The Neukomm collection acquired by the Music Research Center in February 2025
10 of 14 volumes containing all first printed editions of Beethoven’s very early works
Between January and February 2025, the Centro Ricerche Musicali Beethoveniane acquired 10 of the 14 verified volumes from a collection we have named the “Neukomm Collection” (see photo above). The name derives from a hastily written signature at the end of Volume 12, reminiscent of the quick autograph of the Viennese pianist who was a contemporary of Beethoven.
This unique collection is missing Volumes 2, 4, 9, and 11. Remarkably, these booklets—certainly bound in the very early 1800s—contain almost exclusively first printed editions of Beethoven’s piano works. The collection spans a time period from 1795 to the latest preserved works: the piano transcription of the Coriolan Overture, Op. 62, and the four-hand piano transcription of the Ninth Symphony, Op. 67.
At present, we do not know where the missing volumes are kept, whether they have survived, or whether the collection originally extended beyond Volume 14.
This page provides a complete description of the contents of each individual volume; the same works will also be listed in the section titled “Scores.”
Volume 2
XII Variations / Pour le Cavecin ou Piano - Forte /
avec un Violon Obligé / Composé et Dediée / A Madamoisielle Eleonore de Breuning / par / Mr. Beethoven/ N° 1 / à Vienne chez T. Mollo. Edition before 1804 with corrections.
Volume 2
Variazioni / della thema / Quant‘ è più bello l’ Amor contadino / Nell’ Opera La Molinara / per il Piano - forte /composte e dedicate / A sua Altezza il Signore / Principe Carlo di Lichnowsky / Del Signore Luigi van Beethoven / N° 2 / Wien Giov. Traeg. First edition with correction from Op. 2 to N° 2 1796.
Volume 2
VI Variations / très faciles / pour le / Forte - piano / composées / par / Louis van Beethoven / N° 11 Vienne, chez Iean Traeg dans la Singerstraße N° 957. August 1801 - First ever edition.
Volume 2
XII Variazioni / Per il Clavicembalo o Piano - forte / Sul Menuetto ballato dalla Sig.a Venturini e Sig.r Cecchi / nel Ballo delle Nozze Disturbate / del Sig.r Luigi van Beethoven / N° 3 / Jn Vienna presso Artaria e Comp. February 1796 - First ever edition.
Volume 2
Variazioni / Sopra il Duetto /Nel Cor più non mi sento / Dell’ Opera Molinara / per il Clavicembalo o Forte piano / del Signore Luigi van Beethoven / N° 3 / In Vienna presso Giovanni Traeg. 1800 -- First edition with correction from Op. 3 to N° III.
Volume 2
XII Variations / Pour le Clavecin ou Piano - forte / avec un Violoncelle Obligé / Sur un Theme de Handel: dans L‘ Oratoire Judas Maccabée / Composées et Dediées / à son Altesse Madame La Princesse / de Lichnowsky née Comtesse de Thunn. / a’ Vienne chez Artaria e Comp. Beginning 1797. - First ever edition
Volume 2
XII Variations / Pour le Clavecin ou Piano - forte / Sur La danse Russe dansée par M.le Cassentini / dans le Ballet: das Waldmädchen / Composées et Dediées / à Madame La Comtesse de Browne / née de Vietinghoff. / par Louis van Beethoven / A Vienne chez Artaria e Comp. April 1797. - First ever edition
Volume 2
XII Variations / sur le Thême / Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen / Pour le Pianoforte / avec un Violocelle (Violon) obligé / Composées par / Louis van Beethoven / N°6 / Leipzig chez Hoffmeister & Kühnel / 1802. - First edition together with that of T. Mollo et Comp.
Volume 3
Variations / pour le / Forte - Piano / sur une Marche / par / Louis van Beethoven / Agé de dix Ans / Wien chez Hoffmeister. October 1803. Third edition, first Viennese edition, with corrections in the variations.
Volume 3
X Variations / pour le Clavecin ou Piano-forte / Sur le Duo La Stessa, la Stessissima / dell’ Opera Falstaff osia le tre Burle / Compsées et Dedieées / a Mademoisielle la Comtesse / Babette de Keglevics / par / Louis van Beethoven / N° 6 / a Vienne chez Artaria et Comp. Late 1799 - First ever edition.
