
	Beethoven digital about us \| contents \| search \| legal \| location \| links \| patrons \| contact us \|

back to "Manuscripts by other composers" |

back to "Joseph Haydn"

Joseph Haydn, Streichquartett (Es-Dur) Hob. III:31, Partitur, Abschrift Beethovens

Beethoven-Haus Bonn, Sammlung H. C. Bodmer, HCB Mh 42

					Image 1 / 16

	Image

Things worth knowing
Model Papa Haydn

Beethoven had his first appointment at the Bonn Court of the Elector Maximilian Franz. The latter recognized his employee's talent and sponsored Beethoven's visit to Vienna in November 1792 so that he could study with Haydn and perfect his own skills. However, Beethoven was not happy with the tuition under Haydn, as he did not like Haydn's teaching methods (although he respected him as a person). He was therefore probably not sad when the studies came to end at the beginning of 1794 on account of Haydn's second journey to England. Yet Beethoven greatly admired Haydn as a composer. He had many of Haydn's works in his possession, and after Haydn's death in 1809 he even acquired the autograph score of Haydn's London Symphony.
Beethoven approached certain musical challenges cautiously and by making careful preparations. Thus he prepared himself for his opera by studying Mozart's operas, from which he made copies. As far as the string quartet was concerned, Beethoven was again somewhat timid, taking a circuitous route via related genres so as to be up to the task. Before he set to, he once again studied the great composers and their contributions to the genre: Mozart and of course Haydn, the unrivalled master of the string quartet. Beethoven made a copy of Haydn's String Quartet Hob. III:31 in E major as early as 1794. He obviously copied it from a handwritten model (even though the individual parts had already been published in different editions at this point). However, Beethoven did not copy the individual parts, but made a score of them. He omitted "trifles" such as dynamic markings and phrasing. They were of no value to him as he was interested in the music and its compositional structure. (J.R.)

Library indexing

Glossary