Re-examining Czerny’s and Moscheles’s Metronome Marks for Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas

TLDR: In this article, the provenance and meaning of these metronome marks have remained unclear, which has led to some confusion in the literature, and the authors presented new evidence, including the discovery of what are most likely the metronomes intended for the missing sonatas from the first complete edition by Tobias Haslinger.

Abstract: Shortly after Beethoven’s death, several of his closest associates provided performance indications for editions of his works. Previous discussions of Carl Czerny’s and Ignaz Moscheles’s metronome marks for Beethoven’s piano sonatas have highlighted the importance of these indications for our understanding of the intended performance practice of these works. Nevertheless, the provenance and meaning of these metronome marks have remained unclear, which has led to some confusion in the literature.By presenting new evidence, including the discovery of what are most likely the metronome marks intended for the missing sonatas from the first ‘complete’ edition by Tobias Haslinger, the article presents a more complete overview of the indications in these editions, as well as their chronology. In addition, it also discusses to what degree the editors seem to have influenced each other, which indications are most likely representative of Beethoven’s intended speeds, as well as why the metronome fell out of favour later in the nineteenth century. Finally, it discusses the meaning of these metronome marks for modern performers, and how these editions give options to disentangle the author from the text.

Frequently asked questions

Q1. Who prepared the metronome marks for the piano sonatas?

Since the last two were violinists, it seems very likely that it was Czerny who prepared the metronome marks for the piano sonatas. 

Q2. What is the main cause of the similarity that Rosenblum perceived?

From this it is possible to conclude that since two thirds of the large differences in speed between the early editions are eventually resolved, it seems very likely that Czerny and Moscheles indeed influenced each other, and that this is the main cause of the similarity that Rosenblum perceived, which is primarily found in the later editions. 

Q3. What is the earliest information on the sonatas?

The earliest information indicating a publication date is from a subscription announcement in Haslinger’s publication catalogue from December 1828, which announces that ‘from the first series, which contains the sonatas for solo piano, already eight have been published’.41 On 12 January 1831, the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung reported that 14 sonatas had been published, including WoO 47, opp. 13, 26, 27 no. 1 and 31 no. 2.42 

Q4. What is the speed of the Presto in Haslinger?

A good example is the concluding Presto of op. 27 no. 1, for which Czerny’s only other metronome mark is = 120 in Haslinger, while the Simrock edition contains a much slower = 96, the same speed that is found in Moschsles’s Cramer edition.