Paola Perrucci at the G.B. Martini Conservatory in Bologna: Beethoven and the Harp
Bologna, Saturday 6 April 2024
From the programme notes:
The programme devoted to Beethoven’s music for harp arises from the work carried out within the “Historical Study Conferences on the Harp Repertoire”, which Paola Perrucci organises annually at the Conservatory, either independently or in collaboration with her colleagues Carlo Mazzoli and Annarosa Vannoni, as well as with the research group formed by Chiara Sintoni, Elisa Bognetti, and Luca Delpriori.
In the specific context of this evening’s programme, several pieces are performed in versions for harp which have been rediscovered by the Centro Ricerche Musicali (C.R.M.), an international organisation dedicated to the dissemination and study of the works of Ludwig van Beethoven. Its mission is to promote knowledge of Beethoven’s entire oeuvre by making available to the public resources such as articles, essays, multimedia materials, and a complete catalogue of his music. The programme notes have been prepared by the C.R.M.B.
Beethoven’s Six Variations on a Swiss Theme, catalogue number WoO 64, constitute a work for piano or harp composed between 1790 and 1792. The theme is taken from the Swiss folk song Es batt e’ Buur e’ Tochterli.
The variations preserve the aphoristic character of the theme, introducing modifications that concern primarily the context and ornamentation, while leaving the melodic profile and harmonic structure of the theme essentially unaltered. They present themselves as somewhat heterodox, with eleven‑bar phrases, except for the third variation, which includes an eight‑bar repeat, and the final one, which is followed by a three‑bar coda.
This composition has been described by François‑René Tranchefort as a scholastic exercise based on an original melody that was not particularly appreciated, whereas according to Luigi Della Croce the lilting theme is treated in a manner that is conventionally ingenious. The explicit indication “for piano or harp”, unique within Beethoven’s output, points to that transitional phase between the two instruments which occurred at the end of the eighteenth century.
(For those wishing to explore the subject further: WoO 64 – Six Variations on a Swiss Theme in F major for piano or harp)
Paola Perrucci with Michael Rast Tonmeister, Radio Svizzera Italiana of Lugano.
In a world première performance, we present the three “Divertissements pour la Harpe par Beethoven”.
The Divertissements pour la Harpe attributed to Beethoven constitute a set of three pieces for harp whose authenticity has been the subject of scholarly debate. The manuscript, dated approximately between 1820 and 1830, is preserved in the Library of Brno, Náměšť (A 17647). The three pieces are:
Maestoso moderato — —
It has been hypothesised that the composer may have been—if not Beethoven himself—the Count Karl Wilhelm von Haugwitz, a contemporary of the composer. Karl Wilhelm von Haugwitz was the son of Count Heinrich Wilhelm von Haugwitz, who owned the castle of Náměšť, some thirty kilometres from Prague, where these scores were kept. It is known that Beethoven was well acquainted with both father and son Haugwitz, having met them at the home of Baron van Swieten shortly after his arrival in Vienna. The father, born in the same year as Beethoven, may have invited him to his castle in Moravia during the composer’s journey to Prague in 1796, which would place the temporal origin of these extraordinary pieces at the end of the eighteenth century.
These works represent an intriguing example of how music may be attributed or associated with a famous composer even when its authenticity is uncertain. In recent times, the first musicologist to gain access to and produce a complete transcription of the three pieces was Dr Michel Rouch, collaborator of the Centro Ricerche Musicali, lvbeethoven.org, where an in‑depth article dedicated to the subject may be consulted.
(For those who may wish to explore the topic further: Trois “Divertissements” pour la Harpe par Beethoven. Ms. ca. 1830)
The Adagio of the celebrated “Sonata quasi fantasia” was transcribed by John Thomas (1826–1913), the renowned Welsh harpist and composer, who served as harpist at the court of Queen Victoria.
(Again, for those wishing to deepen their knowledge of this already widely known sonata and its companion work: Opus 27 – Two Sonatas “quasi una fantasia” in E‑flat major and C‑sharp minor for piano)
The harp music forms part of the project “Research Becomes Art”.
A New Life for the Unknown Works of Ludwig van Beethoven: An Artistic Exploration by the harpist, Madame Professor and concert artist Paola Perrucci
