Hess 32 Quartet in F major (first version of Opus 18 number 1)
I) Allegro con brio – II) Adagio affettuoso ed appassionato -III) Scherzo – Allegro – IV) Allegro
This early version of the String Quartet in F major, later revised and published as Opus 18 No. 1, was dedicated to Beethoven’s close friend Karl Amenda (see Biamonti 185, note). The autograph manuscript, dated June 25, 1799, is preserved at the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn and catalogued as SBH 714.
In a letter to Amenda dated July 1, 1801, Beethoven wrote:
“I beg you not to share your copy of the quartet with anyone, as I have made substantial changes to it. Only now do I understand how to write quartets; you will realize this, I believe, when you receive the revised versions.”
This first version was published in 1922 by Hans Wedig, accompanied by an extensive introductory study. Wedig’s essay begins with a general overview of the Viennese string quartet tradition in the final two decades of the 18th century, then focuses specifically on Emanuel Förster, the definitive version of Op. 18 No. 1, and a comparative analysis with the earlier draft.
Wedig attributes significant importance to Emanuel Förster (1748–1823), considering him—alongside Mozart and Haydn—as one of the most influential figures in the development of the Viennese string quartet. Förster, a close friend of Beethoven and a regular guest at Prince Lichnowsky’s Friday matinées, is believed to have exerted a notable influence on the young composer’s stylistic formation. It is telling that contemporary critics often praised Förster’s quartets in terms that could equally apply to Beethoven’s own early chamber works.
The autograph was completed in May or June of 1799. A partial edition of the development section from the first movement was published by Karl Waack in Die Musik, Vol. II (March 1904), p. 418, under the title Beethoven’s F Major String Quartet Op. 18 No. 1 in its Original Version. The first complete edition appeared in Veröffentlichungen des Beethoven-Hauses, Vol. II (Bonn, 1922), edited by Joseph Wedig.
Willy Hess later included the work in Supplemente zur Gesamtausgabe, Vol. VI (1963), p. 74, and in Beethovens Sämtliche Werke, Vol. VI, Part 3 (Streichquartette I, G. Henle Verlag, Munich, 1963), as Anhang 1, with a facsimile of the first page of the autograph.
The manuscript was acquired in 1913 through the auction house of Leo Liepmannssohn by Anna Kawall of Riga, a descendant of Amenda. The auction catalogue (No. 43, p. 76) reproduces the title page of the first violin part. Additional facsimile pages appear in:
- R. Bory, Ludwig van Beethoven, Atlantis Books, Zurich, 1960, p. 91
- J. Schmidt-Görg & H. Schmidt, Ludwig van Beethoven, Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft, Braunschweig, 1969, p. 94
- H.C. Robbins Landon, Beethoven, Universal Edition, Zurich, 1970, p. 63
At least part of the autograph is in the hand of a copyist. See Alexander Tyson’s article, Notes on Five of Beethoven’s Copyists, Journal of the American Musicological Society, Vol. XXIII, No. 3 (1970), p. 446.
For further details regarding the differences between this version and the final Opus 18 No. 1, readers are referred to the broader discussion of the six quartets of Opus 18, completed subsequently.
