Opus 77 – Fantasia in G minor for piano
I) Allegro – Poco adagio
Opus 77 Fantasia in G minor for piano, op. 77, dedicated to Count Franz Brunswik, 1809, published in Leipzig, Breitkopf and Haertel, November 1810, published in Leipzig, Breitkopf and Haertel, November 1810. GA. no. 187 (series 18/5) – B. 77 – KH. 77 – L. III, p. 181 – N. 77 – T. 149
Official title : Opus 77 Fantasie für Klavier Widmung: Franz Graf Brunsvik de Korompa NGA VII/6 AGA 187 = Serie 18/5
The original manuscript is preserved in the Beethovenhaus (Bodmer Collection). The sketches are found among the group of sheets described by Nottebohm, numbered 477 and following.
This work is one of Beethoven’s lesser-known compositions, and certainly not one of extraordinary significance. It was composed alongside Sonata Op. 78, which follows in the sequence. It is difficult to determine whether its origin was prompted by any particular circumstance, or if it required a significant amount of effort from the composer.
The first section presents itself as an improvisation, with various musical themes and elements, some only briefly hinted at or fleetingly explored, others treated more extensively but still in an episodic manner and similarly left unresolved; all in different keys (which led Riemann to critique the designation of the key of G minor given in the title, suggesting that B major would be more fitting).
One of these elements references the well-known motif of Haydnian derivation, which has been discussed on other occasions; the others (Allegro ma non troppo, 6/8, B-flat major – Allegro con brio, D minor – Presto, 2/4, Più presto, 6/8, D major) evoke movements of tumultuous dances (perhaps of Hungarian origin). A brief, recurring Adagio in 2/4 in various keys has a solemn and meditative character.
Between these various elements, the sudden descent of rapid scales, descending through the entire keyboard, enhances the impression of whimsy and caprice. In the second part, form and tonality stabilize in a pleasant B major theme, which is developed in seven variations of an ornamental, brilliant, and graceful character.
Origin and Publication: the fair-copy transcription of the autograph manuscript is dated Vienna, 1809. The original London edition was published by Clementi & Co. in August 1810, followed shortly thereafter by the original edition from Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, around November of the same year.
The catalogue of Archduke Rudolph’s music collection refers to the verified copy available with the note: “Fantasia comp. im 8ber 1809 MS.” Rudolph thanked Beethoven in his New Year’s greetings for 1810 “for the Fantasy you sent me.”
Works Op. 73 to 81a and Op. 82, as well as WoO 136, 137, and 139, were part of an agreement between Beethoven and Muzio Clementi—likely made during Clementi’s stay in Vienna from 1808 to 1810—with the aim of ensuring that these works would be published simultaneously as original editions in both London and Leipzig. For details on the Vienna publication, reference should be made to the appendix Verlagswesen/Clementi. Clementi registered his edition at Stationers’ Hall on August 21, 1810, while Breitkopf & Härtel delayed their publication until November.
Beethoven had sent the engraving model on July 3, 1810 (as recorded in BGA 452), informed the publisher of the dedication on August 21 (BGA 465), and the work received its opus number on September 24 (BGA 469). It remains unclear whether Beethoven received any proofs before publication (BGA 472). For a discussion of the differences between the English and German original editions, see Tyson/Editions, p. 60ff.
The Breitkopf & Härtel edition of Op. 77 was advertised together with Opp. 74 to 76, as well as Opp. 78 and 79, in December 1810 in the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung (12, 1809/10, Intelligenzblatt 14, column 59), and also mentioned in the “Notices” of the same journal on October 3, 1810 (column 854). Publisher records indicate that Opp. 74 and 77 to 79 were already available by November 1810.
In Vienna, on December 26, 1810, the firm Traeg, and on January 2, 1811, the Kunst- und Industrie-Comptoir, announced in the Wiener Zeitung that Opp. 74 and 76 to 79 were “available.” By January 26, 1811, the publisher Artaria was already presenting its own editions of Opp. 74 and 76 to 79 as “completely new musical publications, now issued and available.” This short interval strongly suggests a distribution agreement with Breitkopf & Härtel, similar to earlier arrangements for Opp. 69 and 70 and later for Op. 81a.
The chronological order of the reprints by Cappi and Mollo in Vienna is uncertain (see Op. 76 for further context). For information regarding the dedication, see Op. 57. The date and context of the first performance remain unknown.
According to existing sources—though not all of them remain verifiable—the manuscript appears in DB, Mus. SM. autogr. Beethoven Landsberg 5, as well as in Willmott 1 and Willmott 2. The most reliable dating places the work in late summer or autumn of 1809, no later than October. Facsimiles and sheet transfers appear in Landsberg 5, as documented by Brenneis, and in microfiche form by the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin. Partial transfers from the Willmott manuscripts are published in Shedlock’s Unpublished Sketches.
The transcription of the work is held at the Berlin State Library (D-BNba), in the H. C. Bodmer Collection, catalogued as HCB Mh 8. The engraving model is dated simply: “1809.”
