The Perger-Verzeichnis ("Perger‘s Catalogue") is a thematic-chronological catalogue of instrumental compositions by Michael Haydn, compiled by Lothar Perger in 1907. Like Ludwig von Köchel's catalog of Mozart's compositions (the Köchel-Verzeichnis), Perger's catalog uses a single range of numbers, from 1 to 136, but like Hoboken's catalog of Joseph Haydn's music, groups the pieces first into categories (symphonies, concertos, etc.) and then sorts them chronologically.

Perger's attempt at figuring out the chronology is, however, so full of mistakes (including the attribution to Haydn of music by others) that later musicologists, instead of trying to amend the catalog (as they have with Köchel's) have created new ones from scratch. The most credible is the one by Charles Sherman and T. Donley Thomas, a chronological catalog of 838 pieces in which each piece is assigned an MH number in that range according to their best guesses at chronology.

Even so, Perger's catalog is still widely used by libraries, music publishing houses and some record companies.

For a more complete listing of Michael Haydn's instrumental and vocal music, see list of compositions by Michael Haydn. The following list only includes those pieces with a Perger number, even when they're not by Haydn. See also Klafsky-Verzeichnis.

Symphonies

Perger numbered the symphonies from 1 to 52, but he included suites from incidental music by Haydn compiled into symphonies by someone else, as well as three symphonies altogether written by others. However, Perger overlooked a divertimento in G major that is sometimes called a symphony.

Concertos

Perger overlooked a violin concerto in G major, MH 52, while the horn concerto he placed in a miscellaneous category at the end.

Marches

Minuets

For the most part these are collections of minuets that can be played on their own. Because Haydn wrote a minuet to symphony No. 33 long after the rest of the symphony, Perger mixed this minuet up with the free-standing pieces.

Inglese

Ballo

Serenades

Cassations

Pastorello

Divertimenti

Nocturnes

Though Perger called them nocturnes, some of these are more generally known as divertimenti. The list even includes a string quartet and a quintet.

Partita

Quintets

Quartets

Sonatas

Hieronymus Graf von Colloredo commissioned Haydn to write six duos for violin and viola. Haydn fell ill after completing the fourth, so he asked Mozart to write the other two (K. 423 and K. 424). The set of six was presented as all Haydn's, and Colloredo was unable to "detect in them Mozart's obvious workmanship."[4] With these Perger lumped a sonata for two violins and organ.

Preludes

Miscellaneous and fragments

Notes

  1. ^ Sherman (1982): lxviii. Perger 24 excludes the minuet (with trio and coda) which is listed as Perger 82.
  2. ^ Sherman (1982): lvii. "Although this work (Perger 45 [46 is meant here]) is derived from a separate larger composition, as are the six symphonies described above [No.s 8, 12, 15, 16, 17, 20], its form and its proportions call its authenticity into question. The Seitenstetten symphony opens with a substantial movement in sonata style followed by three short numbers. Two of these are minuets with trio—a combination of movements that occurs in no other symphony by Haydn. So curious a sequence of movements appears all the more dubious in as much as Die Wahrheit der Natur contains a true finale, which most likely Haydn would have maintained for its character and its length had he himself compiled this symphony. The Seitenstetten work, therefore, is omitted from the list of authentic symphonies."
  3. ^ Jens Peter Larsen, "Haydn und das >>kleine Quartbuch<<" Acta Musicologica, Vol. 7, Fasc. 3 (Jul. - Sep., 1935), p. 121, n. 3
  4. ^ John N. Burk, Mozart and His Music. New York: Random House (1959): 140

References

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