Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Fuge für zwei Klaviere (c-Moll) KV 426, Partitur, Autograph Beethovens, Fragment

Handwritten "study scores"

There are anecdotes about Beethoven's meeting with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, but there is no actual proof of it. If at all, the two composers only met once, in 1787, when Beethoven was a young man. Beethoven had to cut short his journey to Vienna due to his mother's serious illness (she later died of complications). When Beethoven went to Vienna for the second time in 1792 (and remained there), Mozart was already dead. Beethoven greatly admired Mozart and studied his works. In order to be able to better understand his compositional method, he copied several of Mozart's operas, e.g. the Fugue KV 426 for two pianos. Beethoven copied it in score to gain a better overview. When the parts are written neatly underneath each other, the music is easier to read. (J.R.)