Gretsch - Cello Concerto in C major (Urtext edition)

Johann Konrad Gretsch was likely born in 1710 and died in 1778. He served as a respected cellist in the chapel of the Prince of Thurn and Taxis in Regensburg and was also active as a composer. Ernst Ludwig Gerber described Gretsch as a musician who demonstrated extensive knowledge of harmony, excellent taste, and exceptional command of his instrument through his compositions. His works are documented in several contemporary sources, including the Breitkopf catalogues, and comprise symphonies, wind partitas, an oboe concerto, four cello concertos, fifteen cello sonatas, a sonata for violin and cello, and a trio for viola da gamba, violin, and continuo.

This edition represents the first modern publication of Gretsch’s Cello Concerto in C major, scored for solo cello, two horns, and strings, with the basso part designated as fondamento. The edition is based on a manuscript set of parts preserved at the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Musikabteilung. We are grateful to the library for granting access to this source (shelfmark KHM 1983, formerly D19).

The concerto is cast in three movements and was composed in or before 1770, placing it within the same general timeframe as Joseph Haydn’s C major concertos for cello and for violin. In its formal clarity, sonic palette, and treatment of the solo instrument, the work at times recalls both of these concertos. The technical demands of the solo part are comparable to the concertos of C. P. E. Bach and to some of the more accessible works by Boccherini.

All deviations from the source have been indicated by editorial markings or explained in footnotes. The solo part has been transposed from alto to tenor clef for practical purposes.