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Quadrilles on Themes from Beethoven’s Works – For Two Performers on the Piano (Lonsdale & Mills)

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Quadrilles Sur des motifs des Oeuvres de Beethoven Arranged for two Performers on the Piano – Forte

London Printed & sold by Lonsdale & Mills, 140, New Bond Street (Late Birchall Lonsdale & Mills) – Price 3S

The collection of Beethovenian works on the site has recently been enriched by a new score, namely the [Quadrilles Sur des motifs des Oeuvres de Beethoven Arranged for two Performers on the Piano-Forte. London Printed & sold by Lonsdale & Mills, 140, New Bond Street (Late Birchall Lonsdale & Mills) – Price 3S]. These Quadrilles are free transcriptions from Beethoven’s works and were printed in London probably between 1820 and 1830.

In total there are five pieces (each with its own programmatic title: Le Pantalon, L’Été, La Poule, La Pastourelle, and Finale) amounting to twelve pages, ten of which contain music; unfortunately, the part for the first piano in the Finale has come down to us incomplete. (The mp3 files follow the score faithfully, which contains numerous printing errors.)

In attempting to recover this missing final page, I found on another interesting publication: Visite à Terpsichore par L. Van Beethoven – Quadrille Artistique arrangé par Paul Duxis, à Paris par Emile Chatot, Editeur, 2 rue de la Feuillade (près la Banque de France).

This second score dates from 1869 and is for solo piano, with the arranger being the “quondam” Paul Duxis, a French composer remembered for a few galops or minuets, such as Le Menuet de l’assiette, published in the 1870s.

The titles are the same (Le Pantalon, L’Été, La Poule, La Pastourelle, and Finale), but although similar in general structure and nomenclature, the source themes are entirely different. In fact:

  • In the first series, the Seventh and Eighth Symphonies, Opp. 92 and 93, as well as some themes from the ballet The Creatures of Prometheus, Op. 43, are used.
  • In the second series, the dances are drawn from heterogeneous themes: the Septet, various dances and sonatas, up to the Finale, which is taken from The Ruins of Athens and even interwoven with the finale of the First Symphony.

The fact that the dance names are identical is explained by the convention of naming almost all quadrilles in this way; as Brunet rightly wrote around 1839:

  • Pantalon: Chaîne anglaise; Balancé; Tour de main; Chaîne des dames; Demi-promenade; Demi-chaîne anglaise.
  • Été: En avant-deux; En arrière; Chassé à droite; Chassé à gauche; Traversé; Chassé à droite; Chassé à gauche; Retraversé; Demi-Balancé; Tour de main.
  • Poule: Traversé; Retraversé; Balancé; Demi-promenade; En avant-deux; Dos-à-dos; En avant-quatre; Demi-chaîne anglaise.
  • Pastourelle: Cavalier en avant avec sa dame; Deuxième fois en avant; En avant-trois; Deuxième fois en avant-trois; Cavalier seul; Deuxième fois cavalier seul; Demi-rond; Demi-chaîne anglaise.
  • Trénis (“figure alternating with the pastourelle”): Cavalier avec sa dame en avant; Deuxième fois en avant; Traversé les trois; Retraversé les trois; Balancé; Tour de main.
  • Galopade (“final figure of the contredanse”): Rond du galop; Cavalier en avant et en arrière avec sa dame; Deuxième fois en avant et changer de dame en traversant; Chaîne des dames; En avant et en arrière avec les dames de vis-à-vis; Deuxième fois en avant et reprendre sa dame en retraversant.

Visite à Terpsichore par L. Van Beethoven – Quadrille Artistique arrangé par Paul Duxis

à Paris par Emile Chatot, Editeur, 2 rue de la Feuillade, (Près la Banque de France)

La Terpsichore Étrangère – Nouvelle Quadrille de Contredanses

tiré des Operas de Weigle, Bellini, Mayer, Mercadante, Beethoven et Arrangé pour le Piano par L.Jadin.

