Editor: Gorm Busk / Toshinori Ishihara Today many pianists are aware that Kuhlau, besides his little sonatinas, also has written several grand sonatas, which in style, lengths and difficulties may be compared to those of Beethoven. However, they have been almost impossible to find, as they have not been published since the time of Kuhlau himself. Now the IFKS (International Friedrich Kuhlau Society) has published them all. Professor Toshinori Ishihara, the founder of the society, has written out the music himself - an enormous task that deserves the highest appreciation. The Danish musicologist Gorm Busk has written the introduction, the editorial commentaries and a short biography. All in all this publication fully meets the requirements expected by a scholarly edition. The 19 sonatas are divided this way, each volume containing about 120 pages: Vol. I: op.6a nr.1-3, op.4 Vol. II: op.5a, op.6b, op.8a, op.127 Vol. III: op.26 nr.1-3, op.30 Vol. IV: op.34, op.46 nr.1-3, op.52 nr.1-3 These sonatas, which in a contemporary review were described as "not composed for the common herd", will surely not be sold in the ten thousands like the sonatinas, but the professional pianists and the more serious amateurs will welcome this publication as one of the most remarkable in many years.