Volume 3
VII Variazioni / dal quartetto - Kind, willst du ruhig schlafen / Dell’ Opera das Opferfest / per il Clavicembalo o Piano - Forte / Dal Sig.r / Luigi van Beethoven / N° 9 / In Vianna presso T. Mollo & Co. December 1799 - First ever edition.
Volume 3
VIII Variations / Pour le / Clavecin ou Piano-Forte / sur le Trio / Tändeln uns Scherzen / de l’ Opera Soliman oder die drey Sultaninen de Mr. Süssmajer / Composées et dediées / à Madame la Comtesse de Browne née de Vietinghoff / par / Louis van Beethoven / a Leipsic chez Hoffmeister et Kuhnel / Boureau de Musique. 1802 - New edition - second Viennese edition.
Volume 3
XIII Variations / pour le Clavecin ou Piano-Forte / Sur l‘ Air Es war einmal ein alter Mann / Tiré de l’ Opera Das Rothe Kaepchen / par Lovis van Beethoven / N° 11 / A Vienne chez Jean Cappi Place St Michel n°. 1803 Second edition, first Viennese, after the 1793 one Bonn, Simrock.
Volume 3
Six / Variations / façiles / Pour le Claveçin ou Harpe / sur un Air Suisse / par / Lovis van Beethoven / N°12 / Wien / A Vienne, chez Jean Cappi, Place S.t Michel N°5 / 1803 - Second edition after that of 1798, Bonn, Simrock.
Volume 3
24 Variations / pour le Clavecin ou Piano-Forte / Sur l’ Ariette: Vieni Amore / par / Lovis van Beethoven / N° 13 / A Vienne/ Chez Jean Cappi. 1803. Second edition.
Volume 3
Variations / Pour le Pianoforte / sur le Thême / Rûle Britannia / Composées / par / Louis van Beethoven / N°26 / Wien / A Vienne, au Boureau d‘ Arts et d’ Industrie / June 1804 - First ever edition.
Volume 3
Variations / Pour le Pianoforte / sur le Thême / God save the King / Composées par / Louis van Beethoven / N°25 / Wien / A Vienne, Boureau d‘ Arts et d’ Industrie, Rue Kohlmarkt N° 269 / Marzo 1804 - First ever edition.
Volume 3
Trente-Deux Variations / Pour le Pianoforte / Composées par / Louis van Beethoven / N°36 / Wien / Im Kunst und Industrie Comptoir am hohen Markt N° 582 / April 1807 - First ever edition.
Volume 3
VI Variations / Pour le Piano-forte / Composée par / Louis van Beethoven / Oeuvre 34 / Vienne / 1806. - Second Viennese edition.
Volume 3
Prélude / Pour le Pianoforte / Composé par / Louis van Beethoven / N°6 / A Vienne au Boureau d‘ Arts et d’ Industrie / 1805. - First ever edition.
Volume 3
Menuet / Pour le / Pianoforte / Composé / par / Louis van Beethoven / N°28 / A Vienne au Boureau d‘ Arts et d’ Industrie / 1805. - First ever edition.
Volume 3
Andante / Pour le Pianoforte / Composé par / Louis van Beethoven / A Vienne au Boureau d‘ Arts et d’ Industrie / September 1805. - First ever edition.
Volume 3
Rondo / Pour le Clavecin ou Piano-forte / Composé et dedié / à Mademoisielle la Comtesse / Henriette de Lichnowski / par / Louis van Beethoven / A Vienne chez Artaria / September 1802. - First ever edition, still without an Opera number.
Volume 3
Ouverture / Composée pour la Tragédie / Coriolan / par / Louis van Beethoven / dedée / à Monsieur de Collin Secrétaire aulique de S.M.J.R. / Arrangè pour le Pianoforte / A Vienne et Pesth / au Boureau d‘ Arts et d’ Industrie / 1807. - First ever edition in this reduction.
