Biamonti 381 – Marches, c. 1803.
The musical examples and the texts on this page are curated by Graziano Denini and Gerd Prengel.
Biamonti 381 – Marches. Pages 28, 29, 93 – circa 1803.
Mentioned by Nottebohm on pages 55 and 56 of his volume Ein Skizzenbuch von Beethoven aus dem Jahre 1803, two of these marches are identified: the first in C major, the second in B-flat major. Nottebohm notes that “Aus der Stellung, welche die Skizzen zu den Märschen einnehmen, geht hervor, dass sie während des Arbeitens am Trauermarsch der Symphonie geschrieben wurden. Die erwähnten unbekannten Märsche, von denen einer (Seite 28) auch noch später (Seite 93) vorgenommen wird. Scheinen für die nämliche Sammlung bestimmt gewesen zu sein.” The placement of the sketches suggests that they were composed while Beethoven was at work on the Funeral March of the Eroica Symphony. All these marches, including the one later revisited on page 93, appear to have been intended for the same collection.
In the critical apparatus introducing their edition Beethoven’s “Eroica” Sketchbook – A Critical Edition, Lewis Lockwood and Alan Gosman expand on this context: “Landsberg 6, in addition to showing Beethoven’s work on the four-hand Marches for Op. 45, shows him trying out ideas for three marches in C major (pages 28–29 and 93, page 29, and page 45); for another in C minor, Hess 330 (page 155); a march in B♭ major (page 29); and two in D major (page 45 and page 166). It is conceivable that while carrying out his plans for the Op. 45 Marches, he was thinking of assembling another group of similar pieces for piano, probably for two hands rather than four. But such a project did not materialize.”
Thus, beyond the Op. 45 Marches for four hands, Landsberg 6 also contains preliminary material for a wider set of march-like compositions: three in C major (on pages 28–29 and 93, as well as page 45); one in C minor (Hess 330, found on page 155), which Biamonti catalogues as no. 396 and describes as a “piece in march form” almost brought to completion; one in B-flat major (page 29); and two in D major (pages 45 and 166). The second march on page 166 was also described by Nottebohm and catalogued by Biamonti as no. 401, as a “piece that recalls, at its opening, an aria from Haydn’s The Seasons.” These scattered sketches imply a larger conception that Beethoven perhaps considered—a new collection of piano marches, most likely for two hands—but which ultimately remained unrealised.
Rachel W. Wade, in her article Beethoven’s Eroica Sketchbook, supports this reading, identifying certain sketches on page 29 as belonging to a second march in C major, thereby aligning with the hypothesis advanced by Lockwood and Gosman. Wade even ventures to propose a tentative structural outline for all seven marches. In what follows, we will attempt to follow her reasoning and reconstruct a hypothetical pianistic score for these Beethovenian marches.
Biamonti 381 – March Sketches. Identification of Fragments and Reconstruction of the Marches
March in C Major No. 1 (Biamonti 381 No. 1)
Page 28, lines 5-16
Page 29, lines 9-16
Page 93, lines 3-13
page 28, lines 5-16
page 29, lines 9-16
page 93, lines 3-13
This March in C major is undoubtedly the most thoroughly conceived by Beethoven among all the marches in question; its sketches appear across all three pages cited by Biamonti (28, 29, and 93). Following the indications provided by Rachel W. Wade, this march would seem to encompass the following fragments:
– Page 28; staves: 5–12 [divided as follows: 5–6 (first section) – 6 (second section)/7 – 8 – 9/12] and 15
– Page 29; staves: 10 (second section) – 12/16 [divided as follows: 12–15 (first section) – 15 (second section)/16]
– Page 93; staves: 3–13 [divided as follows: 3–10 – 11 (second section)/13]
To these fragments, we might consider adding, due to either thematic or compositional proximity, the following:
– Page 28; staves: 13 and 14
– Page 29, stave 5 (second half): Wade attributes this four-bar fragment to the second March in C major; however, given its thematic closeness, I believe it should instead be regarded as part of the present march.
– Page 29, stave 7: Wade assigns the fragment found on page 29, staves 12–15 (first section), to this march, yet in the manuscript we find the symbol “=de,” which appears to refer to a “Vi=” that occurs halfway through stave 7.
