Ludwig van Beethoven, Skizzenblatt zur Klaviersonate op. 28, Autograph

From the Sauer Sketchbook

All of the well-known sketches for the Piano Sonata op. 28 - today spread as single sheets throughout the world in different libraries- originally came from a single sketchbook. The Viennese art and music dealer Ignaz Sauer owned the sketchbook after Beethoven's death. As a business man, Sauer was first and foremost interested in selling Beethoven's papers. He therefore divided the sketchbook up into single leaves, gave each leaf a certificate of authenticity and sold them. Parts of the original "Sauer Sketchbook" can be reconstructed not least thanks to the certificates, which still accompany most of the leaves. As previously mentioned all of the well-known sketches for op. 28 come from this sketchbook. The leaf shown here - also with a certificate by Sauer - contains sketches for all of the four movements of the piano sonata. Recto there are just sketches for the first movement. Verso there are sketches for the remaining movements: e.g. the Andante theme from the second movement on the left on the first two staves. Separated from the Andante by a double bar and entitled "Ro[ndo]" is the beginning of the fourth movement (the block of four bars on the bottom right is also part of this movement). In lines 10 and 11 Beethoven sketches a "Tri[o]" (the word is on the left in front of the stave). (J.R.)