Concerto in E-flat major by Joseph Schubert : a critical edition with commentary

Violists today have much music from which to choose. Works exist for unaccompanied viola, viola and piano, and chamber ensemble including viola. Many of these works, especially those from this century, were written specifically for the viola. In addition, a number of earlier original viola works have been recently rediscovered. There are not, however, any great number of concertos for viola and orchestra.According to David Daniels' Orchestral Music: A Handbook, there are nineteen works in the general repertoire for viola and orchestra. Closer examination of these works reveals that few measure up to the standard of quality found in the concerto literature for other instruments. Violists, therefore, continue to search for new and rewarding music to play.The purpose of this study is to supplement the concerto repertoire for the viola with a recently uncovered work, the Concerto in E -flat Major by Joseph Schubert.The concerto is put in a historical and analytical context. Discussions of eighteenth-century Dresden's musical life and Schubert's life and works provide a context for understanding the Concerto. A history of the instrumental parts chronicles the Concerto's two versions. A carefully prepared musical text (based on manuscript parts from the Sachsische Landesbibliothek Dresden) is presented, with discussion of sources and emendations.School of MusicThesis (D.A.