New-York tribune., 1910-08-21

thoven O110-1 1920, which made at the begin
ming of the preceding article (and which 1
should like to have accepted, not as mere rhe-
torical hyperbole, but as sober and very truth)
justffies if it does not demand the setting apart
of a specal article for the consideration of his /
contribution to pianoforte music. The contri-
button is a considerable one, though in bulk it |
does not measure up with the product Of some |
of his predecessors the virtuoso-composers |
Of his own period. He did not write one-quar- |
ter as many concertos Mozart only half as |
many solo sonatas as Clement, one-quarter |
as many sonatas with other instruments |
obbTigGtO Dussek; but music his contrbu- |
ton surpaSses theirs it also surpasses all
that has been written by any composer since In
variety, artistic dignity and significance In
using the qualifying phrase "as music it is
intended to distinguish Beethovens pianoforte |
compositions from works whose merit lies
largely, if not chiefly, in their specific relation
ship to the instrument for which they were con-
ceived.
The Tont of view, moreover, is that of to-
Gay. No critical historian need hesitate to say
this, or, saying it, beg pardon of the names of
Schubert, Schumann, MendessOhn or Chopin. |
Not only is the climax of eleven decades of
pianoforte music as of eleven decades of SYM
phonic and chamber music, still to be found in
Beethoven, but the best examples in each of
the categories into which pianoforte music may
be divided are worthy of being classed with
the best examples of the other departments in
which the composer is acknowledged to be pre-
eminent Only the best examples, of course. |
In the large form of the symphony and the |
mass, in the aristocratic form Of the string |
quartet, there was not the temptation which |
beset him, it has always beset the great, to |
write much and print freely music which affords |
opportunities for the dilcttGnt to display their |
accomplishments. We cannot conceive the |
writing Of symphonies quartets potboilers (
but with a camorous public and importunate |
publishers easily conceive such thing |
IN the case Of pianoforte pieces, even when the |
composer is a Beethoven, to whom writing on |
commission was always irksome and sometimes |
impossible. What fate sometimes attended the !.
writing of work for occasion we see in the |
history of the Solemn Mass in D, which was |
completed three years after the installation Of |
the friend, patron and pupil whom Beethoven
wished to honor with il.
The difference in merit, therefore, as we'll |
the limitations set for these studies, compel |
me to choose chiefly two classes of compost |
tions from which to deduce Beethoven'S large |
and unique signifcance-the solo sonatas and |
variations. OF the solo sOnatas there are thirty
two counting three which were written |
when Beethoven a boy of eleven years, |
fragment found among his posthumous papers |
and two sonatinas. Of the variations for |
pianoforte solo there twentythree sets |
HIS other compositions in which the planoforte |
enters may be summarized follows: Seven |
concertoS with orchestra counting in in |
E-fiat written when he fourteen years |
old, and a transcription of the concerto for |
violin made by HIMSELF; concerto for |
pianCforte, violin, viOoncelo and orchestral |
rondo with orchestra found among his manu- |
scripts after his death) fantaisie for piano |
forte, chorus and orchestra; quintet with |
oboe clarinet, horn and bassoon (aso pub |
lished for pianoforte and strings; three quar-
tets with strings nine trios with strings, a set
of variations with strings on melody by Wen |
eel Miller cIch bin der Schneider Kakadu); |
ten sonatas with VIOLIN a rondo with violin, |
five sonatas with violoncello three sets of
riations with vioIoncello, a sonata with horn,
seven sets of variations with violin (or f1ute); |
a sonata, three marches and two sets of |
,iations for pianoforte -four hands,, fantasia; |
an Andante Favori in f, eight cadenzas for |
his own concertOs and two for Mozart'S con- |
certo in D minor and two score of |
bagatelles, preudes, rundos, dances, etc. Though |
monumental labor and devotion expended
the Complete Edition" (Gesammt Ausgahe) |
CT his works published by Breitkopf & Hartel |
of ai-,cjc mar rjr,tc