Beethoven was known for his propensity for going through many drafts before producing a finished product. A look at any of his original scores will show numerous crossed out measures and re-written melodies. As a result, many sketches exist from the time of his death in March of 1827, but very few of these are labeled, and how would one find a symphony that supposedly doesn't exist?
Dr. Barry Cooper, a musicologist and Beethoven scholar, set out in the early 1980s to find some proof of this unheard work. "I was not looking for a Tenth Symphony. But I was looking out for one," he said. Reading a description of the work by Karl Holz, a friend of Beethoven who had heard the beginnings of the work played by Beethoven himself on the piano, he knew the work started with an introduction in the key of E-flat and was followed by an Allegro in C minor. True to the description, Cooper found sketches that matched the description!
Although an exciting discovery had been made, it was by no means the uncovering of a complete work. Only about 250 bars for a first movement could be linked together, and only ideas existed for what would have been the rest of the work. Also, no clear order could be discerned, and working with fragments of harmonies would be difficult at the least.
Still, Dr. Cooper set out to piece these measures together to form a first movement. Using Beethoven's "normal" composing techniques, he managed to complete this opening section of the Tenth Symphony. "The aim...was to come as close as possible to what the composer intended, while being aware that complete success was unattainable."
This fascinating piece of music was premiered in 1988 by the Royal Philharmonic Society, the group that Beethoven had actually offered his Tenth Symphony only days before his death! As expected, critics were skeptical and the performance itself received much hype from the media. Still, Dr. Cooper considered the performance a success. A recording of the piece is available on IMP classics (PCD 911) with Wyn Morris conducting members of the London Symphony Orchestra.
 |
Go To Page: 1 2
