These six pieces exist only in a piano version, though there is strong evidence to suggest that they were originally scored for orchestra and also possibly for two violins and cello. The last three minuets contain features in the writing that clearly suggest an orchestral guise. Moreover, the similar Six Minuets, WoO 9, exist in a version for two violins and bass (or cello), and this latter set may have been the final half of the cycle. It is thought that this piano arrangement might have been made a year after the original score, which was lost.

Beethoven's early output is uneven, and that fact could hardly be better illustrated better than in this successive pair of minuet collections. The earlier set clearly lacks the sophistication and imagination of the present group. Each of the items in the WoO 10 set features a trio, and both main section and trio are cast in two parts, with each reprised. All six offer melodic and harmonic appeal, with greater lyricism generally coming in the trios as usual. The well-known Minuet in G is the second item here, and its elegant main theme, one of the composer's most memorable early melodies, demonstrates his skill at fashioning attractive light music. Certainly this minuet conjures colorful images of nobles dancing amid opulent surroundings and captures the atmosphere of late eighteenth-century European high society as well as any music from the period.

© All Music Guide

###

These six pieces exist only in a piano version, though there is strong evidence to suggest that they were originally scored for orchestra and also possibly for two violins and cello. The last three minuets contain features in the writing that clearly suggest an orchestral guise. Moreover, the similar Six Minuets, WoO 9, exist in a version for two violins and bass (or cello), and this latter set may have been the final half of the cycle. It is thought that this piano arrangement might have been made a year after the original score, which was lost.

Beethoven's early output is uneven, and that fact could hardly be better illustrated better than in this successive pair of minuet collections. The earlier set clearly lacks the sophistication and imagination of the present group. Each of the items in the WoO 10 set features a trio, and both main section and trio are cast in two parts, with each reprised. All six offer melodic and harmonic appeal, with greater lyricism generally coming in the trios as usual. The well-known Minuet in G is the second item here, and its elegant main theme, one of the composer's most memorable early melodies, demonstrates his skill at fashioning attractive light music. Certainly this minuet conjures colorful images of nobles dancing amid opulent surroundings and captures the atmosphere of late eighteenth-century European high society as well as any music from the period.

© All Music Guide

Portions of Content Provided by All Music Guide.
© 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. All Music Guide is a registered trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.