Subscription brochure

In 2009, Beethoven-Haus Bonn was able to acquire Beethoven's working manuscript of his last great piano work, his most important cycle of variations. The Diabelli variations op. 120 are in many respects extraordinary. In an unprecedented joint effort, noted artists and numerous public and private sponsors made possible this spectacular acquisition. The facsimile edition makes for the first time this important Beethoven autograph, which was previously in private hands, accessible to all who are interested in viewing it: musicians, musicologists, music lovers and bibliophiles can now experience and profit from this fascinating manuscript. This unique autograph comprises 86 hand written pages. Following the leaf with the prescribed Diabelli theme, it contains the complete cycle of 33 variations, and includes several inserted leaves. Beethoven's compositional process can be recognized by means of the intensive corrections, the far-reaching conceptional alterations and editorial details down to the finest nuance.

The second volume of the facsimile edition is a reproduction of the first edition, in which Beethoven wrote a handwritten dedication to Prince Lobkowitz’s treasurer Wenzel Kaspar von Damm. Thus the facsimile edition offers two authentic sources for direct comparison. In terms of the genesis of Beethoven's work, in his accompanying commentary William Kinderman places the autograph in the context of more than a dozen sketches and drafts. The structure of the autograph, the special character-istics of its handwriting, and several text-critical problems are elucidated by Michael Ladenburger and Bernhard R. Appel.