Beethoven
and His Others: Criticism, Difference, and the Composer's Many Voices
by Nicholas Mathew
Beethoven's Voice
"Even if there were no name on the title page, none other could be
conjectured—it is Beethoven through and through!" Thus wrote
Brahms upon seeing the rediscovered manuscript of Beethoven's early Funeral
Cantata for Joseph II. Like many critics before and since, Brahms expressed
absolute confidence in the singularity and power of Beethoven's musical
voice—a voice that pervades each of the composer's works and all
of his oeuvre. To Brahms, Beethoven was as unmistakable as "Beethoven";
hearing his voice was as reliable a test of authenticity as reading his
signature. As Romain Rolland declared some years later: "Each work of
Beethoven bears one name alone—Beethoven."
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