JAVS Spring 2026

In 2008, Drüner’s private collection was incorporated into PIVA. Along with it came the manuscript Notturno per violino e viola obbligati del signor Luigi Boccherini , as well as 116 additional copyist manuscripts, 160 autograph manuscripts and letters by composers, more than 2,300 printed viola works spanning the seventeenth through twentieth centuries, and hundreds of photographs, xerox copies, and microfilms. Also included were Drüner’s own newly edited publications, as well as those of Walter Lebermann. The scale and scholarly consistency of this donation provide important context for evaluating the provenance of individual manuscripts within the collection. In preparation for this study, I contacted the curator of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Dr. David Day, to obtain a detailed inventory of the Ulrich Drüner Collection. Beginning with the copyist manuscripts, I compared composer attributions and titles with listings in Zeyringer’s repertory guide and with holdings in libraries worldwide using WorldCat. After compiling a list of unknown or unpublished works, I faced the practical challenge that much of the collection had not yet been fully catalogued and was therefore unsearchable through the library’s electronic database. With the assistance of library staff and Dr. Day, I was able to access a selection of manuscripts from my list. In examining these materials, I sought works that were not only musically compelling, but also capable of contributing meaningfully to the existing body of printed viola repertoire. Within this context, the manuscript Notturno per violino e viola obbligati del signor Luigi Boccherini stood out immediately for both its attribution and its potential historical significance. collection, he has not yet responded to requests for additional information. Documentation accompanying the donation confirms, however, that he acquired the manuscript in 2006. In correspondence with Dr. Rudolf Rasch, 13 I learned of a reportedly authentic Boccherini manuscript that was “auctioned by Christie’s in Rome in 2006.” 14 It is therefore plausible that the manuscript sold at that auction subsequently entered Drüner’s collection before being transferred to PIVA at Brigham Young University. Although Drüner himself would likely be able to provide further insight into how this manuscript entered his

Drüner provided a brief descriptive note for each item in his collection. His description of the Notturno manuscript reads as follows (with original bolding): Notturno Per Violino e Viola Obbligati Del Sig. Luigi Boccherini. 2 parts: Violino 7 pp., Viola 7 pp., small oblong folio, paper partly in a fragile state, both parts bound together in a fine parchment portfolio. Both parts are written by a professional copyist, the interpretational markings, however, are completed in Boccherini’s autograph. This manuscript is an important discovery for the viola repertory: Gérard nor any other bibliography mention this work. The complete autograph seems to be lost. While not published, composers distributed (as usual in these times) copyist’s copies controlled and corrected by the author. This description demonstrates that Drüner recognized the manuscript’s significance prior to its transfer to BYU. In addition to detailing its physical condition, he explicitly notes the presence of interpretive markings in Boccherini’s hand—a feature consistent with eighteenth-century practices of composer-supervised copyist manuscripts. Taken together with the absence of this work from Gérard’s thematic catalogue and other bibliographic sources, Drüner’s assessment positions the Notturno as a credible and noteworthy addition to the known viola repertoire, pending further stylistic and manuscript analysis. Notturno per violino e viola obbligati The manuscript of Notturno per violino e viola obbligati is written on a fragile pressed paper measuring 22.5 cm by 29 cm. Multiple holes in the paper interfere at times with the legibility of the notation, and no identifying watermarks are visible. The violin and viola parts are presented separately, each beginning with a title page reading “Notturno per violino e viola obbligati del sig. Luigi Boccherini,” followed by the designation Violino or Viola respectively. The movements are titled Largo, Allegro, Largo, Allegro, Minuetto, and La Buena Notte: Presto assai . Based on the continuity of musical material, the paired Largo and Allegro sections appear to function as unified movements, suggesting a three-movement overall structure.

Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 42, No. 1, Spring 2026

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