Baermann on his editions of Weber

Now I will tell you something else that will interest you in part, since it also concerns Weber. This winter I received from Mr Rob: Lienau /: Schlesinger'sche Musikhandlung in Berlin :/* the commission to correct all clarinet compositions by Weber, as he intends to publish a completely new edition of them. I have now done this with the greatest certainty and love for the matter, and worked on it restlessly for over 2 months. But dear friend, what have I seen! It is quite unbelievable in what a state not only the principal part, but especially the piano parts of the two concertos were in. I had to redo the latter completely, since not a single note was to be used. Not only were there a lot of wrong harmonies and positions, there were even many transposed bars, and so have these compositions been handed over to the public for more than 40 years. I have only now come across these dreadful excerpts, otherwise I would have contacted the relevant authority earlier. The clarinet part itself was also in such a state that I am no longer surprised that these compositions were so horribly misused by all clarinettists, for there was no sign of performance, realisation, correct tempo or any kind of articulation. I have now given everything with the greatest accuracy, namely as these compositions were performed by my father and Weber himself, as I believe that I am the only living person who was able to do this. You will probably find some deviations in the markings, but these deviations were all deemed necessary by Weber himself, as they arose from his later development of taste, and the works had already been printed earlier. Similarly, individual passages were only submitted to the printer in draft form, as it were, such as the 3rd variation /: Adagio :/ in the Variations with Clavier, which is actually composed by my father, as I have (I believe) written to you before, and the clarinet part as it is printed has actually only provided a point of reference for the clavier player. I have now given all these passages exactly as they were played by my father with Weber, and you will be surprised at the significant difference. I have also inserted the passage that Weber added later in the F minor Concerto in the 1st Allegro 1st part with cadenza*, and thus corrected everything as it should actually be. I believe that the concertos and other compositions will now be much better understood and enjoyed, and I hope that you are satisfied with this work. -

Post-edited Deepl translation. For original transcription see below.