Heinrich Soussman: Concert music for unaccompanied flute.

by Tom Moore

Some recent publications have begun to explore the wealth of the flute repertoire from the late
eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries (notably the collection Die Soloflöte1, published in four volumes
by Edition Peters), but most of the repertoire for the flute (both unaccompanied, and in chamber
ensemble) remains unknown and unaccessible. A case in point is the work of flutist and composer
Heinrich Soussman (1796-1848), a successful performer and relatively prolific composer for the flute,
known today, if at all, by his flute method and flute etudes, but esteemed in his time as one of the best
flutists in Europe. As of this writing almost none of his music is available in print or in modern edition,
and very little of it is even accessible in American music libraries. To my knowledge, none of his works
have ever been recorded, and even biographical information on Soussman is difficult to come by (there is
no entry for him in the New Grove, for example).
Soussman (also found spelled as Soussmann or Sussman) was born in Berlin on Jan. 23, 1796,
the child of a professional musician there, who taught him the violin. He then went on to study the flute
with Schroeck until the age of sixteen, when he became a musician in a regimental band of the infantry,
and participated in the campaigns against France in 1813 and 1814. After leaving the military his concert
tours brought him to Russia, where he remained for the rest of his life, becoming first flute at the Imperial
opera in St. Petersburg, and later (in 1846), director of music there. He died there in May of 1848.
Bringing together information from various sources2, I give below an incomplete listing of
Soussman’s published works. Out of at least 62 published works or collections with opus number, I could
only identify 25. Soussman, as was usual for an instrumental virtuoso, published to my knowledge no
works which did not include his instrument, and the surviving works include the expected genres -
sonatas for solo flute, variations for solo flute, duos for two flutes, quartets for four flutes, works for flute
and piano (or orchestra), and at least one work for flute and guitar.

Works List
1
Die Soloflote : eine Sammlung reprasentativer Werke fur Querflote allein vom Barock bis zur Gegenwart,
herausgegeben von Mirjam Nastasi. Frankfurt ; New York: C.F. Peters, 1991.

2
2 sources for works list and biography:

Pierreuse, Bernard. Flûte littérature : catalogue général des œuvres éditées et inédites par formations instrumentales :
general catalog of published and unpublished works by instrumental category. Paris: Société des Editions Jobert :
Distribution, Editions musicales transatlantiques, 1982.

The Universal handbook of musical literature. Practical and complete guide to all musical publications. Ed. by Fr.
Pazdírek. Vienna: Verlag des Universal-Handbuch der Musikliteratur, Pazdírek & Co., 1900, v. 17, p. 850-851

F.J. Fétis, Biographie Universelle des Musiciens et Bibliographie générale de la musique, Deuxième Édition, 1867,
vol. 8, pp. 72-73.
op. 2 Duos, 2 fl, concertants
op. 3 Theme and variations, for flute and string quartet, Breitkopf
op. 4 3 Brilliant and easy duos, 2 fl., Breitkopf
op. 5 Quatuor for four flutes
op. 6 Serenade for guitar and flute, Breitkopf
op. 10 Concertino, flute and piano, Schott
op. 12 Serenade, flute and piano
op. 13 Variations on Wir winden dir den Jungfernkranz, Lischke
op. 19 Concertino, flute and piano
op. 24, 3 Duos, 2 flutes, Cranz
op. 25 Six solos, flute Andre
op. 27 2 Quatuors for four flutes
op. 28 Grande fantaisie, flute, piano
op. 30 Trio concertant, 2 flutes, piano, Sneguireff
op. 31 3 Solos, flute, Sneguroff, Hofmeister, Schlesinger
op. 32, Introduction and Brilliant Variations on La Muette de Portici, Flute and orchestra, or flute and
piano, Ricordi
op. 36, 3 Duos, 2 flutes, Cranz
op. 47, 12 Easy pieces, flute, piano, Andre
op. 53 Neue praktische Schule, in various editions, including the Tagliche Studien (24 Exercises in All
Keys)
op. 55 6 Grand solos, Flute, revised by Wehner, C. Fischer
op. 56 Fantaisie “Souvenir de Paganini”, flute, piano
op. 57 Introduction et variations, flute, piano
op. 58 6 Caprices, flute, revised by Wehner, C. Fischer
op. 62 Air varie, two flutes, orchestra

without opus:
Variations on Der Treue Tode, Lischke
30 Grand Exercises or Etudes, Schott, Ricordi
3 Grand Exercises, 2 flutes, Breitkopf
Overture from A Life for the Czar, flute, piano, Gutheil
Polonaise from A Life for the Czar, flute, piano, Gutheil
Souvenirs militaires, ??, Schott
Trill table for the Boehm flute, Costallat

