This volume adds to our understanding of the Viennese string quintet, revealing the tip of a vast repertoire that has been little studied to date. The string quintet was a popular chamber genre and was one of the most popular media for arrangement in the early nineteenth century. String quintet arrangements were published for a great number of Beethoven’s works during his lifetime, including all of the symphonies except the third and ninth; many overtures; and Fidelio, in two parts. The string quintet arrangements in this volume are of particular significance in this publication history: they appeared as part of a new policy on the part of Beethoven and his publisher Sigmund Anton Steiner, which included the publication of orchestral scores simultaneously with the first editions of the orchestral parts and with arrangements for various instruments, from piano solo to larger ensembles.

xv + 216 pp.

This volume represents two important aspects of early-nineteenth-century taste in chamber music: a predilection for “mixed” groupings, including winds and strings; and a preference for larger groupings, including nonets. The sheer number of such works composed, along with data from publishing catalogs and concert programs, is evidence of the contemporary taste for varied chamber music. The present volume gives a selection of three large-scale chamber arrangements of Beethoven’s symphonies. Michael Gotthard Fischer’s arrangement of the sixth symphony for string sextet provides an example of this less common format. The nonet arrangement of the second symphony for flute, two horns, two violins, two violas, cello, and bass by Ferdinand Ries shows the flexibility of performance forces in this repertoire as well as the publishers’ and composers’ desires to capitalize on their popularity, given that this arrangement can be performed with or without the addition of winds. The arrangement of the fourth symphony by William Watts stands between the sextet and nonet arrangements noted above in its combination of one flute with six strings.

The introd. includes notes on "the composer, the music of [this] edition" and on "performance". Plates (p. xv-xvi) reproduce the t.p. & one p. of music from handwritten score dated 1734 of the Symphony in E-flat major. Music found on p.1-53. Music followed by a "Critical report" (p.55-59) detailing sources & editorial method, & critical notes and commentary.