Max Reger, the creator of forbiddingly difficult organ music, could also take a different tack. His Thirty Little Chorale Preludes are intended for semiprofessional organists always on the lookout for good organ chorales for use in Sunday church services. Reger selected the best-known tunes of his day from the Lutheran hymnal. Most of them are still in use today and form excellent additions to modern services. Michael Kube, in a detailed preface, draws a vivid picture of the composer and his superhuman creative powers.

Soprano, Alto and Piano, Ger.

Publisher: Schott
Series: Schott
Pages: 20
Composer(s): Max Reger

Cello and Keyboard

52 Chorale Preludes

With his clarinet quintet, begun in 1915, Reger was remembering his role models Mozart and Brahms, whose works in this genre he particularly admired. This melancholic quintet that is worked through in a strictly motivic way was to be Reger's last opus. Shortly after he had sent it to his publisher, he died of a heart attack in May 1916. The quintet was to become his swan song, first performed at a memorial for the composer on 6 November 1916. Almost one hundred years later, Henle now publishes it for the first time in an Urtext edition, edited by the Reger scholar Michael Kube.

With his clarinet quintet, begun in 1915, Reger was remembering his role models Mozart and Brahms, whose works in this genre he particularly admired. This melancholic quintet that is worked through in a strictly motivic way was to be Reger's last opus. Shortly after he had sent it to his publisher, he died of a heart attack in May 1916. The quintet was to become his swan song, first performed at a memorial for the composer on 6 November 1916. Almost one hundred years later, Henle now publishes it for the first time in an Urtext edition, edited by the Reger scholar Michael Kube.

Clarinet Solo

Just as Johannes Brahms had done with his Opus 120, Reger also provided parts for two alternative solo instruments for his Sonata op. 107: I will also arrange the clarinet part for viola, so that the work can also be played thus (letter to his publisher). He by no means wanted to leave the arrangement of the viola part to the publisher, as slurs had to be changed here and there as well as octave transpositions had to be made - Only I can do this work! The viola's sonorous mid range comes close to that of the clarinet, but lends the work its own timbre. Viola players will also value this Urtext edition on account of the practical fingerings and bowing marks.

When Reger submitted his Clarinet Sonata op. 107 for printing, he remarked that You immediately notice that the work was originally for clarinet (viola) but that it can also be played by violin and piano. He wrote the violin part himself, adjusting it to suit the needs of the violin. Even before the first performance of the original for clarinet, he had tried out the work with a violinist. Should the critics claim once again that it is incomprehensible - then these gentlemen are simply first class asses. The work sounds very good, is intimate chamber music and not difficult to play together. There is nothing more to be said.

For me, Sebastian Bach is the be-all and end-all of music; true progress lies and resides in him alone. It was with these programmatic words that Max Reger prefaced his answer to a survey What does Johann Sebastian Bach mean to me, and what is his significance for our time?, posed by the editors of a magazine in 1905. Reger had already proven his adoration of Bach with his magnificent homage to the composer, written and published in 1900 and probably the best-known of his works for organ. It is an established work in the concert repertoire of well-known virtuosi, but is also increasingly being performed by ambitious church musicians. Henle has now published this sea of notes and performance directions in an edition with a particularly clear and readable text.

Reger's Five Humoresques follow in the footsteps of the nineteenth-century genre inaugurated by Robert Schumann's Humoresque, op. 20. Occasionally Reger gives vent to high-spirited good humor, as when he quotes a hit tune from his own day, Du bist verräckt mein Kind (You're crazy, my child). The piano writing is imaginative, brilliantly pianistic, and harmonically rich. Our volume forms yet another addition to our series of Reger's piano music.

It is quite clear to me what is missing from today's music: a Mozart! With his trios which he consciously kept in a classical manner, Reger hoped to prove the contrary to the ignorant people, who for their part accused him of a lack of feeling and being too complicated. The instrumentation for his serenades op. 77a and 141a is rather distinctive: he omits the lower registers, opting for the bright tones of the flute, violin and viola to outline joyful musical figures and catchy melodies. Reger's own style cannot however be mistaken. These two serenades, which are technically not overly demanding, are not only suited for concert performances but also offer a welcome change for those engaging in spontaneous chamber music.

High voice and chamber orchestra.

Publisher: Schott
Series: Schott
Medium: Softcover
Pages: 12
Format: Full Score
Composer(s): Max Reger

Publisher: Bote & Bock
Series: Boosey & Hawkes Sacred Choral
Voicing: SATB DV A Cappella
Pages: 4
Format: SATB (divisi) a cappella
Credits: Reger
Composer(s): Max Reger

Publisher: Schott
Series: Schott
Pages: 108
Composer(s): Max Reger

Reger wrote this concise guide to modulation while teaching composition at Leipzig Conservatory and the work coontinues to provide valuable insights and instruction for musicians at all levels.

Transcribed for 2 pianos by the composer.

This volume brings together central works to Reger's output for the organ, such as the popular Introduction and Passacaglia in D minor, which Reger wrote as a benefit-work to assist towards the rebuilding of the organ of the parish church of Kronberg in Taunus and which is also within the reach of ambitious amateur organists. In addition the collection offers a series of separate organ pieces - preludes, fugues, and so on - along with chorale preludes. Some rarities are to be discovered among these works, in particular a Fugue in C minor that for a long time remained unknown: this short and easy-to-play work was recently discovered in an old anthology which is out of print. We now present it for the first time in a critical edition, thus once again making it available to Reger enthusiasts.

for Solo Violin

for Solo Violin

Publisher: Bote & Bock
Series: Boosey & Hawkes Chamber Music
Voicing: Violin
Pages: 22
Composer(s): Max Reger

Organ Solo

Preludes and Fugues for violin solo in a minor, d minor, G Major, g minor, D Major, e minor

Reger's miniature for violin and piano is now available in arrangements for clarinet, viola and cello. Based on the first edition.

Reger's miniature for violin and piano is now available in arrangements for clarinet, viola and cello. Based on the first edition.