Cadenza to Piano Concerto nr. 3, op. 37 (by Beethoven?) Gardi Anhang 2
In 1989, Robert Freeman discovered a number of cadenzas to Beethoven concertos in the archives of the Benedictine Abbey of Melk, Lower Austria. Several of those cadenzas are known and are contemporary copies of cadenzas Beethoven wrote for his concerti in 1809 (probably for Archduke Rudolph). These cadenzas were all copied by Father Robert Stipa (1781-1850), a virtuoso fortepianist who was musical director of the abbey from 1828 until 1833. Stipa noted on the manuscripts that they were copied from Beethoven's handwriting, and internal musicological analysis on the three known cadenzas bears this statement out. The question remains: was this other cadenza also by Beethoven, but copied from an autograph now lost? The possibility is certainly tantalizing. Stylistically, it certainly could be from Beethoven, but it could also be from any number of other composers. Freeman, in his article in Beethoven Forum 1, notes that it is quite unlike the cadenzas written for this concerto by Czerny and Ries, who would be the most likely suspects. At present, we must put this cadenza down as a "possibility" although not a certainty by any means.
Gardi: anh.2
Opus: 37