To his great annoyance, the success of one or the other of these compositions achieved was greater than he would have liked it to be, but even the contempt of the master himself could not keep the audience from loving his outcast children dearly. Beethoven felt similarly about arrangements of his own compositions: he couldn‘t prevent anyone from writing them, but very clearly forbade any arrangements to be sold under his name.

In the 18th century arrangements and occasional music were considered a natural part of musical life - just as today we take the turning on of a radio or CD player for granted. In the shadow of his great works, Beethoven also created enchanting pieces with a special charm. His friend and student Ferdinand Ries proves that even a great symphony, when skilfully reduced and arranged for a salon setting, loses nothing of its power and depth. With a twinkle in our eye we place ourselves with Beethoven‘s Salon Music on the side of the audience - and at the same time at the feet of the master.

Instrumentation

flute, 2 horns, 2 violins, 2 violas, violoncello, contrabass
Alternative

pianoforte, flute, horn, 2 violins, 2 violas, violoncello, contrabass