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BEETHOVEN transformed VOLUME 1 BOXWOOD & BRASS Beethoven Transformed, Volume 1 Chamber music for Harmonie by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) Boxwood & Brass Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) Septet in E-flat major, Op. 20 Emily Worthington clarinet arr. by Carl Czerny (1791–1857) Fiona Mitchell clarinet 1. Adagio – Allegro [10:30] Anneke Sco natural horn 2. Adagio cantabile [7:48] Kate Goldsmith natural horn 3. Tempo di menueo & Trio [3:20] Robert Percival bassoon 4. Andante con Variazioni [8:01] Takako Kunugi bassoon 5. Scherzo & Trio [3:09] 6. Andante alla marcia – Allegro [8:00] Sextet in E-flat major, Op. 71 7. Adagio – Allegro [9:10] 8. Adagio [4:39] 9. Menueo & Trio [2:27] 10. Rondo [4:30] Total playing me [61:40] About Boxwood & Brass: ‘Boxwood & Brass’s sound is nothing short of revelatory’ Early Music Today ‘Buon-bright performances caught in a sympathec acousc [...] performed with spirit and vigour’ Gramophone Beethoven Transformed Volume 1: This makes the Harmonie sound like a Harmoniemusik as chamber music cover band churning out popular tunes as background music for pares, in contrast Beethoven Transformed is the culminaon to what we might imagine to be the ‘serious’ of a two-year project by Boxwood & Brass business of performing chamber music to exploring the status of wind music in aenve and knowledgeable audiences. early-nineteenth century Vienna through In fact, this separaon of high and low original and arranged music by Beethoven genres is quesonable even in the eighteenth and his contemporaries. The project aimed century, when few if any performances were to address two quesons: what purpose treated with quiet, concentrated listening. did this music serve, and does understanding Aer 1800, the idea of Harmoniemusik this purpose change how we perform it? as ‘background music’ is even less convincing, as the repertoire becomes Harmoniemusik is usually portrayed as ever more ambious in its scale and a funconal music. In the eighteenth challenging in its demands on both century Harmonien (ensembles players and listeners. comprised of pairs of wind instruments) were a fashionable form of entertainment Around this me, chamber music was in the noble courts of Central Europe, moving out the private salon and starng playing divermen, serenades, and to be heard in public concerts aended arrangements of popular operas for by both connoisseurs and the general indoor and outdoor occasions. They public. Harmoniemusik was oen owed at least some of their popularity programmed in such concerts, alongside to the enthusiasm of Emperor Josef II, string quartets and piano trios, and it is who established a Harmonie-octet at possible to interpret the increasing the Viennese court c. 1782: ‘a society sophiscaon of Harmoniemusik as a of virtuosi containing only wind response to this change of seng. The instrumentalists who have reached two works on this disc encapsulate this a high degree of perfecon’. The surviving moment of transion: Beethoven’s Sextet repertoire of this group consists almost Op. 71, which seems to explore the solely of opera arrangements made by the possibilies for creang a chamber principal oboist Johann Wendt. music-like dialogue within the Harmonie; Carl Czerny, engraving by Blasius Höfel aer Joseph Lanzedelly (Bibliotheque and Czerny’s reimagining of Beethoven’s Naonale de France) most popular chamber work, the future publisher Nicolaus Simrock, and eighteenth century divermento. Septet in E-flat Op. 20, arr. Carl Czerny Septet Op. 20, as Harmoniemusik. the flaust Anton Reicha, later a composer Notably, like the C minor Serenade for two clarinets, two horns and two bassoons and important teacher at the Paris of Mozart and the later Partas of Sextet in E-flat Op. 71 for two clarinets, Conservatoire. The wind music of Reicha’s Krommer and Triebensee, it abandons The Septet for violin, viola, cello, bass, two horns and two bassoons uncle Josef Reicha, who was leader of the the mul-movement divermento clarinet, bassoon and horn Op. 20 was court orchestra in Bonn, has been cited as structure and instead uses the one of Beethoven’s most popular works In August 1809, Beethoven offered the a model for Beethoven’s own works. four-movement form associated during his lifeme. It was completed in publisher Breitkopf & Härtel his wind with ‘high’ genres such as the string the late 1790s, shortly aer the Sextet sextet, along with two songs, partly as Beethoven’s aempt to distance himself quartet and symphony. From a Op. 71, and was given its first public payment for some other items the from this early sextet suggests he felt it performer’s perspecve the Sextet performances late in 1799 and in April firm had already published: did not fit with his image as a composer also feels different