Hess 31 – Prelude and Fugue in C Major for Two Violins, Viola, and Cello (1794–1795)

Composed during Beethoven’s rigorous studies with Johann Georg Albrechsberger, the Prelude and Fugue in C major for string quartet represents the culmination of a trio of contrapuntal exercises (Hess 29–31) that transcend their pedagogical origins. The autograph manuscript is preserved in the archives of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna.

Gustav Nottebohm, in his Studien (p. 70), reproduces the opening measures of both the Prelude and Fugue (pp. 158–166), offering insight into Beethoven’s compositional process. The first complete modern edition was published by Willy Hess in Nagels Musik-Archiv, No. 186 (Nagels Verlag, Kassel, 1955), and later included in the sixth volume of the Supplemente zur Gesamtausgabe (1963).

Earlier editions of these three works appeared in Ignaz Ritter von Seyfried’s Beethoven’s Studien (Tobias Haslinger, Vienna, 1832), which contains:

• Prelude in F major (pp. 172–181)
• Fugue in F major (pp. 217–227)
• Prelude in E minor (pp. 167–171)
• Fugue in E minor (pp. 197–203)
• Fugue in C major (pp. 292–299)

However, Seyfried’s editions must be approached with caution, as he altered Beethoven’s musical text indiscriminately. In contrast, Nottebohm’s Beethovens Studien (Rieter-Biedermann, Leipzig-Winterthur, 1873) presents the Prelude in E minor (pp. 63–67), the Fugue in F major (pp. 132–141), and the Fugue in C major (pp. 158–166), adhering closely to Beethoven’s original variants and stages of development.

In 1926, Alfred Ponchon published two practical editions through Carl Fischer (New York):

• Three Fugues, combining the Prelude in F major, the Fugue in C major, and the Fugue in F major
• Sonata a tre, in Six Movements, which includes the remaining pieces, concluding with the Prelude and Fugue in E minor

These editions, however, are based on Seyfried’s altered texts. The “Sonata a tre” is further discussed in the catalogue under “Doubtful and Spurious Compositions” as Hess Anhang 9.

For precise compositional details, readers are referred to the Revisionsberichte (editorial critical notes) accompanying the aforementioned edition, where the Prelude in C major appears for the first time in full. The Fugue belongs to a group of fugues written for Albrechsberger and is catalogued as Hess 243 No. 3. The work was published by Hess in SBG, Volume VI (1963), p. 66.