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[Original post on fosstodon.org]
Front cover of the publication: Ferdinant Ries Grand Concert Pour le Pianoforte First version of Piano Concerto No.6 in C Major, Op.123 Edited by Adam Swayne
Flyer of the new publication, with the following additional information : This edition presents the first version of Ferdinand Ries's earliest piano concerto, the Grand concert pour le pianoforte (1806), which has gone untouched for over two centuries. Composed upon Ries's return to Bonn after his time as Beethoven's piano pupil, secretary, and copyist, this ambitious and expansive concerto shows the undeniable influence of his former teacher. Following extensive revision, the concerto was eventually published as the Piano Concerto No. 6 in C Major, op. 123, but Ries's preservation of his original autograph supports the idea that he regarded the first iteration of the concerto as not just an early draft but an important score in its own right. This edition not only facilitates comparison with the work's later version, which illuminates stylistic shifts within the piano concerto genre in the context of a single work, but also explores Ries's earliest foray into one of the most significant areas of his compositional output. Dr. Adam Swayne is Deputy Head of Keyboard Studies at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, UK. He has undertaken research into Ferdinand Ries as a Fulbright Scholar at Northwestern University. Alongside nineteenth-century concertos, contemporary music has been the primary focus of his performing career, following the example of his teacher at Northwestern, Professor Ursula Oppens. He cofounded the London-based Riot Ensemble, which won the inaugural Ernst von Siemens Ensemble Prize in 2020. He has recorded two solo albums with Coviello Classics that address societal issues in the United States. He was the only artist to be nominated in two categories at the 2019 Opus Klassik awards in Germany. The BBC have recommended his performances in print, broadcast, and online. The Times described him as "a pianist of formidable technique and high intelligence," and the Evening Standard as "an ideal blend of panache and subtlety."
A long‑lost 19th-century piano concerto by Beethoven’s pupil Ferdinand Ries (1784-1838) - re-discovered, edited, and premiered by Dr Adam Swayne (@adamswayne.bsky.social) - has recently been published for the first time in history by A-R Editions 🎶🎹 🎵
Full story:
🔗 www.rncm.ac.uk/news/long-lo...
Corona Schröter’s ‘Fünf und Zwanzig Lieder’ (1786) lists subscribers, their locations, and the quantity ordered. Alongside 64 copies intended for 15 local noble patrons, 506 copies of her #songs reached musicians in at least 47 locations, summarised in the #map below.
🚨WE'RE HIRING AGAIN – AGAIN!🚨 Music @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social
Super excited to announce this post:
Lecturer in Performance, fixed-term 2 years
We're looking for a distinguished performer and performance teacher to head up our new MMus Performance specialism
www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/138365-...
🚨WE'RE HIRING AGAIN!🚨 Music @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social
Permanent lectureship in historically European music (anywhere in the world) in the long 18C. Must have PhD in hand at application.
Deadline 12th March; job talks/interviews 1st & 2nd April for ASAP start.
www.kcl.ac.uk/jobs/138148-...
Thanks!
I enjoyed my tenure as Reviews Editor at 'Eighteenth-Century Music'. It was a wonderful experience, and I learned a lot from that role and my amazing colleagues. It was a difficult decision to step down, but I look forward to supporting the journal in this new capacity!
And congrats, Annika!
📣 Call for Expressions of Interest 👇
The RNCM invites proposals from international early‑career researchers, particularly those addressing wind & brass band music, for the @britishacademy.bsky.social International Fellowships 2026.
📆 EoI deadline: 17 February 2026
🔗 www.rncm.ac.uk/news/call-fo...
Only 2 weeks left to submit your proposal for this year's Medieval Germany Workshop in cooperation with German History Society! 📯
📅 29 May 2026
📍German Historical Institute London
⏰ Deadline: 15 February 2026
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#OTD 1789: ice on the #Danube broke causing severe flooding in #Linz (among other places). Maria Magdalena #Kauth responded by composing and publishing ‘Gemälde der Natur’ to raise funds for the victims. Depicting a storm, the #melodrama commemorated the flood, victims, and rescuers.
#OTD 1775: ‘Ariadne auf Naxos’ premiered in the Friedenstein Palace #Theatre, Gotha. Created to highlight the talents of actor Esther C. #Brandes by Georg Benda and her husband Johann, the #melodrama was a sensation that was translated for performance across #eighteenth-century Europe.
