Swedish Musical Heritage - Hermann Berens d.ä.

Hermann Berens d.ä. (1826−1880)

Hermann Johann Berens, born 7 April 1826 in Hamburg, died 9 May 1880 in Stockholm. Composer, conductor, pianist, piano tutor and teacher of composition, active in Sweden from 1847. Director of music for the Life Guard Regiment Hussars in Örebro 1849−60. Director of music at the Mindre teatern in Stockholm 1860−80 and the Royal Opera 1863−80. Teacher of composition and instrumentation at the Royal Conservatory of Music 1861−80, professor 1868. Berens composed several operas, including Violetta (1855) and Lully och Quinault (1859). He was a prominent chamber musician and enjoyed considerable success in his own lifetime with his piano études.

Biography

The early years

Hermann Berens was born on Friday 7 April 1826 in Hamburg. His father, Carl Berens (1801−1857) was director of music for the army, as well as a flautist and composer of medleys, flute variations and piano sonatas. Most of his children were musical, and probably benefited from their father’s tutoring, although it is possible that Hermann received piano lessons elsewhere too. Hermann was also allowed to take up the violin and timpani, and for two years studied composition and possibly conducting for the deputy director of music in Dresden, Carl Gottlieb Reissiger.

In 1845, the nineteen-year-old Hermann Berens was given the honour of accompanying the Italian opera singer Marietta Alboni (1823−1894) on her travels. Alboni would later be regarded as the leading coloratura alto of her time, and for opera audiences in London she was even considered the equal of Jenny Lind. The largely improvised summer tour began in Prague and continued on to Berlin and Hamburg, went back to Berlin and then south to Leipzig, Dresden and Karlsbad (Karlovy Vary) to end with a detour to Poland, Hungary and Austria.

The first Stockholm years

Unfortunately, papers documenting Hermann Berens’s pre-emigration years were lost during the Second World War, so we know nothing about how he occupied his time at the ages of 20 and 21 before appearing in Stockholm as a pianist in a piano quintet from Hamburg. His debut took place on 8 December 1847 in August and Wilhelm Davidson’s music café in the Trädgårdsföreningen’s park on Drottninggatan.

Concerts were given once or twice a week as they introduced Beethoven’s ‘Archduke’ trio as well as his own piano trio (op. 6) and string quartet to Stockholm. After eighty concerts and a Christmas Day ‘Nouveauté-Concert’, the ensemble disbanded and re-assembled as a string quartet that continued to perform, albeit irregularly and with different complements of musicians, into the 1850s. All the string players – first violinist Jean Meyer, second violinist August Adolf Berens (Hermann’s brother), violist Adolf Ferdinand Edvard Schmal and cellist Heinrich Mollenhauer − went on to become members of the Hovkapellet (the Royal Court Orchestra).

Örebro

How was it that in 1849 delicate Hermann Berens was appointed director of music for the Life Guard Regiment Hussars in Örebro? It was most likely at the suggestion of his employer at Falkenå manor, Johan Robert Ulrik Brauner, himself a lieutenant from an extensively military family. The year before he had taken on Berens as music tutor for his three daughters, and it was not long before the German tutor and eldest girl Mathilda took a fancy to each other. However, they had to wait until 1853 before they were finally able to wed. Berens was apparently a good teacher since he knew how to develop not only his pupils’ skills but also their self-confidence. It was for this reason that on 26 April 1856, he had his young wife sing Mozart at a concert with himself as soloist in a self-composed (and sadly lost) fantasy on Swedish national tunes for piano and military orchestra.

In the Berens file at the Musik- och teatermuseet (Stockholm Music Museum) is an undated newspaper article in four parts on the Örebro music scene in the 1850s and a travel journal from the late summer of 1850 in which Hermann, in surprisingly good Swedish, recounts his first trip home to see his parents and siblings in Hamburg and his teacher in Dresden, and his travels to Leipzig and Parchim. His diary bespeaks the ease with which the 24-year-old Berens was able to make friends. He was also popular in society, and with his aptitude at the piano and gorgeous tenor voice, he was able to entertain large groups and make them beg for more.

The young diarist was able to look back upon a brilliant winter season in Örebro. He had found a companion in the local organist, Karl Johan Lewerth, who helped him breathe life into the languishing cultural life of the county town, and whose choleric temperament and musical stance, roughly at the level of Mozart, matched his own calmer disposition with its passion for Beethoven. Their six ‘Evening Balls’ with music and dance in the Societetssalongen were a great success and his German and Swedish fellow musicians from Stockholm treated the cream of the city’s four thousand inhabitants to string quartets by Spohr and Beethoven.

Reports from Örebro in Ny tidning för musik make mention of concerts at which Berens was the piano soloist, performing, amongst other works, Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s A minor concerto (27 Jan. 1854), Ferdinand Ries’s fantasy on Swedish ballads (28 Aug.1854) and Mozart’s D minor concerto (3 May 1857).

