Premiered in 1813 at a concert in Vienna to benefit the soldiers wounded in the battle of Hanau, Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92 marked the arrival of popular recognition of Beethoven and his music. The piece was performed three times in ten weeks following its premiere. The second movement Allegretto was so popular that it was often performed separately from the rest of the symphony. The Allegretto has the quality of a funeral march, marked by its hypnotic repetition of a quarter note followed by two eighths; as well as alternation between major and minor keys, between strings and winds, and a unique fusion of march, rondo and variation forms.

With the cello and lower string sections being featured by Beethoven in this beautiful Allegretto movement, it is therefore justifiable to transcribe it for a cello ensemble. While there exist transcriptions of the Allegretto’s opening funeral-march section, the current transcription covers the complete movement including the contrasting, delightful middle section. This arrangement is transcribed from the score edited by Henry Charles Litolff (1818-1891) available through the public domain. Transcribed for eight cello parts, parts 1-4 cover the wind parts while parts 5-8 cover the original string parts of the symphony. It can be either played by eight cellists or having multiple players per part. In some passages, the register and chord spacing have been adjusted to fit the range of the cello. Beethoven’s original writing, including all slurs and articulations, has been kept in the score of this transcription as much as possible. Bowing and fingering suggestions by the arranger have been added to the parts.

-Ka-Wai Yu