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<\/a>Autograph of the choral lied \u201eO care selve, oh cara\u201c WoO 119 in the Kafka Miscellany, folio 62v, British Library, London<\/p><\/div>\n
Still, to be found there is, for example, no less than a sonatina for mandolin and harpsichord WoO 43a from 1786; a drinking song \u201cErhebt das Glas mit froher Hand\u201d WoO 109 from 1791\/92; a lied \u201cDer freie Mann\u201d WoO 117, only 20 measures long, notated in two complete versions from the years 1792 and 1794\/95; or a choral lied \u201cO care selve, oh cara\u201d WoO 119 of 28 measures, likewise from 1794\/95. A three-part fugue for piano WoO 215 also comes from this early Viennese period.<\/p>\n
An interesting group of drafts does, however, concern the Beethoven works left unfinished. Here, we cannot always tell whether these compositions were, in fact, never really finished, or whether, as of now, a portion of these [once] complete drafts have simply gotten lost.<\/p>\n
A by now quite famous example of something that did not pass down to us completed is perhaps, in this case, really an unfinished work, the \u201cDuo with two obbligato eye glasses\u201d for viola and cello WoO 32<\/a>. It consists of two movements, a fast sonata movement and a minuet, jotted down by Beethoven at different locations in the \u201cKafka bundle\u201d. Although the suspicion that both pieces belong together is confirmed by the existing sketch material, as well as by the unusual scoring, it is still unclear how to interpret another piece following the 1st<\/sup> movement, for which Beethoven notated only 23 measures. Was this piece a substitute for the minuet? Or was it an additional piece, perhaps to create a sonata out of the three movements? Did Beethoven actually want to make a \u201cDuo\u201d by combining the two extant completed pieces?<\/p>\n Fragment of 23 measures for viola and violoncello, most likely belonging to the Duo WoO 32, Kafka Miscellany, folio 137v, British Library, London<\/p><\/div>\n While the duo does exist in a version that can be performed, since both movements were indeed completely notated (although without any dynamics at all, and only with sporadic articulation), other compositions in the sketch bundle are lacking crucial sections. This applies to the Romance cantabile<\/em> for flute, bassoon, piano and orchestra WoO 207, just as unusual in its scoring, as well as to the Duo<\/em> for violin and cello Unv 8 (numbering from the new Beethoven works\u2019 catalogue<\/a>). Of the romance, only a 57-measure section in the minor key is extant, while the following major-key section breaks off after four measures. Evidence suggests that this piece once existed in full, but also that it was the middle movement of a larger complete work. So, as it is today, the romance can, in any event, no longer be performed, not even as a single movement concert piece, unless someone completes it.<\/p>\n A page from the new Urtext edition of the Duo for violin and violoncello Unv 8<\/p><\/div>\n A similar fate befell the Duo<\/em> for violin and violoncello Unv 8. Surviving is merely a sonata-movement exposition that breaks off at the end of a page without a sequel continuing anywhere in the bundle or anywhere else. Unlike the romance, we cannot be certain here that there ever was a complete movement. All the more delightful it is then that we can publish this duo in a performable version as one of the first publications of 2015 (HN 1265<\/a>). We owe this to Robert Levin who completed the piece, based on what is extant, hence adding a little gem to the duo repertoire for violin and cello, which we hope will give musicians pleasure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ludwig van Beethoven is one of those composers among the … Continue reading <\/a><\/a>