In this article I would like in particular to introduce flutists and music historians to Soussman’s
concert works for solo flute, which can be compared favorably with much better-known works for solo
flute from the time, including the familiar sonatas, variations and caprices by Kuhlau, ten years
Soussman’s senior. The list includes two sets of variations (without opus, and op. 13), three sets of solos
(opp. 25, 31, and 55), and a set of caprices, op. 58. The sonatas from op. 25 and op. 31, in particular, are
large-scale in size and demanding in technique, and will be discussed in more detail below. We can be
glad that original editions of all but op. 55 and 58 survive in a bound collection of Soussman’s work (also
including the 24 Daily Exercises and the 30 Grand Exercises) preserved at Yale University in the Special
Collections at Beinecke Library.
None of these works are dated on their title pages, so dating must be approximate and based on
external evidence. The set of variations with no opus on Der Treue Tod, and the Weber variations, op. 13,
both published in Berlin by Lischke, have no reference to the composer’s position in Russia on their title
pages, and it seems reasonable to surmise that they predate his leaving Germany for Russia. The Weber
varations must date from 1821 at the earliest, the year when Der Freischutz, from which Soussman draws
the tune that he varies, was premiered. The variations on Der Treue Tod, must be even earlier, since the
plate number given by Lischke is 950, in comparison with 1326 for the Weber variations. The Six Solos
op.25 already list Soussman as "First Flute of his Majesty the Emperor of All the Russias", and are
dedicated to Soussman's student, Colonel Alexis de Bolotoff. 3 The Yale copy has the date [1838],
apparently added by the cataloger. The Three Solos, op. 31 were published jointly by L. Sneguireff in St.
Petersburg, Frederic Hofmeister in Leipzig, and Maurice Schlesinger in Paris, with Sneguireff occupying
the central place on the title page among the three, which lists the publisher’s address as Perspective de
Nevsky, no. 83, and has a note that the publication was engraved and printed by Sneguireff. This work
would also seem to date to the 1830s, the only period in which this publisher was active (Sneguireff also
published Glinka’s A Life for the Czar, in a piano reduction by the composer himself. The opera was
premiered in 1836, and it may surmised that the piano reduction was published at about the same time).
The only source that I am aware of for the two collections, op. 55 and op. 58, is a publication containing
both works, with two copyright notes - one asserting a copyright, 1895, in the name of Charles Wehner
(rendered as “Carl Wehner” on the title page, and the other in the name of Carl Fischer, New York, dated
1908. According to the title page both works were composed for and dedicated to “Monsieur C.
Heinemeyer”, first flute of the Royal Hoftheater in Hannover. The edition is a “new edition, revised and
corrected” by Wehner. Heinemeyer might seem to be Christian Heinemeyer (1796-1872), or might
possibly be Christian Heinemeyer’s son, Ernst Wilhelm Heinemeyer (1827-1869) 4 - the latter went to St.
Petersburg in 1847 to be the first flute of the Imperial Orchestra.
If we assume the latter, then it might be plausible to date the solos, op. 55, and the caprices, op. 58 to the
period 1847-1848, after Ernst Wilhelm’s arrival in Russia, and prior to Soussman’s demise in 1848.
Interestingly, both C. Heinemeyer and Wehner served as first flute for the orchestra in Hannover. Wehner
(1838-1912) was a student of Theobald Boehm, was flutist, alongside Ciardi, at the Imperial Theater in
St. Petersburg (1867-1884), moved to Hannover in 1875, and was recruited by Theodor Thomas to go the
United States, and played with various ensembles in New York City from 1877 until his death in 1912,
including the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera. 5

