Obscurity surrounds the context in which Beethoven composed his Twelve German Dances catalogued as WoO 13. They were apparently written separately over a period of several years, originally for orchestra, but only a piano reduction has survived.
All the Beethoven Twelve German Dances are in simple Minuet and Trio form. All but one has the structure AABBCCDDAB where each section is 8 measures long. The final dance is followed by a rousing coda. Occasionally a suggestion of the orchestration comes through, including drums.
#Beethoven250 Day 82
12 German Dances (WoO 13), c. 1792–97
No one plays these in concert. This is a studio recording.