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Nicolas de Krufft – Sonata for Pianoforte Op. IV, Dedicated to Ludwig van Beethoven

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Nicolas de Krufft – Sonate pour le Pianoforte

composée et dediée à Monsieur Louis van Beethoven par le Baron Nicolas de Krufft Op. IV.

The texts and documents on this page are edited by Luigi Bellofatto.
The musical examples and videos on this page are by Sebastiano Mazzoleni.

Nicolas de Krufft – Sonata for Pianoforte, Op. IV

Composed and dedicated to Monsieur Louis van Beethoven by Baron Nicolas de Krufft

Freiherr Nikolaus (Niklas) von Krufft, known in musical publications by the French rendering Nicolas de Krufft (Vienna, February 1, 1779 – April 16, 1818), was an Austrian composer and pianist. He is primarily remembered for a small number of works for French horn, the only compositions of his that have remained in the active repertoire.

Son of Andreas Adolph Freiherr von Krufft, Minister of State, he studied philosophy at the University of Vienna between 1794 and 1799, earning a law degree the following year. In 1801, he was appointed Secretary of State (Staatskanzlei) and worked at the State Chancellery Tribunal (Staatskanzleirathe).

His musical passion began with piano lessons from his mother, Maria Anna von Haan, an accomplished pianist and connoisseur of classical music. He later studied composition with Johann Georg Albrechsberger, who also taught Beethoven. It is believed that a friendship developed between Krufft and Beethoven during this period, though documentation is scarce.

As Secretary of State, Krufft often accompanied Prince Metternich, including on diplomatic missions to Paris in 1815 and Italy in June 1817. For his service, which took him from Russia to Sicily, he was awarded a career medal.

Despite his demanding profession, music remained his true vocation. He composed during his free time—often in the evenings or at night. This intense dual life led to nervous exhaustion, and eventually, even the sound of the piano became unbearable to him. His premature death is thought to be linked to this stress.

Krufft is considered part of the early Romantic generation, and his works influenced Franz Schubert. His style blends Classical clarity with Romantic innovation, including adventurous harmonic language and distant modulations—traits shared with Beethoven.

He composed for solo instruments such as bassoon and French horn, as well as piano pieces. He also set texts by Friedrich von Schiller, Johannes Daniel Falk, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and other poets.


Score of Krufft’s Sonata – Property of the Beethoven Music Research Center www.lvbeethoven.org


Krufft’s Variations Dedicated to Dorothea Ertmann – Property of the Beethoven Music Research Center www.lvbeethoven.org

Notable Works and Dedications

  • Krufft received high praise from Ignace Pleyel, the famed publisher and piano maker, for his 24 Préludes et Fugues pour le Pianoforte dans les douze tons des modes majeurs et mineurs (Paris, 1814):
  • These preludes were dedicated to Archduke Rudolph of Austria, Beethoven’s great patron.
  • A set of variations by Krufft, shown on the page, was dedicated to Baroness Dorothea Ertmann, née Graumann (May 3, 1781 – March 16, 1849), Beethoven’s beloved “Dorothea-Caecilia” and dedicatee of his Sonata Op. 101.

  • In 1803, Krufft composed a sonata for pianoforte, dedicated to Beethoven: Sonate pour le pianoforte: Op. IV / composée et dédiée à Monsieur Louis van Beethoven par le Baron Nicolas de Krufft. Published in Vienna by Bureau d’Arts et d’Industrie, [1803], 15 pages. Mentioned in the Intelligenzblatt Nr. 15 of the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung, June 1804.

Sonate pour le Pianoforte composée et dediée à Monsieur Louis van Beethoven par le Baron Nicolas de Krufft Op. IV. Sebastiano Mazzoleni – Piano

I – Allegro
II – Adagio
II – Menuetto
IV – Prestissimo

Archival and Biographical Sources

  • Oesterreichisches Archiv für Geschichte, 1831
  • Erneuerte vaterländische Blätter, 1817 & 1831
  • Leipziger Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung, 1818 & 1819
  • Gaßner, Universal-Lexikon der Tonkunst, 1849
  • Bernsdorf, Neues Universal-Lexikon der Tonkunst, 1856
  • Schindel, Die deutschen Schriftstellerinnen des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts, 1823
  • Raßmann, Pantheon jetzt lebender Dichter, 1823
  • Oesterreichische National-Encyklopädie, 1835
  • Gerber, Neues historisch-biographisches Lexikon der Tonkünstler, 1813

? Related Research

Krufft also composed a lengthy version of the Lied “In questa tomba oscura”, which is the subject of a dedicated study on the Beethoven Music Research Center website.