The two sets of variations belong to a genre of works which was perhaps the most common genre
for unaccompanied flute from around 1790 to 1830, that of the set of variations on a popular air or tune of
the time, usually taken from a contemporary opera. Perhaps the most familiar examples are those found in
the Variations and Solos, op. 10, by Kuhlau, published in Hamburg by Auguste Cranz, which includes

3
This would seem to be Aleksei Pavlovich Bolotov (1803-1853), from 1832 on professor of geodetics and
topography at the Imperial Military Academy, and an important author on geodesy. Biography availalble at
www.biografia.ru (http://www.biografija.ru/show_bio.aspx?id=12013).
4
http://musicbio.wordpress.com/2007/12/11/ernst-wilhelm-heinemeyer/
5
http://www.stokowski.org/Principal_Musicians_Metropolitan_Opera.htm#Flute%20Index%20Point
seven sets of variations, as well as capriccios and rondos 6. Another less familiar set from about the same
time is the collection of Themes Varies by Niels Peter Jensen (a student of Kuhlau), in this case a set of
twelve airs with variations, published in a total of six books (also by Cranz), with two airs per book 7.
The variations by Soussman on Der Treue Tod are based on a lied with poetry by Theodor Korner
(1791-1813), set to music by Mauro Giuliani8 (available at IMSLP). The song is strophic, with four
strophes, and the guitar setting begins with an introduction for solo guitar. Each verse includes a
conclusion of five measures for guitar before the succeedsing strophe begins. In Soussman’s variations
this conclusion is marked “tutti” (in contrast with the vocal “solo” that Soussman varies). Interestingly,
the “tutti” is never varied, but always returns in the same form after each increasingly elaborate variation,
except for variation 5, which is in the parallel minor. The same tune appears in Jensen’s set (Book V, no.
1, making it the ninth out of twelve). Here it is transposed to A major, and the closing “tutti” does not
appear. Jensen gives the incipit of the text (Der Krieger muss zum blut’gen Kampf hinaus), which
explains the martial air and dotted rhythms of the theme.
The Variations on the Folksong by Weber from the Oper Der Freischutz “Wir Windern dir den
Jungfernkranz” (op. 13) are similar in style, but perhaps more fluid. The original is another strophic song,
found as Act III, no. 14 in the popular opera, where it is explicitly marked as a folk song (Volkslied). The
first two lines are given to a solo voice, and the refrain, with the same text each time, sung by a two-part
women’s chorus (SA). Weber’s original is in the key of C. Soussman’s variations are in the key of G,
allowing more brilliance for the flute. The seventh variation, although labeled as such, is really a sort of
mini-rondo to serve as conclusion (something not infrequently found in other sets of variations from the
period, including those by Jensen, and the extensive set of varations for flute and viola which concludes
the set of sonatas op. 1 by Steinfeld9).

