Hess 58 – Piano Exercise, 1792 – 1793. Biamonti 47b.

Nottebohm speaks of this exercise in a chapter dedicated to Beethoven’s piano technique, placing them generically in the period of time 1782-1793. Among those he reported, Hess mentions the two mentioned in the form of small pieces and in the catalogue he generically says “composed before 1800“, while in the subsequent publication (in the ninth booklet of the Supplement zur GA., 1965) he attributes to them the “early years of Vienna“. The first (12 bars with D.C.) has the annotation: “Zur Uebung der Faust” and the second (11/10 bars with D.C.): “Die Hand so sehr möglich zusammen gehalten” and “Auf das strengste Ligato”. Other studies (exercises, sequences, “rosalie”) presumably from the same period are mentioned by Shedlock, also reporting some of them.

Hess/Green: Piano Etude in B flat major; Composed around 1800, it is already playable. Published in Nottebohm II, p. 361-2. This piece, found among sketches for larger compositions, was likely not intended for publication. Both this work and the subsequent one have been selectively referenced in Nottebohm’s writings and were published by Joseph Kerman in “Autograph Miscellany, ca. 1786 to 1199” (British Museum, London, 1970, 2 vols.), which dates its composition between 1790 and 1798. In the autograph manuscript, it appears on pages 153v and 153r, and in the transcription on page 165 of volume 2. It was also published by Hess in SBG, vol. IX (1965), p. 13. A. Willem Holsbergen, who has reviewed the original sources of these sketches, notes the existence of additional material unknown to Hess and suggests that the piece extends beyond the currently accepted ending. Consequently, it is more plausible that this work is a theme with variations rather than a simple study.

These exercises have been revived by pianist and professor Antonietta Cappelli, as part of the artistic initiative “La ricerca diventa Arte” (“Research Becomes Art”), which seeks to reintroduce Beethoven’s lesser-known works to contemporary audiences. Her performance of Hess 58 – Klavierübung in B-Dur is available on the Beethoven Music Research Center’s official page.