Opus 39 2 Preludes in the twelve major keys for piano or organ
Opus 39 2 Preludes in the twelve major keys for piano or organ, opus 39, 1789-1803, published in Leipzig, Hoffmeister and Kuhnel, 1803. GA. n. 184 (series 18/2) – B. 39 – KH. 39 – L. II, p. 229 – N. 39 – P. 17 – Sch. p. 216/14 – T. 9.
Official title: Opus 39 Zwei Präludien durch alle Dur-Tonarten für Klavier (Orgel) Widmung: – NGA VII/6 AGA 184 = Serie 18/2
The original manuscript is lost. A revised copy bearing the date 1789 and the author’s name is preserved at the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek in Berlin. However, some doubts about the authenticity of this date—expressed also by Schiermair (as with the previous Prelude)—and the addition by KH: “1803 für die Drucklegung durchgesehen” (revised in 1803 for printing) have led us to adopt the broader timeframe of 1789–1803, similarly to the Prelude itself.
Here Beethoven undertakes the task of developing a theme through a more or less extended series of developments, imitations, and modulations, following the prescribed path through the twelve major keys in succession according to the cycle of fifths. This is a scholarly exercise in counterpoint and composition, about which Nottebohm (Studien, p. 6) provides some technical details.
Origin and Publication: Composed in 1789 according to the autograph dating of the corrected copy of the work. The original edition was published in December 1803 by Hoffmeister & Kühnel in Leipzig.
Gustav Nottebohm considers the preludes as study pieces (Nottebohm/Studien, p. 7).
On September 10, 1803, Franz Anton Hoffmeister commissioned his Viennese manager Caspar Josef Eberl in Leipzig to accept the following six Beethoven works for publication: Op. 39, 40 (listed as “Sonata for Violin”), 41, 42, 43 (overture), and 44. Beethoven sent the corresponding transfer of ownership around September 20, 1803. On October 19, Eberl complained that he had not yet received the manuscripts. Part of the package, probably including Op. 39, was perhaps delivered at the end of October or beginning of November, since on November 9 Eberl described the “rest of Beethoven’s manuscripts” as exceptional (cf. Beer/Hoffmeister-Kühnel p. 348s). This “rest” consisted of the overture Op. 43 and another unnamed work. Hoffmeister had also received these manuscripts by December 21, 1803, and expressed dissatisfaction with their condition and value (BGA 174). He expedited the publication process, which was announced in the Leipziger Zeitung on December 5, in the Reichsanzeiger 7 A2, in the Intelligenzblatt 58, and in the Zeitung für die elegante Welt on December 7, 1803. First performance unknown. Sketches have not survived.
Manuscript: DB, Mus. SM. autogr. Beethoven Artaria 128. Dating: “1789”. Copyist and Title: folio 1 recto at the top “1789”, “1789. Von Ludwig / van Beethoven.” 4 sheets; 8 pages of music lr-4v. Paper: vertical format, 31 x 24 cm, 12 lines. Provenance: Artaria Publishing Archive, Vienna. – Erich Prieger, Bonn, from 1897. – Acquired in 1901. Facsimile: SBB/microfiche. Description: Bartlitz/Catalogue p. 15.
First edition: 1803 (December). Leipzig, Hoffmeister et Kühnel, PN 271. – Title:
“Deux / PRELUDES / par tous les 12 Tons majeurs / pour le / Fortepiano, ou l’Orgue / composées par / LOUIS VAN BEETHOVEN. / Oeuvre 39. / à Leipzig chez Hoffmeister et Kühnel. / (Bureau de Musique).”
Op. 39 is part of the “Research Becomes Art” project.
A New Life for the Unknown Works of Ludwig van Beethoven: An Artistic Exploration by the pianist Professor Antonietta Cappelli
