Among the 7152 productions were 834 operas, 123 operettas, 246 musicals, 2740 drama productions, 523 ballet and dance productions, 1544 children's and youth theater productions, 294 puppet and figure theater productions, 278 revues and song recitals as well as 570 projects, performances and multi-genre projects.

Werkstatistik is published for the first time by Wissenschaftsverlag Königshausen & Neumann. It can also be purchased in bookstores under the ISBN number ISBN 978-3-8260-7061-7.

More info:
http://www.buehnenverein.de/de/presse/pressemeldungen.html?det=580

To date, the program has helped creative artists and their business partners by funding 40% of the costs. This funding percentage will now be increased by 50 percent to 90 percent for a limited period of time. Instead of 60 percent, applications now only have to include an own contribution of 10 percent of the total costs. A total funding amount of up to 67,500 euros per project is possible, writes the German Music Industry Association. In addition to production, marketing and touring, work creation, rehearsal and pre-production times can now also be funded.

The associations of the German music industry welcome the first partial program from the Neustart Kultur economic stimulus package presented by Minister of State for Culture Grütters. The Minister of State is thus partly following the recommendations of the music industry associations and the collecting societies to take into account the high degree of division of labor and the interdependence of the industry sectors with more precisely tailored funding programs.

According to Gerald Mertens, Managing Director of the German Orchestra Association, the range of courses on offer in orchestra management is becoming ever thinner. There is only one master's degree course in theater and orchestra management in Germany, in Frankfurt am Main.

According to the DOV press release, the corresponding course in cultural management at the FU Berlin was discontinued years ago. The Master's degree course in cultural and tourism management at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder) with a corresponding seminar program has now even been completely discontinued.

New training programs for future orchestra managers need to be created at universities. Otherwise, a highly complex management task between music and management will increasingly be left to lateral entrants from other professional fields, continued Mertens.
 

It is not always the great works of music history that tell of interpersonal relationships. Simple canons or impromptu musical sayings often provide an insight into the environment and everyday circumstances - although they are generally counted among the "chaff" of a composer's oeuvre. This is also the case with Beethoven. Sometimes it is about the tiresome relationship (Fettlümmel, Bankert have triumpheda three-part canon on the sister-in-law and her daughter, WoO 226), then the question of where to dine: Gentlemen where will you dine today in the ochsen or schwanen or zu den drei hacken or even in the fischrüherl (WoO 221, 1st text version). The departure of Johann Nepomuk Hummel for Stuttgart is more serious (Ars longa, vita brevisWoO 170), the Danish composer Friedrich Kuhlau's artful entry in one of the conversation booklets was subtly answered with a B-A-C-H motif (Cool, not lukewarmWoO 191).

Ignaz Schuppanzigh (1776-1830), who composed almost all of Beethoven's string quartets with his ensemble, was the recipient of such musical short messages on two occasions. And both times the text is aimed at the violinist's corpulent appearance. Beethoven, who had already nicknamed him "My Lord Falstaff", calls him in 1801 in coarse, friendly jest Praise for the fat Schuppanzigh WoO 100 even a "Lump"one "thick mule" and "inflated donkey head". It sounds somewhat milder when Schuppanzigh returns from St. Petersburg in April 1823 and begins the canon Falstafferl, let's see you WoO 184 (here the rapidly repeated and sustained notes imitate a violin). Even though Beethoven was repeatedly inspired by Schuppanzigh and his quartet comrades and, with their help, was apparently also able to try out preliminary versions in private, the artistic friendship had to endure a lot - including the famously botched premiere of the String Quartet in E flat major op. 127. However, what Schuppanzigh achieved musically has been handed down by his secundarius Karl Holz, who reported to Beethoven: "My Lord played better today than ever before - passages like the recitative from op. 132 no one can play like that. - He has what no one else can learn; he has learned nothing else." 

