Unv. 11 (Hess 46) Sonata in A major for piano and violin, 1783, Hess 46 Sch. page 172.

Rather discontinuous fragments, contained in three sheets (the last with only seven and a half bars) currently preserved in the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek in Berlin. Described by Thayer – Riemann (I, page 171), published by Willy Hess in the ninth issue of the Supplemente zur G.A., 1965).

Origin and publication: probably composed in 1790/91. The first edition of the fragment appeared in 1965 as part of the SBG at Breitkopf & Härtel in Wiesbaden. (edited by W. Hess)

Of this sonata only 37 bars of a middle section of a slow Movement or a Minuet with a Trio in minor and 54 bars of a Rondo are preserved, and unfortunately it’s missing the main theme too. In any case, even if it has come down to us, Beethoven probably did not complete this work (Brandenburg / Op. 12 p.6f). Douglas Johnson dates the paper and manuscript of the autograph score to 1790/91 (Johnson / Fischhof Vol. 1 p. 264).

The authenticity of this composition was questioned for a long time. Willy Hess included this fragment of the Sonata in the SBG DC as a work “of unproven authenticity”. Hermann Deiters had already assumed that the source was a transcription and not an autograph (TDR I, p.117 note 1), Ludwig Schiedermair also doubted its authenticity (Schiedermair / Jung Beethoven p 172). Thanks to the investigations of Douglas Johnson and Hans-Günther Klein, these doubts have been dispelled since the early 1980s (Johnson / Fischhof Vol. 1 pp. 259-264, Klein / Autograph p. 116).

Autograph score, 37 and 54 bars: D-B, Mus. ms. autogr. Beethoven Artaria 131. Appearance: 3 sheets (single and double sheets); 5 Score Pages: Lr/v Pages & 2r-3r Sheets, Blank 3v Sheet. Paper: landscape, 23 x 31.5 cm, 10 pentagram lines. Provenance: Possibly sold at auction in the “Beethoven Succession” in 1827 as lot number 136 and purchased by Johann Wolfmayer. Artaria Archive, Vienna, Then to Eric Prieger, Bonn, 1897. Purchased in 1901. Facsimile SBB/Microfilm. Notes in Brandenburg, Op.12, Johnson/Fischhof Vol. 1 p. 259-264, Kramer, Op.30 page 48.

It is a Sonata that has come down to us in a fragmentary way: two sheets containing parts of the first Movement and the Finale, probably torn from a larger work of which they could have been part, since there is also a sketch of 13 bars for solo piano with a refrain for a second movement. Willy Hess certainly affirmed this thesis and published the sonata in 1965 dating it to 1783 but, more recently, Barry Cooper has dated it approximately between 1790 and 1792. If the thesis that it is a complete Sonata is correct, then it would be the first of its kind for Beethoven. In 1998, Albert Willem Holsbergen, a Dutch musicologist and composer, made a real completion.

In 2005 violinist Rachel Barton Pine performed these fragments at a live concert in Chicago. (If you want to listen to the recording it is present on this page)