Duo Fusaro–Arcuri: Complete Beethoven Works for Piano Four Hands – World Premieres and Rediscovered Manuscripts

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The complete works for piano four hands by Beethoven

IRST CONCERT
Piano Duo Fusaro – Arcuri (Giuseppe Fusaro – Clarissa De Rosa Arcuri)

WoO 2a – Triumphal March for Kuffner’s tragedy Tarpeja

As for the music for Tarpeja, we know with certainty only that Beethoven wrote it for the performance of 26 March 1813, for the benefit of the retired actor (and Mozart’s brother‑in‑law) Joseph Lange (1751–1831). It consists of a small and pompous triumphal march in C major. It cannot be established with certainty in which section of the tragedy the triumphal march was played—perhaps in each of the three scenes—although this remains pure conjecture. In any case, the structure of Kuffner’s poem did not give Beethoven the opportunity to compose dramatic music similar to what he wrote for Goethe’s Egmont. The edition of Tarpeja presented in this concert, later printed in the complete edition of Beethoven’s works, was published together with the orchestral parts and has never been performed in modern times, neither in concert nor recorded in any medium. For further details: WoO 002a – Triumphal March for Kuffner’s tragedy Tarpeja –


Opus 6 – Sonata for piano four hands in D major

The original manuscript has been lost. The sketches for the Rondo date from late 1796 or early 1797. It is a small and very simple work; yet one can trace in it a distant literal premonition of the Fifth Symphony: compare, with particular attention, the narrative of the first movement of the latter with the beginning of the second part of the allegro molto of Opus 6. The Sonata Op. 6—one of the very rare pieces Beethoven dedicated to piano four hands—was composed alongside the far more important Sonata Op. 7 (confirming, for once, their contiguity in the official Beethoven catalogue). As mentioned, the definitive version of these two piano works was completed in January 1797. Perhaps the Sonata was conceived for the use of some pupil: this was very likely the reason for the unusual choice of piano four hands. For further details: Opus 6 Sonata for piano four hands in D major

Anhang 9 – Nine German Dances for piano four hands

These German Dances are found in the notebook of an amateur, published around the year 1815. This notebook is preserved in the Preussische Staatsbibliothek with the manuscript number Mus.Ms.38033. The composer’s name is omitted, but the manuscript contains, alongside numerous insignificant works, other compositions by famous authors such as Beethoven, Fasch, Mozart, Steibelt, and Vanhall. Our text is a faithful reproduction of the original, including the dynamic markings. As mentioned, the nine pieces have been transmitted anonymously. They can be found in a handwritten music notebook from around 1815 and later, containing compositions by Beethoven (the Sonatina Anhang 5 No. 1 on pages 9 and 10) and these dances (from page 14 to page 19), followed by a Polonaise by Dupuy for piano two hands. The nine dances are performed by the Fusaro–Arcuri Duo in a World Premiere, in the edition faithful to the manuscript. For further details: Anhang 9 – Nine German Dances for piano four hands

Press report from IonioNotizie.it

A true success for the first Beethoven concert of the piano duo formed by maestros Giuseppe Fusaro and Clarissa De Rosa Arcuri. The first in a long series, with pieces in world première. The two professionals literally enchanted the audience of Crosia, which gave them numerous standing ovations, in addition to the sold‑out seats in the council hall of the municipal delegation of Mirto.

“Performing in world première some unpublished pieces by Beethoven was an indescribable emotion. My wife Clarissa De Rosa Arcuri and I,” commented Maestro Fusaro, “wish to thank the Centro Ricerche Musicali Lvbeethoven.org for choosing us as performers of these unpublished gems, Maestro Salvatore Mazzei for the organisation and the great professionalism he shows in everything he does, the mayor of Crosia Antonio Russo and councillor Paola Nigro for their presence and great sensitivity. We also thank the warm and numerous audience present both live and in live streaming (full video of the concert still available at the link on the Facebook page of the ‘Euphonia’ Music Academy of Crosia Mirto) and the Enzo Sansone company, which allowed us to play on an extraordinary Yamaha grand piano. Mirto Crosia is a town we hold dear; the Euphonia Academy is our second home, where thirty of our students ‘live’, to whom we are bound by feelings of esteem and friendship, and whom we consider an integral part of our educational activity. We could not have chosen a better place. Long live music, an element that unites peoples and hearts, music made together by those who perform and those who listen.”

The artists performed, in world première, the Triumphal March for Kuffner’s tragedy Tarpeja, written by Beethoven for the performance of 26 March 1813 for the benefit of the retired actor (and Mozart’s brother‑in‑law) Joseph Lange, and the Nine German Dances for piano four hands, dating from around 1815 and attributed to the German genius after numerous researches. They also performed works by F. Liszt, M. Marvulli, J. Brahms, S. Rachmaninoff, and a fantasy of Christmas pieces composed by Fusaro himself “in the manner of” Chopin, Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Liszt, Brahms, Piazzolla, Rossini, to which the attentive audience gave yet another standing ovation.

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