His Sonata Op. IV is part of the project: “Research Becomes Art – Around Beethoven” A new life for works dedicated to Ludwig van Beethoven, curated by pianist Sebastiano Mazzoleni.

Krufft’s Sonata is part of the project “Research Becomes Art – Around Beethoven”

A new lease on life for works dedicated to Ludwig van Beethoven: An artistic exploration by pianist Sebastiano Mazzoleni

Luigi Domenico Bellofatto – Memorabilia of the C.R.M.B.: Rare Objects and Historical Mementos from Beethoven’s Birthplace

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Luigi Domenico Bellofatto – Memorabilia of the C.R.M.B.

Objects, mementos, and antiques owned by the Beethoven Music Research Center www.lvbeethoven.org

Today, December 16, 2023, the birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven, we present two rarities and memorabilia owned by the CRM related to the house in Bonn where the composer was born 253 years ago. They are:

– A brick from the house with the Beethoven-Haus seal and its certificate of authenticity.

It was donated to us as a token of gratitude for a long-standing collaboration between the CRM and the BH in Bonn.

– A piece of wood from the beam in the room where the musician was born, with the two seals Beethoven used. Behind it is the BH stamp; these pieces were likely produced between 1937 and 1939 by the then owner of the house, Heinrich Hasselbach, following a restoration.

– A plate from page 106 of a first edition of a Beethoven piano sonata.

– The original note announcing the composer’s funeral, on March 29, 1827, at 3 p.m.

The Beethoven Music Research Center is enriched by a great rarity: the ORIGINAL portrait of Beethoven composing at the piano by Hermann Junker (September 18, 1838 Frankfurt a.M. – February 10, 1899).
This famous portrait has been reproduced in numerous black and white magazines, and we show it in the original colors. A sheet of paper behind the painting bears an interesting inscription:
Dem Verfasser des poeticischen Beethoven-Album Herrn Hermann Landau zur f.[reundlichen] E.[rinnerung] an Herrmann Junker Frankfurt a[m]/m[ain] 1877 Aus d. Sammlung Lanna
The painting was donated by the artist to the scholar Hermann Joseph Landau (Prague, June 19, 1815; Prague, February 2, 1889); Landau wrote a collection of essays on Beethoven entitled “Erstes poetisches Beethoven-Album. Zur Erinnerung an den grossen Tondichter und an dessen Sacularfeier, begangen den 17. Dezember 1870” published in Prague in 1872 (second edition 1877). Exclusively for the C.R.M.B.

Focus on… Benedetta Saglietti: Music Historian, Iconography Specialist, and Contributor to the C.R.M.B.

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Focus on… Benedetta Saglietti:

Music Historian, Iconography Specialist, and Contributor to the C.R.M.B.

Benedetta Saglietti is a music historian, essayist, and specialist in musical iconography. Her work combines rigorous scholarship with a distinctive sensitivity to images, texts, and the cultural contexts that shaped the musical world of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. A long‑standing friend of the C.R.M.B., she has contributed essays, research, and insights that enrich our understanding of Beethoven and his visual legacy.

Her first book, Beethoven. Ritratti e immagini (EDT–De Sono, 2010), received significant critical acclaim and led to an invitation to the Beethoven Festival in Chicago (2011). She later edited Una visita a Beethoven by De Vienney (La Scuola di Pitagora, 2014) and contributed to the catalogue of the major exhibition Ludwig van. Le mythe Beethoven (Gallimard, 2016) at the Philharmonie de Paris. She also co‑edited the new edition of Alfredo Casella’s Strawinski (Castelvecchi, 2016).

Her multimedia project on Schönberg’s Pierrot lunaire, created with semiologist Valentina Manchia and inspired by the work of French graphic designer Massin, debuted at the Stresa Festival in 2018. More recently, Donzelli published her volume La Quinta Sinfonia di Beethoven recensita da E.T.A. Hoffmann, with a preface by Riccardo Muti.

Saglietti’s research extends to the relationship between music and colour, Glenn Gould’s radio dramas, and the autobiographical writings and travels of German‑speaking musicians. She is active as a music critic, lecturer, translator (DE/EN > IT), and digital strategist for classical music institutions in Italy and abroad.


