Beethoven - March for Wind Sextet in B-flat Major, WoO 29

Horns in yellow, clarinets in g and bassons in violet.

This little march is shrouded in controversy and a lot of complexity. First, its instrumentation of pairs of clarinets, horns and bassoons that takes it out of the world of typical band pieces of music. However, its colors and character make it deeply rooted in that domain. It is, however, in its history that the real problems and controversies emerge.

In a slightly modified version, this work appeared as No. 25 in a 1932 publication of 32 pieces written by (Franz) Joseph Haydn for "Flötenühr" (musical clock). Was this an erroneous attribution? Apparently not. Another version of the piece for "Flötenühr" appeared in the early 1800s entitled "March of the Grenadier arranged by Ludwig van Beethoven". The word "arranged" suggests, of course, that the composer did indeed use Haydn's music for this work. On the other hand, the march of the "Grenadier", technically speaking, was for a musical clock, not for a wind ensemble. The second version of this piece, probably written at the same time as the musical clock version was composed, is known simply as "March in B flat for 2 clarinets, 2 horns and 2 bassoons". Hess even assigned a number to the "Grenadier March" as "Hess 107", regarding it as a different piece from the WoO 29 play.

In any case, the "Grenadier's March" contains Haydn's march, only 20 bars long and some music added by Beethoven in the process of transformation. It is, in effect, an arrangement for "Flötenühr" from the March WoO 29 for wind ensemble. Regarding its musical value, it is an attractive but definitely light work, not of great importance among the composer's works. The version for wind ensemble was published posthumously.

Synthesia work.