#Beethoven250 Day 15
Prelude for Piano in F Minor (WoO 55), 1786–87?
Beethoven’s pensive and dreamy prelude was evidently inspired by the F-minor Prelude from Book 1 of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier.
#Beethoven250 Day 15
Prelude for Piano in F Minor (WoO 55), 1786–87?
A private performance of Beethoven’s entrancing F-minor Prelude becomes an intimate dialog between pianist and composer.
In the spring of 1787, the 16-year-old Beethoven had an opportunity to travel to Vienna to meet Mozart and play for him. Mozart reputedly said, “Keep your eyes on him; some day he will give the world something to talk about,” but even if that were true, no lessons resulted.
Beethoven was not taken by Mozart’s piano skills: “he had a fine but choppy way of playing, no legato.” In other words, Mozart played the piano like a harpsichord.
That’s the 15-year age difference: Unlike Beethoven, Mozart had not been adapting to modern keyboard technology.
Beethoven had to cut short his 1787 visit to Vienna. His mother was dying of consumption, and his father had long since become a worthless alcoholic. After his mother died, the 16-year-old Beethoven effectively became the head of his family.