The two sets of sonatas, the six solos, op. 25, and the three solos, op. 31, are the most rewarding
and ambitious among the concert works by Soussman for unaccompanied flute. Both sets now have title
pages in French (the preferred language of the Russian nobility), and op. 25 is dedicated to a student of
Soussman’s, presumably a noble amateur, Colonel Alexis Bolotoff. The set, op. 25, is carefully structured
by key, choosing those keys which were most effective and comfortable for the simple system flute
(although the works all require a C-foot) - no. 1 is in C, no. 2 in a minor, no. 3 in G, no. 4 in e minor, no.
5 in D, and no. 6 in b minor. Given this scheme, it is perhaps not surprising that the minor key works are
each in only one movement, given the predilection of the period for the major mode. The seriousness of
these works can be seen by the length of the outer movements in the three-movement sonatas in major
keys, with the initial movements in sonata-allegro form (those for nos. 1 and 3 are 258 and 331 measures
in length, respectively), and the fact that there is only one set of variations here, the closing movement for
sonata no. 1 in C. Most of the technical difficulty in these works is to be found in the passage-work in the
development sections, which is brilliant and effective, always maintaining a sense of direction. The only
“genre” pieces are the March with variations which closes sonata no. 1 in C, and the Alla Polacca which
closes sonata number 5 in D. Soussman has a few surprising chromatic passages (the rising first inversion
chords, moving by half-step from A to E at measures 48 and 49 of the first movement of no. 5) but in
general the language is relatively conservative.
6
available for download from the Danish Royal Library, http://img.kb.dk/ma/kuhlau/kuhl_op010.pdf .
7
http://img.kb.dk/ma/dankam/pjensen-6themvar.pdf
8
available at http://imslp.org/wiki/Der_treue_Tod_%28Giuliani,_Mauro%29
9
accessible at http://img.kb.dk/ma/giedde/gs01-30m.pdf
 The three sonatas, op. 31, with no dedicatee, in G, F and D major might be viewed as slightly less
elevated in style than the three-movement sonatas from op. 25, with the opening movements of somewhat
smaller dimensions, each of the central movements (no. 1 and no. 3 in the dominant, no. 2 in the parallel
minor) ending on a dominant seventh preparing the attacca entry of the concluding movement, and nos. 1
and 3 ending with sets of variations. The two variation movements, like the Weber variations, each close
with a free section unrelated in structure to the varied theme. Soussman has some inventive harmonic
moments in these sonatas as well, as for example the chromatic sequence of harmonies which passes from
D major through D minor, F major, B-flat major, B-flat minor, D-flat major, G-flat major and finally F-
sharp minor (enharmonic for G-flat minor), and thence back to the dominant of the movement, D
(measures 74-88 of the first movement of op. 31, no. 1). Soussman never arrives at the truly Italianate
level of florid ornamentation in his slow movements that Kuhlau or Jensen, for example, do, and his
passage work tends to be built more around chordal arpeggios than scalar or melodic material.
The solos, op. 55, and caprices, op. 58, edited by Wehner and published by Carl Fischer in New
York in the early years of the twentieth century are remarkably different in style from the four collections
described over, so much so that one might wonder if they are indeed by the same composer. Both
collections, the caprices even more so than the solo, seem much closer in character to the didactic
collections of studies by Soussman (the 24 studies in all keys from op. 53, and the 30 grand etudes, both
of which are specifically titled as pedagogical works rather than concert music). It is not always easy to
draw a distinction between the two genres, but at least in this case one might say that the difference is that
concert music is structured around rhetoric, with thematic development illuminating harmonic structure,
where as studies are likely to simply develop a single technical problem or idea without relating it to an
expressive musical purpose. Most of the twelve works in op. 55 and op. 58 are not much more than 100
measures in length, and none of them are in sonata form (the Alla Polacca, op. 55, no. 5, the longest of the
movements at 188 measures is in ABA form, with coda). The solos op. 55 are closer to being truly
musical, but even so the passagework can be too repetitive, as in the more than forty straight measures
based on the same motive (mm. 29-72) in op. 55, no. 1. Op. 55, no. 4 is based on the Russian National
Hymn (familiar to all musicians from the 1812 Overture), and op. 55, no. 6 seems to be a polonaise,
though not marked as such. Finally, the tonalities tend far more to the flat side (including movements in F
minor, E-flat major, A-flat, and E-flat minor), giving a sense far more of work than of play in comparison
with the four earlier works discussed above.
A final note with respect to performance: the details of interpretation, as marked on the printed
page, are strikingly different between the works printed in the first half of the 19th century (the Der Treue
Tod variations, the Weber variations, op. 13, and the solos from op. 25 and 31) and the works from op. 55
and op. 58. Indeed, though the variations have detailed articulation, there are virtually no dynamic
markings. There are more dynamic markings in op. 25 and op. 31, but nothing to approach the heavily
marked scores for op. 55 and 58, in which practically every measure bears a dynamic, an accent, or a
crescendo or descrescendo (sometimes all of these in one measure). Does Wehner’s score transmit a
tradition which was performed fifty years earlier, but not noted? It seems more likely that it reflects the
practice of his own time and place (New York, early 20th century), rather than that of early 19th century
Berlin and St. Peterburg.
I hope that this brief introduction will serve to introduce contemporary flutists to some
challenging and stimulating music by one of the brilliant yet forgotten flutist-composers of the nineteenth
century. Perhaps it may lead to performances, recordings and editions of music which deserves to join the
increasingly well-known repertoire of works for the unaccompanied flute.
Schematic analysis of the surviving collections of concert music for solo flute by Soussman

no opus number
Variationen fur Eine Flote uber das Lied von Korner
Der Treue Tod von H. Sussmann.
Berlin, F.S. Lischke
[Plate] No. 950

Thema. Andante. C. C major. 28 measures. Six variations (Var. 5, Minore, C minor). Title page, 6 pages of music.