Return to Stockholm

In the autumn of 1860, Hermann Berens returned with his family to Stockholm, where he worked as director of music at the Mindre teatern composing and arranging music for its various productions. He was also made pro tem teacher of counterpoint, composition and instrumentation at the educational institution of the Kungliga Musikaliska akademien (the Royal Swedish Academy of Music). On 28 June 1861, he was entrusted with leading the school’s pupils’ orchestra. But it was not until 24 January 1868 that he was appointed professor and full-time teacher in composition and instrumentation. As a matter of fact, the institution’s board had selected him the previous year, but he had felt obliged to turn the offer down after the academy’s president, Prince Oskar, had recommended Franz Berwald as a teacher for the newly established ‘artists’ class’.

Hermann Berens's compositions

At this stage in his biography, it would be fitting to present an overview of Berens's 184 known compositions. Not all are extant, but their opus numbers, years of publication and premiere dates allow most of them to be arranged in four groups.
Group I comprises his production before his emigration in the autumn of 1847. It starts with op. 1, which has never been recovered, and includes several other lost opuses (nos 8−12 and 14). Also belonging to this group, apart from some piano pieces and songs of minor significance, are the first piano trio op. 6, the violin sonata op. 5 and a number of unprinted and evidently lost symphonic poems and works for theatre. Some information can be obtained from his rondos op. 4 on motifs from Friedrich von Flotow's opera Die Matrosen. The opera was premiered on 23 December 1845 in Hamburg but never reached Stockholm. Berens was then nineteen years of age.

Group II comprises the first season in Stockholm in 1847/48 and his years as a tutor and director of music in Örebro before his move to Stockholm in 1860. It starts with Lieder und Gesänge op. 16, which was published simultaneously in Hamburg and Stockholm. It also includes the string quartet in E major op. 78, which was premiered in 1848 and which, according to musicologist Martin Tegen, 'holds its own between Berwald and Stenhammar'. His small-town life clearly did not prevent him from publishing overseas, which causes confusion in the numbering of opp. 36−38, which in Germany and Stockholm denotes different works.

He enjoyed a modicum of success with his music to Zacharias Topelius's poem 'Sjung! Sjung!', winning second prize in a competition arranged by music publisher Hirsch in 1855. Earlier that year, his first music drama had been staged by the Kungliga Teatern (the Royal Opera): the romantic three-act opera Violetta. However, despite a full house and thunderous applause, it lasted for only four performances. It is a classic number opera with spoken dialogue and a remarkable amount of coloratura. The ballet music of the second act with its consertante violin solo and many arias and duets is enticing.

Group III partly overlaps group II, as Berens already had his sights set on Stockholm audiences while still in Örebro, in the hope of making his national breakthrough. The first act of his Shakespeare fantasy A Midsummer Night's Dream was completed on 30 April 1855 and its exquisite overture five months later. The work enjoyed a run of 15 performances at the Mindre teatern in 1856/57. This group also includes Lully och Quinault, which was staged by the Kungliga Teatern eight times in 1859/60 and five times in 1865/66 with a libretto that was originally written in German on a French thematic model. As for the rest of this period, he continued to write topical piano music, including the following two important pieces: a virtuoso Allegro appassionato op. 67 and a refined Lindblad improvisation, which Martin Tegen finds reminiscent of Liszt.

In a genre of its own is his original 'Gesellschafts-Quartette', or parlour quartets for piano four hands together with an otherwise conventional piano trio (opp. 23, 48, 72 and 80). All of these quartets were probably composed in Örebro but were published much later in Hamburg. Unfortunately we do not know for whom they were written: his siblings, Örebro or Stockholm society, or, dare one say, his wife sitting beside him on the piano stool with her younger sisters next to them on violin and cello? Berens, it should be pointed out, was never a member of the Mazer String Quartet Society, but did make guest appearances.

Group III ends with the milestone year of 1868. Five years previously, Stjernström had sold the Mindre teatern to King Charles XV. By then an ultra-modern venue, it had been fitted with gas lighting in 1859, which radically reformed playing styles. The King passed it on to the Kongliga Theatern (the opera house) and renamed it the Kongliga Dramatiska Teatern (the Royal Dramatic Theatre). In 1868 the under-dimensioned orchestra was disbanded. Every year, thirty plays were performed in the theatre on Kungsträdgården (at the site where Handelsbanken now stands) during the season's 200 evenings, obliging its director of music to adapt the instrumentation to his reduced circumstances and, if necessary, do some rewriting.

For the past seven seasons, Berens had had to live in the shadow of his predecessor August Söderman and under Ludvig Norman, who had omnipotent control of the country's only full orchestra, the Hovkapellet (the Royal Court Orchestra). Still, however, he managed to create two full-length works: the two-act opera En utflykt i det gröna, which was performed 16 times at the Mindre teatern between 1862 and 63, and the through-composed three-act Riccardo, which was performed seven times at the opera house in 1869 and which is notable for its use of bolero rhythms.
Group IV lasts from 1868 until Berens's death in 1880. The high-point is marked by two collections of three chamber music pieces each: the three fresh, melodious string trios op. 85 from the summer of 1871, which have enjoyed a later revival thanks to the 1977 reprint; and three piano trios op. 95, which were published in Hamburg and Kiel in 1876, and again in 1910.

