Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 – 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire and span the transition from the Classical period to the Romantic era in classical music. His career has conventionally been divided into early, middle, and late periods. His early period, during which he forged his craft, is typically considered to have lasted until 1802. From 1802 to around 1812, his middle period showed an individual development from the styles of Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and is sometimes characterized as heroic. During this time, he began to grow increasingly deaf. In his late period, from 1812 to 1827, he extended his innovations in musical form and expression.

Beethoven was born in Bonn. His musical talent was obvious at an early age. He was initially harshly and intensively taught by his father, Johann van Beethoven. Beethoven was later taught by the composer and conductor Christian Gottlob Neefe, under whose tutelage he published his first work, a set of keyboard variations, in 1783. He found relief from a dysfunctional home life with the family of Helene von Breuning, whose children he loved, befriended, and taught piano. At age 21, he moved to Vienna, which subsequently became his base, and studied composition with Haydn. Beethoven then gained a reputation as a virtuoso pianist, and was soon patronised by Karl Alois, Prince Lichnowsky for compositions, which resulted in his three Opus 1 piano trios (the earliest works to which he accorded an opus number) in 1795.

The Romance for violin and orchestra No. 2 in F Major, Op. 50, is the second of two such compositions by Ludwig van Beethoven. It was written in 1798 but not published until 1805 (by which time Beethoven had completed and published the other work, Romance No. 1 in G Major, Op. 40). The accompaniment is for flute and a pair each of oboes, bassoons and horns, with strings. This, his second Romance, ‘the most high and noble feelings are here so easy as to be compared with a beautiful person who succeeds in everything he tries’ (Mattheson). Beethoven, arch lyricist, his particularisation of title (rare but not unknown—most obviously the slow movement of Mozart’s D minor Concerto, a work he admired, played and composed cadenzas for) harking back to an unfinished boyhood Romance cantabile (piano, flute, bassoon) written in Bonn in 1786—an emotionally awakening fragment. Less Haydn’s swarthy ‘Grand Mogul’ than a man of yielding countenance enamoured with a young countess arrived from Trieste. Julie Guicciardi, la bella Guicciardi, turning seventeen, hair dressed à la Titus. ‘I’m out and about again, among people … [my change of life] brought about by a dear charming girl who loves me and whom I love. After two years, I am again enjoying some blissful moments, and it is the first time that—that I feel marriage might bring me happiness. But unfortunately she is not of my station—and now—now I certainly could not marry.’ (16 November 1801).

Source: Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_No._2_(Beethoven )).

Although originally written for Flute, Oboes, Bassoons, Horns & Strings, I created this Arrangement of the Romance in F Major (Op. 50 No. 2) for Piano & Small Orchestra (Flutes, Oboes, English Horns, French Horns, Bassoon, Violins, Violas, Cellos).