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Rondo a capriccio für Klavier (G-Dur) op. 129
 Listening samples
Composition
1795
Truly angry and full of warth: The rage over a lost penny. Robert Schumann called the caprice the most loveable and most helpless rage, similar to the one when a man cannot take off his boot, then starts stomping and sweating while the boot phlegmatically looks up to his owner. The piano piece with the appealing title is one of the most famous Beethoven compositions and of piano literature in general. Its popularity even brought it into the charts of cell phone ring tones.
How much are we amused by Beethoven's ingenious interpretation of the musical programme. Still, Beethoven did not come up with the title. Anger? Rage? Not at all! When the composer wrote the piece in 1795, he called it "Little caprice" and chose the tempo indication "Alla ingharese, quasi un capriccio." "Ingharese" is a malapropism of "ongarese" - Hungarian -, thus fervent and bubbly, however without rage and without a penny. The famous title used in all languages was created by publisher Anton Diabelli whose partner C. A. Spina obtained the manuscript when Beethoven's belongings were auctioned off in November 1827. Diabelli completed the fragmented work and published it in 1828. At the end of the first line Diabelli noted: "This completed caprice found among Beethoven's belongings is called Die Wuth über den verlornen Groschen, ausgetobt in einer Caprice" (rage over a lost penny let out in a caprice). It is true that Beethoven's autograph bears such an inscription, however, not from Beethoven himself but added later. Nevertheless, Diabelli's title hit the nail on the head and was adopted as a programmatic concept. (J.R.)
Scores
Literatur
Literature for further reading
Location of other important manuscript sources
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USA, New York: The Morgan Library
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