the concert of Dec. 22, 1808, at which the Pastoral Symphony was produced, he prefixed the following words to the description of the Symphony:—'Pastoral Symphonie: mehr Ausdruck der Empfindung als Malerei'—'more expression of emotions than portraiture,' a canon which should surely be taken as the guide in interpreting all similar works of his.
We have now endeavoured to give the main external characteristics of Beethoven's music; but the music itself, though it resides in them, is beyond and above them all. 'While listening,' says Mr. Dannreuther, 'to such works as the Overture to Leonora, the Sinfonia Eroica, or the Ninth Symphony, we feel that we are in the presence of something far wider and higher than the mere development of musical themes. The execution in detail of each movement and each succeeding work is modified more and more with the prevailing poetic sentiment. A religious passion and elevation are present in the utterances. The mental and moral horizon of the music grows upon us with each renewed hearing. The different movements—like the different particles of each movement—have as close a connection with one another as the acts of a tragedy, and a characteristic significance to be understood only in relation to the whole; each work is in the full sense of the word a revelation. Beethoven speaks a language no one has spoken before, and treats of things no one has dreamt of before: yet it seems as though he were speaking of matters long familiar, in one's mother tongue; as though he touched upon emotions one had lived through in some former existence. … The warmth and depth of his ethical sentiment is now felt all the world over, and it will ere long be universally recognised that he has leavened and widened the sphere of men's emotions in a manner akin to that in which the conceptions of great philosophers and poets have widened the sphere of men's intellectual activity.'[1]
Beethoven's published works may be summed up as follows:—
I. INSTRUMENTAL.
9 Symphonies—in C, D, E♭ (Eroica), B♭, C minor, F (Pastoral), A, F, and D minor (Choral).
The Battle of Vittoria; overture and music to Prometheus; overture and music to Egmont.
9 Overtures—Coriolan; Leonora No. 1; Do. No. 2; Do. No. 3; Fidelio; King Stephen; Ruins of Athens; op. 115 (Namensfeier); op. 124 (Weihe des Hauses).
Allegretto in E♭; March from Tarpein—in C; Military March—in D; 12 Minuets; 12 'deutsche Tänze'; 12 Contratänze; Ritter Ballet.
1 Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D; 1 fragment of do. in C; and 2 Romances for do.
5 Concertos for Piano and Orchestra—in C, B♭, C minor, G, and E♭; 1 do. arranged from Violin Concerto; Rondo for do. in B♭; 1 Triple Concerto (op. 56); 1 Choral Fantasia for Piano, Orchestra, and Chorus.
Cadences to Pianoforte Concertos.
2 Octets for Wind—both in E♭.
1 Septet for Strings and Wind.
1 Sestet for ditto—in E♭.
1 ditto for Wind—in E♭.
2 Quintets for Strings—in E♭ and C; 1 ditto, fugue (op. 137); 1 ditto arranged from P. F. Trio in C minor.
16 Quartets for Strings—in F, G, D, C minor, A, B♭; in F, E minor, C (Rasoumoffsky); in E♭ (Harfan Q.); in F minor; in E♭; in B♭; in C# minor; in A minor; in F; also Fugue In B♭.
2 Equali for 4 Trombones.
5 Trios for Strings—in E♭; in G, D, C minor; in D (Serenade).
1 ditto Strings and Flute—in D (Serenade).
1 ditto for Wind.
3 Duos for Wind—in C, F, B♭.
1 Quintet for Piano and Wind—in E♭.
1 Quartet for Piano and Strings—after foregoing. 3 ditto (juvenile)—in E♭, D, and C.
8 Trios for Piano and Strings—in E♭, G, C minor; in D, E♭; in B♭; in B♭ (one movement); in E♭ (juvenile); after Symphony in D; Variations in G; 14 ditto in E♭.
1 Trio for Piano, Clar., and Cello in BĊd;; 1 ditto (after Septet) in E♭.
10 Sonatas for Piano and Violin—in D, A, E♭; in A minor; in F; in A, C minor, G; in A (Kreutzer); in G, 1 Rondo in G; 12 Variations in F.