Benedetta Saglietti

“What do I do? In one word: I write. In many forms:”

essays: my love for the German world and culture has led me to study Beethoven, his iconography — including writing for Gallimard as a contributor to the largest exhibition on the subject in recent years; the reception of the Fifth Symphony; the travels and autobiographies of German‑speaking musicians in the eighteenth century; music and its relationship with the other arts. Here you can find my complete bibliography. as a translator (DE/EN > IT) and localizer as a “digital strategist” I write for social media, in institutional and non‑institutional contexts, all related to classical music. My specialty is Twitter. collaborating on programme notes I work with several musical institutions, including: Unione Musicale di Torino, the RIAS Kammerchor of Berlin, the Ravenna Festival, and the “Giovanni Battista Polledro” Chamber Orchestra. for Il Giornale della Musica (since 2007) and for websites such as Bachtrack, Doppiozero, and Alfabeta2, I write about music and culture, in both Italian and English.

I am represented by the agency Grandi & Associati.

And then:

since overcoming my shyness, I speak in public, in different venues and for different audiences: here are my talks.

Finally:

education: I have curated listening‑education projects for several musical institutions (including the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai and the Unione Musicale di Torino), and I taught in primary school for five years. I have also worked as B2B marketing manager for the Italian branch of Sothys Paris, where I was also responsible for communication and translation from English.

Monographs


“Every passion, just as a work presents it to us, is clothed by music with the purple shimmer of Romanticism, and what we experience in life leads us out of life into the realm of the infinite. So strong is the magic of music, and ever more powerful its effect, that it ought to free itself from every other art. Beethoven’s instrumental music opens for us the realm of the titanic and the immeasurable. Fiery rays dart through the deep night of this realm: we perceive gigantic shadows that lengthen and contract, enclosing us ever more tightly, annihilating everything within us, without extinguishing the pain of infinite longing, in which every pleasure, rising swiftly in exultant sounds, sinks and perishes.” — E. T. A. Hoffmann

Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony is one of the most important and celebrated works in the history of music: as soon as it is mentioned, its incisive opening motto immediately resounds in our minds. And yet, as this book recounts, the composition made its way into the ears and hearts of listeners in a rather unusual manner. The story of the Fifth began in Vienna on 22 December 1808, when it was performed for the first time, among countless other pieces, in a concert as famous as it was unfortunate. The difficulty of the compositions, an insufficient number of rehearsals, the length of the programme, and the cold in the theatre resulted in a partial fiasco. Despite the composer’s fame, a journalist wrote: “No one is a prophet in his own land.” Beethoven became angry: “Despite a few mistakes, the audience received everything with enthusiasm. Nevertheless, the scribblers of Vienna will certainly not fail to write their venomous articles against me.” But he was mistaken.

Seven months later, in fact, the director of the most important German music journal sent the four‑hand piano reduction of the symphony to Bamberg, asking one of his collaborators — then unknown — E. T. A. Hoffmann, who would soon become the most important writer of German Romanticism, to review it. It was Hoffmann who first realised, without the slightest doubt, that the Fifth was a masterpiece, and who proclaimed it loudly in a lengthy essay, thereby determining the destiny of this extraordinary work.

Previously unpublished in its complete form, this review — one of the most inspired ever written — now appears in Italian, translated and annotated by the music historian Benedetta Saglietti, together with other testimonies concerning the first performance and writings by Johann Friedrich Reichardt and Hector Berlioz. Opening this journey is Riccardo Muti, who, in conversation with the author, recounts — from the interpreter’s perspective — the masterpiece‑symphony that, from its very first performance, has continued to fascinate those who listen to it: a work still capable today of surprising and at the same time stirring the deepest regions of the human soul.


In figurative and plastic artworks, Beethoven has taken on various appearances, not all equally well known, since some have been reproduced more frequently than others. By aligning in a gallery those heterogeneous portraits (oil paintings, engravings and lithographs, drawings, facial masks, and busts) that were created during his lifetime, a profile of the composer emerges that is at times unexpected and surprising.

The portraits are considered here primarily for their documentary value, and for the first time the material peculiarities of the works are defined according to a new methodological criterion (genesis, iconographic characteristics, transmission, current location), along with a discussion of a vast yet largely unexplored critical literature.

The iconographic narrative proceeds in parallel with the biographical account through Beethoven’s correspondence and the literary images that his contemporaries transmitted in the press of the time and in memorial literature. Portraits and images thus provide, complementing one another, an in‑depth view of the figure and life of the master. The volume is completed by two appendices devoted to the biographies of the portrait artists and of the countless friends, patrons, and publishers who make it possible to reconstruct the complex network of social relationships in which Beethoven lived.

De Sono Tesi Series – 232 pages – Publication date January 2011.