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In some federal states in Germany, newly issued teaching regulations for the coming school year stipulate a total ban on music lessons, for example in Baden-Württemberg and Schleswig-Holstein. Other federal states, such as Rhineland-Palatinate and Berlin, have shown that there are other ways to comply with prudent hygiene concepts, explains Jan-Christian Hübsch, Deputy Managing Director of the German Orchestra Association.

Long-term negative effects from the discontinuation of all musical activities in the school environment - including music lessons and musical study groups such as choirs or orchestras - must be avoided.

In addition, any form of restriction should be measured against the principle of proportionality. In addition to the general hygiene regulations in corona times, this includes, for example, minimum room sizes, minimum safety distances and ventilation requirements.

At the beginning of the 19th century, there was not only a considerable demand for new piano sonatas, but also for string quartets. Especially in Vienna, which Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had still considered to be a "Clavierland" countless private ensembles came together in the first two decades. They wanted to be supplied with original works as well as arrangements of well-known operas and oratorios, but also entire symphonies and sonatas. But just as the market flourished, so it was necessary to separate the wheat from the chaff among the arrangements: Mere mechanical transcription may have quickly led to a marketable printed edition, but by no means always to a truly musically adequate arrangement. For just as every instrument has its own idiom, so too do the different genres and instrumentations. In the fall of 1802, Beethoven even felt compelled to write a new version in the Leipzig General Musical Newspaper to warn against string quintet arrangements of his Symphony in C major op. 21 and the Septet in E flat major op. 20, which had appeared without his involvement.

The urgency of the problem is also made clear by a letter dated July 13, 1802, addressed to Breitkopf & Härtel only a few months earlier, in which Beethoven thanks the publisher for its decent attitude towards such products. In addition, he talks at length about the true demands of editing: "With regard to the arranged works, I am very glad that you have rejected them; the unnatural fury that one has of wanting to transplant even piano works to violin instruments, instruments that are so opposed to each other in everything, could well be stopped; I firmly maintain that only Mozart could translate himself from the piano to other instruments, as well as Haydn - and without wanting to join both great men, I also maintain this of my piano sonatas, since not only must entire passages be completely omitted and altered. one must - still have to add, and here stands the unfortunate stumbling block, which in order to overcome one must either be the master himself, or at least have the same skill and invention - I have incorporated a single sonata of mine into a quartet by G.I. Violin instruments what I was asked for so much, and I know for sure that no one else will do it to me so easily."

The aforementioned composition is Beethoven's own arrangement of the Piano Sonata in E major op. 14/1, in which he not only transposed the work to F major, but also fundamentally altered almost all of the accompaniment models. In addition, the middle parts were individualized in accordance with the quartet movement, so that in the end a completely new, independent version was created. - If you would like to follow this almost experimental editing process in detail, we recommend the pocket score from Edition Eulenburg (ETP 297), in which both versions of the composition are printed together. An educational piece.
 

Here you can hear the Sonata No. 9 in E major op. 14/1 on which the string quartet is based.

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Music has a long tradition in Baden-Baden. Not only the celebrated pianist Clara Schumann spent 10 years of her life in the charming town, but also the famous singer and pianist Pauline Viardot was drawn to Baden-Baden in 1836. The composer Johannes Brahms also spent the summer months of the 19th century in the "summer capital of Europe". In the Lichtental district, is still home to the Brahms Househis musical memorial and the only one of its kind in Germany. The former living quarters of the house are furnished as a museum and exhibits, photos and documents tell the story of the life of Johannes Brahms and his lifelong friend Clara Schumann.

