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THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
LOS ANGELES
VJ
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THE LIFE OF LUDWIG VAX BEETHOVEN
VOLUME III
The Life of
Ludwig van Beethoven
By Alexander Wheelock Thayer
Edited, revised and amended from the original
English manuscript and the German editions
of Hermann Deiters and Hugo Rieinaim, eon-
eluded, and all the documents newly translated
By
Henry Edward Krehbiel
Volume III
Published by
The Beethoven Association
New York
SECOXD PRIXTiyG
Copyright, 1921,
By Henry Edward Krehbiel
From the press of G. Schirmer, Inc., New York
Printed iu the U. S. A.
MU31C
library
Contents of Volume III
PACJE
Chapter I. The Year 1819 — Guardianship of Beethoven's
Nephew Karl — Mother and Uncle in a Legal Struggle —
The Lad's Education — Conversation Books— A Wed-
ding Song — In Travail with the Mass in D — The
Commission for an Oratorio from the Gesellschaft
der Musikfreunde — Visits from Zelter and Friedrich
Schneider — Creative Work of the Year 1
Chapter II. End of the Litigation over the Guardianship of
the Nephew — A Costlv Victory — E. T. A. Hoffmann — An
Analytical Programme — Beethoven's Financial Troub-
les- Adagios and English Hymn -Tunes — Stieler's
Portrait — Arrested as a Vagrant — Negotiations for the
Mass in D begun with Simrock — The Last Pianoforte
Sonatas —Compositions of the Years 18*20 and 18-21 24
Chapter III. The Year 1822 — The Mass in D — Beethoven
and His Publishers — Simrock — Schlesinger — C. F.
Peters -Phantom Masses — Johann van Beethoven :
His Appearance and Character — Becomes His Brother's
Agent — Meetings with Rochlitz and Rossini — Franz
Schuberi 'The Consecration of the House" — Revival
of "Fidelio" — Madame Schroeder-Devrient — The
Bagatelles — A Commission from America 51
CHAPTEB IV. The Year 1823 — The Roman Ritual and
the Mass in D — Subscriptions Asked from Royal
Courts Incidents of the Appeal — Goethe and Cheru-
hini Enlisted as Agents — A Medal from the King of
Prance Further Negotiations with Publishers and
Societies Operatic Projects Consideration of Grill-
parzer's "Melusine" The Diabelli Variations -Summer
Visitors An Englishman's Story — Weber and Julius
Benedict Ries and the Ninth Symphony — Franz Liszt
and Beethoven's Kiss 89
[v]
vi Contexts of Volume III
Chapter V. The Year 1824— The Symphony in D
Minor — Its Technical History — The Choral Finale
and Schiller's "Ode to Joy" — First Performance of the
Work and Portions of the Mass — An Address to
Beethoven — Laborious and Protracted Preparations
for the Concert — A Financial Failure — Beethoven's
False Accusations against Friends and Helpers Drive
Them from the Dinner-Table 144
Chapter VI. Incidents and Labors of the Year 1824 — A
Truce with the Hated Sister-in-Law — The Gesell-
schaft der Musikfreunde's Oratorio — Bernard's Li-
bretto— The Society Forgives Beethoven His Debt and
Elects Him an Honorary Member — Book of "The
Victory of the Cross" — Summer Sojourn at Penzing
Interrupted by Curious Visitors — The London Phil-
harmonic Society Receives the Symphony in D
Minor — Further Negotiations for the Mass — New
Publishers — Probst — Schott and Sons — A Visitor from
London — Beethoven's Opinion of His Predecessors — The
Quartet in E-flat, Op. 127 — Trip to England Deter-
mined Upon 170
Chapter VII. The Year 1825. The Invitation from the
Philharmonic Society of London — The Ninth Symphony
Performed at Aix-la-Chapelle — Mass and Symphony
Delivered to Schott and Sons — Unpleasant Results of an
Attempted Joke on Haslinger — Beethoven and a
Copyist — The String Quartet in E-flat Taken Away
from Schuppanzigh after a First Performance — Karl
Holz — Beethoven Authorizes Him to Write the His-
tory of His Life — Early Biographers — Visits of Rellstab,
Kuhlau, Smart and Others — Sir George Smart's Recol-
lections— Dedication of the Mass in D — Stephan von
Breuning — Wegeler asks Beethoven to Defend the Honor
of His Mother— The Quartets in A Minor and B-flat 186
Chapter VIII. A Year of Sickness and Sorrow — The
Last String Quartets — Wolfmayer Commissions a
"Requiem" and Pays in Advance — Many Works in
petto — Controversy with Prince Galitzin and His
Son— The Fugue in the B-flat Quartet —"Muss es
sein?" — Dedication of the Ninth Symphony — The King
of Prussia and His Gift of a Dubious Diamond — Abbe
Contents of Volume III vii
Stadler — Beethoven Defends M<»/art'> ''Requiem" —
Friedrich Wieck Beethoven (iocs to His Brother's
Summer Home Life at Gneixendorf Relations with
His Brother's Family Young Oxen Thrown into a Panic
Fear The Quartet in F and a New Finale for the
Quartet in B-flat -The Year L826 Beethoven's Last
( lomposil ions i l s
Chapter IX. Karl vau Beethoven — A Wayward Ward
and an Unwise Guardian — Beethoven and Jli^ Graceless
Nephew- An Ill-advised Foster-father — A Profligate
Youth — Effect of the Guardianship on Beethoven's
Character An Unsuccessful Attempt at Self-destruc-
tion— Karl is Made a Soldier ^-i?
Chapter X. The Last Days at Gneixendorf — A Brother's
Warning — Beethoven and His Kinspeople — The Fate-
ful Journey to Vienna — The Fatal Illness — The Physi-
dans and Their Treatment — The Nephew Exonerated
from a Slanderous Accusation — Schindler's Disingenu-
ousness — Dr. Malfatti Forgets a Resentment Harbored
for more than a Decade— Beethoven and Handel's
Scores — A Gift of 100 Pounds Sterling from the London
Philharmonic Society — Eventual Disposition of the
Money — .Metronome Marks for the Ninth Sym-
phony— Death and Burial of Beethoven — His Estate -2<i?
General Index 315
Index to Composition- 344
Chapter I
The Contest for the Guardianship <>f Nephew Karl -Tin1
Conversation Hooks — A Wedding Song — In Travail with
the Mass— The War 1819.
THE key-note for much that must occupy lis in a survey of the
year 1819 is sounded by A New Year's Greeting to Arch-
duke Rudolph. Beethoven invokes all manner of blessings
on the head of his pupil and patron and, begging a continuant- <>t"
gracious benevolences for himself, sets forth a picture of his un-
happy plight.
A terrible occurrence has recently taken place in my family affairs
which for a time robbed me of all my reasoning powers; and to this must
Ik- charged the circumstance that 1 have not called upon Y. R. II. in
person nor made mention of the masterly Variations of my highly honored
and exalted pupil, the favorite of the Muses. I do not dare to express
either by word of mouth or in writing my thanks for the surprise and
favor with which I have been honored, inasmuch as I occupy muck ton
humble a position, nor dare I, much as I would like and ardently as I
lom,' to do so, reunite like with like.
A little boy of eleven years runs away from his uncle to bis
indulgent mother whom he, for months at a time, has not been
allowed to see, although both live within the same city limits.
What else could be expected than that this should now and then
occur? What should be thought of the child's heart if it did not?
And when it did, who but Beethoven would have felt more than a
passing disturbance of bis equanimity at an offense so natural
under the circumstances? But to him it was a "terrible occur-
rence" which for a space robbed him of his reason. No one of
ordinary sensibilities can read the story without strong feelings of
compassion for him not that the boy's freak was in any sense in
itself a grievous misfortune, but because the uncle's sufferings
occasioned by it were SO real and intense.
There is no reason to doubt the mother's assertion that she
sent the cbihl back through the intervention of the police, for this
wa> clearly her best policy, more especially because .she and her
1 i 1
2 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
advisers found in the incident a wished-for occasion to renew her
petition to have her son admitted into the R. I. Convict. It
was this petition, enforced by Hotschevar's long paper and its
accompanying documents, which had led to the question of Beet-
hoven's right to have his case tried by the tribunal of the nobility,
and the negative decision which transferred the whole matter to the
City Magistracy. At this point a few official data are wanting,
and the suspension of Beethoven from the guardianship of his
nephew can only be stated as having been determined by the
magistrates immediately after the beginning of the new year, and
that, in consequence of this, the boy was for a few weeks with his
mother. On January 10, Fanny Giannatasio writes in her diary:
"What Miiller tells me about Beethoven pains me deeply. The
wicked woman has finally succeeded in triumphing over him. He
has been removed from the guardianship1 and the wicked son
returns to the source of his wickedness. I can imagine Beethoven's
grief. It is said that since yesterday he has been entirely alone and
eats apart from the others. He ought to know that Karl is glad
to be with his mother; it would ease the pain of the separation."
On January 7 the magistrates summoned Beethoven (who
still lived in the Gartnergasse), the boy, the mother, Hotschevar
and the curator, Dr. Schonauer, to appear before them on January
11. Of what action was taken that day there is no record, but
Hotschevar's attack brought out a vigorous defense in the shape of
a letter sent by Beethoven to the Magistracy,2 in which he main-
tained the superiority of the educational plan which he was pur-
suing over that which had been proposed by the mother, proclaimed
the magnanimity and virtuousness of all his acts and discharged a
broadside of accusation and insinuation against Madame van Beet-
hoven and the priest who had come to her help. We can make
room for only a few passages:
His exceptional capacity, and partly also his peculiarities, call for
exceptional measures; and I never did a more beneficial or magnanimous
act than when I took my nephew to myself and personally assumed
charge of his education. Seeing that (according to Plutarch) a Philip
did not think it beneath his dignity to direct the education of his son
Alexander and give him the great Aristotle for a teacher because he did
not consider the ordinary teachers suitable, and a Laudon looked after
the education of his son himself, why should not such beautiful and
'He had not been removed, but only temporarily suspended; he retained the super-
vision of the boy's education and at a later period voluntarily resigned the guardianship
for a time.
■See Kalisoher-Shedlork. Vol. II. p. 124 et seq. The letter was dated erroneously
February 1, 1818, instead of 1819.
Beethoven's Appeal to the Magistracy 3
.sublime examples be followed by others? Already during hi> lifetime
Ins father entrusted my nephew to me and 1 confesa that I feel myself
better fitted than anybody else to incite my nephew to virtue and in-
dustry by my men example.
Had the mother been able to subdue her wicked disposition and
permitted my plans to take their quiet development a very favorable
result would have followed; but when a mother of this sort seeks to involve
her child in tin- secrets of her own vulgar and evil surroundings, and in
his tender years a plague for children! ! '.) leads aim astray to deception,
to bribery of my servants, to untruthfulness, by laughing at him when
he tell-, t lie t rut h, yes, even giving him money to awaken in him lu^t -^ and
desires which are harmful, tells him that things are trifles which in
me ami others would lie accounted grave faults, the already difficult task
becomes more difficult and dangerous.
Gifts of fortune may be acquired; morality must be implanted
early, particularly when a child has had the misfortune to suck in such
mother's mill:, was in her care for several years, was put to thoroughly
bad um -s, even had to help deceive his father. Furthermore he will
inherit from >ue and even now I could leave him enough to keep him from
leant while continuing his studies until lie should receive an appoint-
ment. We need only quiet and no more interference from the mother, and
the beautiful goal which 1 have set will be attained.
Ought I now to reply to the intrigues of a Mr. Courtscrivener
Hotschowa [Hotschevar] against me, or to the priest of Mddling, who
is despised by his congregation, who is suspected of being guilty of
illicit intercourse, who lays his pupils military fashion on a form to be
thrashed and could not forgive me because I kept watch on him and
would not permit my uephew to be caned like a brute — ought I? Xo;
the association of these men with Madame van Beethoven bears wit-
ness againsl them both, and only such could make common cause with
Madame van Beethoven against me.
Beethoven accompanied this address with a private letter
presumably to Dr. Tschiska (or Tschischka), an official of the
Magistracy, in which he said:
I am not a guardian from self-interest, but I want to rear a new
monument to myself in my nephew. I do not need my nephew, but he
needs me. Gossip, calumny, are beneath the dignity of a man who is
raising himself up! What is to be done when they even touch the
laundry!?!? I mighl be very sensitive, but the just man must be able to
endure injustice without departing an iota from the right. In this
Bense I shall endure every trial, nothing shall shake my resolution.
A great responsibility would be incurred were my nephew to be wholly
withdrawn from me; moral and even political consequences would follow-
to him. 1 commend him to you ami appeal to your heart for his welfare.
My actions must commend me for his sake, not mine.
