Beethoven and his Teachers

[Guest]

Just wanted to flag up an excellent new double CD from Naxos. It's called Beethoven and his Teachers and is all music for piano four hands. The teachers in question are Neefe, Albrechtsberger and Haydn and several are world premiere recordings. The climax is Beethoven's transcription of the Grosse Fuge Op. 134. Well worth checking out.

[Suffolkcoastal]

Went to a very interesting talk once on Neefe's influence on early Beethoven which was particularly strong in Beethoven's early Piano Quartets. I've also just realised that I don't think I've ever heard a note of Albrechtsberger's music inspite of his being one of the foremost teachers of counterpoint of his age.

[Roehre]

Whether it still is available I don't know, but I've got a Beethoven-Neefe CD on which there are Beethoven juvenilia, including the sketch for a symphony in c minor (Hess 298) as well as two variation-works by Neefe here

Neefe is the one who introduced Beethoven to JSBach's 48, CPE Bach's music as well as some of Mozart's. From the latter two influences can be found in the three piano quartets WoO 36 (1786, for which Mozart's violin sonatas opus 2 [i.e.KV296, 379 and 380] stood model), with CPE Bach's influence even stronger in the piano concerto WoO 4 (1784)

[Martin Reynolds]

I've also just realised that I don't think I've ever heard a note of Albrechtsberger's music inspite of his being one of the foremost teachers of counterpoint of his age.

The Naxos CD has an example of his counterpoint in which my ears detect a relation to the fugal finale of the Hammerklavier particularly in the prominent use of trills. It is beyond question that Beethoven held him in high esteem.

[Lion-of-Vienna]

I've also just realised that I don't think I've ever heard a note of Albrechtsberger's music inspite of his being one of the foremost teachers of counterpoint of his age.

His Trombone Concerto crops up fairly frequently when some trombonist wants to put together a disc of 18th century concertos for his instrument (often coupled with Michael Haydn, Leopold Mozart and Wagensiel). However, the pieces I always associate with Albrechtsberger are the pair of concertos for Jew's Harp, Mandora and Orchestra. Whatever possessed him to write for this combination I do not know but it produces a fascinating sound (as well as being useful material for a musical quiz question).