Volume 4
Trois Sonates pour le Clavecin ou piano-Forte Composée et Dediées A Madame la Comtesse de Browne /Née Vietinghoff/ par Luois van Beethoven/ Oeuvre 10/ à Vienne chez Joseph Eder. Sur le Graben. First ever edition, September 1798.
Volume 5
Trois Sonates / Pour le Clavecin ou Piano-Forte / Composée et dediée / à Mr Joseph Haydn / Docteur en Musique / Par / Louis van Beethoven / Oeuvre II / A Vienne chez Artaria et Comp. 1800. Second edition with modified dedication.
Volume 5
Grande Sonate / Pour le Clavecin ou Piano-Forte / Composée et dediée / à Mademoisielle La Comtesse / Babette de Keglevics / Par / Louis van Beethoven / Oeuvre 7 / A Vienne chez Artaria e Comp. 1797. First ever edition.
Volume 5
Sonate / a quatre mains / Pour le Clavecin ou Forte-Piano / Composée par / Louis van Beethoven / Oeuvre 6 / A Vienne chez Jean Cappi / 1802. First edition using plate 712 of the first ever edition of Artaria.
Volume 5
LI.me Sonate / Pour le Pianoforte / Composée par / Louis van Beethoven / Op. 54. / A Vienne au Boureau des Arts et d’ Industrie. April 1806. First ever edition.
Volume 5
Lied mit Veranderungen / zu vier Handen / gesschrieben im Jahre 1800 / in das Stammbuch der Grafinnen / Josephine Deym und Therese Brunswick / und beyden zugeeignet / von / Ludwig van Beethoven / N° 27 / Im Verlage des Kunst - und Industrie - Comptoirs zu Wien. January 1805. Extremely rare first edition ever.
Volume 5
Cinquième Symphonies / de / Louis van Beethoven / arrangé / Pour le Piano - Forte / à quatre mains / Chez Breitkpof & Hartel à Leipzig. July 1809. First ever edition in this version.
Volume 6
Grande Sonate pathétique /Pour le Clavecin ou Piano-Forte / Composée et dediée / à Son Altesse Monseigneur le Prince Charles de Lichnowsky / Par / Louis van Beethoven / Oeuvre 13 Bey Joseph Eder an Graben 1800. First edition with numbered plate of Hoffmeister’s first ever edition.
Volume 6
Deux Sonates / pour le Piano-Forte / coposée pour pianoforte / et dediée à Madame La Baronne de Braun / Par Louis van Beethoven / Op. 14 Wien T. Mollo & Comp. December 1799. First ever edition.
Volume 7
LIVme Sonate / coposée pour pianoforte / et dediée à Monsieur le Comte François de Brunswik / Par Louis van Beethoven / Op. 57 Wien Kunst-un Industrie-Comptoir (Boureau des Arts et d’ Industrie). February 1807. First ever edition.
Volume 7
Variations / Pour le Piano Forte / composées et dediées / A Monsieur le Comte Maurice Lichowski / Par L. van Beethoven / Oeuv.35 à Leipsic, chez Breitkpof & Härtel. August 1803. First ever edition.
Volume 8
Deux Sonates / puor le piano forte / avec un violon / composées et dediées / A Monsieur le Comte Maurice de Fries / Chambellan de S.M.J. & R. / Par Louis van Beethoven / Oeuvre 23 Wien T. Mollo et Comp. October 1801. First ever edition.
Volume 8
Deux Sonates / puor le piano forte / avec un violon / composées et dediées / A Monsieur le Comte Maurice de Fries / Chambellan de S.M.J. & R. / Par Louis van Beethoven / Oeuvre 23 Wien T. Mollo et Comp. 1802. First ever edition.
Volume 8
Sonata / per il piano-forte ed un violino obbligato, / scritta in uno stile molto concertante / quasi d‘ un concerto / Composta e dedicata al suo amico / R. Kreutzer. / Membro del Conservatorio di Musica in Parigi / Primo violino dell’ Accademia delle Arti, e della Camera imperiale. / L. van Beethoven. Opera 47. Bonn und Paris, Simrock, April 1805. First ever edition.
