Learning by copying
Beethoven copied Mozart's String Quartet in G major KV 387 between the years 1798 and 1800 (it is sadly not possible to put a more exact date on the document). The model might have been the original edition of the quartet, which appeared in parts in 1785. This can, however, not be proved very easily as Beethoven did not bother to copy the phrasing marks and the dynamics. This would have enabled a comparison to be made and the model could have been more easily identified. The fact that Beethoven limited himself to copying the musical text, his hasty and not always careful handwriting and not least the rather strange binding lead us to believe that he found copying annoying and boring. He did not copy the work in order to possess it (if this had been the case he could have bought the printed edition, which would have been simpler and quicker), but rather to study the compositional technique. At the end of the eighteenth century only the separate parts of Mozart's string quartet could be bought. In order to have an overview of the structure and to understand the construction of the movement, for better or worse Beethoven had to swallow the bitter pill and first of all produce a handwritten score. As additional markings such as dynamics and phrasing are not relevant for studying compositional technique, Beethoven did not bother copying them. Around 1800 Mozart was Beethoven's role model (at a later stage Handel and Bach joined him). Beethoven copied many of the Salzburg composer's works to study their compositional style and structure, and in so doing to learn from Mozart. The last leaf of the copy is missing in Bonn. It is held at the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York. (J.R.)
