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Although Schubert is often credited with creating the romantic German song, it was in fact Beethoven
who worked out a style in this area that would have a profound impact on those who came after him.
Almost all Beethovenꞌs Lieder were composed before any of Schubertꞌs. Beethoven also used all the
important song forms, from simple verses to elaborated fully composed pieces. It is striking to note that
Beethovenꞌs piano parts have been worked out much further than those of his predecessors, who usually
wrote in a simple song form. The piano was of more or less secondary importance and the melody was
often, as it were, ꞌinterwovenꞌ with the right hand of the piano part. The only one of Beethovenꞌs Lieder
where that is done is Schilderung eines Mädchens WoO 107 from 1783. Beethoven selected his lyrics
very carefully, with attention both to the quality of the poetry and to the subject. He had a very
outspoken preference for Goetheꞌs lyrics, which he used more frequently than those of any other poet.

Many of his Lieder are finished, including: Mailied Opus 52 No.4; Marmotte Opus 52 No.7; Mignon Opus
75 No.1; Neue Liebe, neues Leben Opus 75 No.2 and WoO 127, an earlier version; Es war einmal ein
König Opus 75 No.3; Wonne der Wehmut Opus 83 No.1; Sehnsucht Opus 83 No.2; Mit einem gemalten
Band Opus 83 No.3 and Sehnsucht WoO 134, which he used four times.
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However, a number of other Lieder with lyrics by Goethe remained unfinished, for reasons that are
difficult to fathom. Barry Cooper believes that the composer had so many ideas that he simply did not
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have the time to finish them all.

The initial sketches Beethoven wrote to put the text of Erlkönig to music probably originate from the
period 1793-1795. The composer probably put the theme of the first verse and of the postlude on paper
while staying in Prague in 1796. It is possible that Beethoven had plans to write the song for Josephine
von Clary-Aldringens (1777-1828). He also dedicated the concert aria Ah! Perfido Opus 65 to that
soprano, although she never did sing the premiere. 5

Beethoven wrote a rough draught of verses three, seven and eight on a sheet that mysteriously
disappeared. In November 1897, an elaboration of the torso by Reinhold Becker was published under
the name "ERLKÖNIG / Gedicht von Goethe / Nach einer skizze von L. v. BEETHOVEN / ausgeführt /
von / REINHOLD BECKER", Dresden. This version assumes a form with verses, creating a simple song
that fails to emphasize the dramatic power of the text.

However, sources tell us that the composer had much bigger plans. The virtually complete postlude that
he composed provides an indication that he wanted to start the composition in a similar fashion. The
structure of the postlude is such that it is plausible to assume that it would not only serve as the postlude
of the composition, but also as the start. We also see in the sketch that Beethoven imagined certain
transitions, which would in turn confirm the notion that he intended to produce a much more elaborate
composition. Despite the fact that Beethoven writes the entire outline on one line, leaving the piano
part unwritten, he clearly shows where the ritornellos for the piano have to be inserted. For instance,
in the draught, at bars 18/19, 40/41 and 45/46, there are indications for piano ritornellos. But they also
make it clear that these must have been fully composed elements.

These are the fragments that I have taken and elaborated. What is special is that the composer in each
case writes "usw" next to these notes, indicating that he was going to work out the open parts later.
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After the interlude, which is virtually identical to the postlude, I follow Beethovenꞌs notes up to his bar
19, which in my score is bar 27, providing the ritornellos with a left hand part. For the sake of continuity,
I added an extra bar to the interlude to arrive at an even number of bars. In the early works, it was
very unusual to end with an uneven number of bars and this extra bar brings the total number of bars
to 110. After the ritornellos of his bar 19, Beethoven indicates the melody in B flat, which I follow with
a piano accompaniment that the composer notes in his bar 21. I let this movement continue up to bar
42 in my edition. In this section, I had to add to the composition to match the lyrics to "Mein Vater,
mein Vater". That section, up to bar 61 in my score, was written out in full by the composer, or at least
the vocal part. The next part, with the "Mein Vater" lyrics, once again had to be added and is based on

3 Other works by Beethoven with lyrics by Goethe include Egmont Opus 84, Meeresstille und Glückliche Fahrt
Opus 112, Bundeslied Opus 122
4 The Beethoven compendium, London, Thames and Hudson, 1991
5 Josepha Duschek (1754-1824) sang the aria on November 21, 1796 in Leipzig. Ludwig van Beethoven,
Thematisch-bibliografisches Werkverzeichnis, Volume I, G. Henle Verlag, Munich, 2014
6 und so weiter

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