Page 6 - UM0028 - Sonata in D major for Piano Four Hands, KvB

His brother Ludwig spent a lot of time composing dance music in 1795 which was played during the Maskenball-Redoute in Vienna. He composed the Zwölf Menuette
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WoO 7, the Zwölf deutsche Tänze WoO 8 and the Sechs Menuette WoO 9 and 10 .
Other composers such as Joseph Haydn in 1792, Leopold Koželuch in 1793, Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf and Joseph Leopold Edler von Eybler in 1794 were
commissioned to compose menuettes and dances years before. Through his good contacts, and the fact that Ludwig was a student of Joseph Haydn, he also got
this lucrative commission.
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In later years Ludwig composed a lot of dance music for the Redoute der Wiener Künstlersocietät. As mentioned earlier, Karl was the brother who helped Ludwig
write out separate voices and scores. It is unknown whether Karl either directed or facilitated in the performance but there is no doubt of his involvement in these
less serious compositions. The Zwölf Menuette WoO 12 were composed in such a way in 1799. The Supplemente zur Gesamtausgabe by Breitkopf & Härtel from
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1961, edited by Willy Hess, wrote the following about Ludwig: "Von den zahlreichen, in der alten Gesamtausgabe fehlenden Tanzkompositionen Beethovens konnten
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hier einzig die 1799 für die Redoute der Wiener Künstler-societät geschriebenen 12 Orchestermenuette aufgenommen werden…"
"Of the many Beethoven dance compositions that were missing in the old completed edition, only the 12 orchestral songs that were written in 1799 for the Redoute
of the Viennese artists association could be recorded here…"
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The Composer Kaspar Anton Karl van Beethoven

In the last few years there has been a lot of research into the authenticity of Ludwig van Beethovenꞌs work. Namely works in which there are no or hardly any
sketches in existence. There was always doubt concerning the authenticity of the Zwölf Menuette WoO 12 because the instrumentation and technical composition
deviated from other works during this same early period. The handwriting of different minuets have been compared lately. Large differences were seen in comparison
to Ludwigs style of writing. It became clear that in fact Karl van Beethoven must have been the author.
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Karl composed other works that were previously thought to be from Ludwig such as Pianotrio in D major Anhang 3 , Rondo in B flat Anhang 6 and Quatre Mains
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Sonata in D major . This work which was probably composed in 1799 was neither published, edited or performed. However, some works must have been published
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from him because the publisher F.A. Hoffmeister in Vienna stated in January 1800: "… ganz neu zu haben von Carl van Beethoven…"
"… newly released from Carl van Beethoven…" 11

4 Only the piano version of Sechs Menuette WoO 10 still exists. The orchestra version has been lost
5 Ludwig van Beethoven composed the Zwölf Contretänze WoO 14 in 1800-1801 and the Sechs ländlerische Tänze WoO 15 in 1802
6 Ludwig van Beethoven, Thematisch-bibliographisches Werkverzeichnis, G. Henle Verlag, Volume 2, pages 659-662. Munich 2014
7 Supplemente zur Gesamtausgabe, Breitkopf & Härtel, Wiesbaden, Willy Hess, Preface, 1961, Volume IV
8 Ludwig van Beethoven, Thematisch-bibliographisches Werkverzeichnis, G. Henle Verlag, Volume 2, pages 659-662. Munich 2014
9 Ludwig van Beethoven, Thematisch-bibliographisches Werkverzeichnis, G. Henle Verlag, Volume 2, pages 678-679. Munich 2014
10 Ludwig van Beethoven, Thematisch-bibliographisches Werkverzeichnis, G. Henle Verlag, Volume 2, page 682. Munich 2014
11 Ludwig van Beethoven, Thematisch-bibliographisches Werkverzeichnis, G. Henle Verlag, Volume 2, page 661. Munich 2014

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