Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Manuscript in the hand of the composer Ferdinando Morini, an arrangement of the Septet in E-flat major, Op. 20, for orchestra, with the piano arrangement by Liszt, n.p. [Florence], n.d. [after 1841]
An orchestral arrangement of Beethoven's Septet by the Italian composer Ferdinando Morini.

Full orchestral score with the piano arrangement copied at the bottom of each page, in two volumes, written by Ferdinando Morini on one 14-stave system and another two-stave system per page. 181 + 158 pages, 430 x 280mm, 20-stave paper, volume I with a decorative calligraphic title page dedicating Morini’s work to ‘Il Principe Giuseppe Poniatowski’ as Director of the Philharmonic Society of Florence, volume II with undecorated title page, titles and text in Italian throughout. Quarter morocco gilt binding, green boards.

Provenance:
(1) Composed and copied by Ferdinando Morini (1790-1879), Florence, violinist and composer in the employ of Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany; Morini’s orchestral arrangement of the Septet is dedicated to his fellow composer Józef Michał Poniatowski (1814-1873).

(2) Otto Haas, London; acquired June 1974.

(3) Schøyen Collection, MS 5419.

The composer and violinist Ferdinando Morini was a great admirer of Beethoven, arranging many of his works for orchestra. The present volumes – both fair copies of his orchestral arrangement of the Septet, identical in terms of music and text, also incorporating Liszt’s 1841 piano arrangement – differ only in their title pages: volume I employs a decorative scheme that suggests it may have been a copy prepared for printing. No published edition survives, however; the two volumes are the only witness to this work.