 An entire movement from a Beethoven masterpiece, which is covered with his feverish crossings-out, revisions and deletions, is coming on to the market for the first time since it was written in 1824.
The composing manuscript of Beethoven's scherzo from the String Quartet Op.127 in E-flat major is one of the most spectacular of the composer's autographs to have appeared on the market. As early as 1801, he had complained to friends that his hearing had become "weaker and weaker" over the previous three years. By the time that he was composing this work, one of his late string quartets, he was completely deaf. The manuscript will be offered in Sotheby's music sale on December 5, when it is expected to excite collectors worldwide into bidding ￡1.5 million. Stephen Roe, head of Sotheby's manuscripts department, said: "To have a whole movement from one of Beethoven's transcendent late masterpieces in the composer's hand is an absolutely exceptional event." In 1999 Sotheby's sold a single page from an unknown string quartet movement of 1817 for ￡150,000. This 31-page manuscript is in a different league. Dr Roe said: "It is an extraordinarily beautiful autograph of an extraordinarily beautiful work. In the late works, he was pushing the boundaries in terms of rhythm, melody and technique of the instruments. "We can see Beethoven's actual creativity in action as he makes his last-minute alterations and additions." "It's a fantastic-looking manuscript," Dr Roe said. "If Beethoven were writing them for sale, he couldn't have written a more interesting one." （Agencies）
| 貝多芬著名作品中的一部完整樂章將首次公開拍賣。這部手稿創作于1824年，上面布滿了貝多芬充滿激情地圈劃、修改和刪除的痕跡。 貝多芬的作品127號降E大調弦樂四重奏中的詼諧曲創作原稿是目前市場出現的貝多芬手稿中最引人注目的作品之一。 早在1801年，貝多芬就曾向他的朋友抱怨說他的聽力在過去的三年中變得“越來越差”。到了他創作這部作品的時候，他的聽力已經完全喪失了。這是他后期創作的弦樂四重奏之一。 12月5日，這部手稿將在蘇富比拍賣行的音樂作品拍賣會上公開拍賣，估計會吸引世界各地的收藏家以150萬英鎊成交。 蘇富比拍賣行手稿拍賣部負責人斯蒂芬·羅博士說：“對于一名作曲家來說，能夠擁有貝多芬后期著作中的一個完整樂章絕對是一件不同尋常的事。” 
1999年，蘇富比拍賣行曾經以15萬英鎊成功拍賣了一部創作于1817年的不知名的弦樂四重奏樂章中的一頁。而貝多芬的這部長達31頁的手稿就不可同日而語了。 羅博士說：“這是一部精妙作品的精妙手稿。貝多芬的后期作品不拘泥于節奏、音律和演奏技巧。” “從他最后修改和添加的部分，我們可以看到貝多芬真實的創作過程。” 羅博士說：“這部手稿看上去棒極了，如果貝多芬當時出售他的創作，那么這是他寫的最精彩的一部了。” （中國日報網站譯）
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Updated: 2003-10-31 01:00