Kaupo Kikkas

Schumann Quartet

The Festspielhaus Baden-Baden delights audiences every year with international concerts, musicals, operas and ballets. With its 2,500 seats, it is the second largest opera and concert hall in Europe and the largest in Germany. This summer, the festival will take place from July 18 to August 30 under the very special motto "En suite". Instead of the Festspielhaus, this extraordinary festival will take place in various venues in Baden-Baden. The venues are the Painters' Hall of the Hotel Maison Messmer, the Orangery of the Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa and the Frieder Burda Museum. Further information and tickets for the "En suite" festival can be found at www.festspielhaus.de

Art lovers can look forward to countless exhibitions on a wide variety of topics. Whether internationally renowned artists, the work of a young generation of artists, art & technology or jewelry - there is a suitable museum for every interest. Probably the best known is built by the New York star architect Richard Meier Museum Frieder Burda with selected works of classical modernism in changing exhibitions. A glass bridge connects the State Art Gallery with contemporary international art.

Baden-Baden Kur & Tourismus GmbH

Museum Frieder Burda

In Baden-Baden, award-winning Michelin-starred restaurants, cozy little inns and traditional and modern cafés in the heart of the city invite you to take a culinary break. The nearby Baden-Badener Rebland, one of the most famous Riesling growing regions in Germany, is an insider tip for gourmets and lovers of good wine. And shopping enthusiasts can enjoy exclusive shopping opportunities in the picturesque little streets of the neo-baroque, traffic-free old town. Art lovers and connoisseurs of classical music feel just as at home here as gourmets, shopping enthusiasts and wellness lovers.

It was a bombshell when Markus Hinterhäuser announced in May that the Salzburg Festival will take place this summer from August 1 to 30, 2020 with two opera premieres, three theater productions and numerous concerts and readings.

Photo: Leo Neumayr

Markus Hinterhäuser

"We played through many scenarios - from a total cancellation to a single day of the festival," explains the director in conversation. "Then the infection figures in Austria developed positively. And thanks to the federal government's phased plan, from August 1, 2020, up to 1,000 visitors could be admitted to events if they presented a strict hygiene concept. Rehearsals, opera, theater, symphony orchestra performances - it was all possible again. We can now also set artistic accents. Of course we will have economic losses, but they will be bearable." Of the originally planned opera program with four new staged productions and four revivals, only Richard Strauss' Electra which will open the festival on August 1, 2020. "It was important to us to have the work of a festival founder at the 100th anniversary of the festival. All the concerts and performances that we stage in the summer are performed without an intermission. So the one-act play fits Electra also very good. The personnel on stage is manageable and there is no need for a choir - these were also reasons for this opera as a prelude." The canceled productions are to be made up for next year. With Così fan tutte an entirely new opera production was created in just a few weeks for the modified Salzburg Festival. Christof Loy, who actually Boris Godunov is the director. Joana Mallwitz, intended for the Magic fluteconducts. All events, including theater performances, readings and concerts, will be held without an intermission. There will be no catering in the foyers. As far as the minimum distance between artists is concerned, Austria is taking a different approach to Switzerland and Germany. The members of Austrian orchestras are regularly tested for coronavirus. There are no distancing requirements, which means that the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra can sit close together in the orchestra pit. "I am delighted that we are once again recognizing the basic human need for art, for theater, for music. Everyone is called upon to play their part in making this happen. I very much believe in this attempt," says Markus Hinterhäuser confidently before the start of the festival.

Andrea Zietzschmann, Director of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestrais very much looking forward to the two concerts by the Berliner Philharmoniker at the Salzburg Festival on August 29 and 30, 2020 - the orchestra's first guest appearances after a five-month break.

