ABSTRACT
Performers in the early nineteenth century apparently continued to ignore the old-fashioned warnings of the eighteenth-century writers. Even while choosing to remain within the eighteenth-century guidelines for cadenza practice, both Fanny and Felix exercised their own creativity, providing a window into their own concepts of the 'unvollkommene Werke' of the eighteenth century as musical entities into which they could breathe new life. Felix did not leave as rich a manuscript source for his solo keyboard cadenza practice as Fanny did, but we can piece together some evidence resulting from his more public profile and his prolific letter-writing. Turk goes on to detail what a good cadenza should include: among other attributes, a cadenza should not be too long; should be in a mood appropriate for the concerto; should not merely offer a technical showcase and should not modulate to any key the composer did not use in the concerto.
