The Presti – Lagoya Collection Volume 9
Works by Beethoven edited by Frederic Zigante
Berben: score and separate parts (45, 19, and 16 pages respectively)
Reviewed June 11th 2019
This wonderful set of books has now reached nine volumes ( I have heard that there are to be thirteen) and here we have three works by Beethoven , all works without Opus number and originally written for Mandolin and Fortepiano in 1796.
The Adagio Ma Non Troppo WoO 43b is the only work to keep its original key, slightly unusually in that it is Eb Major not the most obvious of keys guitarists might consider writing in. Both guitars have a low D sixth string (not Eb). Given that this is early Beethoven , you are not going to get anything as challenging as the Pathetique , or the Moonlight, but you do get an involving six pages of score with, as one might expect, parts that are considerably difficult without much consideration for open strings, but that inevitably proves to be a worthwhile piece of writing .
The one movement Sonatine WoO 44a has moved from C to G Major, and again has both guitars in dropped D.This Allegro is full of flashy runs of sixteenths that flit from one guitar to the other in a constant fluctuation and is lots of fun yet, once again, takes considerable playing to achieve a good performance .
The final Andante Con Variazioni WoO 44b moves from D to G Major, is also in dropped D tuning, and has a theme, five Variations and a Coda and is great fun throughout.
This is yet another wonderful volume in what has proven to be a landmark set of books.
Chris Dumigan