The Music of Antonio Rosetti (Anton Rosler) ca. 1750-1792: A Thematic Catalog.

Alexander, Peter M.

Antonio Rosetti was one of the most successful composers of the late eighteenth century. As shown in Sterling Murray's exhaustive new thematic catalog of Rosetti's works, he was a versatile and prolific composer. In his forty-two years he completed as many as forty-nine symphonies, seventy-five concertos, many chamber and keyboard pieces, and more than one hundred lieder, arias, and duets, among other works. Virtually every important genre of his time is represented, with the notable exception of opera.

As evidence of his standing in the music world we can note that manuscript copies of his work spread throughout central Europe; that a large number of his works were published in Germany and France; that a Requiem by Rosetti was chosen for a memorial held in Prague for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart nine days after his death; and that Rosetti symphonies - perhaps brought to London by Joseph Haydn - were performed on Salomon's concerts.

Furthermore, the few recordings and scores that are easily available suggest a composer of strong and individual character` at his best an original master of the late-eighteenth-century musical language. The study of Rosetti's music, however, has been hampered by several difficulties, starting with the question of identity. Murray discusses no fewer than four or five other musical Rosettis, along with a host of Roslers, Rosslers, and a putative Russitschka that may have become confused with the subject of Murray's catalog. Predictably, problems of identity have created daunting problems of attribution.

Such difficulties help explain the scholarly neglect that Rosetti has suffered, but Murray's catalog provides a solid foundation for future scholarship. The introduction carefully outlines the problems concerning Rosetti's birth and education and provides a clear overview of his career. The catalog itself reveals the scope of the composer's accomplishments, and it goes a long way toward settling issues of attribution.

Murray has covered sources from 275 different archives and cataloged more than 450 works, including those that are spurious, doubtful, or lost. The resulting volume is clearly laid out and generally easy to use. Works are divided into eight unambiguous categories - "Symphonies," "Concertos and Simphonies Concertantes," "Ensemble Chamber Music," and so on. Each category is given a letter; lacking a clear chronology, instrumental works are ordered by musical characteristics and vocal works by text. In this way works are numbered within each category (symphonies A1-63, works for wind ensembles B 143, etc.). Questionable works have a "Q" after the catalog number but are included in the main sequence, while doubtful and spurious works (marked "D" and "S") are numbered together at the end of each section.

Murray steered around several potential sources of confusion, providing practical solutions to complex problems, as in the separate lists of manuscript sets and printed music. He also provided a list of copyists, identified by name and brief biographies whenever possible, with examples for forty-one of them. This is especially valuable information that will benefit future scholars working in the same repertory. Also of value is the table of ninety-two watermarks, thirty-six of which are reproduced.

I especially appreciate the inclusion of quotations from reviews of the early printed music, which helps complete the context in which this music was heard. With generous amounts of white space, readable print, and good-sized incipits, the catalog is exemplary.

Yet it is surprising that so generous a volume is extremely stingy' with its commentary, to the detriment of several important factors, the most crucial of which are dating and authenticity. Murray states in his "Guide to Catalog" that "no claim is made . . . for accuracy of dating" (p. xxx), and indeed he fails to provide explanations for most of the dates that appear throughout the catalog. Often the date is clarified within the catalog listing or the listings of printed editions in the back. Elsewhere, however, dates are given that are not explained, sometimes raising more questions than are answered. For example, the Quintet in E[flat] Major (B6) is listed as "not later than 1782 [ca. 1778-79]" (p, 124). The first date is explained by the inclusion of this piece in the Breitkopf Catalog supplement of 1782-84, noted just below the date, but the second date is never explained, nor is it clarified by the information given for the one printed source (Sieber 16, dated "1789" [p. 774]).

When it comes to the tricky issue of authenticity, one assumes that Murray has made thoughtful decisions, but without commentary it is often impossible to know, and the catalog entries may not clarify matters. For example, the Horn Concerto in E Major (C51) is considered authentic, even though only one source is given, and conflicting attributions are noted to Giovanni Punto and Carl Stamitz (pp. 230-31).

Without access to original sources it is impossible to assess the accuracy of many details, but it is troubling that with just one recording I turned up three errors in the incipits (A28, p. 60, first note should be B[flat], not G; A42, p. 90, second movement, trio, first note of the second full measure should be d[sharp]??, not c[sharp]??; and third movement of the same symphony, the seventh note should be d??, not c??). One hopes that these examples are not characteristic.

Finally, a couple of minor quibbles: measure numbers for the movements listed in the catalog would provide a useful indication of the scope of works, and more complete descriptions of the "Catalog References" listed in the introductory material would make this helpful bibliographic resource more valuable to those who do not have access to the original documents.

In spite of these limitations, this catalog is a major accomplishment. It provides a starting point for further research on a significant composer from the second rank surrounding Mozart, Haydn, and the young Ludwig van Beethoven. One eagerly awaits Murray's projected volume on Rosetti's life and style, and the work of other scholars that will inevitably follow.

PETER M. ALEXANDER The University of Iowa