Ludwig van Beethoven, Sonate für Klavier (As-Dur) op. 26, T. 1-4, Fälschung

A bad forgery

Amongst the curiosities held at the Beethoven-Haus is what a layman might consider to be an autograph score by Beethoven. However, in reality it is a forgery - and a bad one at that! The autograph score for the Piano Sonata op. 26 is held at the Biblioteka Jagiellonska in Krakow. Erich Prieger, one of the founders of the Beethoven-Haus Society in Bonn, produced a facsimile of it in 1894. The forgery shown here was obviously done after this facsimile. The person who did it drew their own staves and then imitated the style of the notes, slurs and dynamics. Even the length and curve of the slurs is the same as in the facsimile. The heading of the movement also imitates that of the original in a too obvious manner. Yet as a whole, it does not make a really genuine impression. It reminds one somehow of forged parents' signatures at school ... (J.R.)