We do not know the particulars, but for the present Beethoven
retained the right to look after the further education of the boy;
the right , at least, was not judicially taken away from him or given
4 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
to another. He did not send him again to a public school, but
engaged a private tutor under whose care he continued his studies
in an institute conducted by Joseph Kudlich, of whom he spoke
in great praise. Besides the ordinary subjects, he received in-
struction in French, drawing and music; his religious training was
entrusted to a priest. This state of affairs lasted till the end of
March, when he announced a desire to resign the guardianship —
persuaded to take this step, it is fair to presume, by the magistrates
who, in the end, would have been obliged to remove him. Karl
was living with his mother at the time. According to the court
records, Beethoven left the matter of education "entirely to Kud-
lich," with whom (if a passage in one of the Conversation Books
is read correctly) he seems also to have lived temporarily, and it
was given to him to propose the name of a guardian, either in place
of himself or as an associate. He consulted earnestly with his
friends as to what was to be done with the boy and who should be
his guardian, and those friends were sorely tried by his constitu-
tional indecision. In these consultations, the project of sending
the boy away from Vienna, and the name of Sailer, were mooted.1
"What must be done," Bernard says, "is to select as guardian a
man who has your entire confidence both as respects morality and
pedagogical skill, and with whom you may always remain on
friendly terms concerning the affair. Since Kudlich has more
influence on Karl than Giannatasio, it is my opinion that you seek
no further for someone who would meet every requirement. — It
would merely be very troublesome for you." Beethoven seems
to be in doubt; he had a preference for his friend the magis-
terial Councillor Tuscher, and the project of sending him to
Sailer in Landshut appealed to him. Bernard says again: "If
you want peace of mind I think it wise that you name a guardian
as you were willing to do yesterday. But if it is possible to
send the boy to Sailer at Landshut,2 it would, of course, be
better still, since then you could feel assured that he was in the
best of hands. Even if you have Tuscher as co-guardian, your
case will not be bettered, inasmuch as all cares will still rest on
you. Perhaps Tuscher and Kudlich might jointly assume the
guardianship — this might be very advantageous. All the same,
everything will remain as heretofore, even if you send him away
he will remain with Kudlich until a change has been made. So
long as you are guardian and Karl remains here, you will not
only have all the cares as heretofore, but also be compelled to fight
'These citations are from the Conversation Books.
2Landshut University. It was afterward removed to Munich.
A New Guardian for Karl Appointed 5
the mother and all her intrigues. Have Karl sent for the present
again to Kudlich, meanwhile the matter may be straightened
out."1
Beethoven seems to have expressed a doubt as to Tuscher's
willingness to serve as guardian. Bernard continues: "Perhaps
he might be more easily persuaded it' a co-guardian like Kudlich
were appointed. — It is not necessary to settle everything by to-
morrow. If we go to Omeyer to-morrow morning, then to Tuscher
and Kudlich, we can come to an understanding as to what will be
the best thing to do." Tuscher, if we are correct in recognizing
his handwriting, permitted himself to be persuaded, though a bit
under protest; he foresaw difficulties. The Magistracy at the
suggestion of Beethoven thereupon appointed the Magisterial
Councillor Matthias von Tuscher guardian of the boy on March
26. He was commanded to place his ward, then "living with his
mother, Johanna van Beethoven," in another place for bringing
up and education under proper care, and submit his opinion
touching the proposition of the mother and Hotschevar that he
be entered in a public institute of learning before the expiration
of the second school semester, that Beethoven contribute to the
cost and that the share of the mother's pension and the interest on
the money deposited for the boy be applied to this end. Tuscher
was decidedly of the opinion that the boy must be sent away for
a time and was agreed with the plan of placing him with Prof.
Sailer in Landshut after it had been broached to him. For this
the consent of the Magistracy and the police authorities and a
passport were necessary. In the opinion of one of Beethoven's
advisers (Bach) Tuscher was to be informed of the plan only after
the passport had been obtained, but before the mother, who had
already found "a channel," could take steps to communicate with
Tuscher. Beethoven applied to the city authorities for a pass-
port for two years for his ward. On April 28, the authorities
asked of the Magistracy if there were any objections to the pro-
posed step. The Magistracy objected to the boy's being sent into
a foreign country, but asked Tuscher if he were not willing to
withdraw his application and name an institute in Austria.
Tuscher declined and set forth the great hopes which he placed in
the training to be had of a man like Sailer, who, "because of his
reverence tor the talents of the composer, Beethoven, was es-
pecially bound to him," and hence would bestow upon his charge
'As a matter <>f fad the l>'»y waa with Kudlich after tlii* ami remained then- until
Beethoven wenl t<> Mtfdling. At tin- time of this consultation he waa with his mother.
Kudlich was instructed Dot to permit any communication between him ami his mother.
6 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
the strictest oversight and care, which was of great importance
in the case of a boy who was "extremely cunning and an adept in
every sort of craftiness." In replying to the municipal authorities
the Magistracy (on May 7) conceded the necessity of withdrawing
the boy from his mother's influence, but thought it unnecessary to
send him out of the country on this account, against which the
mother had protested and the curator of the ward, Dr. Schonauer,
had declared himself . The passport was therefore refused. Beet-
hoven had taken a step which seems to have been made to prevent
the widow from securing help for her plans from a source higher
than any that had yet been invoked and to enlist that higher power
in his own behalf. He appealed to Archduke Rudolph to use his
influence with Archduke Ludwig, the youngest brother of Emperor
Franz I, to aid him in his project of sending his nephew far away
from the mother's influence. In the letter written to the Arch-
duke1 he states that it had been his intention to petition Archduke
Ludwig in the premises, but there had thitherto appeared to be no
occasion for so doing for the reason that all the authorities who
had jurisdiction in the matter were convinced of the advisability of
the step, viz.: the Police, the Supervisory Guardianship Court
and the guardian. He had heard, however, that the mother in-
tended to seek an audience of Archduke Ludwig to prevent
the execution of his plan. Convinced that she would stop at
nothing in the way of calumination, he expressed the hope that
his reputation for morality would suffice as a refutation of her
slanders, and that Archduke Rudolph would bear testimony in
his behalf.
The plan to send the nephew out of the country had been
frustrated and had to be abandoned. His mind being filled with
artistic projects of the greatest magnitude, Beethoven was desirous
to pass the summer months again in Modling, and after the experi-
ences of the preceding year nothing could be hoped for his nephew
in that quarter. He came to a realization of the advantages
which Giannatasio's institute had offered and in a letter to Gian-
natasio asked him again to take the lad till other arrangements
had been made. The Giannatasio family were fearful lest such
a proceeding might work harm to their institution, and on June
17 visited Beethoven at Modling to tell him that his wishes
could not be complied with. "Grievously as it pained us,"
Fanny writes in her diary, "to refuse Beethoven anything, I am
yet so convinced of the necessity of the step and that it could do
'It is undated, but to judge by its contents and the sequence of events was written
in May. See Kalischer-Shedlock, Vol. II, p. 134.
Tuscher Relieved of the Guardianship 7
us no good, but on the contrary harm, that I prefer to have it so."
Thereupon the lad was sent to the institute of Joseph Blochlinger.
Claudius Artaria, who was one of the teachers there (1821—1824),
recalled in later years that Karl was one of the older scholars,
"naturally talented, but somewhat conceited because he was the
nephew of Beethoven." He also saw the mother there a few
times, but remembered nothing in particular in connection with
her visits. The lad appears to have prospered during the early
part of his stay at this school. In December, 1811), an unknown
hand writes in a Conversation Book:
A great deal has been gained in that the boy has again become
orderly in his public studies. Plochlinger [sic] moreover, though not
exactly brilliant, seems to be good — the public school system acts as a
restraint on him. — Your nephew looks well; handsome eyes — charm, a
speaking physiognomy, and excellent bearing. I would continue his
education for only two years more. — He is always present, and thus she
can do him no harm. But he is agreed that she spoils the boy. — When
you have accpiired the sole guardianship, then do you decide and he
will obey. — Your views are admirable but not always reconcilable witli
this wretched world. — Would that everybody might understand and
appreciate your love for your nephew.
Tuscher, a member of the Magistracy, was compelled to
recognize that his colleagues were wholly under the influence of
Madame van Beethoven and Hotschevar, and that he could do no
service to his friend or his friend's ward; on July 5, he applied to
be relieved of the guardianship which, he said, had become "in
every respect burdensome and vexatious," on the ground that
"the multiplicity of official duties as well as various other consi-
derations would not permit him longer to administer the othce."
Beethoven took this action in very bad part, and Tuscher shared
the fate of many others of being for a space an object of the com-
poser's critical ill will. Beethoven now served notice on the Magis-
tracy that he would resume the guardianship under the testa-
mentary appointment and that he had placed his ward in Bloeh-
linger's institution. On July 15 he writes to Archduke Rudolph,
lamenting that confusion still reigns in his domestic affairs, no
hope or comfort is in sight, all his structures are blown away, as
if by the wind. "The present proprietor of the institute in which
I have placed my nephew, a pupil of Pestalozzi, IS of the opinion
that it will be difficult to achieve a desirable outcome in the boy's
training— and also that there could be nothing more profitable to
my nephew than absence from the country." In a letter of Sep-
tember 14 to BlSchlinger he writes: "Only the following individual*
8 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
have free access to my nephew, Mr. v. Bernard, Mr. v. Oliva, Mr.
v. Piuk, Recording Secretary. . . . My nephew is not to go out of the
house without my written permission— from which it is plain what
course is to be followed toward the mother — I insist that in
this respect strict obedience be given to what the authorities and
I have ordained."
It is not known whether the Magistracy was immediately
informed of the new steps which Beethoven had taken, or whether
Madame van Beethoven made a presentment of some sort on the
subject. Be that as it may, as chief guardian it determined if
possible to put an end to the continual friction and undertook an
investigation of all the educational experiments which had been
made, arriving at the conclusion that the boy had been "subject
to the whims of Beethoven and had been tossed back and forth
like a ball from one educational institution to another." For
this reason it decreed, on September 17, that Tuscher's request
be granted, but that the guardianship should not again be en-
trusted to Beethoven but to the mother, the natural guardian
under the law, with a capable and honest man as co-guardian.
To this office Leopold Nussbock, municipal Sequestrator, was
appointed. Beethoven protested against the action in a letter
which the Magistracy received on October 31. 1 Having been
absent from the city at the time, "on a matter of business," he
had made no objection to the appointment of Herr Nussbock as
guardian of his nephew, but returning with the intention of re-
maining in Vienna he wished to resume the guardianship, as this
was essential to the welfare of the boy, the mother having neither
the will nor the strength to look after his training. He was the
more insistent on a resumption of this duty since he had learned
that owing to lack of money the boy was to be removed from the
institution which he had selected for him, and he charged that
the mother wished to take her son to her home so that she might
be able to expend his income, including the half of her pension
which she was obliged to devote to his education, upon herself.
He asked that the intermediary guardianship be taken from Nuss-
bock and be restored to him without delay. About the same time
(October 23) he wrote at great length to Dr. Bach, who had now
become his lawyer.2 From this it appears that Madame van
Beethoven had addressed another communication to the Magis-
trates' Court, in which she apparently said or intimated that
Beethoven would, in consequence of the elevation of the Archduke
•Kalischer-Shedlock. Vol. II. p. 149.
*Kalischer-Shedlock, Vol. II, p. 145.
Beethovex Insists on Sole Guardianship 9
to the Archbishopric, be obliged to spend the greater part of his
time in Olmiitz, and had renewed her attacks upon his moral
character. "His Imperial Highness, Eminence and Cardinal"
would unhesitatingly bear witness to his morality, and, as to the
twaddle about Olmiitz, the Archduke would probably spend not
more than six weeks of the year there.
The chief points are that I he recognized at once as sole guardian,
I will accept no co-guardian, that the mother he excluded from inter-
course with her son in the Institute because in view of her immorality
there cannot be enough watchmen there and she confuses the teacher by
her false statements and lies. She also has led her son to tell shameful
lies and make charges against me, and accuses me herself of having
given him too much or too little; but that the claims of humanity may not
be overlooked, she may see her son occasionally at my home in the pre-
sence of his teachers and other excellent men It is my opinion
that you should insist stoutly and irrevocably that I be sole guardian ami
that this unnatural mother shall see her son only at my house; my well
known humanity and culture are a guarantee that my treatment of her
will be no less generous than that given to her son. Moreover, I think
that all this should be done quickly and that if possible we ought to get
the Appellate Court to assume the superior guardianship, as I want my
nephew to be placed in a higher category; neither he nor 1 belong to the
Magistracy under whose guardianship are only innkeepers, shoemakers
and tailors. As regards his present maintenance, it shall be cared for as
long as I live. For the future he has 7,000 florins W.W. of which his
mother has the usufruct during life; also S.OOO fl. (or a little more
since I have reinvested it), the interest on which belongs to him, and
4,000 florins in silver of mine are lying in the bank; as he is to inherit
all my property this belongs to his capital. You will observe that while
because of his great talent (to which the Honorable Magistracy is in-
different) he will not be able at once to support himself, there is already
a superfluity in case of my death.
In a postscript he accuses the mother of wishing to gain pos-
session of her son in order to enjoy all of her pension. In view
of this he had taken counsel as to whether or not he should let her
keep the money and make it good from his own pocket. He bad
been advised not to do so, however, because she would make bad
use of the money. "I have decided, therefore, to set aside the sum
in time. You see again how foolishly the Magistracy is acting in
trying to tear my son wholly from me, since when she dies the boy
will lose this share of the pension and would get along very poorly
without my aid." A few days later Beethoven wrote to Dr.
Bach again, this time to suggest that legal steps be taken to attach
the widow's pension, he having a suspicion thai she was trying
to evade payment of her son's share because she had permitted
10 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
nine months to pass without drawing the pension from the ex-
chequer.
The Magistracy disposed of Beethoven's protest and appli-
cation on November 4, by curtly referring him to the disposition
made of his petition of September 17. Beethoven asked for a
reconsideration of the matter, but without avail, and the only
recourse remaining to him was the appeal to the higher court
which had already been suggested to Dr. Bach. The story of
that appeal belongs to the year 1820. Meanwhile the association
of Councillor Peters with him in the guardianship had been
broached and was the subject of discussion with his friends. In
December Bernard writes in a Conversation Book:
The Magistracy has till now only made a minute of the proceedings
and will now hold a session to arrive at a decision. It is already decided
that you shall have the chief guardianship, but a 2d is to be associated
with you. As no objection can be made to Peters, there will be no
difficulty. The matter will be ordered according to your wishes and
I will take care of Mr. Blochlinger. The mother will not be admitted to
the institute unless you are present, 4 times a year is enough — nor the
guardian either? — The Magistracy has compromised itself nicely.
