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The bar before the return of the principal theme in the Allegro of the sonata in E flat (Op. 75) furnishes another instance.  Again, in the Allegro of the sonata in A flat, known as “Le Retour a Paris,” there is a passage (commencing fifteen bars before the end of the exposition section) which, with slight alteration, might have been materially improved.

Of the early sonatas, Op. 10, No. 2, in G minor, is an interesting work.  It consists of two well-contrasted movements:  an Adagio in binary, and a Vivace in sonata form.  Of the Presto of Op. 10, No. 3, Professor Prout, in his interesting article, Dussek’s Pianoforte Sonatas,[87] says:  “Both the first and second principal subjects remind us irresistibly of that composer (Mendelssohn), while the phrase at the conclusion of the first part, repeated at the end of the movement, is almost identical with a well-known passage in the first movement of the ‘Scotch Symphony.’  Is the coincidence accidental, or did Mendelssohn know the sonata, and was he unconsciously influenced by it?”

In his three last sonatas (Op. 70, 75, and 77), Dussek rises to a very high level; he was undoubtedly influenced by the earnestness of Beethoven, the chivalric spirit of Weber, and the poetry of Schubert.  A new era had set in.  These three composers were neither the fools of princes nor the servants of the public:  they were in the world, yet not of it.  They looked upon their art as a sacred thing; and most probably the shallowness of much of the music produced in such abundance towards the close of the eighteenth century spurred them on to higher efforts.  Dussek had lived an irregular, aimless sort of life; he had wandered from one country to another, and had acquired the ephemeral fame of the virtuoso.  Perhaps he was a disappointed man; there is a tinge of sadness about these last sonatas which supports such a view.  Perhaps a feeling that his life was ebbing away made him serious:  his music now shows no trifling.  Explain it as you may, Dussek’s three last contributions to sonata literature rank amongst the best of his day; and the indifference now shown to them—­so far, at least, as the concert platform is concerned—­is proof of ignorance, or bad taste.  We say ignorance, because the rising generation has few, if any, opportunities of hearing this composer’s music.  It is eighteen years since his Op. 70 was given at the Popular Concerts; while twenty-three and twenty-nine years have passed since Op. 75 and Op. 77 have been played there.

The sonata in A flat, entitled “Le Retour a Paris,” is known in England as “Plus Ultra,” and in an old edition it is dedicated to “Non plus Ultra.”  The latter was meant for Woelfl, a famous pianist and contemporary.  His music is now forgotten, and his name is principally remembered in connection with Beethoven; like the latter, his talent for improvisation was great.  The late J.W.  Davidson, in his long and interesting preface