If I was a lottery winner.....sigh...
A rare Beethoven manuscript — actually, a leaf from a late-period sketchbook that the composer apparently tore out and carried in his pocket while composing the “Missa Solemnis” — will be auctioned on Jan. 15 at RR Auctions in Amherst, N.H. The leaf was unknown until 1996, when it was discovered among the papers of Anton Schindler, Beethoven’s friend and early biographer. It was authenticated and auctioned at Sotheby’s in London that year for $110,000.
A spokesman for RR Auctions said that the house expected it to sell for twice as much now. He said that the leaf had changed hands since 1996 and that the current owner, a European collector, wished to remain anonymous.
The page, in ink with pencil additions, is believed to date from around 1820, and is devoted mainly to ideas for the Sanctus section of the “Missa Solemnis,” with fragments of the Benedictus and Gloria as well. The manuscript includes some striking differences from the finished version. At the time, Beethoven was thinking of the Sanctus as a movement in 3/4 time (three beats to the bar). The finished version is in 2/4 (two beats to the bar).
At some point, possibly in 1821, Beethoven appears to have torn the page from the sketchbook and folded it in half, so he could carry it in a pocket and add ideas while he was out and about. The penciled additions are believed to have been added during his walks. Schindler added annotations of his own along the borders, identifying the material on each side.
In a video interview that the house prepared to explain (and show) the manuscript, the musicologist William Kinderman said that the leaf “represents a fascinating missing piece to the main sketchbook Beethoven used during 1820,” adding that “it mirrors his creative process in fascinating ways.”
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/20...ype=blogs&_r=0
A rare Beethoven manuscript — actually, a leaf from a late-period sketchbook that the composer apparently tore out and carried in his pocket while composing the “Missa Solemnis” — will be auctioned on Jan. 15 at RR Auctions in Amherst, N.H. The leaf was unknown until 1996, when it was discovered among the papers of Anton Schindler, Beethoven’s friend and early biographer. It was authenticated and auctioned at Sotheby’s in London that year for $110,000.
A spokesman for RR Auctions said that the house expected it to sell for twice as much now. He said that the leaf had changed hands since 1996 and that the current owner, a European collector, wished to remain anonymous.
The page, in ink with pencil additions, is believed to date from around 1820, and is devoted mainly to ideas for the Sanctus section of the “Missa Solemnis,” with fragments of the Benedictus and Gloria as well. The manuscript includes some striking differences from the finished version. At the time, Beethoven was thinking of the Sanctus as a movement in 3/4 time (three beats to the bar). The finished version is in 2/4 (two beats to the bar).
At some point, possibly in 1821, Beethoven appears to have torn the page from the sketchbook and folded it in half, so he could carry it in a pocket and add ideas while he was out and about. The penciled additions are believed to have been added during his walks. Schindler added annotations of his own along the borders, identifying the material on each side.
In a video interview that the house prepared to explain (and show) the manuscript, the musicologist William Kinderman said that the leaf “represents a fascinating missing piece to the main sketchbook Beethoven used during 1820,” adding that “it mirrors his creative process in fascinating ways.”
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/20...ype=blogs&_r=0
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