May 2012

Three New Quartets of Beethoven?

 Believe it or not, in 1802, Beethoven did actually transcribe and arrange a piano sonata [Op.14, No.1] into a quartet which is now published by Henle in their Gesamtausgabe [Complete Edition] of his quartets. He did so because, as he put it in a letter to Breitkopf & Hartel, "it was fervently asked for," after which he remarked with typical modesty, "I'm sure no one else could easily do the same." However, apparently, someone else did try, for it is almost certain that Beethoven did not arrange his three Op.2 piano sonatas. They appeared a year after his death in 1828 and were published by the Paris firm of Pacini, appearing in their catalog immediately after his Op.59. Some researchers feel that this is evidence the arrangements were approved by him. The arranger remains unknown.

So, what do we have here. The first quartet Op.2 No.2 opens Allegro con brio and sounds like Haydn's Op.76, and in fact, has a theme a bit reminiscent of the first movement of Op.76 No.3 [The Emperor]. The following Andante exhibits better writing and the delightful Scherzo sounds like something from the Op.18 period. The finale is weaker and sounds more like Haydn's Op.17 with the first violin getting it all. Perhaps the arranger exhausted his creativity. The next quartet, Op.2 No.3 was republished about 20 years ago. The Allegro con brio sounds like Mozart, from the K.300 period, again the first violin is given a big part. The writing in the Adagio which follows is much better and sounds like the master from his Op.18 period. The Scherzo is excellent and the Allegro has a theme which reminds one of Op.18 No.3. The last quartet Op.2 No.1 opens Moderato with a tune akin to one in the 4th movement of Mozart's Symphony No.40, but the movement is very well written though perhaps more operatic than Beethoven might have done it. The Andante is handled with skill, a Menuetto and not a scherzo follows and sounds like Haydn, but the closing Presto non troppo is a tour de force, a very effective moto perpetuo in the vein of the last movement of Op.18 No.4.

While in no way can these works be considered long lost masterpieces, still, they are interesting. They are easier than the Op.18 and more on a technical level with his Op.3 string trio.

These works were recorded in 1992 by the Bamberg String Quartet, on Cavelli Records CD CCD 206