Bach seems to have advised that the mother be accepted as
co-guardian. He writes: "As co-guardian she will have no au-
thority, only the honor of being associated in the guardianship.
She will be a mere figurehead." Whether the conversations noted
at the time referred to the case on appeal or to the application still
pending before the Magistracy, or some to the one, some to the
other, it is impossible to determine. The record of the refusal of
the Magistracy has not been procured, but the decree of the
Appellate Court gives December 20 as its date.
Frequent citations from the so-called "Conversation Books"
made in the course of the narrative touching the later phases of the
controversy over the guardianship call for some remarks upon this
new source of information opened in this year. In the "Nieder-
rheinische Musikzeitung," No. 28 of 1854, Schindler wrote:
Beethoven's hearing had already become too weak for oral con-
versation, even with the help of an ear-trumpet, in 1818, and recourse
had now to be had to writing. Only in the case of intercourse with
Archduke Rudolph, and here because of his gentle voice, the smallest
of the ear-trumpets remained of service for several years more.
That he was able, partly by the ear and partly by the eye, to
judge of the correctness of the performance of his music, Schindler
states in the same article — a fact also known from manv other
sources; this was the case even to his last year. When, after the
Schindleb am) mi. Conversation Books 11
death of Beethoven, such of bis manuscripts and papers as were
thought to be salable were set apart, there remained in the hands
of von Breuning a lot of letters, documents and Conversation
Books. Tlif estimated value in the inventory of the manuscripts
and the price obtained for them at the auction sale, indicate how
utterly worthless from a pecuniary point of view that other col-
lection was thought to be; as, however, they might be of use to some
future biographer, it was well to have them preserved, and doubt-
less a small gratification to Schindler for his great sacrifices and
very valuable services to Beethoven in these la>t months, the only
one which be as guardian to the absent nephew could make; so Breu-
ning gave them to him. The Conversation Books, counting in as
BUCh those which were really nothing but a sheet or two of paper
loosely folded, were only about 400 in number, or less than fifty
per annum for the last eight and a half years of Beethoven's life —
that being the period which they cover. Schindler, who spoke on
this as on so many other topics frankly and without reserve, said
that he long preserved the books and papers intact, but not finding
any person but himself who placed any value upon them, their
weight and bulk had led him in the course of his long unsettled life
by degrees to destroy those which he deemed to be of little or no
importance. The remainder were, in 1845, transferred to the
Royal Library in Berlin, and, in 1855, when they were examined
for this work, numbered 138. It was but natural that those pre-
served are such as place Schindler's relation to the master in the
strongest light and those deemed by him essential to the full under-
standing of the more important events of Beethoven's last years.
Most of them bear evidence of the deep interest with which Schind-
ler, while they remained in his possession, lived over the past in
them. In many cases he appended the names of the principal
writers; so that one soon learns to distinguish their hands with-
out difficulty; ami occasionally he enriched them with valuable
annotations.1 The larger of them — ordinary blank note-books —
are only of a size and thickness fitted to be carried in the coat-
pocket. It is obvious, therefore, on a moment's reflection, that
at a single sitting with a few friends in an inn or coffee-house, the
pages musl have filled rapidly as the book passed from hand to
hand and one or another wrote question or reply, remark or .state-
ment , a bit of news or a piece of advice. A few such conversations,
one sees, would fill a book, all the sooner as there is no thought of
'That In- vu n<>t always scrupulous in preserving their integrity when they offered
evidence in contradiction of hia printed statements is the conviction of this editor for
reasons which will appear later.
12 The Life of Ludavig van Beethoven
economizing space and each new sentence is usually also a new
paragraph. It strikes one, therefore, that the whole 400 could have
contained but a small portion of the conversations of the period
they covered. This was so. At home a slate or any loose scraps
of paper were commonly used, thus saving a heavy item of expense;
moreover, many who conversed with Beethoven would only write
upon the slate in order to obliterate it immediately, that nothing
should remain exposed to the eyes of others. The books, there-
fore, were for the most part for use when the composer was away
from home, although there were occasions when, it being desirable
to preserve what was written, they were also used there. Hence,
the collection in Berlin can be viewed as little more than scattered
specimens of the conversations of the master's friends and com-
panions, most unequally distributed as to time. For months to-
gether there is nothing or hardly anything; and then again a few
days will fill many scores of leaves. In a few instances Beethoven
has himself written — that is, when in some public place he did not
trust his voice; and memoranda of divers kinds, even of musical
ideas from his pen, are not infrequent. One is surprised to find so
few distinguished names in literature, science and art — Grill-
parzer's forms an exception and he appears only in the later
years; as for the rest, they are for the most part of local Vienna
celebrities.
There is no source of information for the biography of Beet-
hoven which at first sight appears so rich and productive and yet,
to the conscientious writer, proves so provokingly defective and
requires such extreme caution in its use as these Conversation
Books. The oldest of them belongs to the time before us (1819)
and was evidently preserved by Schindler on account of the pro-
tracted conversations on the topic of the nephew. We have al-
ready made several citations from it and shall have frequent
occasion to have recourse to it in the progress of this narrative.
The period in which it was used is approximately fixed by a re-
ference to a concert given by the violinist Franz Clement, at which
he played an introduction and variations on a theme by Beethoven.
This concert took place on April 4, 1819. x The last conversations
Apparently in reply to a question put by Beethoven an unidentified hand writes:
"Poor stuff, — empty — totally ineffective — your theme was in bad hands; with much
monotony he made 15 or 20 variations and put a cadenza (Jermate) in every one, you
may imagine what we had to endure — he has fallen off greatly and looks too old to
entertain with his acrobatics on the violin."
Thayer's industry in the gathering and ordering of material for this biography,
let it be remarked here in grateful tribute, is illustrated in the fact that he made practi-
cally a complete transcript of the Conversation Hooks, laboriously deciphering the
frequently hieroglyphic scrawls, and compiled a mass of supplementary material for the
Mi s» al Surprise at a Wedding 13
in the hook took place aboul the time of Beethoven's removal to
Modling — shortly before and after.
This explanatory digression may serve as a modulation to
more cheerful themes than thai which has occupied us of late.
Though Karl was no longer a member of the Giannatasio
household or pupil of the institute, and though there were, in con-
sequence, fewer meetings between Beethoven and his self-sacri-
ficing friends, their relations remained pleasant, and early in 1819
Beethoven found occasion to supplement his verbal protestations
of gratitude with a deed. Xanni, the younger daughter of Gian-
natasio, was married on February 6, 1819, to Leopold Schmerling.
When the young couple returned to the house after the ceremony
they were greeted by a wedding hymn for tenor solo, men's voices
and pianoforte accompaniment. The performers were hidden in
a corner of the room. When they had finished they stepped forth
from their place of concealment. Beethoven was among them and
he handed the manuscript of the music which he had written to
words of Prof. Stein, who occupied a chair of philosophy at the Uni-
versity and was also tutor in the imperial household,1 to the bride.
purpose of fixing the chronological order of the conversations. The dates of all concerts
and other public events alluded to were established by the examination of newspapers
and other contemporaneous records and the utility of the biographical material greatly
enhanced.
'Madame Pessiak-Schmerling. a daughter of Xanni, recounted this incident
twice in the letters to Thayer. Madame Pessiak possessed a copy of the song. Her
mother had jealously preserved the original, but, together with Beethoven's letters to
Giannatasio, it was stolen. In 1861 Thayer found song and letters among the auto-
graphs owned by William Witt of the firm of Ewer and Co. in London, and obtained
copies of them, but Thayer's copy of the song was not found by this Editor among the
posthumous papers of the author when he examined them in order to set aside the need-
ful material for the completion of this biography. The music of Miss Nanni's hymeneal
ode was forty yean later put to a right royal use. Transposed from (' to A major it was
published for the first time by Ewer and ( d. as a setting to Knglish words on the occasion
of the marriage of Victoria, eldest daughter of Queen Victoria, to Frederick William
of Prussia (afterwards Emperor Frederick III) on January i5, 1858. The title of this
publication, which IS now out of print, was "The Wedding Song, written and by gracious
permission dedicated to Her Royal Highness Victoria. Princess Royal, on her Wedding
Day, by John Oxenford. The music composed by L. van Beethoven. Posthumous
Work." The inscription on the original manuscript, according to Thayer, was "Am
14ten Jennet 1819 — filr F. v. Giannatasio de Rio von L. v. Beethoven."
At the Editor's request Mr. J. S. Shedlock, in 1912, kindly made an investigation
and reported that so far as could be learned from the public records the song had no
place in the wedding ceremonies in ls.">s. Messrs. Novcllo and Co. most courteously
brought forth the old plates from their vaults and had a "pull" of them made for this
Editor's use. The music can not be said to have any other than a curious interest.
A .single stanza will suffice to disclose t he quality of Mr. Oxenford's hymeneal ode:
"Hail, Royal Fair, by love unite, 1;
With ev'ry earthly blessing crown'd;
A people lifts its voice delighted,
And distant nations hear the sound.
All hearts are now with gladness swelling,
All tongues are now of rapture telliug,
A day of heartfelt joy is found!'-
14 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
Beethoven made a single appearance as conductor in this
year. It was on January 17 at a concert given for the benefit of
the Widows and Orphans of the Juridical Faculty of the Univer-
sity. The orchestra was largely composed of amateurs and the
programme began with the overture to "Prometheus" and ended
with the Seventh Symphony. Among the listeners was P. D. A.
Atterbom, the Swedish poet, who wrote a sympathetic account of
it.
In the midst of the worries occasioned by the guardianship,
Beethoven was elected Honorary Member of the Philharmonic
Society of Laibach, an institution which had been founded in 1702
and revived, after repeated interruptions, in 1816. The project of
giving him the distinction had been broached in the councils of the
society in 1808, but Anton Schmith, a physician in Vienna, whose
opinion had been asked, had advised against it, saying: "Beethoven
is as freakish as he is unserviceable." Eleven years later the men of
Laibach had more knowledge or better counsel, and they sent him
a diploma on March 15 through von Tuscher. Acknowledging
the honor on May 4, Beethoven stated that as a mark of apprecia-
tion he was sending, also through the magistrate, an "unpublished"
composition and would hold himself in readiness to serve the society
should it ever need him. There is no direct evidence as to what
composition he had in mind; but in the archives of the Laibach so-
ciety there is a manuscript copy of the Sixth Symphony. It is
not an autograph except as to its title, Beethoven having written
"Sinfonia pastorale" on the cover in red crayon, and corrections
in lead pencil in the music.1
The time for Beethoven's annual summer flitting had come.
Modling was chosen again for the country sojourn and Beethoven
arrived there on May 12, taking lodgings as before in the Hafner
house in the Hauptstrasse. He had, evidently, brought a house-
keeper with him and now engaged a housemaid. The former
endured two months.2 Karl was placed under the tuition of
Blochlinger on June 22. Beethoven, as letters to the Archduke
'Dr. F. Keesbacher, who published a history of the Laibach Philharmonic Society
in 1862, thought that this was the composition sent by Beethoven; but the "Pastoral"
Symphony had been published nearly ten years before — by Breitkopf and Hartel in
May, 1809.
2On the blank leaves of an Almanac for 1819, such as used to be bound in those
useful household publications for the reception of memoranda, Beethoven notes: "Came
to Modling, May 12. ! ! ! Miser sum pauper. . . ." "On May 14 the housemaid in Mr.
came, to receive 6 florins a month. . . . On 29th May Dr. Hasenohrl made his 3rd
visit to K. Tuesday on the 22nd of June my nephew entered the institute of Mr.
Blochlinger at monthly payments in advance of 7.5 florins TV. W. Began to take the
baths here regularly (?) on 28th Monday, for the first (?) time daily." Schindler
adds: "On July 20 gave notice to the housekeeper."
In a Frenzy of Composition 15
dated July \") and August 31 J show, W&S not in the best of lira 1 th,
hut was hard at work on the mass, with an excursion now and then
into the symphony (Ninth). Schindler presents us with a pathe-
tic impressive, almost terrifying picture of the .state to which his
labors lifted him (Ed. of I860, I, 270):
Towards the end of August, accompanied by the musician Johann
Horsalka still living in Vienna, I arrived at the master's borne in Modling.
It was 4 o'clock in the afternoon. As soon as wc entered we learned that
in the morning both servants had gone away, and that there had been ;i
quarrel after midnight which had disturbed all the neighbors, because
as a consequence of a long vigil both had gone to sleep and the food which
had been prepared had become unpalatable. In the living-room, behind
a locked door, we heard the master singing parts of the fugue in the
Credo singing, howling, stamping. After we had been listening a
long time to this almosl awful scene, and were about to go away, the
door opened and Beethoven stood before us with distorted features,
calculated to excite fear. He looked as if he had been in mortal com-
bat with the whole host of contrapuntists, his everlasting enemies.
His first utterances were confused, as if he had been disagreeably sur-
prised at our having overheard him. Then he reached the day's happen-
ings and with obvious restraint he remarked: "Pretty doings, these!
(Saubere Wirthschaft.) Everybody has run away and I haven't had
anything to eat since yesternoon!" I tried to calm him and helped him
to make his toilet. My companion hurried on in advance to the
restaurant of the bathing establishment to have something made ready
for the famished master. Then he complained about the wretched state
of his domestic affairs, but here, for reasons already stated, there was
nothing to be done. Never, it may be said, did so great an artwork as
is the Missa SolemnU see its creation under more adverse circumstances.2
The fact that Beethoven received an advance payment on a
commission for an oratorio which he undertook to write for the
Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde has been mentioned. The sum was
400 florins. It was on August IS. Four days later there was a
meeting of the society at which Landgrave von Fiirstenberg re-
ported3 that on the written application of Prince von Odescalchi,
representing the President, Beethoven had replied that he had
long been desirous to compose a work which would reflect honor
on the society and that he would do his best to expedite it. That
seems to have been the end of the matter for the time being.
