Flute Sonata in B-flat major

The Flute Sonata in B-flat major, Anh. 4 [lower-alpha 1] is a composition attributed to Ludwig van Beethoven found amongst his papers after his death. It remained unpublished until 1906.

Background

Following Beethoven's death, a number of unpublished works were discovered amongst his papers including the Piano Trio, WoO. 38, the Piano Sonata, WoO. 51, the Rondino, WoO. 25 and this sonata for flute and keyboard.[1] Alexander Thayer noted that when the sonata was discovered, the manuscript was not in Beethoven's handwriting, making attribution to the composer problematic.[2] Keith Anderson, writing in the liner notes to the 2018 Naxos recording of the sonata comments that musicologist Willy Hess argued that Beethoven would not have retained the work in his papers unless he had some personal connection with the composition.[3]

The manuscript was initially obtained by Artaria & Co., who elected not to publish the composition.[2] The sonata was finally published in 1906 by Breitkopf & Härtel. The current location of the manuscript is unknown.[4]

Structure

The composition is in four movements.

  1. Allegro
  2. Polacca
  3. Largo
  4. Thema mit variationen: Allegretto

Typical performances last around 22 minutes.

Carla Rees, in a review of a recording of the sonata released by Naïve Records in 2008 noted that the sonata is a true duo with both instruments sharing in the melodic material, she also speculated based on the writing for the flute that the work may have been a transcription of a violin sonata.[4]

References

Notes
  1. ↑ "Anh." denotes "Anhang" or "appendix" to the catalogue.
  1. ↑ Watson 2012, p. 288
  2. 1 2 Thayer 1921, p. 138
  3. ↑ Anderson 2018
  4. 1 2 Rees 2008
Sources
  • Anderson, Keith (2018). Beethoven, L. van: Flute Works, Vol. 2 (CD). Naxos. 8.573570.
  • Rees, Carla (2008-04-08). "Review: Music For Flute (Naive V5128)". Musicweb International. Retrieved 2015-10-06.
  • Thayer, Alexander Wheelock (1921). The Life of Beethoven. 1. New York: G. Schirmer, Inc.
  • Watson, Angus (2012). Beethoven's Chamber Music in Context. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. ISBN 978-1-84383-716-9.
  • Flute Sonata in B-flat Major, Anh.4: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
  • "Flute Sonata in B-flat Major, Anh.4 performed by Zdenek Bruderhans (flute) and Stefan Ammer (fortepiano)". YouTube. 2011-05-02.
  • "Flute Sonata in B-flat Major, Anh.4 performed by Shinya Koide (flute) and Eriko Habata (Piano) - Live Performance". YouTube. 2016-04-05.


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