Berens's final contribution to the piano literature was his three album leaves op. 97 from 1878. However, many of his compositions for students of piano are still widely used around the world, mainly the 40 études in Neueste Schule der Geläufigkeit op. 61 as well as the exercises in opp. 66, 70, 74, 77, 79, 88 and 89 and the sonatas in op. 81.

Despite the widespread publication and popularity of his étude collections, the household that Hermann Berens left behind was far from well-to-do, and the cost of his funeral had to be covered by his friends, according to a receipt in the Musik- och teaterbiblioteket's Lovén collection. His closest friend, music publisher Abraham Hirsch, put up half the money required.

Legacy

Forty-seven years after Berens’s death, his daughter, Anna Sofia Berens, was interviewed by Axel Ringström. Readers of Nerikes Allehandas thus learned that her father was by and large quiet and reserved: ‘He never said a word to us children. Early disease took its toll on him and he was full of a restless creativity, and didn’t have enough strength for his loved ones.’

What was it, then, that transformed the cheerful, extroverted 27- year-old groom to the taciturn, melancholic 54-year-old, who ‘after prolonged suffering’, as his obituary notice read, died on Sunday 9 May 1880? Maybe a clue can be found in the certificate that the provincial doctor J. F. Svedberg issued on 4 September 1879 and that was appended to Berens’s application to take leave of absence from the Musikaliska akademien: ‘… who for many years has suffered from diabetes mellitus is currently so enfeebled that he is incapable of performing his duties’.

Berens may have heard the music of Wagner in Dresden, but he never forsook the idols of his youth: Beethoven, Schumann, Spohr and Lortzing. His diagnosis would explain why he never managed to raise the bar. Diabetes is a disease that commonly onsets at an early age, in his case perhaps while he was still in Örebro or in Stockholm and caused by the pressure to achieve. Symptoms include chronic fatigue, dejection, feelings of inadequacy, and depression, as well as sudden changes of mood. The disease was probably exacerbated by the strain of conducting at the theatre. Knowledge of this handicap mitigates the judgement of posterity on his artistic shortcomings, for today we have a better understanding of his sterling musicianship than that shown by his colleagues.

Carl-Gunnar Åhlén © 2014
Trans. Neil Betteridge

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Bibliography

Sources

Summary list of works

3 operas (Violetta, Lully och Quinault, Riccardo), operettas/comic operas/vaudevilles (e.g. A Midsummer Night’s Dream, En utflykt i det gröna), incidental music, orchestral pieces (overture, En sjöfarares nöjen och försakelser), chamber music (string quartet, 3 string trios, 5 piano trios, violin sonata, 4 Gesellschafts-Quartetten), works for piano (e.g. piano sonata, Grand scène italienne, Dorfgeschichten, 2 sonatas for piano 4-h, études), works for organ, vocal music (e.g. songs with piano).

Collected works

Opera
Violetta, romantic opera in three acts (Carl Blink) = Louise Granberg after a Danish ballet, ballet by Anders Selinder, 1855.
Lully och Quinault, comic opera in two acts after the French original =Lully, ou les Petits violons de Mademoiselle (F Dumanoir and Clairville, trans. by Louise Granberg), 1859.
Riccardo, comic opera in three acts (Frans Hedberg) 1869.

Incidental music: original works and arrangements (after Dahlgren 1866)
En sommarnattsdröm, operetta in two acts, adaptation Stjernström (Rosier and de Leuven), 1855.
Man kan hvad man vill, vaudeville in two acts (Ancelot and de Comberousse, trans. by Louise Granberg), music arranged by Hermann Berens, performed 14 times between 10 Dec. 1860−10 Jan. 1862.
Johan Fredman, a 'Bellmaniad' in five acts by Louise Stjernström, music arranged by Hermann Berens, 4 May−8 Sep. 1861.
Berthas piano, comedy-vaudeville (Berriére and Lorin, trans. L A Malmgren), music partly composed, partly arranged by Hermann Berens, 22 times, 1 Sep. 1861−24 Nov. 1862.
Den ene för den andre, comedy with song in three acts (Patrat, trans. Louise Stjernström), music arranged by Hermann Berens, 17 Sep.−14 Oct. 1861.
Efter balen, comedy-vaudeville in one act (Siraudin, Delacour and Choler, trans. by Louise Stjernström), music arranged by Hermann Berens, 13 Oct.−24 Nov. 1862.
En utflygt i det gröna, comedy with song in two acts (Sardou, trans. by C.G. Oxenstierna), music by Hermann Berens, 1862.
Korp-Kristi. Ett Dalaäfventyr [A Dalecarlian Adventure] in one act with dance (text by Franz Hedberg), 1863.
I väl och ve Guds vilja ske! Drama in five acts with choirs and couplets, (Mosenthal after H.C. Andersen's Danish revision, trans. by Louise Granberg), music by Herman Berens, 18−23 Jan. 1863
Fregattkaptenen eller Salamandern. Comedy with song in four acts, after Mélesville, De Comberousse and Antier as well as de Livry, de Forges and de Leuven, freely adapted by Frans Hedberg, music partly composed, partly arranged by Hermann Berens, 23 Apr.−15 Jun. 1863.
Ur lotsarnes lif. Dramatic poem in one act with song (A.G. Dalin), music partly composed, partly arranged by Hermann Berens, 26 May−2 Jun. 1863.

