WoO 219 – (Hess 68) Little Waltz (Ländler) in C Minor for Piano.

Hess 68 – Little Waltz (Ländler – German Dance) in C minor, 16 bars, composed between February and March 1803. Published by Willy Hess in the ninth issue of the Supplemente zur Gesamtausgabe (SBG), 1965, page 24.

This piece is found in an eight-page fascicle belonging to the Bodmer Collection at the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn (formerly M.U.S. pages 168/71, now catalogued as SBH 637 and SV 118 from MH 71). The fascicle also contains various numbers from Opus 85.

These two bifolios originally formed the final pages of the sketchbook known as the Wielhorsky Notebook. The sheet (in oblong format) is folded at the center—first horizontally, then vertically. The crease along the upper edge of the sheet has been removed.

The fascicle primarily contains sketches for the oratorio “Christ on the Mount of Olives,” Op. 85, as well as ideas for other works. On folio 4r, Beethoven wrote ideas for the cadenza of the Third Piano Concerto (Op. 37).

Beethoven performed this concerto for the first time during the Academy concert held on April 5, 1803, at the Theater an der Wien, an event organized for the composer’s own benefit.