Hess Anhang 21 – Bagatelle for Piano (Op. 119/12) Piano version of the Lied “An Laura”

The Bagatelle “An Laura,” Opus 119 No. 12, corresponds to Biamonti Addendum II No. 13. In an 1826 edition by Diabelli of the eleven Bagatelles Opus 119, a twelfth bagatelle also appears. This piece is nothing more than an abbreviated reproduction of the piano part of the song “An Laura,” composed by Beethoven in 1790, and was likely added by Diabelli himself.

This bagatelle was later published by Willy Hess in the ninth volume of the Supplemente zur Gesamtausgabe (1968), catalogued as Op. 119 No. 12. However, this adaptation of the Lied “An Laura” is unlikely to be attributable to Beethoven (the same piece is listed as Hess 128), due to the lithographic plate number. It likely appeared no earlier than 1826, in the second edition of Op. 119 by Diabelli & Co. in Vienna.

Willy Hess analyzed the piece in Beethovens Bagatelle Op. 119, No. 12, published in Schweizerische Musikpädagogische Blätter, No. 16, July 1953, pp. 37–40, and included a photostatic reproduction on p. 39. The bagatelle is also referenced in the Heyer Museum’s catalogue of musical supplements (Heyer-Katalog, IV, 1916, p. 162). [Published by Hess in SBG, Vol. IX, 1965, p. 114.]

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