewhat worn and fraying at the edges, intact, rebacked, overall good/fair condition.