We are thus faced with two possibilities: either we include the fragment from stave 7 within this march, or we must attribute the entire section from staves 12–15 to the second March in C major.
– Page 29, staves 9 and 10 (first half): at the beginning of stave 9, we find the indication “oder” (“or”), the same marking that reappears beneath stave 12.
– Page 29, stave 11 (both first and second sections): I would include these two fragments less for direct thematic similarity than for their apparent proximity to the compositional process for this march. They could plausibly have served as studies for a second theme.
On stave 8 of page 28, Beethoven introduces a transitional fragment, clearly intended as a passage, with the indication “8en,” which I interpret as a directive to perform this section with all instruments in octaves (“8va”) or, in a version intended for piano alone, with both hands in octaves (“8ve”).
Biamonti 381 – March Sketches. Identification of Fragments and Reconstruction of the Marches
March in C Major No. 2
Page 29, line 5 (second half)
Page 29, lines 7-8
Page 29, line 5 (second half)
page 29, lines 7-8
The sketches for this March are all found on page 29, alongside those for the first March in C major and the March in B-flat major. Rachel W. Wade lists them as follows:
– Page 29, stave 5 (second half) – in my view, this fragment, due to its thematic proximity, should be considered part of the material for March No. 1.
– Page 29, staves 7–8
It is worth noting the striking similarity of the thematic opening to that of the March in B-flat major for two clarinets, two horns, and two bassoons, Grenadiermarsch WoO 29, as well as its piano transcription, Hess 87.
Biamonti 381 – March Sketches. Identification of Fragments and Reconstruction of the Marches
March in C Major No. 3
Page 45, lines 10-12.
page 45, lines 10-12.
The first section is complete; it consists of 12 bars, marked with a repeat, and begins with an anacrusis. In their transcription, L. Lockwood and A. Gosman indicate a B as a demisemiquaver in the first bar (of the second movement), whereas Beethoven clearly writes an A as a semiquaver.
Original 
Transcription
The second section, by contrast, is incomplete. It begins with a minim G followed by a rest of equal value (not transcribed by Lockwood and Gosman), and a figured bass indication “7 6” leading into a theme in F major accompanied by triplets. In the sixth bar of stave 11, a quaver is missing. In the second bar of the following stave, a minim is absent at the point of transition from the treble clef to the bass clef. In my view, this may not be an error, but rather an indication of overlap: the C in the treble clef would coincide with the same note in the bass clef. The ending, however, is missing.
Biamonti 381 – March Sketches. Identification of Fragments and Reconstruction of the Marches
March in B-flat major (Biamonti 381, no. 2)
page 29, lines 1-4
page 45, lines 10-12.
The sketches for the March in B-flat major (the second listed by Biamonti) are confined solely to page 29, staves 1 to 5. These sketches, however, are far less fragmentary than those of the first march and, at least in its melodic component, the march is already virtually complete.
Biamonti 381 – March Sketches. Identification of Fragments and Reconstruction of the Marches
March in D major No. 5 (Number 1 of two marches in D major according to Rachel W. Wade, the second being Biamonti 401)
page 45 lines 2-5a.
page 45, lines 10-12.
The sketches are found on page 45, staves 2 to 5a. They comprise only 23 bars, divided into four sections:
– the first of 6 bars, beginning with an anacrusis,
– the second of 8 bars, also beginning with an anacrusis and in the key of B minor,
– the third of 5 bars, which reprises the opening of the march,
– the final section, a coda, also of 5 bars.
In my view, this should represent the first part of the march. The form of this March could be interpreted as ABA with a final coda.
Biamonti 381 – March Sketches. Identification of Fragments and Reconstruction of the Marches by Graziano Denini, and Orchestration by Gerd Prengel.
6) March in D major No. 2
This march is catalogued by Biamonti as No. 401, with the description: “A piece that initially recalls an aria from Haydn’s The Seasons.”
7) March in C minor
This march is listed as No. 330 in the Hess catalogue and as No. 396 by Biamonti. The relevant sketches appear on page 155 of the Eroica Sketchbook.
Biamonti 381 is a part of the project “Research becomes Art”
A New Life for the Unknown Works of Ludwig van Beethoven: An Artistic Exploration by the pianist Professor Antonietta Cappelli