BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Monday, May 28, 1821

J. Riedl’s music shop advertises in today’s Wiener Zeitung at page 3 that they have for sale several works by Ferdinand Ries. These compositions are two sonatas for piano and violin, op.81, and a “Grande Sonate” for piano and violin, op.83. All three of these violin sonatas had been written over a dozen years earlier, but based on the opus numbering are only now being published for the first time. Indeed, Riedl describes them as new music in the ad.

Ries had studied under Beethoven from 1803-1805, and other than Carl Czerny probably was his most accomplished student. Ries assisted Beethoven in various ways and also acted as agent in Great Britain for a number of Beethoven’s later works. It probably pleases Beethoven to see his student’s continued popularity.

The first movement of Ries’ op.83 Grande Sonate are performed here by Eric Grossman and Susan Kagan:

Our next update is June 4.