Servais - Grande Fantaisie sur des motifs de l’Opéra Lestocq, Op. 12 (Urtext Edition)

Grande Fantaisie sur des motifs de l’Opéra Lestocq,based on the opera of the same name by Daniel-François-Esprit Auber(1782–1871),is structured like a one-movement concerto in sonata form with two episodes and a coda, likely inspired by innovations in the concerto genre by Franz Liszt. Other cello concertos with this structure include Georg

Grande Fantaisie sur des motifs de l’Opéra Lestocq, based on the opera of the same name by Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (1782–1871), is structured like a one-movement concerto in sonata form with two episodes and a coda, likely inspired by innovations in the concerto genre by Franz Liszt. Other cello concertos with this structure include Georg Goltermann's concertos Nos. 1 and 2 as well as the first concerto by Camille Saint-Saëns. The first known performance of Lestocq Fantaisie happened on 10 November 1850 in Halle, Belgium, and was regularly programmed by Servais between 1851 and 1866. This work also enjoyed popularity abroad, especially in the Russian Empire.

Lestocq Fantaisie was dedicated to the cellist-composer Count Louis Stainlein (1819–67). Stainlein dedicated his Fantaisie Caracteristique sur des motifs hongrois, Op. 4 (published in 1851) and Sérénade pour 4 violoncelles, Op. 12 (published in 1856) to Servais. Stainlein is best known today for being the former owner of the cello by Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, 1707, the "Countess of Stainlein, Paganini," which was also owned by Paul Grümmer and Bernard Greenhouse.

While Lestocq Fantaisie is not called a concerto, the first 227 bars compromise the exposition and development of the sonata form. The first theme is freely based on "Ne nous trahissez pas tous deux" (Act II, No. 7), and the second theme is based on the Entr'acte before Act III. The themes are presented and developed in a way that foreshadows their literal statement later. The solo part in the development has a similar figuration to the one found in Caprice No. 1, Op. 11. The development section is interrupted for the theme and two variations on the Entr'acte. The tutti sections after each variation are based on "Eh bien! tout est-il prêt, et pouvons-nous partir?" (Act I, No. 5). The following section is a literal statement of "Ne nous trahissez pas tous deux," followed by a retransition and the sonata-form recapitulation. The coda begins in a similar fashion to the one of the Morceau de Concert, Op. 14. The octave pattern from m. 529 and following could have easily been the inspiration for a similar passage in Rococo Variations by Peter Tchaikovsky.