Opus 89 Polonaise in C major for piano
I) Alla polacca – Vivace
Opus 89 – Polonaise in C major for piano, Op. 89, December 1814, dedicated to Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna of Russia, published in Vienna by Mechetti, March 1815. GA No. 188 (series 18/6) – B. 89 – KH. 89 – L. III, p. 228 – N. 89 – T. 189.
Official title: „Opus 89“ Polonaise (C-dur) für Klavier Widmung: Elisabeta Alexejewna Zarin von Russland NGA VII/6 AGA 188 = Serie 18/6
The original manuscript is unknown. Sketches are found in the notebook referred to under No. 586, as reported by Nottebohm.
The composition of this work as a tribute to the Empress was suggested to Beethoven by his friend Dr Andrea Bertolini. According to Thayer-Riemann, Beethoven was initially reluctant, but then he sat at the piano and improvised several themes, inviting Bertolini to choose one. The work conforms to the alternately brilliant, almost martial, and expressive style of the typical dance, of which Beethoven had already provided examples in the Serenade, Op. 8 (see No. 135), and in the Triple Concerto for piano, violin, cello, and orchestra, Op. 56 (see No. 410).
Creation and publication: Sketches of the work are preserved in the sketchbook Mendelssohn 6, which also contains extensive sketches for the cantata Op. 136, written between late September and late November 1814. Beethoven likely presented the Polonaise to the Empress of Russia in December 1814 or January 1815, before she left Vienna on 9 March 1815. The original edition was published in February 1815 by Mechetti in Vienna. Beethoven composed Op. 89 possibly as an expression of gratitude for the generous contribution of 200 ducats given by the Russian Empress to the Academy on 29 November 1814, as well as for subsequent concerts (Friedensblatt 1, 1814, 24 December 1814, p. 312, cited in Nottebohm/Beethoveniana II, p. 311, note). The composition may also have served as a gift for the Empress, who traditionally received a Polonaise in honour of her birthday in January (Lodes/Op. 89).
After the Empress received the work, Beethoven requested permission to publish and dedicate it to her: “Ihro Durchlaucht [Fürst Narischkin, Oberkammerherr der Zarin] haben mir die sehr angenehme Nachricht ertheilen laßen, daß die Kaiserin mein kleines Opfer mit Wohlgefallen aufgenommen habe, in so fern ist mein höchster Wünsch erfüllt — aber wie sehr würde ich mich geehrt finden wenn ich der Welt es bekannt machen könnte, Theil daran nehmen laßen […] dur[ch] vorsezung ihres Namens” (BGA 766). The original edition by Pietro Mechetti in Vienna was first advertised on 27 February 1815 (Thayer/1865; KH erroneously gives 11 March 1815). In the Wiener Zeitung it was announced: “NB. Es ist dieß die erste Original Klavier-Polonoise dieses grossem Meisters.”
Dedication: Elisabeth Alexejewna, Empress of Russia, born Princess Louise Marie Auguste of Baden on 24 January 1779 in Karlsruhe, died 4 May 1826 in Belev, daughter of the Hereditary Prince Karl Ludwig of Baden (1755–1801) and his wife Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt (1754–1832). She married Grand Duke Alexander, who became Emperor Alexander I in 1801 (see Op. 30), adopting the name Elisabeth Alexejewna upon converting to Russian Orthodoxy. According to Alexander W. Thayer, the Empress received the composer in audience and asked him to play the piano in her chambers. As a token of gratitude, Beethoven, according to her physician Dr Giuseppe Bertolini, received from her 50 ducats, along with double that sum as a subsequent honorarium for the Violin Sonatas Op. 30, which had already been dedicated to the Emperor in 1803 (TDR III, pp. 486f). The Empress had attended Beethoven’s Academy on 29 November 1814 and subsequently had 200 ducats in gold delivered to him by Prince Narischkin.
This payment was accompanied by a request for Beethoven to perform privately at the piano. Birgit Lodes suspects that Beethoven felt embarrassed by this request, as his pianistic abilities had diminished because he had “seit mehrere[r] Zeit mehr bloß der Autorschaft (von Schaffen) widmete” (BGA 766). To ease his embarrassment, he composed the Polonaise with freely improvised sections as a gift. Permission for the planned dedication was granted in January 1815 through the mediation of the Imperial House Minister, Prince Piotr Wolkonski. In addition to the Polonaise, the Empress also received the piano reduction of the Seventh Symphony Op. 92, published in November 1816. This symphony had been performed at the concert of 29 November 1814, and it was hearing this work that prompted the Empress to contact Beethoven. In 1824, Beethoven considered dedicating the Missa Solemnis to the Empress (BGA 1841, 26 May 1824), but the project was never carried out (Clive, Dizionario; Kopitz, Op. 89; Lodes, Op. 89).
Regarding the opus number: in the inventory of 24 July 1819 (BGA 1317), Artaria lists the Polonaise as the fourth of the works “gar keine Nummern und kein Opus.” In the same year, in the Catalogue des Oeuvres, Artaria assigned it the number Op. 89, which it has retained ever since, corresponding to the date of publication (the Piano Sonata Op. 90 was published in June 1815). Both the Polonaise and Op. 89 are absent from the Hofmeister thematic index of 1819. The date of the first performance is unknown.
Sketches: (1) PL-Kj, Mus. ms. autogr. Beethoven Mend.-Stift. 6 (Mendelssohn 6), pp. 99f, 102–104, and 106–113. Dating: December 1814. (2) F-TOc, SV 383, fol. 3 recto. Attribution to Op. 89 doubtful. Dating (JTW, pp. 235–240): December 1814 to February 1815.
First edition: 1815 (February). Vienna, Pierre Mechetti, PN 382. Title: “POLONOISE / pour le / Piano=Forte / composée et dediée / A. S. M. / Elisabetha Alexiewna / IMPERATRICE DE TOUTES LES RUSSIES / par / LOUIS VAN BEETHOVEN / Proprieté de l’editeur. / à Vienne chez Pierre Mechetti ci-devant Charles, / Bürgerspital-Platz N° 1166.”
