24 Preludes for Viola and Piano

For viola and piano

24 Preludes

Wanderer

A musical travel diary for viola and piano, moving through twenty-four tonalities and twenty-four remembered places.

Year 2018
Duration 45′
Scoring Viola
Piano
Publisher Boosey & Hawkes
/ Sikorski
Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski Schott / Sikorski Score Abbreviations PDF

Concept

Twenty-four preludes as a journey. Each movement carries both a tonal identity and a place-name, creating a musical itinerary of memory, motion, and return.

Premiere

April 2018. Camerata Pacifica · Richard O’Neill, viola · Lera Auerbach, piano.

Structure

Twenty-four preludes following the circle of fifths. The cycle begins in C major and travels through the full sequence of major and minor tonalities to D minor.

Preludes

  • 1. C major

    Andante misterioso · The Alps

  • 2. A minor

    Scherzando grazioso · Paris

  • 3. G major

    Recitativo libero · Prague

  • 4. E minor

    Allegro ossessivo · Berlin

  • 5. D major

    Allegretto scherzando · Basel

  • 6. B minor

    Tragico · Copenhagen

  • 7. A major

    Recitativo, libero molto · Sion

  • 8. F-sharp minor

    Allegretto · Mulhouse

  • 9. E major

    Con brio · Bremen

  • 10. C-sharp minor

    Tempo di valse, umoroso · Venice

  • 11. B major

    Agitato · Verbier

  • 12. G-sharp minor

    Adagio nostalgico · Stein am Rhein

  • 13. F-sharp major

    Sognando · Schaffhausen

  • 14. D-sharp minor

    Andante magico · Himmelkron

  • 15. D-flat major

    Dialogo · Hannover

  • 16. B-flat minor

    Allegro ossessivo · Salzburg

  • 17. A-flat major

    Andante misterioso · Oberpfälzer Wald / Český les

  • 18. F minor

    Tragico · Terezín

  • 19. E-flat major

    Agitato · Dresden

  • 20. C minor

    Con brio, ossessivo · Hamburg

  • 21. B-flat major

    Sognando · Rudersdal

  • 22. G minor

    Moderato · Raron

  • 23. F major

    Andantino sognando · Sierre

  • 24. D minor

    Moderato · Vienna

Work Information

Full Title
24 Preludes for Viola and Piano “Wanderer”
Scoring
For viola and piano.
Year
2018
Duration
45′
Form
Cycle of 24 preludes.
Instrumentation
Viola and piano.
Abbreviations PDF
Premiere
April 2018 · Camerata Pacifica; Richard O’Neill, viola / Lera Auerbach, piano.
Publisher
Published by Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski .
Score
SIK04404 · ISMN 979-0-003-04404-0 · ISBN 978-3-689-03028-5.
Availability
Score available for sale through Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski and Schott Music.

The Work

24 Preludes for Viola and Piano “Wanderer” is a large cycle of instrumental miniatures written for viola and piano. The work continues Auerbach’s engagement with the twenty-four-prelude tradition while turning the form toward travel, memory, and place.

A musical travel diary: twenty-four tonalities, twenty-four locations, and the viola as a wandering voice. Work description

The publisher describes the work as a cycle inspired by the spirit of Franz Schubert and his Wanderer motif. Each prelude carries a characteristic title with both geographical and atmospheric resonance, from The Alps to Terezín and Vienna.

  • Form Cycle of 24 preludes.
  • Tonal Plan Circle of fifths.
  • Forces Viola and piano.

Context

The work was composed after an extended European journey through Switzerland, France, Germany, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Italy and Austria. In this cycle, travel is not treated simply as geography, but as a sequence of inner states: recollection, displacement, humor, intensity, elegy, and return.

The viola’s middle register gives the cycle a different identity from Auerbach’s other prelude cycles. Its voice is neither purely lyrical nor purely dramatic, but inward, mobile, and searching.

Online Materials

Public links related to 24 Preludes for Viola and Piano “Wanderer”. I did not include Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube recording links here because I did not find a reliable public direct recording link for this original 2018 cycle. The links below focus on publisher pages, score availability, premiere documentation, and reviews.

Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski logo

Publisher and Materials

Published by Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski. The score is available through the official Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski network and through Schott Music as product SIK04404.