Sextet for Horns and String Quartet (Beethoven)

The Sextet for Horns and String Quartet, Op. 81b, was written by composer Ludwig van Beethoven, probably around 1795, and published by Simrock Verlag in 1810. It is in the key of E-flat major and is scored for two horns and a string quartet. It was probably modelled on the Horn Quintet in the same key by Mozart (K. 407) and like the earlier work it is written in a concertante style, with virtuosic writing for the two horns.{{harvnb|Holman|1992|pp=4, 5}}{{harvnb|Watson|2012|p=289}}{{harvnb|Cooper|2000|p=64}}

Background

Prior to the publication by Simrock in 1810, nothing is known about the circumstances of the piece's composition beyond the existence of a few sketches that confirm the work was composed in the mid 1790s.{{harvnb|Voss|2009|p=IV}} The concertante nature of the piece has led writers like John Henken to speculate that the piece may have been written for specific Bonn-based performers, and to express surprise that more is not known about the work's early history. {{harvnb|Henken|2017}}

Structure

The piece consists of three movements:

{{ordered list|list_style_type=upper-roman

|Allegro con brio (E{{music|flat}} major)

|Adagio (A{{music|flat}} major)

|Rondo: Allegro (E{{music|flat}} major)

}}

The typical performance time is around 15 - 17 minutes.

References

Notes

Sources

{{cite web|url=https://www.naxos.com/mainsite/blurbs_reviews.asp?item_code=8.553090&catNum=553090&filetype=About%20this%20Recording&language=English|last=Anderson|first=Keith|title=Beethoven: Chamber Music for Horns, Winds and Strings|publisher=Naxos Records|year=1995|type=CD|id=8.553090|access-date=2017-07-07|archive-date=2022-02-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215000938/https://www.naxos.com/mainsite/blurbs_reviews.asp?item_code=8.553090&catNum=553090&filetype=About%20this%20Recording&language=English|url-status=dead}}
{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/beethoven00coop|url-access=registration|title=Beethoven|last=Cooper|first=Barry|authorlink=Barry Cooper (musicologist)|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=United States|year=2000|isbn=0191592706}}
{{cite web|url=http://www.laphil.com/philpedia/music/sextet-e-flat-op-81b-ludwig-van-beethoven|last=Henken|first=John|title=Program notes - Beethoven: Sextet in E-flat major, Op. 81b|publisher=Los Angeles Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra|year=2017|accessdate=2020-11-12|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128110139/http://www.laphil.com/philpedia/music/sextet-e-flat-op-81b-ludwig-van-beethoven|archivedate=2018-01-28}}
{{cite AV media notes|url=http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/notes/55189-B.pdf|last=Holman|first=Peter|title=Beethoven:Septet in E-flat/Sextet in E-flat|publisher=Hyperion Records|year=1992|type=CD|id=CDH55189}}
{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZZ5Sy2HVrFwC|title=The Early Horn: A Practical Guide|last=Humphries|first=John|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2000|isbn=0-521-63210-2}}
{{cite book|url=http://www.henle.com/media/foreword/9955.pdf|title=Beethoven: Sextet Opus 81b|last=Voss|first=Egon|year=2009|publisher=G. Henle Verlag}}{{Dead link|date=January 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s-oN-k4kBJ4C|title=Beethoven's Chamber Music in Context|last=Watson|first=Angus|publisher=Boydell Press|location=Woodbridge|year=2012|isbn=978-1-84383-716-9}}

External links

{{IMSLP2|work=Sextet in E-flat major, Op.81b (Beethoven, Ludwig van)|cname=Sextet in E-flat major, Op.81b}}
{{YouTube|id=sW8ToCjshJk|title=Beethoven: Sextet in E-flat major, Op. 81b}} - Performed by members of the National Symphony Orchestra.

Category:Chamber music by Ludwig van Beethoven

Category:1795 compositions

Category:Compositions in E-flat major

Category:Compositions for horn

Beethoven