Photo: Stefan Höderath

Andrea Zietzschmann

The program of the two concerts under chief conductor Kirill Petrenko had to be changed slightly. Anton Webern's Passacaglia for orchestra and Josef Suk's Symphony in C minor op. 27 were canceled, Arnold Schönberg's Transfigured night in the version for string orchestra. In Austria too, however, the orchestra must adhere to the minimum distances prescribed in Germany - i.e. 1.5 meters for strings and 2 meters for wind instruments. A 68-piece orchestra is the maximum in the large Festspielhaus. The last few months have been characterized by crisis management for Zietzschmann. Canceling concerts, terminating contracts, securing liquidity. The orchestra members have been on short-time work since the beginning of April until the start of the season on August 28 in Berlin. She is calling for more concessions and practicable solutions from politicians in Germany. "Unfortunately, culture is not at the top of the federal government's list of priorities, and we all have to fight for that." In Germany, halls can currently only be occupied up to a maximum of 30 percent. The minimum distances for orchestral musicians prevent larger ensembles. In Berlin, choral singing is completely banned in closed rooms. She considers Austria's test model to be a good thing because it helps to establish normality. The orchestra has already been tested several times for the Berlin Philharmonic's European concert, which will be broadcast on May 1. "As the coronavirus issue will certainly keep us busy for some time to come, we need pragmatic solutions," Zietzschmann is convinced. The new season program for the Berliner Philharmoniker's concerts until the end of October will be announced in mid-August. "There will be attractive programs without a break. In order to be able to act flexibly, we are planning step by step." And there will be more concerts in order to "create more concert offerings in view of the greatly reduced number of admitted audiences."

As far as the distance between orchestral musicians is concerned, the current guidelines in Switzerland are 1.5 m (strings) and 2 m (wind instruments). However, significantly more audience members are allowed than in Germany. Including hall personnel, 1000 people are now permitted in the KKL Luzern.

Photo: Daniel Auf der Maur

Michael Haefliger

Michael Haefliger had initially planned the event from August 14 to September 13, 2020. Lucerne Festival was completely canceled at the end of April. The fact that it can now take place in a much smaller version has to do with the greater opportunities that organizers in Switzerland are now granted. "We're not doing a scaled-down festival this summer, but a new festival with the theme 'Life Is Live'. We have developed a contemporary concept that takes all hygiene requirements into account and offers a compact festival experience that is concentrated over 10 days." Not much has remained of the old festival. The performances of the international guest orchestras are not possible. The Lucerne Festival Academy will not take place, nor will the pre-festival "Music for Future" and the planned 10 world premieres. The Lucerne Festival Orchestra will perform two Beethoven programs under Herbert Blomstedt with a 35-piece orchestra (soloist: Martha Argerich). Igor Levit will continue his Beethoven cycle, and Cecilia Bartoli will perform a Handel program with Les Musiciens du Prince - Monaco in addition to other chamber concerts. Open-air world music bands can be heard daily in the city and Peter Conradin Zumthor's composition Lucerne bells - con sordino. Michael Haefliger basically agrees with the Swiss government's guidelines. "If you are too rigid, you prevent a certain normalization. That's why we welcome the relaxation, but we are aware that we always have to keep an eye on the number of cases. It's a balancing act." In his opinion, the consequences of the coronavirus crisis for the classic business mean a certain amount of downsizing. "From an ecological point of view, limits are now being respected that were not previously adhered to," says Haefliger. "In the coming months, we will certainly focus heavily on our own space and try to maintain lively communication with our audience there. We must not be forgotten."

According to the survey, never before have so many French people listened to music, regardless of style. 81 percent of respondents said they listen to music and 57 percent said they do so every day. In 2008, the figure was 34 percent and in 1973, 9 percent. The reason for this explosive growth is streaming platforms such as Spotify and Deezer.

Rock and jazz concerts, on the other hand, are being attended less and less (11% in 2018 compared to 13% in 1997). The same applies to classical music, where attendance at concerts continues to fall. Only 6% of respondents went to concerts, compared to 9% in 1997.

The study also confirms the ageing of classical concert audiences, mainly represented by the baby boom generation, who attended classical concerts most frequently, a trend already observed in previous studies. Only 15 percent of 15- to 28-year-olds went to a concert hall to listen to classical music during the year.

Every ten years or so, the French Ministry of Culture publishes a comprehensive study on the cultural practices of the French. The sixth edition was conducted from February 2018 to March 2019 with a sample of 9200 people over the age of 15.