Her publications


Alfredo Casella’s Strawinski, in which he spelled the admired colleague’s name in that way, was the very first book ever written about the Russian composer: it appeared in a concise form in 1926, and was then entirely reworked, expanded, and completed in 1946. Published in 1947, after Casella’s death but while Igor Stravinsky was still active, the text reviews with admirable conciseness each of the works Stravinsky had composed up to that point, through the pen of a Casella who was astute in highlighting their fundamental characteristics with clarity. In these passionate pages, the vision of one musician is presented through the eyes of another musician: Casella knew Stravinsky personally, yet this did not prevent an independence of judgment that allowed him to detect, even in the most advanced works, traces of classical structures, according to an aesthetic that was typically Casellian.


Vienna, 1809. While Napoleon has occupied the capital and is preparing to bring hostilities to an end by signing the Treaty of Schönbrunn, one of his officials, a music enthusiast named Louis Philippe Joseph Girod de Vienney, knocks at Beethoven’s door. In Paris he had asked the most prominent musicians of the city for letters of introduction. As a credential, he carries in his pocket a letter from the composer Antonín Reicha. Vienney speaks little German and knows that Beethoven is reputed to be unapproachable because of his gruff and temperamental character. Instead, the composer lets him in. “I expected that, after reading the letter, he would dismiss me and that our acquaintance would end there. I had seen the bear in his cage — it was more than I could ever hope for,” writes Vienney. He is the right man at the right moment. Beethoven is intrigued by the young Frenchman and well disposed toward him. Later the two met several more times, even planning a trip to France, which was never realized. Vienney, who later became Baron de Trémont, left among his papers this vivid account of those fateful days.

His publications – Essays and scientific reviews

“The Power of the Word: the First Autobiographies of German‑Speaking Musicians in Johann Mattheson’s Grundlage einer Ehren‑Pforte (1740)”, pp. 335–346. In: Music and Power in the Baroque Era, ed. by Rudolf Rasch, Brepols, Turnhout, 2018.

“Louis Bertrand Castel (1688–1757), the Intellectual Biography of a French Jesuit Divided between Science and Music.” In: Per una storia moderna e cosmopolita. Studi in onore di Giuseppe Ricuperati nel suo ottantesimo compleanno, by Alessia Castagnino – Frédéric Ieva, Aracne, Rome 2017, pp. 61–76.

“Réécritures perpétuelles du masque sur le vif de Beethoven.” In: Ludwig van. Le Mythe Beethoven, exhibition catalogue, Gallimard, Paris 2016, pp. 38–45.

“The Two Masks of Beethoven: Hyperrealism, Mythopoiesis, and Funerary Art.” In: L’immagine come pensiero, by Chiara Sandrin, Trauben, Turin 2014, pp. 47–66.

“Retirement from the Stage, Escape for Vocal Quartet, Radio Counterpoint: Fugue and Escape in Glenn Gould.” In: L’Analisi Linguistica e Letteraria, XXII, 2014, 1–2, pp. 185–192 (also online).

“Rethinking Beethovenian Iconography Today.” Italian and Spanish, trans. C. Aguilar – L. Vilei. In: Síneris, Revista de musicología (online), 6, Nov.–Dec. 2012.

“From Louis Bertrand Castel’s Clavecin oculaire to Alexandr Scriabin’s Clavier à lumières.” In: Metamorfosi dei Lumi 6. Le belle lettere e le scienze, by S. Messina – P. Trivero, Accademia University Press, Turin 2012, pp. 187–205 (pdf), abstract.

F. Getreau, “Voir la musique.” In: Music in Art, XLIII vols. 1–2 (2018), pp. 249–251 (Eng.).

L. Lockwood, “Beethoven’s Symphonies: An Artistic Vision.” In: Ad Parnassum, vol. 15, XXX, pp. 159–160 (Eng.).

D. Hunter, “The Lives of George Frideric Handel.” In: Notes, vol. 73, no. 4, June 2017, pp. 725–726 (Eng.).

“George Frideric Handel: Collected Documents,” ed. by Donald Burrows et al. (review). In: Notes, vol. 73, no. 3, March 2017, pp. 564–565 (Eng.).

S. Bettermann, “Beethoven im Bild. Die Darstellung des Komponisten in der bildenden Kunst vom 18. bis zum 21. Jahrhundert.” In: Ad Parnassum. A Journal of Eighteenth‑ and Nineteenth‑Century Instrumental Music, vol. 11, XXII, pp. 174–179 (Eng.).

L. Bellofatto, “Alexander Wheelock Thayer, The Greatest Biographer of Ludwig van Beethoven.” In: Ad Parnassum. A Journal of Eighteenth‑ and Nineteenth‑Century Instrumental Music, vol. 10, XX, pp. 219–223 (Eng.).

