Copy with Beethoven's corrections
The score copy of Beethoven's string quartet in E flat major, op. 127, was made as an engraving model for printing. Before it was sent to publisher Schott in Mainz Beethoven painstakingly reviewed the copy done by professional copyist Ferdinand Wolanek and manually made a few corrections. His many additions on the edge and within the notes are clearly to read. Using a pencil (partially later overwritten with ink) and a red pen, he highlighted inaccurate bow placings and amended indications for articulation and dynamics. He even wrote a small part of the notes anew and glued it over the old version (picture 45). The three movements handwritten by Beethoven are somewhat messy: The notes are not written neatly under each other and the movements' arrangement is irregular.
On the title page, the publishing house indicated the printing plate number of the original score edition. However, the copy mainly served as engraving model for the voices edition whereas the score edition was produced on the basis of a copy done at the publishing house. Both copies remained archived at the Schott publishing house for almost 200 years. In 2008 the more valuable copy (i.e. the one featuring Beethoven's corrections) was acquired by the Culture Department of North Rhine-Westphalia and handed over to the Beethoven-Haus as a permanent loan. (F.G.)
