LXIII. BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van (1770-1827)
Sonata for Violin & Piano #9 in A Major ("Kreutzer") (1802-03)
1. Adagio sostenuo -- Presto -- Adagio
2. Andante con variazioni
3. Presto
David Oistrakh, violin
Lev Oborin, piano
[scrolling score]
(34:17)
Poor Louis.
He wrote masterpieces for friends, for nobility (ka-ching) -- but in this particularly case, nothing seemed to work out for him.
The sonata was originally dedicated to George Bridgetower (1778-1860), the famous Black Englishman of African descent.
Beethoven -- using a term which is considered offensive today -- wrote the following dedication:
"Mulatto Sonata composed for the mulatto Brischdauer, great madman mulatto composer."
From Wikipedia:
Shortly after completion the work was premiered by Bridgetower and Beethoven on May 24, 1803 at the Augarten Theatre at a concert that started at the unusually early hour of 8:00 A.M. Bridgetower sight-read the sonata; he had never seen the work before, and there had been no time for any rehearsal.
After the premiere performance Beethoven and Bridgetower fell out: while the two were drinking, Bridgetower apparently insulted the morals of a woman whom Beethoven cherished. Enraged, Beethoven removed the dedication of the piece, dedicating it instead to Rudolph Kreutzer, who was considered the finest violinist of the day.
There's more:
Kreutzer hated the piece and refused to play it, calling it "outrageously unintelligible."
Of course, this is around the time of composition of the Third Symphony ("Eroica") and Beethoven was exploding with a new kind of energy -- which today we call "Romantic" music.
Tolstoy wrote the steamy and censored The Kreutzer Sonata in 1889. By then people loved the sonata. But Louis had already been dead for 62 years.
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I chose this scrolling score version not only so musicians might enjoy it, but also because it's the great David Oistrakh.
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