'Kalischer-Shedlock, Vol. II. pp. 188 and 189.
Mm his draft f<>r this chapter Thayer wrote: '"In tin- hope of obtaining further par-
ticulars Horsalka's attention was directed to this passage in the copy now before the'
writer. The result is written on the margin in llerr Luib'a hand: 'Horsalka knows
nothing of this'. This incident is doubtless true, but thai Horsalka should not have
remembered it if lie was present, is incredible. Schindler'a queer memory has again
proved treacherous in regard to his companion."
3So Pohl, who wrote ;i history of the •'( resellschaft." informed Thayer in a note.
16 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
There was also during the Modling sojourn a continuation of the
negotiations with Thomson. A Mr. Smith visited Beethoven
bearing a letter from the Scotch publisher which called out a
playful rejoinder in which Beethoven sought to turn an easy play
upon German words into French. Thomson suggested that the
introductions and accompaniments to the Scotch songs be made
easier ("lighter," in the German idiom); they would be so, Beet-
hoven replied, if the compensation were made more difficult
("heavier" would have been his word had he been permitted to use
the German equivalent). As it is, Beethoven's humor becomes
rather ponderous, as see the letter which was written in French by
Beethoven apparently without assistance:
Vienne le 25me Maj, 1819.
Mon cher Ami!
Vous ecrives toujours facile tres — je m'accomode tout mon possible,
mais — mais — mais — Vhonorare pourroit pourtant etre plus difficile, ou
plus-tot pesantel ! ! ! ! Votre ami Mosieur Smith m'a fait grand plaisir
a cause de sa visite chez moi — en Hate, je vous assure, que je serais tou-
jours avec plaisir a votres services — comme j'ai a present votre Addresse
par Mr. Smith, je serai bientot en Etat de vous ecrire plus ample —
Vhonorare pour un Theme avec variations j'ai fixe, dans ma derniere letter
a vous par Messieurs le Friess, a moien dix ducats en or, C'est, je vous
jure malgre cela settlement par complaisance pour vous, puisque je nais
pas besoin, de me meter avec de telles petites choses, mais il faut toujours
pourtant perdre du temps avec de telles bagatelles, et Vhonneur ne permit
pas, de dire a quelqu'un, ce quon en gagne, — je vous souhaite toujours le
bon gout pour la vrai Musique et si vous cries facile — je crier ai difficile
pour facile ! ! I !
Thomson indorsed on this letter: "25 May, 1819. Beethoven.
Some pleasantry on my repeated requests to make his Symphs
and accompgnts. to our National Airs Easy, sent by Mr. John
Smith of Glasg." Another British commission was offered him
about the same time. There are two entries in a Conversation
Book, apparently in the handwriting of Schindler:
The Englishman brought me your letter yesterday and evening
before last I received another one for you through Fries. Another
commission was brought by the other Englishman, the friend of Smith.
A Mr. Donaldson in Edinburgh wants to know if you will not write a
Trio for 3 pianofortes and in the style of your Quintet in E-flat. He
wants to announce it as his property — The remuneration which you
demand is to be paid to you in any way you may select — All the parts of
the Trio must be obbligato. If you do not, write to Donaldson in Edin-
burgh direct. These Englishmen speak of nothing else than their wish
to have you come to England — they give assurance that if you come for
a single winter to England, Scotland and Ireland, you will earn so much
that you can live the rest of your life on the interest.
Meeting between Beethoven and Zelter 17
And again:
The gentleman is going to write to Donaldson — Edinburgh — to-day
— the answer can be here in 4 weeks and the gentleman can be here that
long. Tell him how much you want, when it might be finished and how
you want the payment made. He is very desirous to have a composition
from you and there is no possibility of its being left on your hands —
Moreover it is a great work. If you get 40 ducats for the Sonata he can
doubtless pay 10U. By that time the answer may be here from Edin-
burgh.
Great Britain's monetary reward, had Beethoven accepted
all its invitations, would no doubt have been all that the friend of
"Mr. Donaldson of Edinburgh" stated and in proportion would
have been the appreciation which Beethoven would have fouud at
the hands of the English professional musicians, amateurs and
musical laity.
Pathetic and diverting are the incidents which Karl Friedrich
Zelter relates in letters to Goethe of his attempts to form a closer
acquaintance with Beethoven. Zelter came to Vienna in July.
He says that he wanted to call upon Beethoven, but he was in the
country — nobody knew7 where. This in his first letter which
mentions the subject. On August 16 he writes:
It is said that he is intolerably maussade. Some say that he is a
lunatic. It is easy to talk. God forgive us all our sins! The poor man
is reported as being totally deaf. Now I know what it means to see all
this digital manipulation around me while my fingers are becoming use-
less one after the other. Lately Beethoven went into an eating-house;
he sat himself down to a table and lost himself in thought. After an
hour he calls the waiter. "What do I owe?" "The gentleman has not
eaten anything yet ' "What shall I bring?" "Bring anything you
please, but let me alone!"
Zelter stays in Vienna from July to September, but sees noth-
ing of Beethoven. Then, on September 12, he sets out with
Steiner to visit the master at Modling. On the road they meet
Beethoven, who is on his way to the city. Leaving their carriages
they embrace each other, but conversation with a deaf man not
being practicable on the highway they separate after agreeing to
meet at Steiner's at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Zelter was moved
almost to tears. After a hurried meal he and Steiner hastened
back to Vienna. Let him relate the rest:
After eating we drove back to Vienna at once. Full as a badger
and tired as a dog I lie down and sleep away the time, sleep BO soundly
thai not a thing enters my mind. Then I go to the theatre and when I
see Beethoven there I feel as if I had been struck by lightning. The
same thing happens to him at sight of me, and this is not the place for
18 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
explanations with a deaf man. Now comes the point: In spite of the
things of which Beethoven is accused justly or unjustly, he enjoys a
popular respect such as is bestowed only upon the most excellent.
Steiner had given it out that Beethoven would appear in his little
office, which will hold only six or eight persons, for the first time in
person at 4 o'clock, and invited guests so generously that in a room
crowded to the street, half a hundred brilliant people waited in vain.
I did not get an explanation till next day, when I received a letter from
Beethoven in which he begged my pardon, for he. like me, had passed the
time set for the meeting in blissful sleep.
Zelter's letter calls for a slight rectification. It was not the
next day but four days later that Beethoven wrote him the letter
of explanation, and Zelter's statement that Beethoven had over-
slept himself as he had done was pure assumption — unless he
learned it from another source. Beethoven wrote:
Highly respected Sir:
It is my fault that you were lately besmeared {angeschmiert, that
is, deceived, cheated) as we say here, by me. Unforeseen circumstances
robbed me of the pleasure of passing a few lovely and enjoyable hours,
which would have been profitable to art, with you. I hear that you are
already leaving Vienna day after to-morrow. My country life, to which
I am forced by my poor health, is, however, not as beneficial as usual to
me this year. It may be that I shall come in again day after to-morrow
and if you are not already gone in the afternoon I hope to tell you by
word of mouth with true cordiality how much I esteem you and desire
your friendship (to be near to you).
The autograph of this letter contains what appears to be either
a transcript or a draft of a letter which Zelter either sent or planned
to send to Beethoven. In view of the fact that it shows a different
feeling towards the great composer than that formerly enter-
tained by the teacher of Mendelssohn, it is given here:
To see once more, face to face, in this life the man who brings joy
and edification to so many good people, among whom I of course am
glad to count myself — this was the purpose, worthy friend, for which I
wished to visit you at Modlingen. You met me, and my aim was at
least not wholly frustrated, for I saw your face. I know of the infirmity
which burdens you and you have my sympathy, for I am similarly
afflicted. On the day after to-morrow I go from here to resume my
labors, but I shall never cease to hold you in high respect and to love
you.
Friedrich Schneider, of Dessau, visited Vienna in the fall of
the year and caused a sensation by his organ-playing. He re-
ported that Beethoven had received him graciously and that he,
in turn, had heard the master play the pianoforte, his improvisa-
tion being the most marvellous thing he had ever listened to.
A Composition by Archduke Utdolph 19
In August, Johann van Beethoven bought an estate near Gneixen-
dorf. This brought the brothers together in Vienna during the
winter. Johann was the "landowner" ol a familiar story, and
Beethoven, the "brain owner," seemed at this time disposed to
emulate him. At least he read advertisements of houses for sale
in Modling before the day set for the sale and advised him in the
premises. In the same letter1 he advises Steiner to publish a set
of variat ions composed by the Archduke. "I have mentioned your
name in the matter, inasmuch as I do not believe that you will lose
anything by the transaction, and it is always honorable to print
something by such a Principe Prqfessore." The variations were
on a theme composed by Beethoven and given to his imperial
pupil as a lesson, and had called out the obsequious remarks which
may be read in the New Year's letter to the Archduke. His
remark to Steiner is explained by the fact that on August 31 he
had written to the Archduke as follows:
As regards the masterly variations of Y. I. H. I think they might
be published under the following title, namely:
Theme, or Task
set by L. v. Beeth.
forty times varied
and dedicated to his teacher
by the Most Serene Author.
There are so many requests for them, and eventually this honorable
work will reach the public in garbled copies. Y. I. II. will yourself not
be able to avoid presenting copies here and there: therefore, in the name
of God, among the many consecrations which Y. I. II. is receiving and of
which the world is being informed, let the consecration of Apollo (or the
Christian C&cilia) also be made known. True, Y. I. II. may accuse me of
vanity; but I can assure you that although this dedication is precious
to me and I am really proud of it, this is not at all my aim. 8 publishers
have appealed for it, Artaria, Steiner and a third whose name does not
occur to in.-. To which of the first two shall the Variations be given?
()M this point I await the commands of Y. I. II. Both of them have
offered to print the variations at their owl cost. The question now is
whether Y. 1. II. is satisfied with the title? To the question whether or
not the variations ought to be published, Y. I. II. ought to close your
eyes; if it is done, Y. I. II. may call it a misfortune; but the world trill
think the contrary.
Steiner printed the archducal work in the seventh number of
his "Musical Museum" under a slightly changed title, viz. : "Theme
(Aufgabe) composed by Ludwig van Beethoven, varied forty
times and dedicated to the author by his pupil R[udolph], A[rch-]
'Kaliacher-Shedlock, II. p. 144.
20 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
Dfuke].1 Other evidences of Beethoven's interest in Archduke
Rudolph's studies in composition are to be noted about this time.
On July 29 he wrote to his pupil from Modling, sending him
three poems and asking him to select one for composition, en-
couraging him in these words: "The Austrians now know already
that the spirit of Apollo has newly awakened in the Imperial
family. From all quarters I receive requests for something. The
proprietor of the Modezeitung will appeal to Y. I. H. in writing.
I hope I shall not be accused of bribery — at Court and not a courtier,
what possibilities? ? ! ! !" In this letter, however, there are
words of vaster import, as showing Beethoven's attitude towards
musical evolution. We quote:
. . . but freedom, progress, is the aim in the world of art as in the whole
great universe, and even if we moderns are not so far advanced in
sound technique (Festigkeit) as our forefathers, refinement in manners
has opened many things to us. My exalted pupil in music, already a
fellow-contestant for the laurel of fame, must not subject himself to the
accusation of onesidedness, — et iterum venturus judicare vivos et mortuos.2
^he theme was the melody written for a song beginning "O Hoffnung, du stahlst
die Herzen, vertreibst die Schmerzen," from Tiedge's "Urania." Nohl, without giving
an authority, quotes an inscription on the autograph as follows: "Composed in the spring
of 1818 by L. v. Beethoven in doloribus for H. Imp. Highness the Archduke Rudolph."
Thayer knows nothing about such an inscription, but it does not look like an invention.
In one of the Conversation Books somebody (Dr. Deiters opines it was Peters) writes:
"Fraulein Spitzenberger played the 40 variations by the Archduke for me yesterday.
I know nothing about it, but it seems to me that they were pretty extensively corrected
by you. The critics insist on the same thing." We do not know what reply Beethoven
made and it is a matter of small moment. The same comment has been called out by
many a royal composition since; it was Brahms who said: "Never criticize the compo-
sition of a Royal Highness; — you do not know who may have written it!" In justice
to Archduke Rudolph, however, it deserves to be mentioned that a set of variations on
a melody from Rossini's "Zelmira" composed by him shows pencil corrections in the
hand of Beethoven and they are few and trifling.
2There is a vagueness in this passage, and especially in the words which precede it,
which has exercised the minds of Kochel, Nohl and Deiters; but it is the opinion of the
English Editor that the meaning has been reproduced in the above translation. As
the reader may, however, wish to form his own opinion in the matter, which is certainly
most interesting, the context is given in the original and what might be described as an
expository rendering into English: Ich war in Wicn, vm aus der Bibliothek I. K. II. das
mir Tauglichste auszusuchcn. Die Hauptabsicht ist das geschicinde Treffcn vnd mit der
bessern Kunst-Vereinigung, wobei aber practische Absiehten Ausnahmen machen, wofiir
die Alten zwar doppelt dienen, indem moistens recller Kunstwerih (Genie hat doch nur der
deutsche Handel und Seb. Bach gehabt) allein Freiheit, etc., that is: "I was in Vienna to
seek out some things best suited to my purpose. What is chiefly needed is a quick
recognition of the essential coupled with a better union of the arts [i. e., poetry and
music] in respect of which practical considerations sometimes compel an exception, as
we may learn in a twofold way from the old composers, where we find chiefly stress
laid upon the aristically valuable (among them only the German Handel and Seb.