Wolfgang Amadeus #Mozart was born #OTD, 1756. Here is a simple #map I quickly of his life’s travels a while ago (I hope to remake it soon). My maps have tended to summarize the journeys of #18c musicians. This time I went for completeness, so it is a bit crammed!
On the left is a picture of the RNCM building in the snow and under a clear blue sky. On the right is text announcement reading: Full Research Degree Awarding Powers: The RNCM has been authorised by the Office for Students to grant Research awards, with Full Degree Awarding Powers up to and including Level 8. Read more: rncm.ac.uk/news
On the left is a picture of Professor Wiebke Thormählen, RNCM's Director of Research. On the right is Wiebke's comments following the announcement of this exciting news: "RNCM's vibrant research culture is central to the institution's ethos and learning environment. The authorisation of Full Degree Awarding Powers is a key piece in upholding and continually enhancing the music industry training that we provide for students across all levels of study".
Our Spring Term has just begun and we're kicking off 2026 with some exciting news!
The RNCM has been authorised by the Office for Students (OfS) to grant Research awards, giving us Full Degree Awarding Powers up to and including Level 8.
Read the full announcement:
🔗 www.rncm.ac.uk/news/rncm-se...
Well hello, again, Regensburg. It’s been a while!
👋 Alas, I won’t make it this trip (though it did cross my mind 😉)
Looking forward to it!
It’s great to be back in Munich for my last conference of the year. The Christmas season definitely helps the atmosphere!
The image in full glory. A ship sailing.
I mean, why not enjoy yourself, while being seated on top of ruined stony building that is sailing, on a wooden ship, powered by a mysterious energy that needs an exhaust pipe in the 1660s...
In the end, the abrupt regime change in #Mainz led to a scenario where the new administration was enthusiastic about—but financially, ideologically, and logistically ill-equipped to support—the #theatre that had flourished under the former electoral government and ultimately led to its collapse. 7/7
In mid-1793, troops from Brandenburg-Prussia retook the city. The bombardment destroyed the theatre, its sets, and wardrobe. The court eventually returned, but not the renowned Nationaltheater that performed before international audiences at imperial coronations in 1790 and 1792. 6/7
When elections were held in February 1793, only c400 showed up to vote after days of threats and coercion (Mainz’s total population was c30,000). Some elected in surrounding areas refused to serve. It seems as though they knew the Mainzer Republik’s days were numbered. And they were right. 5/7
Mainz’s c500 Jacobins listed in the Red Book tried organising their own political theatre in its place, but the few musicians and actors who remained refused to perform or lend costumes, sets, etc. Records, testimonies, and letters reveal most Mainzers refused to support the French. 4/7
The French and their supporters did at least try to raise money for the theatre through dances, as depicted below. Yet it was clear to Nationaltheater personnel by November that they had no future in Mainz: most fled to areas untouched by the war like Hamburg and Berlin. 3/7
Performances continued at first. But the theatre struggled without the ticket sales generated by Mainz’s electoral court and citizens. According to local actor Joseph Anton Christ, very few French military theatregoers paid: their belief in freedom and equality meant ‘everything must be free’. 2/7
#OTD 1792: the #Mainz Nationaltheater performed for the final time. Founded in 1788, it quickly became one of the leading German #opera and #theatre companies and performed at the imperial coronations of 1790 and 1792. Its fate changed when the French Army captured the city in Oct 1792...1/7
Apple Music nailed the genre of Vincenzo Righini's Missa Solenne (1790): Contemporary Pop
The image of 1612 shows an academic scene of early modern Europe: a lecture hall with a professor on a professorial chair at the upper centre, a large groups of students present. This is one from a series of eighteen plates by the workshop of Crispijn van de Passe, depicting scenes of academic life, more here: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1972-0722-6-3
Once upon a time in a university near you, in-person teaching was a thing, as you can see in this image of 1612. Young people with hats came together, regularly and voluntarily, prepared for classes, and enjoying a lively learning situation of *checks notes*, a 90 minutes monolog of someone else ...
This is an incredible resource for anyone interested in—and especially those researching—#Mozart and the music of his contemporaries. If you aren't already familiar with the site, it is worth exploring.
Some shots from the wonderful Museu da Música Portuguesa/Casa Verdades de Faria
Come study with us!