Beethoven: Duet mit zwei obligaten Augengläsern, WoO 32

Introduction

The story behind the naming of this early piece is almost as charming as the music. Biographers surmise that Beethoven and his friend, the amateur cellist Nikolaus Zmeskall, may have played the duet. Beethoven then wrote Zmeskall a letter containing these lines: "Dearest Baron Garbage-truck driver, I am obliged to you for the weakness of your eyes." Perhaps Zmeskall lent Beethven his eyeglasses. Who knows? One thing is certain: the piece exudes a sense of sheer playfulness, similar in spirit (if not style) to Mozart's Duo for Violin and Viola in B-Flat. The dialogue between the two instruments is so jocular that it seems improvised. Like the Unfinished Symphony of Schubert this piece is incomplete. Did Beethoven suddenly get more pressing work, a march, perhaps, or a trio? No matter. What we have is delightful enough.