“Romualdo Giani (1868–1931). Life, Musical Collection, Musicological Collaborations, and Literary Interests.” In: Studi Piemontesi, Centro Studi Piemontesi Torino, 40, 1, pp. 297–298 (html).

K. Kropfinger, “Beethoven.” In: Studi Filosofici, Bibliopolis, Naples, 31, 2008–2009, pp. 327–330 (extract).

F. Della Seta, “Not Without Madness.” In: Estetica, Il Nuovo Melangolo, Genoa, 2, 2008, pp. 127–129 (extract).

Facebook and the Disappearance of the Self, by Rob Horning, EN > IT for Doppiozero

from German

Pierrot lunaire, libretto, August 2018 for the Stresa Festival

Ein neues Wort in alter Sprache, Tatjana Frumkis, July 2018

…die Klänge des himmlischen Liedes, Tatjana Frumkis, July 2018

Valentin Silvestrov, texts of Cantata No. 4 for soprano, piano, and string orchestra, July 2018

Johannes Brahms, from Sieben Lieder, op. 62, 2015, Accademia Corale “Stefano Tempia”

The ’68 Revolution Goes on Stage with ErosAntEros, alfabeta2, 14 July 2019

Valentin Silvestrov Reveals Himself in Ravenna, Il Giornale della Musica, 2 July 2018

In the Folds of Music with Muti, alfabeta2, 14 September 2017

Does Futurism Stand the Test of Time?, Doppiozero, 20 June 2017

Glenn Gould and the Search for the Perfect Piano, Lo struzzo a scuola, the blog of Einaudi Editore

If You Want a Good Seat at the Opera, Tweet, pagina99, 14 September 2016

Imagining Music and the Sounds of the Future, alfabeta2, 26 June 2016

Digital Resources for the New Humanists, Ebook Reader, 8 January 2016

The Reader on the Threshold, Doppiozero, 5 December 2015

The Fair Miller’s Maid Meets Berlin’s Homeless, 11 November 2014

The Great Escape (Running with Beethoven), Runlovers, 7 January 2014

Interstellar Travels with Martin Grubinger and the Percussive Planet Ensemble, Bachtrack, 5 August 2013

How Much Do You Cost? On Opera and Symphony Foundations, 20 November 2012

Arbasino’s Declaration of Love to America, 24 Letture of Il Sole 24 Ore, 11 January 2012

At Richard Strauss’s Home: A Journey to Garmisch‑Partenkirchen, Il Giornale della Musica, no. 271, June 2010, pp. 12–13 (pdf)

Massimo Mila’s First Lesson, Il Giornale della Musica, no. 265, December 2009, p. 18

Adorno Also Dreamed, L’Indice dei libri del mese, year XXV, no. 6, June 2008, p. 20

The Young Brahms’s Treasure Chest, L’Indice dei libri del mese, year XXV, no. 5, May 2008, p. 34

Benedetta on Radio and TV

On Radio3, on Alfredo Casella and Strawinski, interview by Oreste Bossini, together with co‑editor Giangiorgio Satragni, 15 April 2016.

Rai Radio 3 Suite, Andrea Penna, interview on Beethoven, ritratti e immagini, 7 April 2011.

For Venice Classic Radio, in a podcast from Manchester, for the first international Beethoven conference, 26–29 June 2012.

… And on television…

Live appearance on Rai5 for the Alfredo Casella Festival, 14 April 2016.

​© Copyright 2005/2026 of the Centro Ricerche Musicali Beethoveniane (C.R.M.B.) www.lvbeethoven.it – Managers, co-authors, reviewers and curators: Luigi Domenico Bellofatto, Antonietta Cappelli, Graziano Denini, Armando Orlandi and Fiorella Romenzi. Texts, documents, research, scores, mp3, MIDI files and documents are the exclusive property of the Centro Ricerche Musicali Beethoveniane (C.R.M.B.) and their respective authors; therefore, none of these resources may be used or disclosed without the prior written authorization of the owners. The complete list of researchers, performers and collaborators of the Centro Ricerche Musicali is visible on the relevant page. Anyone wishing to contact us for consultation, to obtain a copy of the site’s resources or to collaborate with the Centro Ricerche Musicali Beethoveniane (C.R.M.B.), can make a request using the appropriate contact form. Web publishing: Aruba. Site optimized for mobile devices, tablets and PCs with a resolution of 1920 × 1440 or higher. To provide a better service to users, the site only uses technical cookies, which do not track the visitor or send personal data to third parties. These cookies do not require a prior consent banner: we mention them here anyway.