Opus 51 Two Rondo in C major and G major for piano
I) Moderato e grazioso – II) Andante cantabile e grazioso
Opus 51 number 1 Rondo in C major op. 51 No. 1 for piano, 1796 – September 1797 at the latest, published in Vienna, Artaria, October 1797. GA. no. 186 (series 18/4) – B. 51/2 – KH. 51/2 – L. II, p. 305/2/b, – N. 51/2 – T. 101.
The original manuscript is lost. The union of this Rondo with the one in G major of 1800, in the same opus number 51 is many years later than their dates of composition and also those of their respective first editions. A work of lesser size than the other, of a less brilliant character and of simpler form, it can be placed next to the Piano Sonatine of op. 49.
Official title: „Opus 51 Nr. 1“ Rondo (C-dur) für Klavier Widmung: — NGA VII/6 AGA 185 = Serie 18/3
Origin and publication: The date of composition is unknown. The original edition was published by Artaria in Vienna in October 1797. Regarding the opus number: Neither the original edition nor contemporary reissues of the piece have a opus number. The piece was called “Rondo No. 1” and later published (in 1802) with the Rondo in G major (“No. 2”) as op. 51. As far as can be ascertained, this was first seen in Hofmeister’s thematic index of 1819. (In Artaria’s 1819 “Catalogue des Oeuvres”, written as a prologue to Op. 106, and in his 1837 catalogue, the wind sextet Op. 71 is listed as Op. 51.) First execution unknown. Lost sketches. There are only four bars in A-Wgm, A 62b. According to the auction catalogue “slightly different from the paper version”. Paper: approx. 3.5 x 19.5 cm (section), two staves. Provenance and description: Anton Dermota. – Stargardt, catalogue 653 part 1, 11/12 March 1993, lot 828a. Original edition 1797 (October). Vienna, Artaria et Comp., VN/PN 711. – Title: “Rondo / Pour Le Clavecin ou Piano-Forte / Composé / par / Louis van Beethoven / A Vienne chez Artaria et Comp. /
Opus 51 number 2 Rondo in G major op. 51 No. 2 for piano, 1796, dedicated to Countess Henriette Lichnowsky, 1798-1800, published in Vienna, Artaria, September 1802. GA. no. 185 (series 18/3) – B. 51/1 – KH. 51/1 – L. II, p. 269 and IV, p. 315 – N. 51/1 – P. 86 – T. 63 GA. n. 186 (series 18/4) – B. 51/2 – KH. 51/2 – L. II, p. 269 and IV, p. 305/2- N. 51/2 – T. 101
Official title: “Opus 51 No. 2” Rondo (G major) for piano Dedication: Henriette Gräfin von Lichnowsky NGA VII/6 AGA 186 = Series 18/4
The original manuscript has been lost, but the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek in Berlin has a revised copy. The union with the Rondo in C major in 1797 took place several years later and by another publisher. The sketches are found in the first pages of a notebook to which Nottebohm assigns the period 1798-1799, after that for the song “Der Kuss e l’Opferlied” (second edition).
According to Otto Jahn’s testimony, in 1852 the then sixty-eight-year-old widow Countess Gallenberg, alias Giulietta Guicciardi, Beethoven originally offered her the Rondo and later asked her for it having to dedicate something to Countess Henriette Lichnowsky; he would later pay homage to her in the Sonata in C sharp minor op. 27 n. 2. What if this official reason for exchange did not conceal another of a more interior character?
Nothing prevents us from glimpsing in the original offer of a page so flowery, melodious and perhaps even a little pretentious in its adorned form, a tribute of gallantry by the master to the very young student, for whom perhaps even at that time he did not have a strong passion. A subtle analogy links the episode in E major to the slow tempo of the second Trio for strings of op. 9, and “mutatis mutandis” to the twenty-ninth Variation on Diabelli’s waltz, about twenty years later. The theme of the refrain recalls those of the almost contemporary Romance, also in G major, op. 40, for violin and orchestra.
Creation and Publication: The documented sketches date from the second half of 1798. According to a letter from Julie, Countess Gallenberg, to Otto Jahn, the Rondo was composed before the Sonata Op. 27 No. 2, meaning it was completed by 1801 at the latest. The original edition was published in September 1802, when it appeared at Artaria in Vienna. The work is listed with the wording “chez Artaria” without the addition of “et Comp.”, a form used by Carlo Artaria between mid-1801 and autumn 1802, when he was the sole owner of the company, which had since been downsized. In autumn 1802, Artaria transferred ownership of the company to Domenico Artaria and Tranquillo Mollo, who operated it as two loosely connected firms until 1804 (see Slezak/Originalverleger and Weinmann/Artaria). The announcement of the publication may have been delayed, as the Wiener Zeitung had not published any advertisement for Artaria for almost 15 months prior to the announcement on September 11, 1802.
Dedication: The work was dedicated to Maria Henriette (Cajetana), Countess von Lichnowsky, born on May 10, 1769, and baptized in Vienna. She passed away sometime after 1829. She was the sister of Karl Fürst von Lichnowsky (see Op. 1) and Moritz Graf von Lichnowsky (see Op. 35). Karl Fürst von Lichnowsky was one of Beethoven’s most important patrons. The Lichnowsky family appears in the subscriber list for Op. 1, purchasing a total of 27 copies, including two for Countess Henriette. On August 15, 1810, she married Major General François-Adrien Symon Comte de Carne, who died on August 1, 1816. After the marriage, she moved to Paris, where she lived until 1829. In August 1829, the young Chopin wrote to his family from Vienna, mentioning that he had been invited by Countess Moritz von Lichnowsky (née Josefa Stummer), who had promised him a letter of recommendation to her sister-in-law in Paris (see Frédéric Chopin. Letters, edited by Krystyna Kobylariska, Frankfurt 1984, p. 58).
Beethoven was likely infatuated with Countess Julie Gallenberg (née Guicciardi, as seen in Op. 27 No. 2), to the point where he entrusted her with the manuscript of the Rondo. However, when it came time to dedicate another composition, specifically to Countess von Lichnowsky, Beethoven had no reservations. In the end, it was the Sonata in C-sharp minor Op. 27 No. 2 that he dedicated to her (Kopitz/Cadenbach vol. 1 p. 412).
Sketches to the DB, Mus. SM. autogr. Beethoven Grasnick 1, folio 12recto. Date: second half of 1798, facsimile: SBB. transcription: Szabo/Grasnick 1. Verified transcription DB, Mus. SM. autogr. Beethoven Artaria 154. Copyist: Wenzel Schlemmer. Title: folio 1 recto von Beethoven “Rondo / for the piano-forte / de / lv Beethoven”, folio 1 versus the copyist’s caption “Rondo”. 8 sheets; sheet 1 recto title, 15 pages of musical text sheet 1 versus / 8 versus. Paper: landscape format, 23 x 32 cm, 8 lines. Provenance: Verlagsarchiv Artaria, Vienna. – Erich Prieger, Bonn, from 1897. – Acquired in 1901. Facsimile: SBB. Description: Klein/Catalogue p.166f. Original edition 1802 (September). Vienna, Artaria, without VN/PN. – Title: “RONDO / pour le Clavecin ou Piano Forte / Composé et dedié / à Mademoiselle la Comtesse / HENRIETTE de LICHNOWSKI / par / Louis van Beethoven / a Vienne chez Artaria. /