New Work by Beethoven Discovered, Reconstructed, Performed in Manchester
With a body of work as large as Ludwig van Beethoven’s, it would seem unusual that anything was left out. The famous composer of symphonies, concerto, sonatas, opera, and string quartets has a hefty legacy both in terms of volume and content. Recently, however, a new piece was added to the long list of masterpieces bearing Beethoven’s name. Part of the Quartet in G Major, op. 18, no. 2, which was originally billed as a lost sonata, was lost in 1800. Last week a team at the University of Manchester in England presented in concert a reconstructed version of the finding in string quartet form.
But why was this piece lost in the first place? Historians say that Beethoven actually was dissatisfied with the movement, and he threw it away in frustration. And while the general opinion is that the material the composer used to replace this movement (the G Major quartet in its current form), the discovery of any lost work by Beethoven is still a monumental find. While he might not have liked what he wrote, modern musicians and audiences alike still have an in interest in a pseudo-masterpiece. When the quartet from the University of Manchester performed the piece, the reaction was clearly better that Beethoven might have hoped for:
“I sense,” says University of Manchester Professor of Music David Fanning, “people were listening very intently, and the reception for the first performance was extraordinary.
Curious about this slightly trivial but still fascinating discovery? Click below to read more about the piece and the recent performance and to watch a video from the University of Manchester.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/30/earlyshow/leisure/music/main20113939.shtml
No comments yet.