Volume 10
Trois Sonates pour le Pianoforte avec accompagnement de Violon Composée et dediées / à sa Majesté / Alexander I / Empereur de toutes les Russies par Luois van Beethoven/ Oeuvre XXX / à Vienne au Boureau d‘ Arts et d’ Industrie,1803. First ever edition.
Volume 12
Trois Sonates pour le Clavecin ou piano-Forte Composée par Luois van Beethoven/ Oeuvre 29/ à Vienne chez Jean Cappi. Edition with incorrect number (29 instead of 31), 1806.
Volume 14
Tre sonate / Per il clavicembralo o Forte-Piano / con un violino / Composte e Dedicate / al Sig. Antonio Salieri / primo Maestro di Cappella della Corte/ Imperiale di Vienna &c. &c. /dal / Sig. Luigi ven Beethoven / Opera 12 / A Vienna presso Artaria e Comp. 1798/1799 (December and January) First ever edition.
Assuming the pencil annotations found at the beginning of the inside back cover of each individual volume are accurate—numbering the collection from Volume 1 to Volume 14—the subsequent question naturally arises: which works might have been included in the four missing volumes?
The repertoire acquired by Sigismund Neukomm during his stay in Vienna spans the years 1799 to 1809, with the caveat that he was absent from the Austrian capital between late 1804 and early 1809. Neukomm consistently sought out first editions, acquiring second editions only when the originals were no longer obtainable.
The final work in the bound collection is the piano reduction of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, dated 1809. Shortly thereafter, Neukomm departed Vienna for Paris, where he entrusted the binding of his scores to Lavallard.
Given that all extant volumes contain works for solo piano, violin and piano, or cello and piano, the following compositions are plausible candidates for inclusion in the four missing volumes:
- Two sonatas for cello and piano, Op. 5
- Piano Sonata in A major, Op. 22
- Piano Sonata in A-flat major, Op. 26
- Two sonatas “Quasi una fantasia,” Op. 27
- Piano Sonata in A major, Op. 28
Additional works that may have formed part of the collection include:
- Two Preludes, Op. 39
- First of the two Rondos, Op. 51 (the second, still lacking an opus number, is preserved in Volume 3)
- Possibly the Two Sonatinas, Op. 49, published in Vienna in 1805
This reconstruction, while speculative, is grounded in Neukomm’s documented acquisition habits and the chronological framework of his Viennese period. It offers a compelling glimpse into the repertoire that may have once completed this historically significant collection.
Sigismund Ritter von Neukomm (Salzburg, July 10, 1778 – Paris, April 3, 1858) was an Austrian composer and pianist.
Neukomm, the eldest son of schoolmaster David Neukomm and his wife Kordula Rieder, received music lessons as a child from Franz Xaver Weissager, the cathedral organist in Salzburg. He studied music in Vienna under Michael Haydn, and philosophy and mathematics at the University of Salzburg.
In 1792, he became organist of the University Church in Salzburg, and four years later was appointed choir director at the court theatre. At the age of 19, in March 1797, Neukomm moved to Vienna. On Michael Haydn’s recommendation, he became a student and later close collaborator of Franz Joseph Haydn. During his seven years in Vienna (1797–1804), Neukomm taught piano and singing. His most famous students included Anna Milder-Hauptmann and Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart.
In the early 19th century, he moved first to Sweden and then to Russia. In St. Petersburg, he served as director of the German Theatre from 1804 to 1809. He returned briefly to Vienna to assist Haydn in his final years, then moved to Paris, where he befriended leading contemporary musicians and came under the patronage of Talleyrand.
In 1816, he traveled to Brazil, welcomed by the court of the future Emperor Pedro I, serving as musical director. Five years later, following a local revolution, he returned to Europe with the emperor, residing mainly in Paris and touring Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Great Britain.
His works were performed at the solemn entrance of King Louis XVIII into Paris after Napoleon Bonaparte’s defeat, as well as to commemorate the execution of Louis XVI. He was awarded the title of Knight of the Legion of Honour.
Among his numerous compositions are: seven oratorios, fifteen masses, five Te Deums, various cantatas in English, German, and Italian, psalms, ten German operas, five overtures, and seven fantasies. His rich repertoire also includes chamber music, pieces for organ and piano, and two hundred art songs in various languages.
