Servais - Fantaisie et Variations brillantes sur la Valse de Schubert intitulée le Désir, Op. 4 (Urtext Edition, Quintet Version)

Servais’s Fantaisie et Variations brillantes sur la Valse de Schubert intitulée Le Désir began its life as Hommage à Beethoven, reflecting a nineteenth-century misattribution of the work’s theme. The waltz was correctly published under Franz Schubert’s name by Diabelli around 1822 as Trauer- oder Sehnsuchts-Walzer, but another publisher later attributed it to Beethoven, after which the melody circulated widely under Beethoven’s name. Carl Czerny’s earlier variations on the same theme appeared simply as Variationen über einen beliebten Wiener-Walzer, while Friedrich Kummer still identified the melody as a Beethoven theme in 1835. By 1844, Servais had retitled his own work as a fantasy on a theme by Schubert, while retaining Le Désir as the subtitle.

The work is a brilliant variation fantasy in Servais’s characteristic concert style, transforming the familiar waltz through lyrical writing, virtuoso display, and dramatic formal expansion. Its source history gives the piece particular interest, connecting Schubert reception, Beethoven misattribution, and the nineteenth-century virtuoso variation tradition.

This edition is based on the first edition published by Schott in 1844. The published orchestral version and manuscript were also consulted. The manuscript differs too substantially to serve as a direct source for this edition, but it offers valuable insight into how the work was known to early audiences. The sources were graciously provided by the Servais Society.

This set contains the solo cello part, quintet score, and quintet parts.

ASTA Level: 6