BBC Composer of the week

[Peter]

Beethoven is composer of the week on BBC radio 3 - scroll down the page and you can catch up on the episodes.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/cotw/

[Michael]

Yep, spotted that. They are focusing on late Beethoven and are playing a lot of little-known bits and pieces.

(Having a bit of trouble with your link, but I picked up a repeat of today's programme here. It's very enjoyable.)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b008tjcm



Your link is okay now, Peter, and will also lead to the same repeat.

[Peter]

As I mentioned in another thread they played 3 late piano pieces that I haven't heard before - only miniatures that last about 40 seconds. Anyone else know them? One was an Ecossaise I think.

[Michael]

As I mentioned in another thread they played 3 late piano pieces that I haven't heard before - only miniatures that last about 40 seconds. Anyone else know them? One was an Ecossaise I think.

Damn! I wanted to hear today's programme and I was relying on the "Listen Again" facility but for some copyright reason it's unavailable.
However, I see from the Radio Times that the three short piece played were: Ecossaise in E flat, WoO86, Allegretto quasi Andante in G minor WoO61a, and the Waltz in D, WoO 85. (17 seconds, 31 seconds and 29 seconds respectively! I have other versions where the timing is slightly different.)
For a master of large forms, Beethoven turned out some really short pieces but all of the above, though small, are perfectly formed. As they were all performed by Gianluca Cascioli, they are almost certainly taken from the DGG Complete Beethoven Edition. Anybody with the Brilliant Edition (Maurice take note!) will find these three pieces on disc 59.
These little works were, as far as I know, completed but there are myriads of little piano pieces that have been left unfinished or have been completed by others.
I think Beethoven could be the number one candidate for leaving unfinished stuff lying around. Gustav Nottebohm has estimated that B began about fifty symphonies altogether and in the Kafka Sketch Miscellany alone (according to Barry Cooper) there are around six hundred unfinished fragments that could be counted as ideas for separate works.
By the way, the short pieces mentioned above can all be found at "The Unheard Beethoven" site.

[Peter]

Damn! I wanted to hear today's programme and I was relying on the "Listen Again" facility but for some copyright reason it's unavailable.
However, I see from the Radio Times that the three short piece played were: Ecossaise in E flat, WoO86, Allegretto quasi Andante in G minor WoO61a, and the Waltz in D, WoO 85. (17 seconds, 31 seconds and 29 seconds respectively! I have other versions where the timing is slightly different.)
For a master of large forms, Beethoven turned out some really short pieces but all of the above, though small, are perfectly formed. As they were all performed by Gianluca Cascioli, they are almost certainly taken from the DGG Complete Beethoven Edition. Anybody with the Brilliant Edition (Maurice take note!) will find these three pieces on disc 59.
These little works were, as far as I know, completed but there are myriads of little piano pieces that have been left unfinished or have been completed by others.
I think Beethoven could be the number one candidate for leaving unfinished stuff lying around. Gustav Nottebohm has estimated that B began about fifty symphonies altogether and in the Kafka Sketch Miscellany alone (according to Barry Cooper) there are around six hundred unfinished fragments that could be counted as ideas for separate works.
By the way, the short pieces mentioned above can all be found at "The Unheard Beethoven" site.

Thanks for that Michael and I didn't know Nottebohm estimated around 50 symphonic attempts. Possibly Beethoven comes up so high with these fragments because he simply didn't destroy anything unlike composers such as Brahms. We're lucking to be able to see the creative process in action. I wonder about Schubert's tally of unfinisheds?

[Peter]

This weeks composer of the week is Bartok and remember you can catch up with past programmes with this link http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/cotw/