Op. 41, for flute and piano, is an arrangement of the Serenade Op. 25. From what I know, the arrangement was made by Franz Xaver Kleinheinz, but Beethoven corrected and approved it, so that makes it worthy of a look to me.
I like this arrangement, and it makes me wonder what might have happened if Beethoven had written a proper flute sonata. (There is Anh 4, which is a nice enough work, but not certainly by Beethoven.) I have always enjoyed Beethoven's handling of the flute, from Op. 25 itself, to the Op. 105 and Op. 107 variations, to the main theme of the first movement of the 7th symphony, which I find to be one of the most beautiful moments in all of his symphonies.
He seemed to have more love for the instrument than Mozart, who seems to have favored the clarinet.
Incidentally, Op. 41 is supposedly for flute or violin, but while I see it played and recorded often enough on the flute, I have never seen anyone play it or record it on the violin. Perhaps the 10 violin sonatas and other chamber works for violin and piano are enough to keep the violinists busy?
I like this arrangement, and it makes me wonder what might have happened if Beethoven had written a proper flute sonata. (There is Anh 4, which is a nice enough work, but not certainly by Beethoven.) I have always enjoyed Beethoven's handling of the flute, from Op. 25 itself, to the Op. 105 and Op. 107 variations, to the main theme of the first movement of the 7th symphony, which I find to be one of the most beautiful moments in all of his symphonies.
He seemed to have more love for the instrument than Mozart, who seems to have favored the clarinet.
Incidentally, Op. 41 is supposedly for flute or violin, but while I see it played and recorded often enough on the flute, I have never seen anyone play it or record it on the violin. Perhaps the 10 violin sonatas and other chamber works for violin and piano are enough to keep the violinists busy?
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