Septet (Beethoven)

The Septet in E flat major , Op. 20 by Ludwig van Beethoven was sketched in 1799 and came in the same year for the first performance . The first edition, published in 1802, is dedicated to Empress Maria Theresa .

instrumentation

clarinet

horn

Sentence sequence

Adagio - Allegro con brio
Adagio cantabile
Tempo di minuetto
Tema con variazioni . Andante
Scherzo . Allegro molto e vivace
Andante con moto alla marcia - Presto

history

The first verifiable performance took place on December 20, 1799 in a concert given by the violinist and Beethoven friend Ignaz Schuppanzigh in the hall of the court trainer Ignaz Jahn (1744–1810) at 1023 Himmelpfortgasse. Beethoven's friend Countess Josephine Brunsvik mentions this concert in a letter and notes that her brother Franz was “enthusiastic” about it, “especially a septet composed by Mr. Beethoven, which must have been the ultimate, both in terms of execution and composition . ”According to a later statement from Beethoven's friend Emanuel Dolezalek (1780–1858), however, the premiere took place in the palace of Prince Joseph von Schwarzenberg . Beethoven is said to have proudly declared with regard to his teacher Joseph Haydn : “This is my creation .” The work was also performed in Beethoven's first concert, which he gave on April 2, 1800 in the Burgtheater .

The septet was soon one of Beethoven's most popular works, as evidenced by numerous arrangements. Beethoven arranged the work himself as a trio for clarinet (or violin), cello and piano and published this version in 1805 as op.38.

The subject of the fourth movement, which is said to be based on a folk song from the Lower Rhine, became particularly popular. The song bears the title Die Losgekaufte , but it was not found until 1838 in a publication by the folk song collector Andreas Kretzschmer (1775–1839). So it is possible that the song was written later, based on Beethoven's theme.

literature

Klaus Aringer, “Obligates Accompagnement” and the dramaturgy of the instruments in Beethoven's septet . In: Ann-Katrin Zimmermann (Ed.): Mozart in the center. Festschrift for Manfred Hermann Schmid on his 60th birthday . Schneider, Tutzing 2010, pp. 305–323.
Klaus Martin Kopitz : The early Viennese performances of Beethoven's chamber music in contemporary documents (1797–1828) . In: Friedrich Geiger, Martina Sichardt (Ed.): Beethoven's Chamber Music (= Albrecht Riethmüller (Ed.): The Beethoven Handbook , Volume 3). Laaber 2014, pp. 165-211.

Individual evidence

↑ Klaus Martin Kopitz, Rainer Cadenbach (Ed.) U. a .: Beethoven from the point of view of his contemporaries in diaries, letters, poems and memories. Volume 1: Adamberger - Kuffner. Edited by the Beethoven Research Center at the Berlin University of the Arts. Henle, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-87328-120-2 , p. 139 f.
↑ Klaus Martin Kopitz, Rainer Cadenbach (Ed.) U. a .: Beethoven from the point of view of his contemporaries in diaries, letters, poems and memories. Volume 1: Adamberger - Kuffner. Edited by the Beethoven Research Center at the Berlin University of the Arts. Henle, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-87328-120-2 , p. 258.
↑ Andreas Kretzschmer: German folk songs with their original ways . Volume 1. Berlin 1838, p. 181, no. 102 ( digitized in the Google book search).

[1] Klaus Martin Kopitz, Rainer Cadenbach (Ed.) U. a .: Beethoven from the point of view of his contemporaries in diaries, letters, poems and memories. Volume 1: Adamberger - Kuffner. Edited by the Beethoven Research Center at the Berlin University of the Arts. Henle, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-87328-120-2 , p. 139 f.

[2] Klaus Martin Kopitz, Rainer Cadenbach (Ed.) U. a .: Beethoven from the point of view of his contemporaries in diaries, letters, poems and memories. Volume 1: Adamberger - Kuffner. Edited by the Beethoven Research Center at the Berlin University of the Arts. Henle, Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-87328-120-2 , p. 258.

[3] Andreas Kretzschmer: German folk songs with their original ways . Volume 1. Berlin 1838, p. 181, no. 102 ( digitized in the Google book search).