Transcription of WoO 57, possibly by Hoffmeister or Ries

This entry refers to the string quartet transcription of Beethoven’s Andante favori, originally catalogued as WoO 57 and listed in the Gesamtausgabe (GA), Series 18, No. 192. The transcription appeared around 1806, published by F.A. Hoffmeister in Vienna, and was subsequently reprinted multiple times.

Authorship and Editorial Attribution

The string quartet version exhibits traits of a rudimentary and somewhat unsophisticated transcription, casting doubt on its attribution to Beethoven himself. The likely transcribers are either Ferdinand Ries or Hoffmeister. However, if the transcription is indeed “primitive,” it would be atypical of Ries’s known editorial standards, further complicating the attribution.

• The piano version is cited in Kinsky/Halm (p. 502) as WoO 57.
• The string quartet version is described on p. 503, though it is not assigned a distinct catalogue number.
• Gustav Nottebohm, in his 1851 catalogue of Beethoven’s works, notes that Carl Czerny and Wilhelm von Lenz erroneously assumed the string quartet version to be the original, and the piano version to be a derivative transcription.

This confusion underscores the editorial ambiguity surrounding the work’s genesis and dissemination. For a deeper musical and analytical exploration, readers are encouraged to consult the thesis by Giorgia Cozzi, available courtesy of Beethoven-Haus Bonn. All texts and documents on the page have been reviewed by the editorial team of the Beethoven Music Research Center (C.R.M.B.). For scholarly inquiries or access to archival materials, contact may be made via the site’s dedicated form.