in style and texture 1800 by Schuppanzigh and the clarinest of learned and sophiscated works. to the Harmoniemusik of the eighteenth Joseph Beer. Beethoven began the process The Sextet is from my early things However, this atude was not universally century divermento tradion, with of publicaon soon aerwards but, aware and, what’s more, was wrien in shared. The first known performance of the six instruments treated less oen of the immense demand for the work one night. Nothing more can be Op. 71 took place as part of a series of as pairs and more as individual voices and wary of unauthorised distribuon, said about it than that it was wrien subscripon quartet concerts given by of equal importance. The dialogue he was very cauous with security by a composer who has since the violinist Ignaz Schuppanzigh during that Beethoven creates in the opening surrounding the manuscript. He produced at least a few beer 1804-5, one of the first series of its kind. two movements resembles the style eventually had to hurry the publisher works; however, to some people, The Sextet was the only featured work concertant popular in eighteenth-century Hoffmeister along, wring ‘Send my such works are the best. to be reviewed in detail, the Allgemeinen string quartets, which were designed to Septet into the world a lile more quickly – musikalischen Zeitung describing it as mimic the formal interplay of salon for the herd is waing for it.’ The piece Breitkopf published the Sextet as Op. 71 ‘a composion which shines resplendent conversaon. In the later movements, was eventually published in 1802, and in January 1810, but sketches suggest by reason of its lively melodies, Beethoven includes typical wind music many arrangements quickly followed. the piece was probably composed prior unconstrained harmonies, and a topics, in parcular the hunng calls As well as the piano duet and piano and to 1796, and certainly show that it wealth of new and surprising ideas.’ A and rusc dance rhythms of the string ensemble versions that publishers could not have been produced ‘in one review of a ‘grosses konzerrendes sextet Menueo. The march theme of the commonly issued to capitalise on popular night’. Beethoven’s employer at that von Beethoven’ performed by the final ‘Rondo’ is also a common wind works, Beethoven suggested to me was Maximilian Franz, Elector clarinest Franz Tausch in a concert in music trope, but it is presented in a Hoffmeister how the work might be and Archbishop of Cologne and the Berlin in April 1804 may document an refined piano, and alternated with re-worked for flute and strings, and made brother of the Emperor Josef II. earlier performance of the work. conversaonal episodes – a memory his own arrangement as the Trio Op. 38 Maximilian kept the court in Bonn, of the parade ground, re-cast to llate for clarinet, cello and piano. As with the where Beethoven spent his formave Despite Beethoven’s self-effacing an elegant audience. Sextet, however, Beethoven did not see years along with the horn player and comments, the Sextet is not a standard the work’s popularity as a good thing, and his earliest biographers claimed that occurred during its publicaon that he grew to hate the way that it process, including changes to tempo overshadowed his other more ‘serious’ indicaons, some melodic ideas, and the composions. last movement cadenza. Czerny’s arrangement is therefore derived from Quite how Carl Czerny’s wind arrangement the work as it would have been heard in of the Septet fits into this picture is its first performances c. 1800. In our somewhat unclear. Beethoven performance, we have sought to preserve recognised Czerny as a fine young these differences, taking the opportunity pianist and gave him lessons throughout to present a rather different version of the 1802 and 1803. The two met again in music than is usually heard today. 1804, and Czerny recalled: Given the links between Beethoven and From that me on Beethoven was Czerny, and the fact that Czerny used well disposed towards me and the composer’s own manuscript to make unl his last days he treated me the arrangement, it is possible that like a friend. I had to proofread Czerny was working to a commission all his newly published works, from Beethoven, as he would do many and when in 1805 his opera mes in the future. Alternavely, it is also Leonore was produced he let conceivable that Czerny was creang the me make the piano reducon of the score. It is owing to the arrangement for the clarinest Beer, who suggesons he made while I we know to have been the final owner was working on this project that of the score that Czerny used. It is also I acquired my skill as an arranger, unclear whether Czerny’s arrangement which became very useful to me was ever performed: unlike Georg in later years. Druschetzky’s version for nine-part Harmonie, it was never published.