Rage Over a Lost Penny
The "Rondo Alla ingharese quasi un capriccio" in G major, Op. 129 (Italian for "Rondo in the Hungarian [i.e. gypsy] style, almost a caprice"), is a rondo for piano written by Ludwig van Beethoven.[1] It is better known by the title Rage Over a Lost Penny, Vented in a Caprice (from German: Die Wut über den verlorenen Groschen, ausgetobt in einer Caprice). This title appears on the autograph manuscript, but not in Beethoven's hand, and has been attributed to his friend Anton Schindler.[2] It is a favourite with audiences and is frequently performed as a showpiece.[2]
Music
Despite the late
= 132–160The indication alla ingharese is of interest, as no such word as "ingharese" exists in standard Italian. To people of Beethoven's day, "Gypsy music" and "Hungarian music" were synonymous terms. Beethoven seems to have conflated alla zingarese (in the Gypsy style) and all'ungherese (in the Hungarian style) to come up with the grotesque hybrid term alla ingharese.[3]
Robert Schumann wrote of the work that "it would be difficult to find anything merrier than this whim... It is the most amiable, harmless anger, similar to that felt when one cannot pull a shoe from off the foot," citing the work as an instance of Beethoven's earthliness against those who exult in a transcendental image of the composer.[4]
Erwin Schulhoff arranged the work for orchestra.
See also
In popular culture
The piece is heard in the Baby Einstein video Baby Shakespeare
References
Notes
- ^ "Rondo a capriccio für Klavier (G-Dur), Op. 129". Beethoven-Haus, Bonn. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
- ^ .
- ISBN 978-0-19-921474-7.
- ISBN 0-520-04685-4.
Sources
- ISBN 0-681-07558-9.
External links
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