Preface (Simrock EE 5329, 2006)

In 1956 Bertold Hummel wrote a Little Suite for cello and piano in order to provide his young cello students with an effective performance piece. Since the work was published in 1976 (Simrock EE 2954), it has been one of the most successful standard works in this genre, as has the version for viola and piano (Simrock EE 2954a), which was created in 1990.
In 1960, my father expanded and orchestrated this composition at the request of the publisher Bernhard Bosse, who edited it in the same year under the title Drei kleine Stücke für Streicher. The three different character pieces are now labelled Intrada - Melodia - Capriccio and, with their concise themes and rhythms, give performers and listeners alike the opportunity to listen and play their way into the world of so-called "new music". The level of difficulty of the work has been deliberately kept at a level that allows even those instrumentalists who are only able to play their string instrument in simple positions to enjoy playing together.
With this new edition, the numerous youth and amateur orchestras in search of literature that sounds as good as it is playable once again have a work at their disposal that has lost none of its freshness and vitality even after 50 years.

Martin Hummel