5 ditto for Piano and Cello—in F, G minor; in A; in C, D. 12 Variations in C; 12 do. in F; 7 do in E♭.
1 ditto for Piano and Horn—in F.
7 books of Variations for Piano and Flute.
1 Sonata for Piano, 4 hands—in D. 3 Marches for ditto—in C, E♭, D; 8 Variations in C and 6 in D.
36 ditto for Piano Solo—in F minor, A, C; in E♭; in C minor, F, D; in C minor (Pathétique); in E, G; in B♭; in A♭; in E♭, C# minor; in D; in G, D minor, E♭; in G minor and G (both small); in C (Waldstein); in F; in F minor (Appassionata); in F#; in G (Sonatina); in E♭ (Adieux, etc.); in E minor; in A; in B♭ (op. 106); in E; in A♭; in C minor; in E♭, F minor, and D (early); in C (easy); in G and F (easy).
Variations for ditto, 21 sets—viz. 6 in F; 15 in E♭ (Eroica); 6 in D (Turkish March); 32 in C minor; 33 in C; 15 in G (easy); and 15 more sets, containing 144 variations.
3 Sets of Bagatelles for ditto—7, 11, 6; 4 Rondos in C, G; in A; and in G (à capriccio); Fantasia in G minor; 3 Preludes; Polonaise; Andante in F (favori); Minuet in E♭; 6 do; 13 Ländlers.
II. VOCAL.
2 Masses—in C, and D (Solemnis).
1 Oratorio—'Christus am Oelberge.'
1 Opera—'Fidelio.'
'The Ruins of Athens.' Arrangement of March and Chorus from do.
'King Stephen.'
2 Patriotic Finales.
'Der glorreiche Augenblick.'
'Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt.'
'Ah perfido!' Soprano and Orchestra. Opferlied; do., do., and Chorus.
'Tremate'; Trio with Orchestra.
Bundeslied; 2 Solos, Chorus, and Wind.
'Elegischer Gesang'; 4 Voices and Strings.
Songs with Piano acct.—66 and 1 Duet.
'Gesang der Mönche'; 3 Voices unacc.
18 Canons.
7 Books of English, Scotch, Irish, Welsh, and Italian Songs for Voice, Piano, Violin, and Cello.
All the above are included in Breitkopf & Härtel's complete edition, except the Ritter-Ballet, the Fragment of a Violin Concerto in C, and the two Equali for Trombones.
The Beethoven literature is very large. I shall confine myself to mentioning those portions of it which appear to have real value for the investigator.
I. His own letters. Of these there are several collections, (1) 'Briefe Beethovens' (Stuttgart, 1865), edited by Dr. Nohl: contains 411. (2) '83 … Original Briefe L. v. B's an den Erzherzog Rudolph,' edited by Köchel (Vienna, 1865). (3) 'Briefe von B. an Gräfin Erdödy und Max Brauchle,' edited by Schöne (Leipzig, 1867). The two last were included with many others in a further collection of 322 'Neue Briefe Beethovens,' edited by Nohl (Stuttgart, 1867). (4) Nohl's first collection and 66 of the letters to the Archduke were translated (I wish I could say carefully translated) by Lady Wallace, and published by Longmans (2 vols. 8vo. 1866).
Other letters are given by Thayer in his 'Beethovens Leben,' and by Pohl in 'Die Gesellschaft der Musik Freunde' (Vienna, 1871), and many others exist in MS. in collections of autographs.
II. Notices of him by friends and contemporaries. Many of these must be taken with reserve, as written long after the event, and with strong bias.
(1) By Seyfried, as Anhang to his edition of Beethoven's 'Studien' in Thorough-bass (Vienna,
- ↑ I have been much indebted in this part of my work to an admirable paper by Mr. Dannreuther in Macmillan's Magazine for July, 1878. I have quoted from it more than once, and if I have not done so still more it is because the style of his remarks is not suited to the bald rigidity of a Dictionary article.
