Rage Over A Lost Penny, Opus 129 ~ Beethoven

The Rondo alla ingharese quasi un capriccio in G major, Op. 129, is a piano rondo by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is better known by the sub-title “Rage Over a Lost Penny“ (from German: Die Wut über den verlorenen Groschen). This sub-title was provided not by Beethoven but by his friend Anton Schindler. Despite the late opus number, this piece dates from 1795, when Beethoven was 25 years old. He left the piece unpublished and incomplete; it was published in 1828 by Anton Diabelli, who concealed the fact that Beethoven had left it unfinished. It is a favourite with audiences and is frequently performed as an encore The performance time runs between five and six minutes; the tempo of the piece is Allegro vivace (quarter note = 132--160). The indication alla ingharese is of interest, as no such word as “ingharese“ exists in standard Italian. To people of Beethoven’s day, “gypsy music“ and “Hungarian music“ were synonymous terms. Beethoven seems to have conflated alla zingarese (in the gypsy style) and all’ongare