Beethoven's violin

[Peter]

Originally posted by Rod:
Or even tonight, I forgot I have a computer at home. I must correct something I said above (and which I have now deleted!), this disk IS selling itself as a first for this violin (I think I was drunk when I first read the CD notes). Reading the notes it refers to this violin being one of the famous four instruments B received from Lichnowsky. And yet the description of this violin bears no resemblance to either of the instruments performed by the Schuppanzigh Quartet. I believe the BH regards the current instrument as genuine but makes no reference to the existing instruments, thus one of the others must have nothing to do with Beethoven. Yet the Schuppanzigh CD was published by the BH as being performed using Beethoven's quartet instruments four years AFTER they were aware of the current violin according to the CD notes of the present disk.

There is something going on here. There is only one way to solve it, bring in our local detective, Sherlock Newman!

Yes it seemed odd to me having read the notes on the BHS - they claim the violin was lost until 1995, yet I have a photograph of the complete quartet set from the BH's own bicentenary 1970 book!



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'Man know thyself'

[Rod]

Originally posted by Peter:
Yes it seemed odd to me having read the notes on the BHS - they claim the violin was lost until 1995, yet I have a photograph of the complete quartet set from the BH's own bicentenary 1970 book!

Well if this violin is legitimate, it seems the BH has been guilty of trying to slip it into the Lichnowsky quartet cabinet by stealth! In the Quartet CD I have, the notes go into detail about the violins used and their background, this new violin is definitely not one of those.

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"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin

[Rod]

Originally posted by Gurn Blanston:

Thank you, Peter. I shall have it!

Cheers,
Gurn

I look forward to your review. Considering it has been released on the Harmonia Mundi label the CD should be more readily available than the Beethoven Haus's previous recordings. I hope I am not the only person here who buys this disk.

For the best ever recording of the complete sonatas, by Jaap Schroeder and Jos van Immerseel also on period instruments (Deutche Harmonia Mundi), I'm afraid you'll have less luck. I haven't seen this set in the shops for almost 15 years.

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"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin


[This message has been edited by Rod (edited 08-16-2006).]

[Fidelio]

Originally posted by Rod:
Or even tonight, I forgot I have a computer at home. I must correct something I said above (and which I have now deleted!), this disk IS selling itself as a first for this violin (I think I was drunk when I first read the CD notes). Reading the notes it refers to this violin being one of the famous four instruments B received from Lichnowsky. And yet the description of this violin bears no resemblance to either of the instruments performed by the Schuppanzigh Quartet. I believe the BH regards the current instrument as genuine but makes no reference to the existing instruments, thus one of the others must have nothing to do with Beethoven. Yet the Schuppanzigh CD was published by the BH as being performed using Beethoven's quartet instruments four years AFTER they were aware of the current violin according to the CD notes of the present disk.

There is something going on here. There is only one way to solve it, bring in our local detective, Sherlock Newman!

Here is the reply I received from Dr Michael Ladenburger, Director at BH.

'We had to do a lot of scholarly research after having received this
instrument to find out the provenance and the link to the set of string
quartet instruments. We finish this work years after the CD-project with
the Schuppanzigh-Quartet. It's sometimes problematical but in any case
fine to increase our knowledge about Beethoven. You are right, one of
the violins of the set didn't belong to it once.'

So there we have it?

[Rod]

Originally posted by Fidelio:

Here is the reply I received from Dr Michael Ladenburger, Director at BH.

'We had to do a lot of scholarly research after having received this
instrument to find out the provenance and the link to the set of string
quartet instruments. We finish this work years after the CD-project with
the Schuppanzigh-Quartet. It's sometimes problematical but in any case
fine to increase our knowledge about Beethoven. You are right, one of
the violins of the set didn't belong to it once.'

So there we have it?

Well that was a kind of admission. However the notes in the sonata CD imply the BH being aware of the 'new' violin in 1995 if not earlier, whereas the BH published its quartet CD as using 'Beethoven's instruments' (using the now presumably defunked instrument) in 1999. So as I said it seems they have sneaked the new violin into the cabinet by stealth. But yes I would say now the case is closed, too late for Mr Newman to solve.

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"If I were but of noble birth..." - Rod Corkin