Bach had genius) but freedom, etc." Beethoven, presumably, was following the in-
junction noted in the Tagcbuch and, for the purposes of the work which then engrossed
him, was consulting authorities on ecclesiastical music. That his mind was full of his
Mass is indicated by the somewhat irrelevant quotation from the text of the Credo.
Was he not essaying a union between the technical perfection of the old masters
and a more truthful, or literal, illustration of the missal text, wherefor freedom was
necessary?
A Painter's Presence Forgotten 21
A number of incidents in Beethoven's life may now he passed
in hurried chronological review: On Oetober 1, he was made an
honorary member of the Mercantile Association (Kaufmannischer
Verein) in Vienna. In the fall Ferdinand Sehimon (1?!»? ls.>2 .
who was musician and opera-singer as well as painter, painted the
portrait which afterward came into the possession of Schindler,
and was engraved by Eduard Eichers for Schindler's biography.1
Sehimon had obtained permission through Schindler to set up his
easel in the chamber adjoining Beethoven's workroom, the com-
poser having resolutely refused a sitting because he was busy on
the Credo of the mass. From this point of vantage he made his
studies and had finished them all but the eyes — the most striking
feature in the portrait. Out of this dilemma Beethoven un-
consciously helped him. He had evidently been impressed with
the discretion, or independence, of the young artist who came with-
out a "good morning" and went without a "good evening," and
invited him to coffee. Thus Sehimon had ample opportunity to
supply the one deficiency in his sketches.
At the end of October, Beethoven returned to Vienna from
Modling, taking lodging this time at No. 16 Josephstadter Glacis,
opposite the Auersberg Palace and near the Blochlinger Institute
where Karl was studying. The guardianship matter soon oc-
cupied his attention; spells of indisposition tormented him; and
financial distress so threatened him that he attempted to nego-
tiate a loan from the banker Hennickstein, and borrowed 750
florins from Steiner.2 Countess Erdody was in Vienna at the end
of the year and he sent her a note on December 11), promising to
visit her soon and scratching down a musical phrase which he
afterwards erased to make of it the New Year canon: "Gliick,
Gltlck zum neuen Jahr.*'
It i> remarkable that Beethoven, under the circumstances
which have been set forth in this chapter, could continue his labors
on the Mass which were his principal occupation during the year;
it was but another proof of the absorbing possession which the
composition of a great work took of him when once fairly begun.
So diligently did he apply himself that he had hopes not only of
finishing it in time for the installation of the Archduke as Areh-
bishop of Olmiitz, but wrote to Hies on November 1" that he had
already nearly completed it and would like to know what could be
. * I
done with it in London. To Schindler. however, in expressing a
'Tin- picture u bow preserved among the rest ol the relics which Schindler de-
pusitnl in Berlin.
ECalischer-Shedlock, II, p. LSI.
22 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
doubt that he would have it done in time for the ceremonial, he
said that every movement had taken on larger dimensions than had
originally been contemplated. Schindler says also that when the
day came, not one of the movements was finished in the eyes of the
composer; yet he alleges that Beethoven brought the completed
Credo with him when he came back to Vienna from Modling.
There is this to be added to these statements: A pocket sketch-
book used in 1820 (it is now in the Beethoven House at Bonn)
shows some sketches for the Credo; and there are memoranda for
the same movement in a Conversation Book used near the close of
the year. That the Gloria had received its final shape is a fair de-
duction from a Conversation Book of the same period. Bernard
(presumably) writes:
It was decided yesterday that you give a concert either on Christ-
mas or some other day. Count Stadion will give the use of the room,
and Schick, Czerny and Janitschek will care for the rest. The programme
is to include a symphony, the Gloria from your mass, the new Sonata
played by you and a grand final chorus. All your works. 4,000 florins
are guaranteed. Only one movement of the mass is to be performed.
The project is mentioned again by another friend, and Beet-
hoven remarks: "It is too late for Christmas, but it might be
possible in Lent." That he worked occasionally on the Ninth
Symphony, especially in the early part of the year, has already been
said. Thomson's commissions occupied some of his time, as well
as a project to extend his labors on folksongs into a wider field.
The second set of Variations on folksong themes which was pub-
lished as Op. 107 in 1820, must be assigned, at least in part, to this
year. He also, as Schindler tells us, composed a set of waltzes
for a band of seven men who played at an inn in the valley of the
Brtihl near Modling, and wrote out the parts for the different in-
struments. These waltzes have disappeared; Schindler tried in
vain to find them a few years later. The canon "Gliick zum neuen
Jahr" was composed for Countess Erdody on the last day of
December, if A. Fuchs, who says that he copied it from the ori-
ginal manuscript, is correct. He also wrote a canon for Steiner in
the summer, as appears from a conversation recorded in a book of
March 20, 1820. An unidentified hand writes:
Last summer you sent a canon infinitus a due to Steiner from
Modling
*e>
Nobody has solved it, but I have solved it. The second voice enters
on the second:
Publications of the Year isid
2:3
4
Violin
it
Bass
>.
t=3
^
«;
5T
V
^
it is infinite.
Go to the devil1
God protect you
was the text.
On September 21 he wrote a canon to the words "Glaube und
hoffe" for the younger Schlesinger, afterwards publisher in Paris,
who was a visitor in Vienna from Berlin at the time, as Beet-
hoven's inscription on the autograph shows. -
The publications of the year 1819 were (1) Two Sonatas for
Pianoforte and Violoncello, Op. 102, dedicated to Countess Er-
dody, by Artaria in Vienna (they had already been published by
Simrock); (2) The Quintet in C minor, Op. 104, arranged from the
Trio, Op. 1, No. 3; (8) Themes and Variations on Motives from
Folksongs, for Pianoforte and Flute or Violin, Op. 105, by Arta-
ria; Pianoforte Sonata in B-flat, Op. 106, dedicated to Archduke
Rudolph, by Artaria.
'"Hoi Euch der Teufel! B'htit Euch Gott!"
•Marx published it f<>r the firsl time mfaesimUe in the appendix of Vol. II of his
biography of Beethoven. In the Collected Works it appears on page ilo, Series i.5.
Chapter II
The Years 1820 and 1821 — End of the Guardianship Litiga-
tion— A Costly Victory — E. T. A. Hoffmann — Financial
Troubles — Adagios and English Hymn-tunes — Arrested
as a Vagrant — Negotiations for the Mass in D — The Last
Pianoforte Sonatas.
ALMOST involuntarily, in passing in review the incidents of
the year whose story has just been told and projecting a
glance into the near future, the question arises: Where, in
these moments of doubt, ill-health, trial, vexation of spirit and
torment of body were the old friends of Beethoven who in the
earlier years had stood by him faithfully and lovingly? Where
was Stephan von Breuning? Alas! he seems to have been an
early sacrifice to Beethoven's obstinate course in respect of his
nephew. Schindler says that he had advised against the adoption
of the boy and thus wounded Beethoven in his most sensitive part.
The temporary estrangement began in 1817. Some others of the
old friends may have been rebuffed in like manner; some, like the
faithful seneschal, Zmeskall, were ill; some were absent from
Vienna — Count Brunswick, Schuppanzigh; some were dead; in
some the flames of friendship may have died down because there
was so little in Beethoven's public life to challenge their sympathy
and support. Count Lichnowsky has dropped out of the narra-
tive and does not appear for some years. What had happened to
the ardent friend of the youthful days, Count Waldstein? There
is no answer. Once a Conversation Book awakens curiosity and
a hope. Somebody warns Beethoven in a public place not to
speak so loud, as everybody is listening. "Count Waldstein is
sitting near; where does he live?" Beethoven's answer is unre-
corded and thus passes the only opportunity which the known
material offers from which might have been learned what caused
the death of that beautiful friendship. Bernard, Schindler, Oliva,
Peters and Bach were near to him, and the last was of incalculable
[24]
Departure of Old Friends 25
value to him in his great trial. But could they replace those who
w ere gone?
Beethoven was become a lonely man — -an enforced seeker of
solitude. No doubt many who would have been glad to give him
their friendship were deterred by the wide-spread reports of his
suspicious, unapproachable, almost repellant nature. But a
miracle happens. Driven in upon himself by the forces which
seem to have been arrayed against him, introspection opens wider
and wider to him the doors of that imagination which in its crea-
tive function, as Ruskin tells us, is "an eminent beholder of things
when and where they are not; a seer that is, in the prophetic sense,
calling the things that are not as though they were; and forever
delighting to dwell on that which is not tangibly present." Now
he proclaims a new evangel, illustrates a higher union of beauty and
truthfulness of expression, exalts art till it enters the realm of
religion.
In the Tagebuch there stands a bold inscription written in
February of the year 1820: "The moral law in us, and the starry
sky above us — Kant."1 This and two other citations, the first
of which Beethoven surely culled from some book, also deserve to
be set down here as mottoes applicable to the creative work which
occupied his mind during the year and thereafter:
'Tis said that art is long and life is fleeting: —
Nay; life is long and brief the span of art!
If e'er her breath vouchsafes with gods a meeting,
A moment's favor 'tis of which we've had a part.
The world is a king and desires flattery in return for favor; but
true art is perverse and will not submit to the mould of flattery.
Famous artists always labor under an embarrassment; — therefore, first
works are the best, though they may have sprung from dark ground.
We can only record the fact that Beethoven began the year
1820, as he had begun its immediate predecessor, by sending a New
Year's greeting to the august pupil who was now almost continu-
ally in his mind— Archduke Rudolph, soon to be Archbishop
and Cardinal2 — before taking up the story of the incubus which
oppressed the composer's mind, the clog which impelled his
creative activities during much of the year — the legal proceedings
'"Two things fill tlit" soul with ever new anil increasing wonder and reverence
theoftener tin- mind dwells upon them — the starry sky above me and the moral law
within me." — Kant's "Criticism of Practical Reason.''
The greeting was in the form of a four-part canon beginning with a short homo-
phonic chorus, the words: "Seiner Kaiserlichen Efoheit! Dem Ershenog Rudolph!
Dem geistlichen Ftlrsten! Alles Gute, alles Schttne!" The autograph is preserved by
the Gesellschaft <ler Musikfreunde in Vienna. B. and EL Ges. Aus. Series XXIII,
page 187.
26 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
concerning the guardianship of nephew Karl. Fortunately for
the tinge of these pages the end is not distant.
Two applications made by Beethoven to the Court of Magis-
trates had been denied and he now asked for a review of these de-
cisions by the Court of Appeals. The action of the Magistracy
had grievously pained him, so he informed the superior tribunal,
and not only had his rights been set aside, but no regard had been
shown for the welfare of his nephew. Against this he now sought
relief, and he set forth his grievances: (1) He was testamentary
appointee and the Landrecht had confirmed him and excluded the
mother; circumstances compelling his absence from Vienna, he
had arranged that Herr Nussbock should be appointed guardian
ad interim; back permanently in the city, his nephew's welfare re-
quired that he resume the guardianship; (2) The higher education
which his nephew's talents demanded neither the mother nor
Nussbock could direct — the former because she was a woman and
had conducted herself in a manner which had led the Landrecht
to exclude her, Nussbock because he was too much occupied with
his duties as Municipal Sequestrator and, having been no more
than a paper-maker, he did not possess the insight and judgment
essential to the scientific education of the ward. (3) Having no
child of his own, his hopes were set on the boy, who was unusually
talented, yet he had been told that he had been held back a year in
his studies and that owing to a lack of funds he was to be taken
from the institution in which he had been placed and given in the
care of his mother; by her mismanagement the boy would be sacri-
ficed, it being the aim of the mother to expend his share of the
pension money on herself. He had declared to the Magistracy his
willingness to defray the costs at the institute and also to engage
other masters for the boy. Being "somewhat hard of hearing"
communication with him was difficult and therefore he had asked
that a co-guardian be appointed in the person of Herr Peters, Prince
Lobkowitzsian Councillor, whose knowledge and moral character
would assure such a training and education as were justified by the
boy's capacity. "I know of no more sacred duty than the care and
education of a child," he observes. He would offer no objection
to the mother's having a "sort of joint-guardianship," but its duties
and privileges should be limited to her visiting him and learning
what plans were making for his education; to permit more would be
to compass the ruin of the boy.1
•The reader who desires to read the documents in full is referred to the German
edition of this biography for the decrees and minutes of the courts and to the Kalischer-
Shedlock collection of letters for Beethoven's pleadings.
An Appeal to a Higher Court 27
This petition was filed Oil January 7. 1820; three days later the
Appellate Court commanded the Magistracy to file a report of the
proceedings had before it, together with all minutes and documents.
The Magistracy complied on February 5, citing its decision of
September 17, 181!), and defending its action on the grounds thai
(a) Beethoven, owing to his deafness and his hat red of the mother
of the ward, was incapable of acting as guardian; (b) the guar-
dianship belonged to the mother by right of law; (c) the com-
mission of an aet of infidelity against her husband in IS 11, for which
she had suffered punishment, was no longer a bar; id) none of
the alleged "injurious disturbances and interferences" had been
definitely set forth or proven:
If under injurious disturbances we are to understand that the
mother is desirous to see her child once every 14 days or 4 weeks, or to
convince herself about the wear and cleanliness of his clothing, or to learn
of his conduct toward his teachers, these can appear injurious only in
the eyes of the appellant; the rest of the world, however, would find it
amiss in a mother if she made inquiry concerning her child only once a
fortnight or month.
Answering the second charge, the magistrates urged that the
appellant seemed to ask of the mother and other guardian that
they themselves educate the boy in the sciences. For this not
even the appellant was fitted, at least he had not demonstrated
such a fitness; he had left the preparation for the higher studies
to others and this the mother and guardian could also do, having,
indeed, a better plan, which was to send the boy to the R. I. Con-
vict, where he would surely make better progress at smaller
expense. Ad tertium, the failure of the boy to advance in his
classes could not be laid to the mother or guardian, but must be
charged against the appellant, who had taken the boy away from
his studies for the university after two months, kept him at home
three months, and sent him to another institution of learning at
the end of June; naturally enough he lost a school year.
