Pesadori, A. H. & Dotzauer, J. J. F. — Air Suisse varié for piano and cello

In June 2026, the three principal cellists of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden (Norbert Anger, Sebastian Fritsch, and Friedrich Thiele) gave birth to an unforgettable evening dedicated to the music of Dotzauer (Dotzauer Abend), where, among the featured pieces, was something peculiar: a piece Dotzauer wrote in collaboration with a woman who had been his music theory and composition student in Dresden. 

This lady was Antonia Helene Pesadori (1798–1834), and she was a virtuoso pianist, an acclaimed teacher, and a composer. The piece she wrote together with her teacher—because yes, Dotzauer allowed this piece to belong to Pesadori’s catalogue rather than to his own—would be one of her last before meningitis would take her away from this world. It is based on an at-the-time-famous folk melody that sang about how the cows would have found greener pastures on the Alm hillside; this melody would then be arranged for several instrumentations over the years. 

The piece is constructed as a long introduction, the theme itself, and six variations, and while the piano is certainly occupying a predominant position, the cello part—written by Dotzauer—is at the same time challenging and excellently written. 

Following the stunning performance by Andreas Hecker at the piano and Friedrich Thiele at the cello, we set out on the path to create a new edition of this unjustly forgotten piece. The result is a gorgeous 40-page book including the full score, a detailed story and analysis of the pieces, and in-depth critical and performance notes. The two inserts contain the cello part in two versions: one with the original markings by Dotzauer and one with the performance suggestions by Friedrich Thiele, principal cellist of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden.

I hope you will enjoy this edition and that the dreamy melody of this theme will accompany you through time and space!