Beethoven’s Silence

Published in 1804 by J. Baptist Cramer as no.38 of the Studio per il pianoforte op.30

Legend has it that Beethoven was so close to the spirit of Apollo and the Muses that at quiet moments and especially when he was lost in inspiration a soft hum of harmony became audible around him. The attempts to grasp this sound and notate it became known as Beethoven’s Silence. Cramer met Beethoven and spent time with him in the autumn of 1799, as Beethoven was putting the finishing touches on the Pathétique.