The Court of Appeals demanded a more explicit report, which
the Magistracy tiled on February 28, taking advantage of the
opportunity to review the proceedings had before the Land-
recht from tin- beginning, and to make severe strictures on the
conduct of Beethoven in tiling an exhibit (F) with his petition in
support of which no evidence was offered, though because of it
the Landrechi was asked to exclude the mother from the guardian-
ship which belonged to her under the law. Again we quote:
This exclusion can have nothing for its foundation except the
misdemeanor of which the mother was guilty in 1811, for all the rest
tA
28 The Life of Ludyvig van Beethoven
contained in appellant's exhibit F is unproven chatter to which the Land-
recht could give no consideration, but which gives speaking proof of how
i passionately and inimically the appellant has always acted, and still
acts, towards the mother, how little he recks of tearing open wounds that
were healed, since after having endured punishment she stood re-
habilitated; and yet he reproaches her with a transgression for which she
had atoned years before, which had been pardoned by the injured hus-
band himself who petitioned for leniency in her sentence and who had
declared her capable and fit for the guardianship of his son in his last
will and testament, directing that the son be not taken away from his
mother. Regardless of this the appellant last year, certainly not in the
interest of the boy's welfare, inasmuch as we have excellent educational
institutions here, but only to pain the mother, to tear the heart out of
her bosom, attempted to send him out of the country to Landshut.
Fortunately the government authorities, acting on information de-
rived from this court, frustrated the plan by refusing a passport.
Let us try now to take a dispassionate view of the case as thus
far presented in the pleadings and documents. Not only the law
of nature but the lawrs of the land justified the mother in asserting
her right to look after the physical wrell-being of her child and
seeking to enforce it. Dr. Bach seems to have impressed that
fact upon Beethoven, wherefore he declares his willingness in the
bill of appeal to associate her with himself in the guardianship to
that extent. That the Magistrates displayed unusual, not to say
unjudicial zeal in her behalf while defending their own course is
indubitable; but we are in no position to judge of the propriety of
their course, wrhich seems to have been in harmony with the ju-
dicial procedure of the place and period, least of all to condemn
them, so long as it was permitted them so to do, for having made
a stout resistance when their acts were impugned in the appeal to
the higher court. The "Exhibit F," filed in the proceedings before
the Landrecht, has not been found and its contents can only be
guessed at from the allusions to it in the documents. Obviously
it contained aspersions on the moral character of Madame van
Beethoven, and it may have been, nay, probably was, true that
they were unsupported by evidence and therefore undeserving of
consideration in a court either of law or equity. Perhaps they
were not susceptible of legal proof. It has been thought that
Beethoven felt some hesitancy in flaunting evidence of his sister-
in-law's infamy in the face of the world, l but he certainly showed no
disposition to spare her in his letters, nor did he hesitate to accuse
JDr. Deiters remarks on this point: "No doubt Beethoven had hoped to attain his
ends by general statements and thus spare himself the shame and humiliation which
would have followed had he presented the truth, even in disguise, touching the lewdness
and shameless life of his own sister-in-law; and her legal advisers and the members of
the Magisterial Court knew how to turn this fact to their own advantage."
Depravity of Karl's Motheb 29
her of unmentionable things by innuendo. In a Conversation
Book of this year ( 1S-20) he writes of her that she was "horn for
intrigue, accomplished in deceit, mistress of all the arts of dissi-
mulation." On the other hand, it is singular thai the Magistrates
in their final efifort to justify their course have nothing to say ahout
the present moral standing of the woman whose legal and natural
rights they claimed to be upholding. Were they in ignorance of
what we now know, namely, that her conduct had not only been
reprehensible in 1811 (though condoned hy her husband) but-
continued SO after her husband's death? Schindler says that she
gave birth to a child while the case was pending, and that is con-
firmed hv a statement of Nephew Karl's widow,1 that in her old
age Madame van Beethoven lived in Baden with this illegitimate
daughter, who was also a dissolute woman.
But there are many anomalous things to the studious mind in
the proceedings which we are reporting, which differ greatly from
anything which could happen in a court of chancery or probate in
Great Britain or America to-day. It is certainly repugnant to our
present legal ethics that having filed a petition to reverse the action
of one court Beethoven should not only have written private
letters to a judge of the court of review, pleading his case on per-
sonal grounds, but that his counsel should have advised him to
visit members of the higher court to present arguments in his
behalf. But, no doubt, this was consistent with the customs of
Austria a century ago; and it is what happened. Beethoven
writes to Karl Winter, an Appellationsrat, and his lawyer tells
him to engage him and one of his colleagues, Schmerling, in conver-
sation on the subject. Perhaps Winter himself questioned the
propriety of the proceeding, for in a Conversation Book somebody,
who had evidently acted as messenger in the delivery of the letter,
writes: "I gave it to Ilerr v. Winter; he kept me waiting and then
said that he could give no answer, nor involve himself in a cor-
respondence." The letter in question was written on March (>.
In it Beethoven says that he had prepared a memorial which he
would place in his hands in a few days. From the outline given
it is plain that the memorial contained a review of the case since
the deal h of Beet hoven's brother. It had been prepared, said Beet-
hoven, "believing that I owed it to myself to expose the falsity
of the many slanders which have been uttered against me and to
lay hare t lie intrigues of Madame van Beethoven against me to the
injury of her own child, as also to place in it s proper light the eon-
duct of t he Magisl rates' Court ." He charges t hat. t he Magist rates
'Made to Thayer.
30 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
had summoned the widow and her son to a hearing without his
knowledge and, as his nephew had told him, he had been urged and
led on by his mother to make false accusations against him. He
had also forwarded a document which proved the wavering and
partisan conduct of the Magistrates. He repeats the charge about
his nephew's failure to advance in his studies and adds that the
boy had had a hemorrhage which, had he not been on hand, might
almost have cost him his life. These things were not attributable
to Herr Tuscher for the reason that the Magistrates had given him
too little support and he could not proceed with sufficient energy —
this the writer could do in his capacity of uncle, guardian and de-
frayer of expenses. He asks that if it becomes necessary he and his
nephew be examined, cites his expenditures to keep the boy two
years in an educational institution, saying that he had received
nothing from the widow in nearly fourteen months but would con-
tinue to pay the cost unselfishly in the future, and had set apart
4,000 florins which was on deposit in bank and was to go to his
nephew on his death. Moreover, he had expectations from his
relations with the Archbishop of Olmiitz, etc.
The case was prepared shrewdly, carefully and most discreetly
by Dr. Bach, who seems to have exerted an admirable influence on
Beethoven at this crisis. The nature of his advice may be learned
from the communication of Bernard in one of the recorded con-
versations. Bernard is writing, and evidently giving the result of
a consultation with Dr. Bach. The Court of Appeals would ask
another report from the Magistrates and on its receipt would ad-
judge the case. Nussbock, who Dr. Bach said was willing, should
voluntarily retire from the guardianship. Beethoven was asked
as to the appointment of Tuscher; had he resigned permanently or
only temporarily in favor of Tuscher, the better to accomplish the
nephew's removal from his mother? In what manner had Tuscher
abdicated, and had the Magistracy informed Beethoven of the fact?
It was necessary, said the adviser, to proceed with moderation in
all things so as to avoid the appearance of malice, and the mother
should not be assailed if it was at all avoidable, stress being laid
only on the fact that as a woman she ought not to have the direc-
tion of the education of a boy of Karl's age, not having the requisite
fitness. It would also be necessary for him, in case he were asked,
to state his readiness to defrav the cost of the bov's education in
the future and this, if the worst came to the worst, might be fol-
lowed by a threat to withdraw wholly from his care. Reproaches
might be made against him concerning the period when he had the
boy with him, the priests having taken to meddling in the matter,
Appointment of a Joint Guardianship 31
and it would be well in the future not to take the boy to public
eating-houses where he would be observed and scandal fomented.
Bach seems to have advised Beethoven to visit two of the
judges, Winter and Schmerling, and himself had an interview with
the hoy, who told his uncle what the advocate had questioned him
about. For the nonce Karl was on his good behavior. Bloch-
lingei reported favorably on his studies to Bernard, and in a Con-
versation Book the hoy apologized to his uncle for some statements
derogatory to him which he had made to the Magistrates. "She
promised me so many things," he said, "that I could not resist her;
I am sorry that I was so weak at the time and beg your forgiveness;
I will not again permit myself to be led astray. I did not know
what results might follow when I told the Magistrates what I did;
but if there is another examination I will retract all the falsehoods
I uttered." The magisterial commission which followed on March
29, had plainly been held at the instance of the Appellate Court.
Beethoven was solemnly admonished, and in answer to questions
declared: (1) that he still demanded the guardianship of his
nephew under the will and would not relinquish his claim; (2) that
he requested the appointment of Councillor Peters as associate
guardian; (3) that he demanded that Madame van Beethoven be
excluded from the guardianship as she had been by the Landrecht,
and (4) he reiterated his readiness to provide financially for the
care of his ward; he would accept an associate guardian, but not a
sole guardian, as he was convinced that no guardian would care
for his nephew as well as he. In insisting on a renewed declaration
on these points it is likely that the Court of Appeals had some hope
that Beethoven might voluntarily renounce or modify his claims
or the Magistrates recede from their attitude. Neither contingency
occurred, however, and on April 8 the reviewing court issued its
decree in Beethoven's favor, he and Peters being appointed joint
guardians (gemein.schaftliche J'ormiinde), the mother and Xuss-
bock being deposed. The widow now played her last card: — she
appealed to the Emperor, who upheld the Court of Appeals. There
was nothing for the Magistracy to do except to notify the result of
the appeals to Beethoven, Madame van Beethoven, Peters and
Nussbock. This was done on July "-24.
Beethoven had won at last. But at what a cost to himself,
his art, the world! What time, what labor, what energy had he
not taken away from his artistic creations! What had he not
expended in the way of peace of mind, of friendship, of physical
comfort, of wear of brain and nerve-force, for the privilege of keep-
ing the boy to himself, of watching unmolested over his physical
32 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
welfare and directing his intellectual and moral training un-
hindered! Surely such sacrifices, inspired, as we know they were,
by a transcendent sense of duty and profoundest love, merited the
rich reward of which he had dreamed — the devotion of one who
ought to have been all that a son could be, the happiness of seeing
the object of his love grow into a brilliant man and a useful citizen.
Was it vouchsafed him? Let us not in the midst of his present
happiness look too far into the future. Now his joy is unbounded.
He breaks into a jubilation when, in conveying the news to Pinte-
rics — that Pinterics who had sung the bass in "Ta, ta, ta," in honor
of Malzel: "Dr. Bach was my representative in this affair and this
Brook (Bach) was joined by the sea, lightning, thunder, a tem-
pest, and the magisterial brigantine suffered complete shipwreck!"
Schindler says that "his happiness over the triumph which he had
won over wickedness and trickery, but also because of the sup-
posed salvation from physical danger of his talented nephew, was
so great that he worked but little or not at all all summer — though
this was perhaps more apparent than real, the sketchbooks dis-
closing from now on only empty pages." A wise qualification, for
though the sketchbooks may have been empty, there is evidence
enough elsewhere of hard work. Yet the Mass was not finished,
and for this unfortunate circumstance the guardianship trial
was no doubt largely to blame. To this subject we shall return
presently.
Of Peters, who was appointed joint guardian with Beethoven
of the nephew, little is known beyond what we learn from Beet-
hoven and Peters's contributions to the Conversation Books.
He was a tutor in the house of Prince Lobkowitz and had been on
terms of friendship with Beethoven since 1816; his appointment
by the court is a confirmation of Beethoven's tribute to him as a
man of intellectual parts and of good moral character. His wife
had a good voice and was a great admirer of Beethoven, who pre-
sented her with a copy of the song cycle "An die feme Geliebte."
A letter, once in the possession of John Ella in London, which may
be of earlier date than 1821, to which year it is, however, most
naturally assigned in view of the allusion to the "state burden"
(the nephew), runs as follows:
How are you? Are you well or ill? How is your wife? Permit
me to sing something for you:
Canon (Lively)
tr r r r -H- » rn
Saint Pe - ter was a rock! St.
Bad Conduct of Nephew Karl 33
Canon (Drawn out and drapsecT)
rthV" hT i' if r I " IP^fl
Her - nar - dus was a Sainl? I • r-
How are vour young princes? Will you be at home this afternoon
at 5 o'eloek? Perhaps I'll visit you together with my jr/afr' harden.
Nephew Karl remained at Blflchlinger's institute and con-
tinued to cause worry and anxiety to his uncle. Reports concern-
ing his conduct and studies were variable from different persons
and at different times. Blochlinger complained that lie needed
constant supervision: "Had we not always been strict with him, he
would not be where he is now." A cleric declares that he was at
heart not a bad child but had been harmed by bad examples.
"Karl has little feeling and in spite of the knowledge for which he
is praised he has no reasoning powers," writes an unidentified per-
son in the Conversation Book, surely not to the satisfaction of the
uncle who was always setting forth his nephew's exceptional talent.
In June somebody else (this time it may have been Oliva) feels
constrained to write: "The boy lies every time he opens his mouth."