Erika Stucky plays an outstanding role in the music scene in Switzerland and far beyond, according to the BAK press release. Born in San Francisco (USA) in 1961, she has been working on her own sound universe since the 1980s, often in collaboration with important jazz musicians. As a singer, multi-instrumentalist and performance artist, she takes on a wide variety of artistic identities. The music of the hippie movement in her native San Francisco accompanied her across the Atlantic to the Upper Valais mountain village of Mörel, where she grew up from the age of seven.

The Swiss Music Prize "honors outstanding and innovative Swiss music creation and contributes to its promotion". The following 14 musicians will be honored in 2020: Martina Berther (Chur GR), Big Zis (Winterthur ZH), Aïsha Devi (Geneva), Christy Doran (Dublin/Lucerne), Antoine Chessex (Vevey VD), André Ducret (Fribourg im Üechtland), Dani Häusler (Unterägeri ZG), Rudolf Kelterborn (Basel), Hans Koch (Biel/Bienne BE), Francesco Piemontesi (Locarno TI), Cyrill Schläpfer (Wald AR), Nat Su (Bülach ZH), Swiss Chamber Concerts (BS, GE, TI, ZH), Emilie Zoé (Lausanne VD).

The Swiss Grand Prix Music is endowed with CHF 100,000, the Swiss Music Awards with CHF 25,000 each.

In the two-stage selection process, the jury in Zurich - consisting of Cultural Director Peter Haerle (Chair), Uli Fussenegger (Head of New Music at the FHNW), composer Cathy van Eck, Festival Director Björn Gottstein and composer and performer Cathy Milliken - chose the "Sonic Matter" concept by Katharina Rosenberger, Julie Beauvais and Lisa Nolte. Twelve concepts that met the formal criteria had previously been reviewed and four teams were invited to present their concept in person.

The future artistic management team of "Sonic Matter" is repositioning the festival in a local and international context. In addition to the festival in Zurich, a variety of formats will allow the public to participate in the pulse of new music throughout the year. "Sonic Matter" represents a broad concept of new music, attaches great importance to the artistic process and is experimental and research-oriented. It is sponsored by a newly founded association.

The city is supporting the festival during the three-year pilot phase with a one-off contribution totaling CHF 850,000. This is divided into an initial contribution of CHF 100,000 in 2020 and operating contributions of CHF 250,000 for each of the years 2021 to 2023. The festival will be evaluated during the three-year pilot phase. After that, further support from the city in the form of annual operating contributions will be reviewed.

The Fondation Suisa offers a special Swiss discount for the following events:

Waves Vienna is a musical and cultural exchange platform between Western and Eastern Europe and will take place in Vienna from September 10 to 12.
Registration deadline: September 9, 2020

Link to Waves Vienna

The Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg, one of the most important gatherings for up-and-coming artists, takes place in Hamburg from September 16 to 19.
Registration deadline: September 15, 2020

Link to the Reeperbahn Festival
 

And finally, the MaMA in Paris from October 14 to 16 will focus on the French music market with an emphasis on pop and rock.
Registration deadline: September 18, 2020

Link to the MaMa in Paris

Fondation Suisa is continuously monitoring the coronavirus situation. It maintains an exchange with the organizers and, if necessary, contacts the participants with relevant information on risks or measures.
 

On 10 July, the Culture Taskforce, which was founded in March 2020, submitted its position on the urgent Covid-19 Act on 18 pages on behalf of 84 cultural organizations. The text of the consultation response is available on the Website of the Culture Taskforce to read.

The corresponding press release issued by the Culture Taskforce on July 10 is reproduced in full below:

1. we strongly support the Federal Council's draft: without continued support for creative artists and cultural enterprises and their relevant structures, all areas of the cultural sector are at risk of being cut.

2. the cultural sector does not want special treatment, but is a systemically relevant special case among the economic sectors.

3. the cultural sector is larger and more diverse than is generally known.

