Beethoven, Ludwig van.

the separate parts for piano and violin ("Violino obligato"), written by a single copyist throughout, with corrected passages written on  slips of paper pasted into the piano part,  the title inscribed by another hand above the music ("op.47...Sonate de L.v Beethoven avec Violon obligé"), marked up throughout by and for the printer in pencil



2 volumes, 20 pages, small oblong 4to (c.19.5 x 24cms), the piano 14 pages, the violin part 6 pages, both foliated by the scribe, post-horn watermark lettered "J Honig & Zoonen" (Heawood 2740), modern boards, [1805], wear to central fold of one leaf skilfully repaired, some staining and browning, a few tiny holes

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This is a newly discovered pre-publication source for one of Beethoven's most significant middle-period works.  The manuscript is the engraver's model for Robert Birchall's edition of the "Kreutzer" Sonata, published in London in May 1805, the stave-breaks and other printing details marked on the manuscript in pencil.  This edition came out too early to be based directly on Simrock's almost contemporary first edition (Bonn, April 1805).  Its model must have been an early version of the Simrock edition.   However, its direct source has not hitherto been traced.  Indeed there is no other surviving example of a printer's manuscript for one of the "authentic English editions of Beethoven".

The present manuscript represents a stage in the publication of Beethoven's famous sonata somewhere between his corrected Stichvorlage (the manuscript sold in these rooms, 23 May 2007, lot 8) and Simrock's first edition.  Alan Tyson's observes of Birchall's edition: "In some divergences between the Stichvorlage and Simrock's edition--for the most part, no doubt, the result of changes made in the proof--Birchall agrees with the Stichvorlage; in others Birchall agrees with Simrock".  Among the more egregious errors evidently introduced during this proof-reading is the second note in the violin's opening phrase: here it is given as F natural, doubtless from a mistaken comparison with the answering phrase in the piano, so that the work begins in A minor.  Also, in Simrock's edition, there is a bar missing from the piano part (bar 353), so that it is a bar shorter than the violin part.  This error is also seen in the present manuscript, although Birchall evidently noticed it, as, in his edition, this point is corrected. 

Beethoven's autograph manuscript of the "Kreutzer" is lost and, apart from the corrected Stichvorlage that he sent to Simrock, this is the only surviving complete contemporary manuscript of the work.  It is  written on German paper, and was probably supplied by Simrock to Birchall, including some of his errors, while his own edition was still being finalized.  The ends of the staves in Birchall's edition are marked in pencil throughout the manuscript:  1-14 for each opening in the piano part and 1-16 for each page of the violin part.

A. Tyson, The Authentic English Editions of Beethoven (1963), p.49ff.;  S. Brandenburg, 'Zur Textgeschichte von Beethovens Violinsonate Opus 47, in M. Bente, Musik, Edition. Interpretation. Gedankschrift Günter Henle (1980), cf. pp.121-124; Beethoven, A Grand Sonata for the Piano Forte with an Accompaniment for the Violin obbligato, (London: Rt. Birchall, [1805]); copy at the British Library,  h.376 (14)