Dotzauer, J. J. F. — Elegant Fantasy on L'Elisir d'amore, Op. 164 No. 3, for cello and piano
DOTZAUER PROJECT - EP. 19 - Tral-la-la la-la!
J. J. F. Dotzauer, Elegant Fantasy on Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’amore for cello and piano, Op. 164 No. 3 (1842).
In June 2026, the three principal cellists of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden (Norbert Anger, Sebastian Fritsch, and Friedrich Thiele) gave birth, together with pianist Andreas Hecker, to an unforgettable evening dedicated to the music of Dotzauer (Dotzauer Abend).
Among the pieces, most of which had never been performed in modern times, was a true gem: a fantasy (which Dotzauer describes as ‘elegant’!) on a most famous melody from Gaetano Donizetti’s opera ‘L’Elisir d’amore’. The melody (‘Esulti pur la barbara’, from Act 1, Scene 7, No. 5) is sung by Nemorino and Adina in duet and constituted the arrival point of Dotzauer’s piece.
In fact, Dotzauer doesn’t begin his fantasy with a straight exposition of the melody, rather with an elaborated introduction which brews the ingredients of the elixir together up to when the magic is ready to be cast! It is almost as if he posed himself the question: how did Donizetti get to this melody?
The piece is roughly 10 minutes long and it includes technically challenging parts for both the piano and the cello, although Dotzauer’s writing is nothing short of excellent.
Following the stunning performance by Andreas Hecker at the piano and Sebastian Fritsch at the cello, we set out on the path to create a new edition of this unjustly forgotten piece. The result is a gorgeous 28-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 Sebastian Fritsch, principal cellist of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden.
I hope you will enjoy this edition and that you will keep singing this theme for a very long time.
Thank you!
