Luigi Legnani (Ferrara, 1790 – Ravenna, 1877) lived and worked in a historical musical period characterized by a relatively chaotic publishing environment, in which relations between composers and publishers varied considerably from region to region. Naturally, Legnani was no stranger to these events and presumably several of his compositions were never published or were published by less prestigious publishers with limited circulation. These limitations are part of the reason for those gaps in the numbering of his catalog that are the subject of so much speculation. The Scherzo a Chitarra sola intitolato / Dialogo tra una vecchia ed una giovane / Composto dal Sig,r Luigi Legnani was apparently never published. To date, no published copy of this piece has been found, with only two handwritten copies, both without a work number, preserved in the Library of the Orazio Vecchi – Antonio Tonelli Conservatory of Music in Modena. The first known performance of this composition by Legnani was on April 10, 1818 at the Società Filarmonica Modenese.
This book finally sheds light on the authorship of this composition, which is as unique as it is appreciated by the public of the time.
(Marco Mustardino, 16 pages)
BOOK PREVIEW
CONTENTS
Introduction
Introduzione
Critical Apparatus
Apparato Critico
Music
CORRECTIONS
• Digital editions prior to 1 DEC 2025: music measure 1, second bass note should be E instead of A
