Skizzen-Sinfonie

Ludwig van Beethoven left behind several sketches for unfufilled projects, some more extensive than others. They range from beta versions of the finished product, ideas for unrealized pieces, and there are even some sketches where you aren't even sure what they were intended for. 

Beethoven's nine symphonies are recongized as bieng among the greatest body of western culture. But when one looks at his sketchbooks, there are ideas for symphonic movements that never fufilled. One can only assume this was due to the fact that he either did not think they were worth developing, or, as in the case of the controversial Tenth Symphony, died before he had a chance to complete it. 

The Tenth symphony has undergone so many completions, but the 4 movements that consitute this piece I call the "Skizzen-Sinfonie" (Sketch-Symphony) are based on sketches for symphonic movements that were written much earlier, some of them predating the first symphony. The reason for doing this is to present these sketches, which I feel are quite interesting in their own right, to the general public in context, without just hearing them in their fragmentary status. This is NOT intended to be a defentive completion of the sketches, but rather as a personal experiemnt to see how these sketches could be developed.

Year: 2024

Duration: c. 30 min

Instrumentation: 2222/2230/Timp/Str.

I. Allegro con brio (C Minor)

The first movement of my symphony comes from a sketch for an unrealized symphony in C minor. Willy Hess catalogues it as number 298. It is found in the so-called "Kafka" sketchbook and was sketched around 1785. Of the 4 movements that constiute my symphony, this draft of 111 bars is the most extensive. It is marked Presto in 3/2 time, and is written on treble and bass staves. Beethoven has not indicated anything about dynamics or orchestration except one fragment toward the end, an answering motif played by the oboe. The furious first theme and graceful second theme in oppositon suggests a movement in sonata form. It should also be noted that a similar main theme appears as the main theme of the second movement of this first piano quartet, written around the same time. At any rate, it breaks of during the second theme group. 

To realize this sketch involves developing of themes and motif, as well as accompiment figures not present in the sketch. The first piano quartet has the theme bienng played over tense syncopation in the strings, so I opted to take that and put into the symphony. I also have lifted a few elements from Albert Willem Holsbergen's realization of the symphony, which is quite different over all than mine. I have also tried add anything that obscures the sketch material. I wanted it to speak for itself. 

II. Andante (E Major)

As with the previous movement, this beautiful Andante in E major is found in the "Kafka" sketchbook. The choice of E major in a C minor Symphony may seem strange until one remembers that several of Beethoven's works have slow movements in keys not quite related to the home key, for example, the Third Piano Concerto, which also has a slow movement in E in a C minor work. 

Unlike the previous sketch, this movement is much more fragmentary, with the material being intensley scattered. But although there is less continuity, there is still enough material to realize a whole movement in rondo form without the invention of anything too major. 

III. Tempo di minuetto (C Minor, trio G Major)

The choice of a minuet may seem unusual when eight of the nine symphonies are scherzos. But since the last movement is in a fast 6/8 time, a scherzo would not provide a good contrast to the finale. Plus, much of the material was written in Beethoven's early period, and so he probably hadn't conceived the idea of a scherzo in a symphony. Therefore, a minuet was an order. However, finding a suitable sketch to use as a minuet was quite a challenge. I eventually settled on a short keyboard piece in C Minor marked "Ländler" (Hess 68). This, I believe, matches the character of the Trio. 

The Trio is in G Major, and is given to a horn duet. It comes from a sketch from around 1802, marked "Andante Sinfonia", written around the time Beethoven was working on the Second Symphony. I am very much reminded of Handel and Leopold Mozart whenever I hear this. 

IV. Allegro - Poco sostenuto - Piu allegro (C Minor - C Major)

For the finale, I turned to a brief sketch in C Minor that was actually intended to be the finale of the Fifth Symphony. It is interesting to consider that Beethoven originally did not concieve the symphony as a progression from darkness to light, as is how the Fifth is typically described today. This sketch has by far the least material to work from. It consists of a mysterious theme in 6/8, plus some other brief fragments. 

The advantage of this is that I was able to let my imagination roam much freer. The realized movement is in sonata-rondo form, with an extended coda in C Major. In addition to the previous sketch material, I also used the Scherzo from the 10th symphony as a countertheme. 

I simply could not end the symphony in C Minor; none of Beethoven's orchestral works in minor keys end in the minor.