The "terrible occurrence" which had almost crushed Beethoven in
December, 1818, repeats itself, fortunately without such dire
results to the too sympathetic uncle: In June, instead of coming
to an oral examination, Karl ran away to his mother. Madame
Blochlinger had to take a coach and servant and bring him back to
the school; and to get him away from Madame van Beethoven,
who was disposed to keep him in concealment, had to promise to
see to it that he should not be punished for his naughtiness. Now
Blochlinger, who says that the presence of Madame van Beethoven
"poisons the air," wants the woman excluded from his house and
asks for a power of attorney to call in the help of the police every
time that Karl shall go to his mother, whom he calls a "notorious
-trumpet," of whose presence in his house he must needs be
ashamed. All this was told to Beethoven by Bernard, who had
learned it from Bhichlinger. Beethoven went for advice to Bach,
who told his client that it was impracticable to get a judicial
writ againsl the mother enjoining her from meeting her son, and
impossible to prevent secret meetings and secret correspondence.
The practical solution of the problem was to have Blochlinger
refuse to admit the woman to his institute and compel her to see
Karl at his uncle's home. This would serve the purpose to some
extent, as the mother did not like to meet her brother-in-law.
The enthronization of Beethoven's imperial pupil as Arch-
bishop of Olmutz took place on March 20*. The Mass which was
34 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
to have been the composer's tribute was still unfinished. The
reader knows why, or at least has been provided with an oppor-
tunity to form an opinion as to the reason. It may have been for
the purpose of offering an explanation to the new dignitary of the
church, that Beethoven sought an audience as he states in a letter
of April 3. The Archducal Archbishop had gone to Olmiitz and
Beethoven wants to know his plans for the immediate future.
He had heard that H. I. H. was to return to Vienna in May, but
also that he intended to be absent for a year and a half. If so,
Beethoven deplores that he has made plans for himself which are
unwise. He begs H. I. H. not to give credence to the false re-
ports concerning himself (Beethoven) which might reach his ears:
"If Y. I. H. calls me one of your most treasured objects, I can
honestly say that Y. I. H. is to me one of the most treasured ob-
jects in the universe. Although I am no courtier, I believe that
Y. I. H. has learned to know me well enough to know that no cold
interest, but a sincere affection, has always attached me to your-
self and inspired me; and I might well say that Blondel was found
long ago, and if no Richard is to be found in the world for me, God
will be my Richard." He has evidently concerned himself about
the music at the court in Olmiitz: "It appears to me that my idea
to maintain a quartet will certainly be the best thing to do. If
there are already productions on a large scale in Olmiitz, something
admirable might arise in Moravia through a quartet/' He advises
his pupil, in case it is his purpose to return in May, to keep his
compositions till then so as to play them first to him; but if his
stay is to be longer, he will receive the compositions with the great-
est pleasure and seek to guide H. I. H. "to the highest peaks
of Parnassus."
A reference to himself as one who was at court yet not a
courtier had been made by Beethoven in an earlier letter. This
play on words seems to have been much in his head about this
time and it is small wonder that when an opportunity offered for
the employment of the pun in a canon it should have been em-
braced; in fact, it looks as if possibly he had strained for the oc-
casion, unless it should appear from evidence yet to be found that
"One who was named Hoffmann," in Beethoven's words, was, as
was long believed, the redoubtable E. T. A. Hoffmann, who had
surely deserved the tribute contained in a canon which Beethoven
wrote at this time. In the Conversation Book used in March, 1820,
a strange hand writes: "In the Phantasic-Stiicke by Hoffmann, you
are often spoken of. Hoffmann was musical director in Bamberg;
he is now Government Councillor. Operas of his composition are
A Punning Canon ox Hofmann 35
performed in Berlin." Beethoven remarks, in writing: "Hofmann
du bist kein Ilofmann." Later in a conversation held at table,
these words occur twice: "Hofmann -r sei ja kein Hofmann —
nein -f- -f- -r ich heisse Hofmann und bin kein Hofmann."
These words are preceded by a measure of music, the beginning
of the canon in question. Did Beethoven thus honor the fantastic
poet, musician, novelist, essayist, singer, scene-painter and thea-
trical manager who had shown such keen critical appreciation of
his symphonies? It was long a pleasure to believe so and natural,
too, until Nottebohm came with his iconoclastic evidence to the
contrary. On March 23 Beethoven had written a letter to Hoff-
mann, expressing his gratification at having won the good opinion
of a man gifted with such excellent attributes as Hoffmann pos-
sessed. Had he written the canon at this time he would surelv
■
have enclosed it in this letter and then, since it was preserved
among Hoffmann's papers, it would have been found and given to
the world with the letter. But Beethoven kept the canon in his
mind or had a copy of it, and printed it in 18w25, when B. Schott's
Sons in Mavence asked him for a contribution to their musical
journal "Caeilia," which had been founded a year before. Now
comes Xottebohm with his evidence in the case. A man named
Gross was once the owner of the autograph and his son told Xotte-
bohm that it had been written in the Matschaker Hof. a tavern at
which Beethoven was dining at the time, and referred to a church
musician named Vincenz Hoffmann, as the informant remembered
the name. Xottebohm looked through the official lists of mu-
sicians in Vienna in the first decades of the century; he did not find
a Vincenz, but did find a Joachim Hoffmann who might have been
an acquaintance of Beethoven s; and so he set him down as the
recipient of the composer's tribute.1
In the summer of ISSO, Beethoven went to Modling again,
but he did not take the lodgings in the Harfner house for the very
sufficient reason that the proprietor had served notice on him in
1S1!>, that he could not have it longer on account of the noisy
disturbances which had taken place there. He took a house in-
stead in the Babenbergerstrasse and paid twelve florins extra
for the use of a balcony which commanded a view which was es-
sential to his happiness. He takes the baths and receives a
'Hero, as in several other cases, in which opinions only and not definitely ascer-
tained (acta are concerned, the present Editor la inclined to attach aa much importance
to Thayer's judgment aa to that of his critics and revisers. Thayer's working copy
of his "Chronologischea Verseichnias," which containa annotationa of a much later date
than Nottebohm a publication in the "Thematischea Vera iss" which he edited for
Breitkopf and Bartel, pays no attention to Nottebohm"* conclusion.
36 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
visit from his nephew, who probably stays with him during his
school vacation; at any rate, the boy does not return to Vienna
until October 5, on which day the Giannatasios, making an ex-
cursion to Modling, meet him with Karl driving to town. There
is at this time considerable talk in the Conversation Book of pub-
lishing a complete edition of Beethoven's works. Bernard, pro-
bably, tells him that Steiner is already counting on it and Schindler,
who is enthusiastic over the project, gives it as his opinion that
arrangements must be made with a Vienna publisher so as to
avoid voluminous correspondence. Somebody remarks: "Eck-
stein will so arrange it that you will always get all the profits and
will also publish your future works as your property. He thinks
that every fourth or fifth piece should be a new one." The plan
appealed strongly to Beethoven, but nothing came of it at the time,
though we shall hear of it later. It was the discussion of it, prob-
ably, by his friends which brought out a letter from Beethoven
to Haslinger, "best of Adjutants," asking him to decide a bet.
Beethoven had wagered 10 florins that it was not true that the
Steiners had been obliged to pay Artaria 2000 florins damages for
having published Mozart's works, which were reprinted univer-
sally.
Towards the end of October, Beethoven returned to Vienna
and took lodgings at No. 244 Hauptstrasse in the Landstrasse,
"the large house of the Augustinians" beside the church. There
he was visited by Dr. W. Chr. Miiller of Bremen, a philologist and
musical amateur who had long admired Beethoven and, with the
help of his "Family Concerts," established in 1782, had created
such a cult for Beethoven's music as existed in no city in Germany
in the second decade of the nineteenth century — according to
Schindler. Miiller 's daughter Elise played the sonatas exception-
ally well and was largely instrumental with her father in creating
this cult. Miiller was making an Italian tour, visited Vienna in
October and November and published an account of his meetings
with Beethoven in the "Allg. Musik. Zeit." in 1827. In this he
tells of Beethoven's freedom of speech at public eating-houses,
where he would criticize the Austrian government, the morals of
the aristocracy, the police, etc., without stint. The police paid
no attention to his utterances, either because they looked upon
him as a harmless fantastic or had an overwhelming respect for
his artistic genius. "Hence," says Dr. Miiller, "his opinion that
nowhere was speech freer than in Vienna; but his ideal of a polit-
ical constitution was the English one." It was through Dr.
Miiller that we know somewhat of Beethoven's views on the
"Programme" fob the Seventh Symphoni 37
Biibjecl of analytical programmes. Among the zealous promoters
of the Beethoven cult in Bremen, was a young port Darned Dr.
Karl Iken, editor of the "Bremer Zeitung," who, inspired by the
Familien-Concerte, conceived the Idea of helping the public to an
understanding of Beethoven's music by writing programmatic
expositions of the symphonies for perusal before the concerts.
Some of his lucubrations were smt to Beethoven by Dr. Mttller,
and aroused the composer's ire. Schindler found four of these
"programmes" among Beethoven's papers, and he gave the world
a specimen. In the Seventh Symphony, Dr. Iken professed to
Bee a political revolution.
The sign of revolt is given; there is a rushing and running ahout
of the multitude; an innocent man, or party, is surrounded, overpowered
after a struggle and haled before a legal tribunal. Innoeency weep-,; t be
judge pronounces a harsh sentence; sympathetic voices mingle in la-
ments and denunciations — they are those of widows and orphans; in
the second part of the first movement the parties have become equal in
numbers and the magistrates are now scarcely able to quiet the wild
tumult. The uprising is suppressed, but the people are not quieted;
hope smiles cheeringly and suddenly the voice of the people pronounces
the decision in harmonious agreement. . . . But now, in the last move-
ment, the classes and the masses mix in a variegated picture of unre-
strained revelry. The quality still speak aloofly in the wind-instruments,
— strange bacchantic madness in related chords — pauses, now here, now
there — now on a sunny hill, anon on flowery meadow where in merry May
all the jubilating children of nature vie with each other with joyful
voices — float past the fancy.
It is scarcely to be wondered at that such balderdash dis-
gusted and even enraged Beethoven. In the fall of 1819, he dic-
tated a letter to Mttller — it lias, unfortunately been lost — in which
he protested energetically against such interpretations of his music.
He pointed out, says Schindler, who wrote the letter for him, the
errors to which such writings would inevitably give rise. If
expositions were necessary, they should be confined to charac-
terization of the composition in general terms, which could easily
and correctly be done bv anv educated musician.
Beethoven's complaints concerning his financial condition
were chronic and did not cease even in periods where extra-
ordinary receipts make them difficult to understand. That the
lamentations in his letters during the two years which we have in
review were well-founded, however, i> no doubt true. With so
engrossing a work as the "Missa Solemnis"on hand t here could not
have been much time for such potboilers as he mentions and the
other sources of revenue were not many. From the records which
are at hand, we know something about a few of his monetary
38 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
transactions. On October 26, 1820, he collected 300 florins on
account, apparently, from Artaria and Co., through his old friend
Oliva. Shortly after his return to Vienna from the country, he
asks the same firm, from which he had borrowed 750 florins,1 for a
further loan of 150 to save himself the necessity of selling one of
his bank shares. These shares, it will be remembered in partial
extenuation or at least explanation of some of his actions which
are scarcely compatible with his protestations of his unswerving
honesty in business transactions, had been set apart by him as
his nephew's legacy and he clung to them as to a sacred pledge.
He promises to repay Artaria in three months and meanwhile to
send him a composition in one, two or more movements, with-
out honorarium. An incident which shows him in an unamiable
light is connected with his financial relations with the publisher
Steiner. On December 29, 1820, Steiner wrote him a letter which
did not see the public eye until published in the "Neue Freie
Presse" newspaper of Vienna on August 17, 1900. Steiner had
sent Beethoven a dun, or at least a statement of account, and
Beethoven had, evidently, been both rude and unreasonable in
his reply. We quote from Steiner:
I cannot rest content with your remarks concerning the account
sent you; for the cash money loaned you I have charged you only 6%
interest, while for the money which you deposited with me I paid you
8% promptly in advance and also repaid the capital promptly. What is
sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander (Was also dem Einen recht ist,
muss dem Andern billig sein). I am not in a position to lend money
without interest. As a friend I came to your help in need, I trusted
your word of honor and believe that I have not been importunate, nor
have I plagued you in any way; wherefore I must solemnly protest against
your upbraidings. If you recall that my loan to you was made in part
5 years ago, you will yourself confess that I am not an urgent creditor.
I would spare you even now and wait patiently if I were not on my honor
in need of cash for my business. If I were less convinced that you are
really in a position to give me relief and able to keep your word of honor
I would, difficult as it would be for me, right gladly remain patient a
while longer; but when I remember that I myself returned to you
4,000 florins, conventional coin, or 10,000 florins, Vienna Standard, as
capital 17 months ago and at your request did not deduct the amount
due me, it is doubly painful to me now to be embarrassed because of my
good will and my trust in your word of honor. Every man knows best
where the shoe pinches and I am in this case; wherefore I conjure you
again not to leave me in the lurch and to find means to liquidate my
account as soon as possible.
As for the rest I beg you to accept from me the compliments of the
season together with the request that you continue to give me your
"See the letter in the Kalischer-Shedlock Coll. II, 178.
Indebtedness to Steineb 39
favor and friendship. It will rejoice me if you keep your word and honor
me Boon with a visit; it rejoices me more thai you have happily wit h-
stood your illness and arc again restored to health. God preserve you
long in health, contentmenl and enjoyment, this is the wish of your
wholly devoted
S. A. Steiner.
The letter contains pencil memoranda by Beethoven. He
has evidently added together the various sums which he owes
Steiner and they amount to 2420 florins \Y. W. He remarks that
1300 florins was received "probably" in 1816 or 1817; 750 florins
"perhaps" in 1819; 300 florins '"are debts which I assumed for
Madame van Beethoven and can he chargeable for only a few year-;
the ?<) florins may have been for myself in 1S19. Payment may
be made of 1200 florins a year in semi-annual payments." A
further memorandum on the cover notes Steiner's willingness to
accept payments on April 15 and October 15, 1821. The settle-
ments seem to have been made. On April 1, 1821, Beethoven
collected 600 florins from the estate of Kinsky, being one-half of
the annuity for the year September ISOO to September 1821.