4. the support measures should be continued, but simplified and adapted to the realities of the sector.

5. a return to the originally planned financial framework is essential.

1. culture as a special case:

Normal cultural operations cannot be expected until at least the end of 2020. Cultural enterprises and cultural professionals are suffering from serious revenue deficits. They cannot change this even with the greatest efforts: During the pandemic, cultural events pose a much greater risk than usual and are only possible to a very limited extent, if at all. The requirements for event organizers hardly allow for economically self-supporting events. Audiences are already hesitant to buy tickets in advance, whether due to health concerns or uncertainty as to whether the event will actually take place.

2. culture as an economic factor:

There are around 65,000 cultural enterprises in Switzerland with a total of around 224,000 employees. At 5 %, the proportion of employees in the cultural and creative industries is comparable to that of the tourism industry (4.8 %). More than 90 % of the cultural sector consists of micro-enterprises with fewer than 10 employees and often small profit margins. Of the approximately 65,000 businesses, around half are organized as legal entities, mostly as limited liability companies or associations (source: FSO, Statistics on the structure of Swiss SMEs 2017, p. 12). These 32,500 or so micro-enterprises are in turn managed by owners or employers (with an average of 1.7 people). So you will hardly hear of mass redundancies, as in other sectors. But many closures and bankruptcies can only be averted with targeted support.

3. culture is many:

In addition to creative artists, producers and event organizers, numerous other professional groups are dependent on a functioning cultural sector, such as lighting and sound technicians, graphic designers, exhibition designers, web designers, etc. Their incomes are also lost without a functioning cultural sector. Without a functioning cultural sector, their incomes also collapse.

4. cultural associations in the lay sector:

According to 2019 federal cultural statistics, around 28 % of the Swiss population are active in cultural associations. The activities of cultural associations in the non-professional sector are therefore of fundamental importance for the cultural participation of the population. The current situation is also threatening their existence. This is because income from organized events is crucial for them.

5. culture is low wages:

In its 2020 analysis paper, the Swiss Conference for Social Welfare (SKOS) states that self-employed people are particularly hard hit in crises like the current one, especially those in the low-wage sector. This includes many cultural workers and their structures.

6. culture needs simplified, realistic measures:

The exclusion of certain cultural players from the measures is incomprehensible. Publishers, bookshops, galleries, music labels, art schools and teachers who teach artistic skills must also have access to the measures. It is also nonsensical to exclude freelancers who work from short-term employment to short-term employment from assistance. These gaps need to be closed in the implementation of the measures - for the preservation of cultural diversity, regardless of whether they are non-profit or profit-oriented actors. The entire cultural sector is equally affected by the COVID crisis, which is why everyone must be treated equally when it comes to support measures. The measures also need to be better coordinated and simplified.

Simplified, reality-based measures - what does that mean?

- Simplification of registration and calculation of support measures
- Involvement of cultural associations in the development of simpler, reality-based support models
- Transparent, proactive communication between the responsible federal offices and the cultural associations
- Compliance with constitutionally guaranteed procedural rights (legal remedies)
- Compensation for losses: Abandonment of the nonsensical distinction between non-profit and profit-oriented companies in the cultural sector (the vast majority of cultural companies only cover their costs at best)
- Corona income replacement: Individual work assignments should be possible without leading to the loss of the entire entitlement to support. The aim is to ensure that those affected do not become welfare cases - which would be much more expensive for the community.
- Emergency aid for creative artists: Simplification of billing and application models and sufficient funding
- Unemployment insurance: A longer framework period of four years is needed for all freelancers affected by the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. The same benefit should apply in relation to the contribution period: 12 or 18 months of contributions over a period of four years.
 

For these reasons, the Swiss cultural sector supports the Federal Council's draft and welcomes it in particular:

- The continuation of financial aid for creative artists and cultural enterprises, without which the cultural sector would effectively collapse (Art. 7).
- The continuation of the coronavirus income replacement scheme, ideally in a form that ensures a livelihood (Art. 9).
- Support for the owners of cultural enterprises and employees in an employer-like position (Art. 10).

