Handel – Theme with 62 Variations (HWV 442), Dedicated to Beethoven
Tema con LXII Variationi per il Clavicembalo
Composto dal Sig. Händel
Dedicato al Sig.re L. v. Beethoven.
per l’Editore in Bonna, presso N. Simrock.
The texts and documents on this page are by Luigi Bellofatto. The musical examples on this page are by Graziano Denini.
Theme with LXII Variations for Harpsichord
Composed by Mr. Händel – Dedicated to Mr. L. v. Beethoven Published in Bonn by N. Simrock
The texts and documents on this page are by Luigi Bellofatto. The musical examples are by Graziano Denini.
The collection of nine harpsichord suites by Händel, published in London in 1733 by John Walsh, possibly without the composer’s consent, follows a previous collection of eight suites printed under Händel’s direct supervision in 1720.
The original preface stated: “Suites des Pieces Pour le Clavecin Composées par G.F. Handel. Second Volume. London. Printed & Sold by John Walsh Musick Printer & Instrument Maker to his Majesty at the Harp & Hoboy in Chaterine street in the Strand. Where may be had All the Opera’s & Instrumental Musick of above Author. N° 490. (S. 61.)”
The collection includes material used for the musical instruction of Princesses Amelia and Caroline of Hanover, daughters of King George II of Great Britain. Some pieces were intended to stimulate the performer’s improvisational technique and ornamentation skills.
The collection is highly heterogeneous, containing both mediocre and noteworthy pieces. Unlike his contemporaries and predecessors, who published music in sets of six or twelve, Händel’s work consists of nine suites. The typical order of movements—allemande, courante, sarabande, and gigue—is not strictly followed.
The HWV 434 suite deviates most from the classical scheme, omitting all traditional movements. The pieces HWV 435 and 442, though included in the collection, are not true suites but two chaconnes—the first with 21 variations, the second with 62.
The Chaconne HWV 442, or at least part of it, is likely a transcription of a Händel improvisation. Its bass line derives from Henry Purcell and was also used by Johann Sebastian Bach as the bass for the Goldberg Variations BWV 988.
Nikolaus Simrock
Born August 23, 1751 in Mainz, died June 12, 1832 in Bonn. He was a horn player at the court of the Elector of Cologne in Bonn and a music publisher. A friend of Beethoven, he founded the Simrock music publishing house.
Nikolaus was the son of a military band horn player and succeeded his father in April 1775 as a trumpeter, earning 300 florins annually. The young Beethoven later joined the same orchestra as a violist.
Simrock studied and associated with Enlightenment philosophers, including Franz Anton Ries and Christian Gottlob Neefe, and was a member of the Minervalkirche Stagira, part of the Illuminati Order. He also belonged to the Masonic Lodge “Les Frères courageux”, founded in Bonn in 1805. He founded his publishing house in 1793, gaining immediate success thanks to his pro-French stance during the French Revolutionary occupation of Bonn and the Rhineland. He became one of the most important European music publishers of the early 19th century.
Under his leadership, N. Simrock published many works by Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven, including 13 first editions:
- Violin Sonata Op. 47
- String Sextet with horns Op. 81b
- Cello Sonatas Op. 102
- Piano Variations Op. 107
- 13 Variations on a theme by D. von Dittersdorf WoO 66
- 8 Variations on a theme by Count Waldstein WoO 67 (for piano four hands)
- 6 Variations for harp on a Swiss Lied WoO 64
- Lied “Der freie Mann” WoO 117
- Lied “Opferlied” WoO 126
- Rondo for violin and piano WoO 41
- Lied “An die Geliebte” WoO 140
- Lied “Das Geheimnis” WoO 145
- Lied “So oder so” WoO 148
Simrock married Franziska Ottilie Blaschek from Mainz and had 13 children. One son, Peter Joseph Simrock, managed the publishing house; another ran the Trierer Hof hotel in Bonn’s market square, hosting guests like Alexandre Dumas. His grandson, Fritz Simrock, moved the publishing house to Berlin in 1870, publishing works by Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn, and especially Johannes Brahms.