Nocturne after the serenade op. 8 for piano and viola (D major) op. 42

Beethoven was not responsible for the arrangements of his Serenade op. 25 for piano and flute (op. 41) or the Serenade op. 8 for piano and viola (op. 42). To quote his letter of 20 September 1803 to the publishers Hoffmeister & Kühnel in Leipzig: 'The arrangements are not by myself, although I looked through them and have corrected them in various places, so do not write that I arranged them, because this would be a lie and I did not have the time and patience to do so'. Both serenades were arranged by Franz Xaver Kleinheinz (1765-1832) and offered to the publishers by Beethoven's brother Kaspar Karl in May 1803. Hoffmeister & Kühnel did not, however, follow Beethoven's instructions: despite his express wish to the contrary he was named as the author on the title page of each work. (J.R.)