Servais - Caprice No. 2, Op. 11 for Cello and Piano (Transcribed by Louis Lubeck)

François Servais’s Caprice No. 2 from the Six Caprices, Op. 11, is a brilliant perpetual-motion study in rondo form, centered on the spiccato bow stroke. This version for cello and piano was arranged by the Dutch cellist Louis Lübeck, who preserves the solo cello part almost entirely while adding clarifying fingerings and detailed dynamic markings to shape the phrasing. Rather than simply reducing Servais’s original second cello part, Lübeck provides a freely composed piano accompaniment that gives the caprice a more expansive concert character.

Effective as both a technical showpiece and a dazzling encore, this arrangement offers a fresh performance version of one of Servais’s best-known caprices. This edition is based on the Schott publication of Lübeck’s arrangement, graciously provided by the Servais Society, with special thanks to Peter François for his expertise.

ASTA Level: 6