Opus 16 Quintet in E flat major for piano, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon
I) Grave – Allegro non troppo – II) Andante cantabile – III) Rondo allegro ma non troppo
Opus 16 Quintet in E flat major for piano, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon op. 16, dedicated to the Prince of Schwarzenberg; The first movement was probably composed around 1794, the other two at the end of 1796 – beginning 1797; published in Vienna, Mollo, March 1801, with the title “Grand Quintet pour le fortepiano, avec oboe, clarinet, basson et cor, ou violon, alto et violoncelle” (eight detached parts for each of the said instruments); the score (for piano and the four wind instruments) in Frankfurt, Dunst, c. 1830. GA. no. 74 (series 10/1) – B. 16 – KH. 16 – L» I, p. 157 – N. 16 – P. 89 – T. 54.
Official title: Opus 16 Quintett bzw. Quartett (Es-dur) für Klavier, Oboe, Klarinette, Fagott und Horn bzw. Klavier, Violine, Viola und Violoncello Widmung: Joseph Johann Nepomuk Fürst zu Schwarzenberg NGA IV/1 AGA 74 = Serie 10/1
The original manuscript is lost. Sketches of the second and third movements are reported by Nottebohm and Shedlock. The first performance was in Vienna on April 6, 1797, in an “Academy” organized by the violinist Schuppanzig; a second was on April 2 of the following year in the same city, on a charity concert.
In both the piano part was held by Beethoven himself. Mozart’s Quintet K. 452 in E flat major for the same ensemble, composed in 1784, is frequently cited as a “model” for this work; and it is fine about the general structure and, up to a certain point, the conception and instrumental conduct of the whole and even some literal details.
It is also easy to find melodic affinities with Tamino’s aria from The Magic Flute: “Dies Bildniss ist bedauernd schön”in the opening theme of the Allegro, with the Aria of Zerlina “Batti batti bel Masetto” of Don Giovanni in the theme of the second movement; with the Aria of Papageno“Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen” of The Magic Flute in the refrain of the Rondo.
But Beethoven still reveals his spirit, in search of a greater living space.
We note the expressive breadth of the introductory Grave; the characteristically communicative, rather than refined, nature of the two themes in the first movement and the interest of their instrumental treatment; the vigour of the development; the melodious and somewhat melancholic sweetness of the Andante cantabile, which becomes increasingly poignant with each return of the theme after the individual episodes (this movement too is in rondo form), and which reveals itself poetically in each of them: in the first, with the solo oboe melody taken up and gracefully continued by the bassoon, ending with a modulation to D minor; in the second, with the distant and sorrowful song of the horn—so intrinsic to the passage that it could hardly be imagined played on any other instrument without diminishing its character. The third movement may be more conventional in appearance, both in the refrain and in the episodes.
Origin and publication: Probably sketched during Beethoven’s stay in Berlin in May and June 1796 and possibly completed there. The original edition in parts for both instrumentations was published by Mollo in Vienna in March 1801.
Sketches for all three movements of Op. 16 were written on Berlin paper, which also contains sketches for the cello and piano sonatas Op. 5, also performed in Berlin. On this same Berlin paper (mus. ms. autogr. Beethoven 28, “Fischhof”, folio 16v, facsimile: Johnson/Tour 1796, page 37) there exists a sketch of a letter to an unknown recipient:
“[cancelled: „ich [gestrichen: schike] habe die Ehre ihnen hier das quintett, und sie werden mich sehr verbinden, wenn sie es als ein unbedeutendes Geschenk Von mir betrachten, die Einzige Bedingung, die ich ihnen machen muß, ist, es ja niemanden sonst zu geben“ (BGA 21).
Douglas Johnson believes the recipient to have been Nikolaus Zmeskall, who owned the manuscript of Mozart’s Quintet K. 452 with the same instrumentation, which at the time (1796) was still unpublished (Johnson/Fischhof vol. 1, p. 164f).
The manuscripts of Op. 16 could also have been sent to Prague. Furthermore, in early 1796 Beethoven sketched a work for piano and winds in G major (which he did not complete). (Johnson/Tour1796 p. 35f and Kerman/Kafka vol. 1 p. 287f). (See our Beethoven Research Centre: Skizzenbuch Kafka – Part 4 – Quartetto (?) in G major for piano and wind instruments (Allegro – Adagio – Finale: Variations on “Ah, vous dirai-je maman”) (Folio 84 recto, 85 recto/verso – Page 134))
(audio file also available on this page)
At the end of the slow introduction (piano part, page 1, bars 20–21), copies of the original edition show clear traces of drastic changes that likely occurred before publication. These suggest Beethoven’s intervention, resulting in ambiguities in the engraved model.