Meaningful support for the cultural sector requires more funding:
The package of measures envisaged by the Federal Council in the area of culture originally amounted to CHF 1.5 billion for six months. In a first step, this became an amount of CHF 280 million for a period of two months, which was extended to six months in a second step. Even if the requirement of CHF 1.5 billion for six months was a projection, it is now clear that a fifth of this amount will not be enough to save the Swiss cultural sector.

The Culture Taskforce will submit a more detailed overall calculation of the financial requirements for the cultural sector by the end of July 2020.

In addition, far-sighted planning of projects and economic stimulus programmes is required to initiate the revitalization of the cultural sector."
 

As announced by the Swiss Music Council on July 13, the Sonart an online survey for all cultural stakeholders on the Sonart website placed. This information will be used to estimate the future financial requirements of the cultural sector. All professional cultural and music professionals are called upon to answer the survey as quickly as possible.

Born in Giessen (Germany) in 1974, Daniela Martin is a trained musician and literature expert and is interested in the whole variety of the arts. She has worked at the Festival de Radio France et Montpellier, the Centro Cultural de Belem in Lisbon and its Festival Dias da Musica, the Orchestre National de France and as an assistant/agent for artists such as Kurt Masur, Fazil Say and Augustin Dumay.

Since 2010, Daniela Martin has been closely associated with the contemporary music ensemble Variances in Rouen (France) as co-founder and managing director. In this role, she has initiated a series of international collaborations, tours and commissioned projects in the field of contemporary music. Daniela Martin will take up her post in Basel on September 16.
 

Where exactly Beethoven ran through an apparently abundant downpour with the manuscript of his piano sonata or took the extra mail will probably remain a mystery forever. Was it in Troppau (Opava) in Moravia, when he left Grätz Castle in a hurry and full of anger after an argument with Prince Lichnowsky that undermined his pride? At least that is what Theodor von Frimmel reports, referring to a recollection of the doctor Anton Weiser, who was present at the dinner. Or did water simply seep through a traveling bag on the subsequent journey to Vienna, as Paul Bigot de Morogues, once librarian to Prince Rasumowsky, noted many years later on a printed edition of the work? In the latter case, Beethoven is said to have "laughing at his still very wet work" to the pianist Marie Bigot, who then played the soaked composition at sight. In the other case, the sonata (and thus also its musical expression) is part of a scene in which aristocratic arrogance and artistic self-confidence clashed. It is doubtful whether Beethoven wrote a letter from Troppau the following day to the prince, who had been his patron until then. However, the following statement, which has apparently only survived in spirit, perfectly reflects the insurmountable discrepancy between status and talent (similar to the anecdote about Mozart and Joseph II, also from the 19th century): "Prince! What you are, you are by chance and birth, what I am, I am by myself. There have been and will be thousands of princes, but there is only one Beethoven."

Against this background, the epithet "Appassionata" could hardly be more aptly chosen for the Sonata in F minor op. 57: the characters of the two outer movements are always passionate and tempestuous. In the opening movement in particular, the barely fully formulated theme shakes the outer form with its impulsive urgency, and the virtuosic cascades of the finale rush through the ambitus towards the end. Perhaps because Beethoven kept the tempo indications fairly neutral (Allegro assai, Andante con moto and Allegro ma non troppo), the work was not particularly popular with the public at the beginning. As is so often the case, this required a posthumous addition: the designation "Sonata appassionata" first appeared on the title page of an arrangement for four hands (!) published by Cranz in Hamburg in 1838 and was soon gratefully received by other publishers. Carl Czerny, however, did not like this romanticizing epithet - because in his eyes the sonata "is in any case too great".

If you would like to see the water damage in the autograph for yourself, the Online facsimile on the website of the Bibliothèque national de France recommended.
 

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