# Unpublished Beethoven



## Jaffer (Jun 28, 2016)

I am aware of the various catalogs of Beethoven's unpublished works and I am interested in listening to them. A couple of questions about these;
1. What percentage of Beethoven's total work do the unpublished ones make? Not looking for specifics but a general estimate will work. From the little the internet has to say on the matter, the ratio will be low.
2. What are some of the works that you rate highly? Do you think there is music in there which should be played more often and should be made part of the official canon because of its quality? (for the second part of this question, please disregard the issue of Beethoven withholding these works)
3. Please also mention full scale works in the unpublished writings (such as the piano quartets or the Emperor cantatas, of which I'm quite aware)

I am using the phrase "unpublished works" to mean anything that was not assigned an opus number


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

It will help if you define what you mean by "unpublished." Without opus number, perhaps? So far as I know, everything we have by Beethoven has been published.


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## Jaffer (Jun 28, 2016)

Yes, I'm referring to everything that does not have an opus number


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

I have listened to most, but not all, of the non opus pieces. Here are my opinions on them.

Fantastic without opus pieces from Beethoven:

WoO 36 No. 1 (try Eshcenbach, Lovett, Brainin, and Schidlof)

Good without opus pieces from Beethoven:

1
2a
3
4
5
6
7
8
10
14
18
19
36 No. 3
41
45
49
50
59 (Fur Elise)
62
63
70
75
78
95
98
105
134
137
156 (X. Glencoe)
158c
Anh. 4
Anh. 5 (both sonatinas)
Hess 13
Hess 30
Hess 31
Hess 34
Hess 59
Hess 64
Hess 97
Hess 244


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

One of the best is the C-minor Variations WoO 80. Beethoven had it published at the time but did not assign an opus number for whatever reason. It became and still is quite popular. It's definitely in the canon of course.

Late in life he spoke of it contemptuously.


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## Jaffer (Jun 28, 2016)

bharbeke said:


> I have listened to most, but not all, of the non opus pieces. Here are my opinions on them.
> 
> Fantastic without opus pieces from Beethoven:
> 
> ...


Thanks alot for this!
Since you've heard a good amount, could you elaborate on the full scale works in there? Like I wrote, I'm familiar with the first three piano sonatas, the three piano quartets and the two Emperor cantatas. Any others you remember?
P.S couldn't agree more about WoO 36 no.1. It really is fantastic


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## Jaffer (Jun 28, 2016)

KenOC said:


> One of the best is the C-minor Variations WoO 80. Beethoven had it published at the time but did not assign an opus number for whatever reason. It became and still is quite popular. It's definitely in the canon of course.
> 
> Late in life he spoke of it contemptuously.


Those variations are really good. And I wonder why Beethoven was so dismissive of them later.


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## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

I couldn't really tell you more than whose performances I heard. My list of the works just comes from Beethoven's Wikipedia page.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

We sometimes take the casual comments of famous people too seriously. Maybe he was just making a joke.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I've been taking in most of LvB's chamber music over the last few days and I enjoyed reacquainting myself with the variations sets for cello/piano and violin/piano - nothing profound here but enjoyable nonetheless:

Twelve variations for violin and piano on _"Se vuol ballare"_ from Mozart's opera _The Marriage of Figaro_ WoO40 (1792-93):
Twelve Variations for cello and piano on _"See, the conqu'ring hero comes"_ from Handel's oratorio _Judas Maccabaeus_ WoO45 (1796):
Seven Variations for cello and piano on _"Bei Männern welche Liebe fühlen"_ from Mozart's opera _The Magic Flute_ WoO46 (1801):

There's also the _Rondo_ for violin and piano in G WoO41 (1793-94) and the two-movement duo for viola and cello in E-flat _"mit zwei obligaten Augengläsern" ("with two obbligato eyeglasses")_ WoO32 (1796-97).


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

There are lots of WoO songs. Beethoven's Lieder may not be quite on Schubert's level, but they are very fine, and are unjustly overlooked.


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## Eusebius12 (Mar 22, 2010)

Also worth mentioning are the early cantatas on the death of Joseph II and on the accession of Leopold. These are amazing works, quite romantic, mature sounding. Some of the works on the list are also dubiously attributed, including the piano sonatinas.


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

Cees Nieuwenhuizen has been reconstructing Beethoven's unfinished works from the sketches and fragments. I listened to Fantasia Sonata in D major (1792) made playable by him. The first movement was almost completed by Beethoven himself. Dramatic, and very Beethovenian.

Played by Martin Oei.


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