Notes for: July 22, 2008
As a young composer in Vienna seeking to establish his reputation, Beethoven understandably concentrated most of his effort on piano sonatas and works for conventional instrumental combinations – piano trios, string quartets, violin and cello sonatas, symphonies, piano concertos. In addition, however, he experimented with a number of works for unusual combinations of instruments to enhance his income and win new friends. Altogether, between 1792 and 1801, he completed 13 compositions in this category – some were begun during his last year in Bonn and completed later while others were started in Vienna.
The Serenade, Op. 25, was probably written in 1801 and published in 1802. It must have made a favorable impression at the time because a year later an arrangement for flute and piano by another composer but corrected and approved by Beethoven was published as Op. 41.
Clearly intended to cater to the Viennese love for informal outdoor music, the Serenade consists of seven short movements, none of which demands undue concentration. The music has a charm and delicacy one does not usually associate with Beethoven – after all, this was music written to accompany outdoor eating and leisurely conversation.
Further, the flute’s graceful voice adds an unexpected note of daintiness. The first movement, for example carries the title, “Entrata.” This is an Italian variant of a Spanish word “entrada,” a festive or march-like prelude that was originally used for the entrance of the performing musicians in a procession. The flute prances on first all alone with a fanfare that might have been written to announce a band of fairies.
Or consider the third variation of the andante fourth movement in which the solo for the viola is accompanied by the violin’s flowing strains and the flute’s agile skipping.
Notes for: August 8, 2023
While Beethoven was spending his early years in Vienna demonstrating his mastery of the Classical sonata, concerto, symphony, string trio, and string quartet, he also showed a lighter side, composing occasional works that are witty, lighthearted, and charming from start to finish. The Serenade in D Major is such a composition. Carefree in spirit, relatively uncomplicated in design, it is the kind of graceful and cheery work that the Viennese loved.
Amateur musicians flourished in Beethoven’s Vienna, creating a market for a steady stream of fresh new compositions for communal music-making. One popular genre was the serenade, which started as an amorous song and evolved into a multi-movement instrumental composition written to celebrate an occasion or a person. Mozart’s serenades set the standard, and Beethoven took his lead from them – not surprising, given Mozart’s strong influence on Beethoven, especially when it came to chamber music for strings and for winds.
In addition to his choice of key – the majority of Mozart’s Serenades are in D Major – Beethoven follows Mozart’s format, beginning and ending his Serenade with fast movements and including a minuet with two trios, and a set of variations. The first-movement Entrata (Introduction) opens with a flourish, with the flute playing a sprightly fanfare that becomes the theme for the movement, traded back and forth among the three instruments. Following tradition, Beethoven begins the second movement with a graceful minuet, followed by a first trio that showcases the strings, then a second trio in which the flute takes center stage in a bouncy solo over plucked strings. While the third movement, in D Minor, purports to be darker, its sternness is undercut by the bright D Major trio in the middle and by the playfulness with which the flute ends the movement. Like the rest of the Serenade, the fourth-movement Andante with Variations is very much in the Viennese Classical tradition, its variations decorated in classic 18th-century style. Each instrument gets a chance to ornament the theme — the flute in the first variation, the violin in the second, the viola in the third. Beethoven deviates from convention in the fifth movement, replacing the traditional second minuet with a brief scherzo that includes a contrapuntal trio. An introductory Adagio leads to the Allegro finale, a rhythmic, breezy (disinvolto) rondo capped by a 16-bar Presto that brings the Serenade to its cheerful conclusion. Filled with playful moments, from the flute’s opening imitation of a horn to the frisky presto coda, the Serenade is an effervescent treat from an unexpected source.
Beethoven later allowed an arrangement of the Serenade for flute or violin and piano, made by another composer, to be published under his name as Op. 41.