Orchestral works
Ouverture [F minor] für großes Orchester, 1848.
En sjöfarares nöjen och försakelser, symphonic poem (probably lost).

Male choir
Drei Fugen [Content: 'Alles was Odem hat ...' ; 2. [without text] ;3. 'Zu Gott erhebe den Blick ... ']. SATB.  [With: Andacht (Mir ist so wohl in Gottes Haus) von Spitta in Musik gesetzt für 4 Männerstimmen.], 1845.
Sof oroliga hjerta Trost des Gesanges ('Wie der silberne Mond geht auf'). Gedicht nach dem Schwedischen des Dr. Sätherberg. Componiert für vier Männerstimmen.

Female choir
Frühlings-Abend ('Bei der Sterne Sphärentänze', H. Kriete), 1846.

Mixed choir and instruments
Fader vår, cantata by Stagnelius, music by Hermann Berens. Vater unser. Cantate... In Musik gesetzt fur vierstimmigen Solo- und Chorgesang mit Begleitung der Orgel oder des Pianofortes op. 45, 1856. Ny tidning för musik no. 52, 6 December 1856. Printed in Erfurt and Leipzig.
Arrangement for piano four hands of Lindblad's song cycle for mixed choir and piano, 1851.

Voice and piano
Lieder und Gesänge. ('Sei gesegnet, du meine Wonne', 'Rastlose Liebe' & 'Gruss an die Nacht') op. 15. Published in Hamburg & Sthm, n.d.
Vår och kärlek. Song for soprano or tenor. Published in Stockholm. N. d. (Italian, French and German song with piano accompaniment, 2nd ed., no. 8.)
Der König und der Landmann (Der Landmann), von G. Seidl, for bass and piano, 1846. Autograph.
Gute Nacht (Text: Ernst Vincke). Published in Hamburg & Leipzig, n.d.
(Omnibus für Gesang, no. 3.)
Six songs at the piano.  1. För länge se'n ('Mins du hur stunderna försvunno'). Words by Tegnér, 2. Far väl ('Nå välan! -Nun wohlan!') . German words by Melhop, 3. Du är mig kär! W. von Braun,  4. När mitt stoft i jorden gömmes. Op. 22.
Ett bidrag till qvinnornas historia. (Sann händelse.) Songs by Wilhelm von Braun piano piano accompaniment. Publiched in Stockholm (1850)
'Sof, oroliga hjärta, sof' (J. L. Runeberg) for one voice with piano. Published in Musikbilagan till [attachement to] Pariser-blommor, Stockholm 1851.
Förgät ej mig ('Hör du i qvällens ro'), for voice and piano, 1851. Autograph.
Three songs at the piano 1. 'För länge se'n' (Esaias Tegnér),  2. 'Ack, om små blommorna kände' (Heinrich Heine), 3. 'Du är mig kär' (Wilhelm von Braun) op. 35. Published in Stockholm, 1853.
Klagan ('Fåfängt till glädje'), for voice and piano, 1853. Autograph.
Sjung! Sjung!' Romance for one voice with piano accompaniment (Zacharias Topelius) op. 49. Published in Ny tidning för musik no. 18, 28 April 1855.
Nya sånger (3) [New songs] for one voice with piano accompaniment, 'Den öfvergifna', 'Du är min ro!', 'Zigenargossen i Norden', op. 50. Published in Stockholm, 1856.
Songs from the operetta En sommarnattsdröm no. 1. Shakespeares dryckesvisa: 'Här på bottnen af pokalen'. Published in Stockholm, 1856.
Songs and dittys for one voice from the operetta Lully och Quinault, book 1. Published in Stockholm, 1860.
