A Little Prelude and the Scherzo That Almost Wasn't: Beethoven's “New Path” and the Early-Nineteenth-Century Bach Revival

Abstract

While residing at his summer lodgings in Heiligenstadt in 1802, Beethoven received a new volume of works by J. S. Bach, including the first printed edition of the then-obscure Six Little Preludes. Within weeks, Beethoven began sketching his Piano Sonata in E♭ Major, Op. 31, no. 3, the second movement (Scherzo) of which features a main theme that bears a striking resemblance to that of the first of Bach's Preludes, BWV 933. This thematic kinship can be shown to constitute a conscious borrowing on Beethoven's part, which is significant from several perspectives, including Beethoven's use of humor in his compositions, his reception of Bach's music, and the implications it holds for understanding his musical output. Viewing Beethoven's Bach allusion through a blend of musical analysis and historical contextualization demonstrates the need for a reconsideration of Beethoven's role in the early-nineteenth-century Bach “revival,” as well as Bach's influence on Beethoven, particularly within the contexts of the Bach revival and Beethoven's concurrent professed “new path.”