This Famous Beethoven Piece is Fake – How Did Anyone Fall for This?
Details
| Title | This Famous Beethoven Piece is Fake – How Did Anyone Fall for This? |
| Author | PianoCurio |
| Duration | 8:00 |
| File Format | MP3 / MP4 |
| Original URL | https://youtube.com/watch?v=wCgB1ahIcR8 |
Description
For over a century, “Beethoven’s Farewell to the Piano” fooled many audiences into believing it was his final composition. This 1838 salon piece, published 11 years after Beethoven’s death, became one of the most famous musical forgeries in history. This video reveals how this common 19th century hoax worked and why 19th-century listeners were so easily convinced.
Free score of the piece available from IMSLP:
https://imslp.org/wiki/Waltz_in_F_major,_Anh.15_(Beethoven,_Ludwig_van)
FAQ
Q: Where can I hear the full recordings from this video?
A: These excerpts were recorded exclusively for this video. Full recordings of the featured pieces can be found here: Beethoven Bagatelles Op. 126 (https://youtu.be/-zHJQPmDal0?si=HRlCnltOnjnLH4t1), Beethoven's Adieu to the Piano (https://youtu.be/neMPMuDanFw?si=u7_UK0JZEOWOv8rl), August Eberhard Müller Piano Sonata in B-flat Major, Op. 26 [erroneously attributed to Mozart] (https://youtu.be/ExBZgS0fQ9I?si=Chlw20HsEctresFy)
Q: Who are the performers, and what instruments were used?
A: All of the solo piano performances are my own, using Pianoteq’s historical instrument models (1795 Donhal, 1826 Graf, and 1835 Pleyel fortepianos), played on a Yamaha N1X hybrid piano. The Pixis trio excerpt used in the Liszt story is by the Leonore Trio, full score video here (https://youtu.be/9NR8_GnwHFk?si=PIRCPwCVW8ACo_3r), and the Beethoven Archduke trio ending was played by Camerata Pacifica (https://youtu.be/ezRNLXBbB8Q?si=6LLmozxcWtuH58z3).
Support my channel here:
buymeacoffee.com/pianocurio
Sources:
Moscheles, Charlotte. Recent Music and Musicians as Described in the Diaries and Correspondence of Ignatz Moscheles. New York: Henry Holt, 1879.
Walker, Alan. Franz Liszt: The Virtuoso Years. New York: Knopf, 1982.
Waltz in F major, Anh.15 (Beethoven, Ludwig van). IMSLP. https://imslp.org/wiki/Waltz_in_F_major,_Anh.15_(Beethoven,_Ludwig_van)
Image Archives:
Gallica, Bibliothèque nationale de France — gallica.bnf.fr
