Ludwig van Beethoven, Skizzenblatt zu "Freudvoll und leidvoll" op. 84,4, zu "Mignon" op. 75,1 sowie Kompositionsstudien, Autograph

Beethoven's old paper

After Beethoven had completely finished a composition and it had been printed, the finished autograph score was no longer very important to him. On the other hand he kept sketch leaves right up to his death, preserving them very carefully. He sometimes re-used the reverse (if it had not been written on), as was the case with the leaf shown here. The front page of this now damaged leaf contains Beethoven's notes from his lessons with Johann Georg Albrechtsberger in 1794. Beethoven came to Vienna as a young man to receive tuition from Haydn in order to refine his compositional skills. Yet Haydn went to London in 1794, so Beethoven changed his teacher, continuing his studies of counterpoint with Albrechtsberger. The leaf must have lain around a long time and accompanied him on several moves. Fifteen years later, in 1809, the composer used the reverse to make sketches for his Goethe Lied op. 75 no. 1 and for Klärchen's Lied from the incidental music to Egmont op. 84 no. 4. The fifteen-year interval between the markings on the back and front becomes particularly clear on examining the appearance of the notes. (J.R.)