Konung Davids 137:de psalm af Runeberg, composed for one voice-part with piano or organ accompaniment. Published in Stockholm, 1862.
Songs with piano from Riccardo, comic opera by Hermann Berens, no. 1. Published in Stockholm, 1869.
Idealet ('Skön som morgonrodnans första strålar'). Words by J.L. H-r. For voice and piano. Autograph.
Sehnsucht ('Über die Wolken') von Carlo Montano, for voice and piano, 1845.
Die Nachtwanderlin ('Eh' sich die Nacht hernieder senkt'). Ballade von H. Kriete. In Musik gesetzt für Baryton mit Pianoforte Begleitung, 1846.
An den Schlaf ('O milder Engel'), for voice and piano. Autograph.
Liebes Geheimnis ('Sie soll ich nennen') von Georg Keil, in Musik gesetzt für eine Mezzo-Sopran oder Baryton [and piano]. Autograph.
Auf Erden ist nicht Dauer ('Herz, wenn du gramvoll bist', A. von Stolterfoth), 1855. Autograph.
'Det gifs ett ord allena', for voice and piano, 1855. Autograph.
Die Räuber ('Wandrer zieh' nicht durch den Wald') von F. Löwe, comp: für eine Bass-stimme mit Piano-Forte. Autograph.
Den döende svanen ('På flodbädden simmar', Böttiger), 1855. Autograph.
'Süsse Heimath welchen Zauber', for voice and piano. Incomplete. Autograph.
Drei Gedichte von Georg Keil, Dr: Bärmann und Rob. Köhler. In Musik gesetzt für Sopran oder Tenor mit Begleitung des Pianoforte. 2tes Liederheft. 1. Liebeslied ('Er ist doch gar ein süßes Ding'), 2. Lied ('Du bist von mir geschieden'), 3. Die Schwalbe ('Traute Schwalbe baue wieder'), 1845. Autograph.
Drei Gedichte von Gustav Lierow in Musik gesetzt für eine Sopranstimme mit Begleitung des Pianoforte. [With graphite: 1stes Liederheft]. 1. Am Abend ('Einen Ton nach holden Saiten'), 2. Die Wellen ('Stets murmelt ihr Wellen'), 3. Arie ('Ob Linda schläft'). Autograph.
Vergebens ('Da steh' ich im Kreise') von Franz von Gaudy; comp: für Sopran oder Tenor mit Pianoforte, 1846.
Sie liebt dich ('Wandl' ich durch des Haines Sauseln', Gedicht von C. Hering), for voice and piano, 1848.
Och hade jag allt godt (Zacharias Topelius). To Mathilde. Published in Förgät mig ej! album för sång vid piano innehållande hittills otryckta arbeten: tillegnade Sveriges unga damer [album for song with piano withholding yet unpublished works: to the young women of Sweden], 1855.
En vattendroppes historia. Declamation with song (Sven Adolf Hedlund). Autograph.
Stjernfall ('Hvar ed man svär'), for voice and piano, 1858. Autograph.
Aria ('Himmel dig mitt lof') from the operetta En midsommarnattsdröm [A Midsummer Night's Dream]. Dedicated to Charlotte Bianchini, 1869. Autograph.
En tragedie. Folk song from Rhen. 'På deras graf stå trenne lindar.' op. 75. Published in Stockholm, n.d.
Jamais t'oublier. Romance pour une voix avec piano op. 90. Published in Stockholm, n.d.
Tre sånger för en röst med piano-accompagnement [Three songs for one voice with piano accompaniment]. ('Till sömnen', 'Blif hos mig!' & 'Vid en väns död') op. 96. Published in Stockholm, 1877.

