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 1...(+)
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.
Beethoven's Drei Equali were works written for equal,
or similar, instruments; in the eighteenth century they
were almost always used for funeral services and
usually employed a quartet of Trombones. The most
famous of these were the three Beethoven wrote for the
Linz Cathedral in Austria on All Soul’s Day 1812. Two
of these were adapted later for male voices and were
sung at Beethoven’s funeral.
These pieces are some of the most famous works for
Trombones, no doubt due to the fact that they were
composed by Beethoven. They were commissioned by Franz
Xaver Glöggl, Kappelmeister of the city of Linz, while
Beethoven was visiting his brother. According to later
accounts by Glöggl’s son, although his father had a
complete collection of Trombones (Soprano, Alto, Tenor,
Bass or Quart) the three Equali were performed by a
traditional Quartet of Alto, Tenor and Bass
Trombones.
This interpretation offers a compromise: the original
score and parts are given exactly as written in the
complete works, adapted for Viola, and all four parts
are written in Alto Clef.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven).
Although originally written for Piano, I created this
Interpretation of "Drei Equali" (WoO 30) for Viola
Quartet.
SHEET MUSIC