Description
The Menuett, Deutscher Tanz, Kontretanz, and Ecossaise were immensely popular social dances during Beethoven's era. In addition to his sonatas and variations, Beethoven frequently composed accessible dances and collections for solo piano, which are compiled in their entirety for the first time in this volume. These occasional works were not assigned an opus number by Beethoven, and as a result, they are currently cataloged as WoO (Werke ohne Opus, or works without opus). Some of the dances are piano transcriptions of orchestral pieces, as piano reductions for home performance were essential during that period. As expected from a comprehensive Urtext edition, the preface and Critical Notes for this significant collection address the intricate source issues of the individual pieces, as well as the authenticity of these piano arrangements.