Two voices and piano
Den blinde sångaren ('Sol går ned'), 1849.
Das Veilchen ('Von des Lenzes Hauch'), duett für Sopran und Alt [and piano], 1850.
Hymn till Apollo, duet for tenor and bass, 1856.

Three voices and piano
Bönen ('Milde Gud, du som mig hörer', Math. Orozco), terzet for two sopranos and alto with piano.

Voice, piano and other instruments
Lieder für Sopran, Bass, Barriton [sic] mit Clavier & Cello Begleitung. Heft III. 1. Andenken ('Ich denke dein'). Mathisson, 2. Mitgefühl ('Im Irrgang dieses Lebens'). Bass Arie. Mathisson. 1842,  3. Die Wasserfahrt ('Bei der stillen Mondeshelle'). Lied für Sopran & obligatem, 1842. Autograph.

Organ works
Fantasie. Op. 25. Cäcilia. Meisterwerke der vorzügl. Orgel- Componisten neuerer Zeit, Booklet 24. Erfurt & Leipzig, n.d.
Chromatische Fuge für die Orgel op. 84. Published in Leipzig, n.d.
Tvenne orgelstycken. Published in Stockholm 1870.
Fantasy in C minor for organ for concert [sic!], 1854.

Piano works
Das musikalische Europa. Zwölf Fantasien über beliebte Themas. Zur Unterhaltung und zum Studium für das Pianoforte op. 2. Published in Hamburg & Leipzig, n.d.
Utile et agréable. Six études enfantines pour piano op. 3. Published in Hamburg & Leipzig, n.d.
Zwei Rondos für das Pianoforte über Motive aus der Oper 'Die Matrosen' von Fr. von Flotow op. 4. Published in Hamburg, n.d.
La fontaine. Étude pour piano op. 7:2. Published in Hamburg & Leipzig, n.d.
Impromptu pour piano op. 13:2. Published in Hamburg, Leipzig & New York, n.d.
Deux morceaux brillants et mélodieux pour le piano op. 16. 1. Au bord du Mälar. 2. Valse étude. Published in Stockholm, n.d.
Otålighet. Caprice-étude for pianoforte op. 17. Published in Stockholm, n.d.
Jenny Lind. Fantasy for piano over motifs from the operas Kärleksdrycken, Sömngångerskan, Regementets dotter, Lucie, Norma, Friskytten and Figaros bröllop [The Marriage of Figaro] op. 18. Published in Stockholm, 1848.
Fantasies over Swedish national melodies, arranged for piano. [Dalarne. Westgöthland( I).] op. 19. Published in Stockholm, 1848.
Songs by Jacob Axel Josephson, arranged for piano op. 21. Published in Stockholm, 1850.
Les rivales. Deux morceaux de salon op. 24. 1. Moment capricieux, 2. Valse-révérie. Published in Hamburg, Leipzig & New York, n.d.
Taubenpost. Étude für das Pianoforte op. 27. Published in Hamburg, n.d.
Reminiscences de l'opéra: Il matrimonio segreto de Cimarosa. Fantaisie dramatique pour le pianoforte op. 30. Published in Stockholm, n.d.
Reminiscences de l'opéra: Il giuramento de Mercadente. Fantaisie dramatique pour le pianoforte op. 31. Published in Stockholm 1852.
Lätta stycken för snälla barn, comp. for pianoforte op. 32.  (Also under the title: Der kleine Salonspieler. Acht instructive Compositionen im eleganten Style zum Vorspielen für Pianoforte.). Published in Stockholm, also in Leipzig & New York, n.d.
Ode a l'amour. Troisiéme nocturne pour le piano op. 33. To the fiancée Mathilde. Published in Stockholm, 1853.
Souvenir d'Ängsö. Idylle pour piano. Dedicerad till fröken Sophie Piper. Op. 34. Published in Stockholm, 1853.
Mazurka di bravura. Morceau brillant pour le piano op. 35. Published in Mainz, n.d.
Quatre romances sans paroles pour le piano op. 36. Published in Stockholm, 1853.
Deux études caractéristiques pour le piano op. 36. 1. La harpe éolienne, 2. Les cyclopes. Published in Mainz, n.d.
Polka for ever. Caprice humoriste pour le piano op. 37. Published in Mainz, n.d.
Rosen's bild. Mélodie de Reichardt. Transcription pour le piano op. 37. Published in Hamburg, Leipzig, New York & Stockholm, n.d.
Vision. Réverie funébre pour le piano op. 38. Published in Mainz, n.d.
Réverie d'une jeune fille. Morceau facile et brillant pour le piano op. 38. Published in Stockholm, 1854.
I rosens doft. Favoritmelodi af prins Gustaf. Pastoral for piano op. 39. Published in Stockholm, 1854.
Dorfgeschichten. Ländliche Scenen für das Pianoforte op. 40. Published in Mainz, n.d.
Opern-Gallerie. Kleine Fantasien in Form von Potpourries für das Pianoforte von A. Willibald op. 40.
Hommage aux graces. Nocturne pour piano op. 41. Published in Mainz, n.d.
Grand scéne italienne pour piano op. 42. Published in Mainz, n.d.
Le Zéphyr. Morceau caractéristique pour piano op. 43. Published in Mainz, n.d.
L'agitation et la consolation. 2 tableaux pour piano op. 44. Published in Mainz, n.d.
Marcha mejicana, compuesta para el piano op. 44. Published in Hamburg, n.d.
Martha de Flotow. Grande fantaisie dramatique pour le pianoforte op. 46. Published in Hamburg, Leipzig & New York, Stockholm, n.d.
Tondikter, comp. för pianoforte op. 47 Published in Stockholm, 1855.
Die musikalische Schatzkammer. Romance de F Halévy, transcript, 1848.
