Archduke. Par BEETHOVEN LUDWIG VAN. By the time Beethoven completed the ?Archduke? Trio in 1811 he had been working on it for several years. In April 1814 he could finally give the work its première together with Ignaz Schuppanzigh and Joseph Linke, this being Beethoven?s last public appearance as a pianist. He dedicated the piece to his friend, pupil and patron, Archduke Rudolph of Austria. Today…

Arrangeur: Jonathan Del Mar. Par BEETHOVEN LUDWIG VAN. Although Beethoven did not live to see the publication of his String Quartets op. 130 and op. 133, he oversaw the production process, making corrections and putting the works into their final form. The String Quartet op. 130 is the longest piece within Beethoven's extensive chamber music oeuvre. Originally, the Große Fuge was meant to be the f…

Par BEETHOVEN LUDWIG VAN. Nicknamed 'The Emperor' for its nobility and grandeur, Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 in E Flat, Op. 73 was the composer's last piano concerto. Written in 1809, when Beethoven was 39, it ranks among the most popular concertos in the repertoire, and is considered to be one of the strongest works conceived by Beethoven. Reproduced here from an authoritative early edition,…

Par BEETHOVEN LUDWIG VAN. Beethoven completed his String Quartet Op.135 at Wasserdorf Castle in Gneixenhof, where he sought to recuperate with his nephew Karl after the latter?s failed suicide attempt in summer 1826. It stands out among his late quartets owing to the often cheerful, almost pastoral character of its four movements. Since Beethoven?s death it has often been interpreted as an attempt…

For Pianoforte And Orchestra. Par BEETHOVEN LUDWIG VAN. The autograph to Beethoven's Piano Concerto #4 is lost. For every new edition which has appeared during the course of time there have been only two authentic sources to draw upon- the copyist's manuscript of the score with Beethoven's own corrections and the first edition in parts from 1808 which was published in Vienna and which contains a f…

Par BEETHOVEN LUDWIG VAN. Beethoven's bagatelles are short compositions written over the span of the composer's lifetime, from the early to the late periods. Ranging from easy to intermediate level, these popular pieces display a wide variety of moods and musical ideas and are favourites with students and accomplished pianists alike. The Romantic era abounded in short compositions for piano: etude…

Par BEETHOVEN LUDWIG VAN. Many anecdotes surround String Quartet op. 131: Beethoven is said to have considered it to be his finest quartet and of his late period works, the one dearest to his heart. It is also believed that the composer invested so much of himself in it: his ailing health, the social isolation brought about by his deafness and the suicide attempt of his nephew Karl. In addition it…

Par BEETHOVEN LUDWIG VAN. Beethoven gave this sonata the unusual title “Sonata quasi una Fantasia, ” which it shares, along with its opus number, with the considerably more famous “Moonlight” Sonata. Both sonatas – along with the preceding sonata with the funeral march op. 26, and the three sonatas op. 31 soon to follow – usher in Beethoven ’s conquest of new musical territory in this genre. With …