"Duets"

Duets

         Duett mit zwei obligaten Augengläsern

Composed in Vienna between 1796 and 1797, this ch... Read More Composed in Vienna between 1796 and 1797, this charming and humorous chamber work was written for Beethoven himself on viola and his close friend, the wealthy amateur cellist and court official Nikolaus Zmeskall von Domanovecz. Beethoven playfully inscribed the manuscript "with two obbligato eyeglasses," affectionately poking fun at the fact that both performers suffered from poor vision and required spectacles to decipher the intricate musical score. Surviving as an expansive, lyrical Allegro in sonata form and a spirited Minuetto–Trio (with a fragmentary slow movement left incomplete), the duet treats the rich, dark timbres of the two lower strings with brilliant equality, combining expressive contrapuntal dialogues, warm melodic banter, and genial Viennese wit. Read Less