Minne af operan i Stockholm. Fantasie för pianoforte öfver motiver ur operorne Zigenerskan, Leonora, Barberaren, Figaros bröllop, Puritanerna, Martha (1851?) Josephine-Mazurka av hr B-s. Published in Ur Nyaste Dansmusik på Josephsons förlag, 1853.
Vid Mälaren. Månskensstycke for piano, 1856.
Potpourri på svenska folkvisor for piano solo, 1857.
Second scéne italienne pour le piano op. 51. Published inMainz, n.d.
Deux églantines pour piano op. 52. Published in Mainz, n.d.
Robin Adair. Air écossais favorit, transcrit pour le piano op. 53. Published in Mainz, n.d.
Grand caprice pour piano op. 54. Published in Mainz, n.d.
Grand marche brillante pour piano op. 55. Published in Mainz, n.d.
Chanson à boire de l'opéra L'étoile du Nord de Meyerbeer. Paraphrase pour piano op. 56. Published in Mainz, n.d.
Boléro pour piano op. 57. Published in Mainz, n.d.
Pris-sonat för piano op. 60. 1. Allegro con gusto, 2. Intermezzo: Allegro, 3. Andante espressivo, 4. Allegro vivace. Published in Stockholm 1859.
Airs finlandais nationaux. Fantaisie elegante op. 61, book 1−6. Published in Hamburg & Stockholm, n.d.
Kinder-Etüden ohne Octavengriffe für das Klavier. Vorübungen zu ... Neuester Schule der Geläufigkeit op. 61. Heft 1−2 Hamburg, n d. (op. 79.)  (Also in edition with Swedish title. Stockholm & Kristiania, 1868.)
Airs finlandais nationaux. Fantaisie elegante pour le piano op. 63. Published in Hamburg & Leipzig, n.d.
Capriccio pour piano seul op. 64. Published in Hamburg & Leipzig. 1857.
Elfenspiel. Scherzo-étude pour le piano op. 65. (Also in edition with Swedish title.) Published in Hamburg & Köln, n.d.
Vorstudien für Clavierspieler zur Einführung in die Werke älterer und moderner Componisten op. 66, book 1−3. Published in Hamburg & Wien, n.d.
Allegro appasionato pour le piano op. 67. Published in Hamburg & Leipzig, n.d.
Causerie amoureuse. Premiére valse de salon pour le piano op. 68. Published in Breslau & Leipzig, n.d.
Rosen- & Dornenstücken für Piano op. 69. Heft 1−2. Published in Leipzig, n.d.
50 morceaux de'piano sans octaves pour les premiers commençans op. 70. Livre 1−3. Published in Hamburg, n.d.
Mazurka romantique pour le piano op. 71. Published in Breslau & Leipzig, n.d.
12 études de genre pour piano op. 73. Cahier 1−2. Published in Hamburg, n.d.
Miniatürbilder. Improvisationen am Pianoforte no. 1−6 op. 74. Published in Hamburg, n.d.
Haidenröslein. Klavierstück op. 76. Published in Hamburg, n.d.
Poetische Studien. 30 Clavierstücke melodischen und characteristischen Inhalts, als Vorbereitung für die Schule der neueren Meister op. 77. Heft 1−4. Published in Hamburg, n.d.
Sechs Kinder-Sonaten für Pianoforte. Also under the title: Sex lätta sonatiner (i Kuhlaus manér) [Six easy sonatinas (in Kuhlaus's style] op. 81. Published in Hamburg & Stockholm, n.d., 1869.
Neue Dorfgeschichten (2:te Folge). Ländliche Scenen für das Pianoforte op. 82. Published in Mainz, n.d.
Improvisation öfver A. F. Lindblads 'Öfver skogen, öfver sjön' för piano ensamt [Improvisation for solo piano] op. 87. Published in Stockholm 1869.
Öfningskurs i skalor, accorder och prydnader, innehållande 28 progressivt ordnade etuder för piano [Exercises for piano] op. 88, book 1−3. Published in Stockholm 1872.
Die Pflege der linken Hand. 46 Übungsstucken und 25 Etuden für die linke Hand allein op. 89. Hefte 1−2. Published in Vienna & Hamburg, n.d.
Fleurs du printemps. Deux morceaux gracieux pour le piano op. 91. 1. Impromptu, 2. Nocturne. Published in Köln & Leipzig, n.d.
2 valse-études brillantes pour le piano op. 92. Published in Mainz, n.d.
Zwei Idyllen für das Pianoforte op. 93. 1. Das Begräbnis der Rose, 2. Grazietänze. Publicerad i Leipzig, n.d.
Triangel-Polka. Published in Hamburger Tanz-Album für Pianoforte, 1851.
Riccardo, comic opera by H. Berens, arrangement for solo piano. Published in Stockholm 1869.
Three album leaves for piano op. 97. Published in Stockholm 1878.
Sourir amoureux. Morceau mélodique pour le piano. Published in Stockholm 1883.
Propheten, fantasy for piano over motifs from the opera Propheten by G. Meyerbeer. Published in Stockholm, n.d.
Overture to the opera Lully och Quinault. Published in Stockholm, n.d.
Hussarmarsch, comp. and arrang. for piano. Published in Stockholm, n.d.
Helsingborger-Polka. Tänze und Märsche für das Pianoforte. Published in Hamburg, n.d.
Valse andalouse pour le piano. Published in Stockholm, n.d.
Kongl. parad-marsch af A. Willibald. Arrang. for piano. Published in Stockholm, n.d.
Transcriptions for piano nos 1−6 op. 59.  1. Leonoras ballad akt, 2. Kung Carl XI:s jagd, Och hafvets unga tärna hon gick en kväll så varm,  2. Löjtnant Zidén ur Lindblads Fänriks Ståhls sägner. Published in Stockholm 1856−61.

