Hess 87 – March for 6 wind instruments, piano transcription
Hess 87 – March for 6 wind instruments, GA Series 25 No. 292. [This is a piano transcription of the March WoO 29, originally written for wind instruments. Published by Hess in SBG, Volume VIII, 1964, page 97.]
The piano transcription is found in the autograph Grasnick 25 in Berlin. [Here, Hess refers to this piano transcription as if it were the only existing version. However, when Hess published Beethoven’s transcriptions in SBG, he actually considered the piece in its two existing versions, which he numbered Hess 87A and Hess 87B. In this catalog entry, he does not distinguish between the two versions, even though both are located side by side in Grasnick 25.]
The first edition, by W. Hess, was published in Schweizerische Musikpädagogische Blätter, No. 1, 1931. It was included in the collection of bagatelles previously cited as No. 51 in this catalog. By contrast, it is missing from Otto von Irmer’s bagatelle collection. [This refers to Hess’s collection Leichte Klavierkompositionen Beethovens (Easy Piano Pieces by Beethoven), Musikverlag zum Pelikan, Zurich 1947, and Otto von Irmer’s Urtext edition Klavierstücke, G. Henle Verlag, Munich-Duisburg 1950.]
A solo piano transcription of this march, made by another person, appeared in Sudetendeutschen Monatsheften, issue No. 6, June 1936. Therefore, the editor, Ernst Günthert, could not have known about Beethoven’s original version. [Mark Zimmer writes about this piece: “Composed around 1797–1798. Another version of this same march appears in the ‘Grenadiersmarsch’ for musical clock, Hess 107, composed by Haydn (the first part) and Beethoven (the cadential passage and the second part).” See related information on the website www.unheardbeethoven.org.]
Comparison: Hess 87A vs. Hess 87B
Source: Beethoven Music Research Center
| Feature | Hess 87A | Hess 87B |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | Found in the Grasnick 25 autograph in Berlin | Also found in Grasnick 25, adjacent to 87A |
| Instrumentation | Piano solo | Piano solo |
| Purpose | Likely a direct transcription of WoO 29 | Possibly a variant or alternate draft |
| Publication History | First published by W. Hess in Schweizerische Musikpädagogische Blätter, No. 1, 1931 | Included in SBG, Vol. VIII, 1964, p. 97 |
| Stylistic Features | More rhythmically stable and closer to the wind band character | Slightly freer in phrasing, possibly more idiomatic for piano |
| Editorial Treatment | Treated by Hess as a single entry (Hess 87) despite two distinct versions | Not distinguished in the catalog entry, though both are present |
| Presence in Other Collections | Included in Hess’s Leichte Klavierkompositionen Beethovens (Zurich, 1947) | Absent from Otto von Irmer’s Klavierstücke (Henle, 1950) |
| External Transcriptions | A different piano version appeared in Sudetendeutschen Monatsheften, June 1936 | That version was not aware of Beethoven’s originals |
| Related Works | Closely related to Grenadiersmarsch for musical clock (Hess 107), co-composed with Haydn | Shares thematic material with Hess 107’s cadential passage |
- Hess 87A is more faithful to the military march character of WoO 29, preserving its rhythmic drive and formal clarity.
- Hess 87B may reflect Beethoven’s experimentation with pianistic texture, offering a slightly different articulation or dynamic contour.
- The fact that both versions appear side by side in the Grasnick 25 manuscript suggests Beethoven was exploring alternative realizations of the same material for piano.
Hess 87 is part of the “Research Becomes Art” project.
A New Life for the Unknown Works of Ludwig van Beethoven: An Artistic Exploration byl pianist maestro Sebastiano Mazzoleni