Werk 13.
Variationen uber das Volkslied von Weber aus der Oper
Der Freischutz - Wir winden dir den Jungfernkranz
fur eine Flote von Soussmann.
Berlin, F.S. Lischke.
[Plate] no. 1326
Thema con Variationi. 2/4. No tempo marking. 16 measures. Seven variations (Variation 5, Minore). Variation seven - free, 6/8.
Title page, 4 pages of music.

oeuvre 25, Livre 1.

Six Solos pour la Flute, composes et dedies a son eleve Mr. le Colonel Alexis de Bolotoff
par H. Soussman, 1re flute de sa Majeste L’Empereur de toutes les Russies.
Offenbach s/m, Jean Andre. [1838?]
[Plate no. 6196]

No. 1. C major.
Allegro, ¾. 258 measures.
Adagio [G major]. 63 measures.
Tema. Var. C. Marked Tempo di Marcia. Theme, 16 measures. Six variations. Variation 5, Minor (C minor), marked Lento
Lamentoso. Final variation concludes with 13 measure coda.

No. 2. A minor.
1 movement.
Andante - Allegro Vivace. 251 measures.

No. 3. G major.
3 movements.
Allegretto scherzo. 6/8. 331 measures.
Andante Siciliano. 6/8 [D major]. 77 measures.
Presto. C. 136 measures.

No. 4. E minor.
1 movement.
Rondo Allegretto. 201 measures.

No. 5. D major.
3 movements.
Allegro. 154 measures.
Andante con moto. [A major]. ¾. 110 measures.
Alla Pollacca. ¾ . 140 measures.

No. 6. B minor.
1 movement.
Allegro moderato. C. 241 measures.

op. 31
Trois Solos pour Flute, composees par H. Soussman.
St. Petersbourg, L. Sneguroff; Paris, Maurice Schlesinger; Leipsic, Fr. Hofmeister.
[Plate] No. 174

no. 1, in G major.
Allegro. Sonata-allegro, 179 measures.
Andante [D major]. 73 measures. Ends on D7 leading into
Tema con var. Theme 20 measures long, 8 bars plus 12 bars. Second section is repeated.
4 variations, and concluding Allegro/Presto. Without repeats = 167 measures.

no. 2, in F major.
Allegro moderato. C. Form? second theme in relative minor. 151 measures.
Andante [F minor, marked Lamentoso]. C. 70 measures. Ends in C7 leading into
Allegro moderato. 6/8. 131 measures.

no. 3, in D major.
Andantino. C. 58 measures. Ends on dominant.
Allegro. C. Sonata-allegro, 178 measures.
Introduction [A major, marked Andante]. 64 measures. Ends on A7 leading into
Tema con var.Theme 24 measures long. C. 5 variations, of which the fifth is Minore in d minor, leading into concluding Allegro,
2/4. Total, 226 measures.

op. 55, op. 58, published Carl Fischer, New York,

copyright 1908, plate no. 11783-38

op. 55
Six grand solos

no. 1 in B-flat major.

Allegro. C. 113 measures.

no. 2 in B minor
Allegro. C. 107 measures.

no. 3 in C major
Allegro. C. 127 measures.

no. 4 in F minor
Allegro. C. 119 measures.
Includes elaboration of Russian National Hymn (e.g. as used in 1812 Overture).

no. 5 in A major.
Alla Polacca. ¾. 188 measures. Form ABA - Coda (B marked “Trio”).

no. 6 in E-flat minor.

Moderato. ¾. 146 measures. Polonaise?

op. 58. Six Caprices.

no. 1 in E major.
Allegro. 6/8. 127 measures.

no. 2 in E-flat major.

Allegro. 12/8. 119 measures.

no. 3 in G major.
Andante-Allegretto. 2/4. 147 measures.

no. 4 in A-flat major.

Allegro. 2/4.179 measures.

no. 5 in D major.
Allegro. 2/4. 129 measures.

no. 6 in G minor.
Allegro. C. 82 measures.