Works for piano four hands
Ouverture [F minor] à quatre mains, 1848.
Riccardo. Overture to Riccardo, 1869.
Sonate pour le piano à quatre mains op. 26. Published in Hamburg, n.d.
Exercise pieces for piano four hands... op. 62, book 1−3. Published in Stockholm, 1864.
Genrebilder. 8 Clavierstücken zu vier Händen. Heft 1−2. Published in Mainz, n.d.

Piano trio
Trio für Pianoforte, Violine und Violoncell E major 1. Allegro non troppo, 2. Andantino,  3. Scherzo: Allegro meno mosso, 4. Finale. Allegro - Più presto op. 6. Published by J. Schubert Co. Leipzig & New York, n.d.
Second grand trio pour piano, violon et violoncello op. 20. Published in Leipzig, n.d.
Drei Trios für Pianoforte, Violine und Violoncell. Piano trio in F major op. 95:1. 1. Allegro vivace - Più presto, 2. Andante sostenuto, 3. Vivace e giocoso. Published in Hamburg & Kiel, n.d., Kiel 1876, revised by Hans Sitt Leipzig, 1910
Drei Trios für Pianoforte, Violine und Violoncell. Pianotrio no. 2 in G minor op. 95:2. 1. Allegro, 2. Andante con moto - Con brio, 3. Allegro con fuoco op. 95. Published in Hamburg & Kiel, n.d., Kiel 1876, revised by Hans Sitt Leipzig, 1910
Drei Trios für Pianoforte, Violine und Violoncell. Piano trio no. 3 in D major op. 95:3. 1. Allegro vivace -- Più presto, 2. Andante sostenuto, 3. Vivace e giocoso op. 95. Published in Hamburg & Kiel, n.d. Kiel 1876, revised by Hans Sitt Leipzig, 1910  

Piano four hands with strings
Gesellschafts-Quartett für das Pianoforte zu 4 Händen, Violine und Violoncell no. 1 in C major op. 23. 1. Allegro, 2. Andante, 3. Menuetto: Allegro non tropp, 4. Allegro commodo. Published in Hamburg & Stockholm, n.d.
Zweites Gesellschafts-Quartett für pianoforte zu vier Händen, Violine und Violoncello no. 2 in D minor op. 48. 1. Allegro appassionato 2. Andante con moto 3. Scherzo: Allegro non troppo, 4. Finale: Allegro assai. Publicerad i Hamburg, n.d.
Drittes Gesellschafts-Quartett für das Piano zu vier Händen, Violine und Violoncello no. 3 in A minor op. 72. 1. Allegro molto - Con brio – Presto, 2. Andante con moto, 3. Scherzo: Vivace, 4. Allegro vivo e scherzando. Published in Hamburg, n.d.
Viertes Gesellschafts-Quartett in F major op. 80. 1. Allegro vivace, 2. Andante con moto, 3. Intermezzo: Allegro vivo, 4. Finale: Allegro molto. Published in Hamburg, n.d.
Fantasy over Swedish songs for piano, 2 violins, viola and cello, 1848.

String trio
Drei Trios fur Violine, Bratsche und Violoncell. String trio no. 1 in D major op. 85:1. 1. Allegro vivace, 2. Andante maestoso, 3. Menuett: Allegro non troppo 4. Rondo-Finale: Allegro non troppo. Published in Hamburg & Leipzig, n.d. Amadeus Verlag, Winterthur, 1977.
Drei Trios fur Violine, Bratsche und Violoncell. String trio no. 2 in D major op. 85:2. 1. Allegro agitato, 2. Andante con moto, 3. Allegro patetico, 4. Finale: Allegro vivace. Published in Hamburg & Leipzig, n.d., Amadeus Verlag, Winterthur, 1977.
Drei Trios fur Violine, Bratsche und Violoncell. String trio no. 3 in F major op. 85:3. 1. Allegro, 2. Andante, 3. Allegro scherzando, 4. Allegro vivace e con brio. Published in Hamburg & Leipzig, n.d. Amadeus Verlag, Winterthur, 1977.
Fugue for violin, viola, cello, in G minor allegro non troppo, 1856. Autograph.

String quartet
Grosses Quartett N:o 1 in E für zwei Violinen, Viola und Violoncell op. 78. 1. Moderato – Allegro, 2. Romanze: Andante larghetto, 3. Scherzo: Allegro, 4. Finale: Allegro con moto. Published in Bremen & Leipzig, n.d. Parts printed in around 1868.

Violin and piano
Erste grosse Sonate für Pianoforte und Violine op. 5. Published in Hamburg, n.d.
Im häuslichen Kreise. Melodische Skizzen für Pianoforte und Violine nos 1−8 op. 94. Published in Kiel, n.d.
Melodies for violin or violoncello and piano. 1. Ballade: Allegro appassionato D major, 2. Romance: Allegro non troppo A major. Published in Stockholm by Abr. Hirsch, 1855.
Movements for violin and piano. 1. Tempo di valse, F majo, 2. Allegro non troppo, A major, 3. Vivace, G major. Autograph.
Duettinen. Heft 1−2.  1. Fünf Salon-Lieder für Violine und Piano,  2. Ballade und Romanze.  Zwei Salonstücke für Violine oder Violoncell und Pianoforte. Published in Leipzi, n.d.

Violin, piano and other instruments
Gruss an die Nacht. Serenade für Violine und Piano mit Begleitung von Violoncello und Harmonium ad libitum op. 86. Published in Cologne & Leipzig, n.d.

Piano and orchestra
Fantasy over Swedish national melodies for piano and orchestra, 1856. Probably lost.