Opus 8 Serenade in D major, for violin, viola and cello
I) March: Allegro – II) Menuetto – Allegretto – III) Adagio – Scherzo: Allegro molto – IV) Allegretto alla Polacca – V) Thema with variations (Andante quasi Allegretto) – VI) March: Allegro
Opus 8 – Serenade in D major Opus 8, for violin, viola and cello, 1796 – 1797, published in detached parts in Vienna, Artaria, October 1797; in score in Mannheim, Heckel (with the consent of the Casa Artaria), October 1848. GA. No. 58 (Series 7/5) – Bruers 8 – KH. S – L. I, p. 85 -N. 8 – P. 88 – Thayer 50 Biamonti 135.
The original manuscript is lost. The work consists of five main sections: the first (Marcia, Adagio), the third (Adagio, with an intercalated Scherzo), and the fifth (Theme with Variations), each of which is divided into various movements. The other two sections (Minuetto – Polacca) are clearly defined in their respective dance forms.
The third section might resemble, in its contrast between the Adagio and the Scherzo, the second movement (in the same key of D minor) of the Piano Sonata Op. 28 (though it does not reach the final compositional blending of the two contrasting elements). At the same time, the unique character of the melody evokes an anticipation of the slow movements in both the Piano Sonata Op. 10 No. 3 and the String Quartet Op. 18 No. 1 (also in D minor).
The Scherzo – nestled within a brief badinerie, typically instrumental, and a discreetly Mozartian Adagio that follows the opening Marcia – is a passage of serene, jovial expansion, contrasting sharply with the subsequent Adagio in minor that constitutes the third section.
In the Minuetto, the smile sneaks in through the strength of the rhythmic structure. The Polacca is full of lively, dancing joy. The final section—Theme with Variations, and a return of the initial Marcia—represents one of those farewells that Beethoven will later incorporate into other works.
Sketches:
(1) 1st and 2nd (?) movements: GB-Lbl, Add. Ms. 29801 (“Kafka”), p. 103v. Date: from the winter of 1796/97 to the end of the summer of 1797 at the latest (Johnson/Fischhof vol. 1 p. 177f), facsimile and transcription: Kerman/Kafka.
(2) Indication of the theme for the variation movement (?): GB-Lbl, Add. Ms. 29801 (“Kafka”), Bl. 98r. Date: 1794 (!) (Johnson/Fischhof vol. 1 p. 102), facsimile and transcription: Kerman/Kafka.
Comments: In general, on Beethoven’s Serenades – Witold: «The Serenades composed by B. could be considered as minor works if it were not for their extraordinary originality. In these small amusements the author reconnects himself to a tradition in which Mozart, before him, had masterfully passed; and this happens not only respecting the spirit of the serenade but putting oneself at its service with finesse, grace, elegance and imagination».
In particular, on Op. 8 –
Wasielewski: “A small genre painting, preciously worked, a true idealized serenade.”
Bruers: «Knowing such productions is very useful to evaluate the immense revolution created by B. at a very short distance: only two years elapse between this Serenade and, for example, the “Patetica”! »
Carli Ballola: «It is a true Serenade, opened and concluded by the traditional March that accompanied the arrival and departure of the musicians, very simple in structure, all soft with melodic and rhythmic “friandises”, and sensual beauty of sound».
A Second Collection of admired Marches, Waltzes, Minuets & Airs.
Some of which have been performed by the Pandeans and Silver Miners Band at Vauxhall Gardens … To which are added several original compositions … by Mozart, Beethoven, Gluck &c. &c. The whole properly arranged for the piano forte.
A Second Collection of admired Marches, Waltzes, Minuets & Airs. Some of which have been performed by the Pandeans and Silver Miners Band at Vauxhall Gardens … To which are added several original compositions … by Mozart, Beethoven, Gluck &c. &c. The whole properly arranged for the piano forte. Publisher N. Corri, circa 1805. Among the numerous works contained in this extraordinary collection on page 9 we can find the “Grand March by Beethoven”, a piano transcription of the introductory march of the Serenade in D major Opus 8 for violin, viola and cello which was published in separate parts in Vienna, Artaria in October 1797. Among the other works printed in the collection we find on page 2 “The Emperor of Austria’s March” (!) on page 3 Austrian quick Step (Allegretto – Waltz and Waltz) on page 5 “Neapolitan March” and “Air of Figaro by Mozart” on page 7 “Les Folies d’ Espagne” and on page 8 “La retreta, a Spanish quick Marsch” and then we arrive on page 9 with Beethoven’s march. Other pieces follow which will be made available later, to arrive at the complete collection, in WP on our website.
