A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Kreutzer Sonata
KREUTZER SONATA. The popular title in England of Beethoven's Sonata for piano and violin in A, op. 47, dedicated to 'his friend R. Kreutzer.' The work was first played by Beethoven and Bridgetower at the Augarten at 8 a.m. May 17 or 24, 1803. The finale had originally belonged to op. 30, no. 1, but the first movement and the variations were only finished just in time, and the latter had to be played from the autograph without rehearsal. In the opening Presto, at the pause in the 9th bar, Bridgetower introduced a Cadenza in imitation of that for the Piano in the 18th bar, fortunately to Beethoven's satisfaction (see Thayer, ii. 230). He gives it as follows:—
![{ \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \key a \minor \override Score.Rest #'style = #'classical \relative e'' { \cadenzaOn << { e2.^\markup { \smaller 1\italic "ma volta" (9) } } \\ { <c g c,>4\fermata } >> c,16[\( c'] \bar "|" e,[ g c e g c]\) e[\( c g e c g]\) e'[\( c g e c g]\) e'[ c g c e g] \bar "|" c[ e g c] e8 c,,\fermata r4 \bar "|" s4 } }](http://upload.wikimedia.org/score/1/q/1qz8vrkyw44oe4h78srofnaxjkbz46r/1qz8vrky.png)
![{ \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \key a \minor \override Score.Rest #'style = #'classical \relative c'' { \cadenzaOn <c e, g,>4^\markup { \smaller 2\italic "da volta" (18) } r r c,16[\( c'] \bar "|" e,[ g c e g c]\) e[\( c g e c g]\) e'[\( c g e c g]\) e'[ c g c e g c[ e g c] \ottava #1 e[ g c e] \ottava #0 c,,,8\fermata r4 \bar "|" s4 } }](http://upload.wikimedia.org/score/i/z/izch4hosnr8vzwkxqw9ae7ec1pqobi6/izch4hos.png)
The sonata was published in 1805, by Simrock and Traeg, before May 18. Bridgetower averred (Thayer, ii. 231) that it was originally dedicated to him, and that the change was the result of a quarrel. Why Kreutzer was chosen is as yet a mystery. He was in Vienna with Bernadotte in 1798, but no trace of his relations with Beethoven remains, though we may assume them to have been good, for Beethoven to designate him as his 'friend.' It has been alleged as a reason that the second theme of the Presto is a phrase of Kreutzer's; but this has not been substantiated. Certainly no such passage appears in Kreutzer's violin works. The dedication on the 1st ed. stands 'Sonata per il Pianoforte ed un Violino obligato, scritta in uno stilo molto concertante, quasi come d'un Concerto. Composta e dedicata al suo amico R. Kreutzer, Membro del Conservatorio di Musica in Parigi, Primo Violino dell' Academia delle [1]Arti, e della Camera Imperiale, per L. van Beethoven. Opera 47. A Bonn chez K. Simrock. 422.' In a notebook of Beethoven's in the Imperial Library at Berlin, the second sentence appears 'in uno stilo molto brillante.'
[ G. ]
- ↑ The fact of Kreutzer holding these two posts in Vienna seems to imply that he remained there some time.