The quartet version was arranged by the composer himself, according to Ferdinand Ries (Wegeler/Ries, p. 93f). While Mollo in the original edition—and subsequently André, Broderip & Wilkinson and others—combined the quintet and quartet versions into a single edition (quintet), Simrock, Zulehner, and later Schott issued them separately with different titles, though using the same piano part. Hummel and Pleyel published only the quartet version, while Gambaro, a specialist in wind instruments, published only the quintet version. For the independent status of this version, see Schwager/Arrangements, Schwager/Look, Raab/Editions, and Kross/NGA IV/1.
Dedication: Joseph Johann Nepomuk Anton Karl Prince zu Schwarzenberg, born 27 June 1769 in Vienna, died 19 December 1833 in Frauenberg (Hluboká nad Vltavou), Bohemia, was the son of Prince Johann Nepomuk zu Schwarzenberg (1742–1789) and Maria Eleonore, née Countess of Oettingen-Wallerstein (1741–1797), and husband of Princess Pauline Karoline Iris von Arenberg-Archot (1774–1810). His sister Maria Karoline was married to Prince Franz Joseph Maximilian Lobkowitz, a patron of Beethoven. Schwarzenberg was a great and generous music lover, and hosted performances of oratorios and chamber music at his palace on the Neuer Markt in Vienna. It was also there that the first performances of Joseph Haydn’s oratorios Die Schöpfung (1798) and Die Jahreszeiten (1801) were presented, organised by the Associierten Cavaliers, of which Schwarzenberg was a member, as well as by the consortium that, from 1 January 1807, had taken over the management of the two court theatres (Theater-Unternehmungs-Gesellschaft or Theater-Pachtungs-Gesellschaft) and of the Theater an der Wien, and financed them until 1810 (among other members were Prince Lobkowitz, Nikolaus Prince Esterházy von Galántha, Franz and Franz Nikolaus von Esterházy, Count Ferdinand Pálffy von Erdőd, Count Hieronymus von Lodron, and Count Stephan Zichy).
In 1795, the prince, his wife, and his mother subscribed to a total of eight copies of the Piano Trios Op. 1.
In 1810, the princess lost her life trying to rescue her daughter (who was already safe) from a fire. This act of sacrifice was glorified in a poem published in the Zeitung für die elegante Welt on 20 July 1810 (10, 1810, p. 1137), a copy of which Beethoven requested from Nikolaus Zmeskall (BGA 461).
In 1813, after his brother-in-law, Prince Lobkowitz, went bankrupt, Joseph zu Schwarzenberg led the freundschaftliche Administration, which took over the management of his estate. In this role, Beethoven addressed him in a memorandum to obtain payment of Lobkowitz’s instalment of his pension (BGA 663).
The first performance of the quintet version was given on 6 April 1797, with Beethoven at the piano, at an academy hosted by Ignaz Schuppanzigh in the Jahnschen Saal in Vienna (programme reproduced in Landon/Zeugnisse 1970, p. 53).
Further performances of op. 16 with the participation of Beethoven were on 2 April 1798 in the second concert of the Tonkünstler-Societät (TDR II p. 46f), in April or early May 1801 in the house of Countess Deym (LaMara/Brunsvik p. 17) and in December 1804 in the Palace of Prince Lobkowitz (Wegeler/Ries p. 79f and TDR II p. 436). On 11 February 1816, before his trip to Russia, Ignaz Schuppanzigh gave a farewell concert in which Carl Czerny played the piano part (TDR III p. 548f and BGA 902).
Sketches: All times: GB-Lbl, Add. Ms. 29801 (“Kafka”), folios 48, 49, 81r and 119v. May/ June 1796 (Johnson/Fischhof volume 1 pages 362-364), 1st movement: D-Bb, mus. SM. autogr. Beethoven 28 (“Fischhof”), folio I4r. Date: May/June 1796 (Johnson/Fischhof vol. 1 p. 362-364). Original edition (parts) 1801 (March). Vienna, T. Mollo et Comp., VN/PN 151. – Title: “GRAND QUINTET / pour le / Forte-Piano / avec Oboe, Clarinette, Basson, et Cor / où / Violon Alto, et Violoncelle / composé et dedié / A Son Altesse Monseigneur le Prince / Regnant de Schwarzenberg &. &./par / LOUIS VAN BEETHOVEN / Oeuvre 16.
