Beethoven’s first major composition following the Ninth Symphony was a set of six bagatelles published as Opus 126. These follow just two years behind the Opus 119 set of eleven bagatelles, but the differences between the two sets are significant.
In the sketches of the Opus 126 bagatelles, Beethoven wrote “Ciclus von Kleinigkeiten” — a cycle of literally “little things” or “trifles.” The previous Opus 119 set was a mix of old pieces and recent pieces that were originally composed as disparate piano exercises. The Opus 126 set was composed as an integrated cycle rather than a collection. In his letters, Beethoven indicated that these new bagatelles were “more fully worked out and probably the best of this kind which I have composed.” (Letters No. 1321)
The keys of the six Opus 126 bagatelles are a mix of major and minor, but they progress through a series of descending thirds. Beethoven also generally alternates slow and fast tempos, giving a further indication that he intended for these pieces to be performed in sequence.
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6 Bagatelles (Opus 126), 1824
Pianist Anna Radchenko performing in what appears to be an intimate venue in Historischer Rathaussaal in Straubing.
The Opus 126 bagatelles start off slowly with a lovely ¾ cantabile, and it’s hardly noticeable when the time signature briefly changes to 2/4 in the second part. The melody then appears in bass octaves, and towards the end, the high end of the keyboard is explored.
The second of the Opus 126 bagatelles is fast out of the gate, but then seems to have a conversation with a slower talker. The second part is a more lyrical cantabile until the four-note motif introduced at the beginning is isolated and examined.
The third of the Opus 126 bagatelles is the only one that’s through-composed, starting with a slow and stately melody that becomes more fluid and enticing.
The angry minor-key Presto that opens the fourth of the Opus 126 bagatelles is tempered by more conciliatory passages. A major-key section features a left-hand drone accompaniment to a simple but affecting melody that explores the higher edges of the piano range.
Eric Blom wrote that the swaying 6/8 rhythm of the fifth of the Opus 126 bagatelles evokes an “urban, sunny peacefulness that somehow makes one think of Sunday afternoon in the Vienna of Beethoven’s time — perhaps a scene of a family’s walk…” Perhaps.
Beethoven uses a frame for the last of the Opus 126 bagatelles. But accustomed as we are to slow introductions in Beethoven’s music, this is backwards: A brief Presto introduces a long contented Andante middle in three sections, and the opening Presto returns in a coda splash.
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6 Bagatelles (Opus 126), 1824
The sound’s not good, but the bagatelles are played here in two parts on Beethoven’s famous Broadwood piano.