He also persuaded his friend Franz Brentano to advance him
money on the amount for which he sold the "Missa Solemnis" to
Simrock in Bonn, though he did not give him the Mass for publi-
cation in the end. But this is a matter which can be better dis-
cussed in connection with the incidents in the history of the com-
positions which fall within the present period.
The beginning of the year 1821 found him still at his home in
the suburb Landst rasse, and, it would seem, working as hard as
his health permitted. When he went to the country for the
summer he went to Unterdobling and thence, after September,
to Baden to take a cure prescribed by his physician, Dr. Stauden-
heimer. In Baden he lived in the Rathshausgasse. He had
suffered from rheumatism during the preceding winter and now
becalm- a victim of jaundice, for which, no doubt, he was sen! to
Baden, though he had gotten rid of the disease to some extent at
least by the end of August. The cure prescribed by Stauden-
heinier was more severe than he could endure and. as he writes to
Franz Brentano on November 10, 182 1 . he had to "flee to Vienna,"
where he was more comfortable. The attack of jaundice may
have been an (irnnf-fonricr of the disease of the liver which broughl
him to the grave six years later. He expresses B bar in a letter to
the Archduke (July IS, 1821) that it might prevent him for a
lontf time from waiting upon his pupil. There is the usual mone-
tary complain! in the letter, which concludes with: "God who
40 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
knows my heart and how sacredly I fulfill all the duties com-
manded by humanity, God and nature will some day free me from
this affliction."
In 1820 the voice of an old English admirer reaches him with
a request which must have seemed strange to him. William
Gardiner, as has been told in the chapter in the first volume of this
work devoted to the compositions of the Bonn period, was one of
the first proclaimers of Beethoven's evangel in England. He had
now compiled and composed a sort of pasticcio, an oratorio en-
titled "Judah," piecing the work out with original compositions
where he had failed to find music written by others which he could
use. In his book "Music and Friends" (III, 377) he relates that
he had hoped to get an original composition for "Judah" in the
shape of an appropriate overture, and to this end had written a
letter to Beethoven and forwarded it to Vienna through Baron
Neumann of the Austrian Embassy, who, on receiving it, had re-
marked that it was doubtful if an answer would be received, as
Beethoven held no communication with the world. Gardiner's
letter was as follows:
To Louis van Beethoven.
Dear Sir:
At the house of Lady Bowater in Leicestershire in 1796, I met
with your Trio in E-flat (for Violin, Viola and Bass). Its originality
and beauty gave me inexpressible delight; indeed it was a new sense to
me. Ever since I have anxiously endeavoured to procure your composi-
tions as much so as the war could permit. Allow me to present to you
the first volume of my "Sacred Melodies" which contain your divine
Adagios appropriated to the British church. I am now engaged upon
a work entitled "The Oratorio of Judah" giving a history of that pecu-
liar people from the Jewish scriptures. The object of this letter is to
express a hope that I may induce you to compose an Overture for this
work upon which you can bring all the force of your sublime imagination
(if it please you) in the key of D minor. For this service my friend Mr.
Clementi will accept your draft upon him for one hundred guineas.
I have the honour to be, dear Sir,
Your faithful servant
William Gardiner.
There is no date, but as "Judah" was criticized in "The
Musical Review" in 1821, it is presumable that the letter was
written in 1820. Gardiner deplores the fact that he received no
reply from Beethoven, although the Empress had thanked him
for a copy of the "Sacred Melodies" which he had sent to her.
Evidently he did not realize that Beethoven was not the man to
feel complimented by having his "divine Adagios" turned into
hymn-tunes. An occurrence which may have cost Beethoven a
A Portrait Painted by Stieleb 41
pantf was t be loss of his fail hful helper ( )li\ a, uim took hi^ passport
in December, 1820, and went to St. Petersburg, where be settled
as a teacher of languages.
Another of the portraits of Beethoven which have been made
familiar by reproductions was painted in 1820, though begun in
1819. Joseph Stieler, who enjoyed wide reputation as a portrait
painter, bad come to Vienna from Munich to paint the portrait of
Emperor Franz in the latter year. He remained till some time in
1820 and made the aequaintanee of Beethoven through a letter of
introduction probably given to him by Brentano. Beethoven
took a liking to him and gave him some sittings— -three, according
to the testimony of the painter himself, thus disproving Schindler's
statement that "sitting after sitting was granted and never a
complaint uttered." On the contrary, the Conversation Book
presents the artist as pleading for a little more time; ami because
Beethoven refused to sit longer, Stieler had to exercise his imagina-
tion or memory in painting the hands. In fact, the painting
never received the finishing touches hut remained, as those who
have seen it testify, "sketchy." In March Stieler writes in the
Conversation Book: "Have you written to Frankfort that I have
begun your portrait? — You must determine the destination of the
picture. I say that I am painting it for myself." In April
Stieler asks the question: "In what key is your mass? I want to
write on the sheet: (Mass in — )" Beethoven writes the answer:
"MisSQ solemnis in /)," and Stieler: "After it has been exhibited
I shall send it to Brentano — I thank you thousands and thousands
of times for so much patience." Beethoven's friends refer fre-
quently to the picture in their written conversations with Beetho-
ven. One says: "That you have been painted en face is the result
of more extended study of your physiognomy. This view shows
your spirit much better than a profile." Schindler writes that he
prefers the portrait by Schimon: "There is more character in it —
all agree on that — You were very well two years ago; now you are
always ailing." J. Czerny writes: "We were just talking about
your portrait. Oliva thinks you are well hit off." The artist
visits Beethoven again at M&dling in July and writes: "Before the
exhibition I shall paint your portrait again, hut full life-size.
Your head makes an excellent effed full face, and it was so ap-
propriate because Haydn was on one side and Mo/art on the
ot her." Stieler dated the canvass "1819," bul this can only refer
to the time when it was begun. It remained for a while in the
possession of the family of the painter, then passed through several
hands by purchase until it reached those of Countess Sauerma
42 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
in Berlin, in whose possession it was when Frimmel and Kalischer
inspected it for purposes of description. Schindler says it re-
produces Beethoven's characteristic expression faithfully and that
it met with approval, though fault was found with the pose.
Beethoven's contemporaries were not used to see him with his head
bowed down as Stieler represents him; on the contrary, he carried
his head high even when suffering physical pain. A lithographic
reproduction of the portrait was made by Fr. Diirck and published
by Artaria in 1826.
In April, 1860, the author1 had a conversation with Horzalka
in which the latter spoke very highly of Schindler and his dis-
interested fidelity to Beethoven. Horzalka also said that in 1820
or 1821, as near as he could recollect, the wife of a Major Baum-
garten took boy boarders in a house then standing where the
Musikverein's hall now stands in Vienna. Her sister, Baroness
Born, lived with her. Frau Baumgarten had a son who studied
at Blochlinger's Institute, and Beethoven's nephew was amongst
her boarders. One evening Horzalka called there and found only
the Baroness Born at home. Soon another caller came and stayed
to tea. It was Beethoven. Among other topics, Mozart came
on the tapis and the Baroness asked Beethoven, in writing of
course, which of Mozart's operas he thought most of. "Die
Zauberflote," said Beethoven and, suddenly clasping his hands
and throwing up his eyes exclaimed, "Oh, Mozart!" As Horzalka
had, as was the custom, always considered "Don Giovanni" the
the greatest of Mozart's operas, this opinion by Beethoven made a
very deep impression upon him. Beethoven invited the Baroness
to come to his lodgings and have a look at his Broadwood piano-
forte.
In 1820 Professor Hofel, who lived at Salzburg in the last
years of his life and who engraved the Latronne portrait of Beet-
hoven for Artaria, was appointed to a professorship of drawing in
Wiener Neustadt. A year or two afterward, as he said,2 he was
one evening with Eisner and other colleagues in the garden of the
tavern "Zum Schleifen," a little way out of town. The Commis-
sioner of Police was a member of the party. It was autumn and
already dark when a constable came and said to the Commis-
sioner: "Mr. Commissioner, we have arrested somebody who will
give us no peace. He keeps on yelling that he is Beethoven; but
he's a ragamuffin, has no hat, an old coat, etc. — nothing by which
•Thayer.
2This anecdote is recorded in Thayer's note-book as a memorandum of a conver-
sation had with HOfel on June 23, 1800.
Abbes i ed \a a Vagh \ \r 43
he can be identified." Herr Commissar, wir kaben Jemand
arretirt, welcher uns kein* Huh gibt. Er schreit immer doss er
Beethoven set. Er isi aber ein Lump, hat kein* /////, alter Rock, etc.,
kein Aufweis wer er isi, etc.) The Commissioner ordered thai the
man be kept under arrest until morning, "(lien we will examine
him ami learn who he is." Next morning the company was very
anxious to know how the affair turned out, ami tin- Commissioner
>aid that aboul 1 I o'clock at eight he was waked by a policeman
with the information that the prisoner would give them no peace
and had demanded that Herzog, Musical Director in Wiener
Neustadt, lie called to identify him. So the ( lommissioner got up,
dressed, went out and waked up Herzog, and in the middle of the
night went with him to the watchhouse. Herzog, as soon as he
cast eyes on the man exclaimed, "That is Beethoven:-' lie took
him home with him, gave him his best room, etc. Next day came
the burgomaster, making all manner of apologies. As it proved,
Beethoven had got up early in the morning, and, slipping on a
miserable old coat and, without a hat, had fjone out to walk a
lit tie. lie got upon the towpath of t he canal and kept on and on;
seems to have lost his direction, for, with nothing to eat, lie had
continued on until he brought up at the canal-basin at the Dn-
gerthor. Here, not knowing where lie was, he was seen looking
in at the windows of the houses, and as he looked so like a beggar
the people had called a constable who arrested him. Upon his
arrest the composer said, "I am Beethoven/' "Of course, why
not?" (Warum nicht gar?) said the policeman; "You're a tramp:
Beethoven doesn't look so." (Ein Lump sind sir: so sirhf der Beet-
hoven nicht (ins.) Herzog gave him some decent clothes and the
burgomaster sent him hack to Baden, where he was then living,
in the magisterial state-coach. This simple story is the foundation
for the tine narrative related as a fact in Vienna that Beethoven
had got into this scrape following troops from Vienna who had a
sham battle near Wiener Neustadt, and taking notes inv his
"Wellington's Victory"- which whole story thus goes to the
wall.
A letter written from Baden on September 1". 1821, to Tobias
Haslinger accompanying a canon' on the words *'( ) Tobias domir
nus Haslinger, 0, 0!" deserves t<> he given here to show that
Beethoven's high spirits could at times dominate him in spite of
his general misery.
'For the music tin- reader ia referred t.> Series XXIII of the Complete Edition of
Beethoven's works published by Breitkopf and Hartel.
44 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
Very best fellow!
Yesterday, in the carriage on the way to Vienna, I was overcome by
sleep, naturally enough, since (because of my early rising here) I had
never slept well. While thus slumbering I dreamed that I had made a
long journey — to no less distant a country than Syria, no less than India,
back again, no less than Arabia, finally I reached Jerusalem; the Holy
City aroused in me thoughts of Holy Writ and small wonder that the
man Tobias now occurred to me, and how natural that our little Tobias
should enter my mind and the pertobiasser, and now during my dream
journey the following canon came to me: "O Tobias dominus Haslinger,
O, O!" But scarcely awakened, away went the canon and nothing of it
would come back to my memory. But when, next day, I was on my
way hither in the same conveyance (that of a poor Austrian musician)
and continued the dream journey of the day before, now awake, behold,
according to the laws of association of ideas, the same canon occurred to
me again; now fully awake I held it fast, as erst Menelaus held Proteus,
only allowing it to change itself into 3 voices.
Farewell. Presently I shall send you something on Steiner to
show you that he has no stony (steinernes) heart. Farewell, very best
of fellows, we ever wish that you will always belie your name of publisher
(Verleger) and never become embarrassed (verlegen) but remain a publisher
(Verleger) never at a loss (verlegen) either in receiving or paying — Sing the
epistles of St. Paul every day, go to pater Werner,1 who will show you the
little book by which you may go to heaven in a jiffy. You see my anxiety
for your soul's salvation; and I remain with the greatest pleasure from
everlasting to everlasting,
Your most faithful debtor
Beethoven.
And now as to the creative work of the two years. Para-
mount attention must be given to the Mass in D, which, though
long in hand and destined for a function in which Beethoven and
his Imperial Arch episcopal pupil were profoundly concerned, was
yet incomplete when the time for that function arrived. Arch-
duke Rudolph was installed as Archbishop of Olmiitz on March 20,
1820. Exactly what condition the Mass was in at that time we
have no means of knowing; it was, however, in a sufficient state
of forwardness to enable Beethoven to begin negotiations for its
publication. On March 18 he wrote to Simrock:
As regards the mass, I have pondered the matter carefully and
might give it to you for the honorarium of 100 Louis d'ors which you
offered me, provided you agree to a few conditions which I shall propose
and which I think, will not be found burdensome by you. We have gone
through the plan for publication here and believe that with a few modifi-
cations it can be put into effect very soon, which is very necessary; where-
fore I shall make haste to inform you of the necessary changes soon.
'The dramatic poet Zacharias Werner, who had become a convert to Roman
Catholicism and. now an ordained pr'n-st. was preaching to great crowds of Viennese.
The puns on the German word I'erlrgrr and verlegen an- untranslatable.
Negotiations fob fhe Mass i\ D 45
This would seem t<> indicate that the work had been practi-
cally completed, and that this view obtained amongst Beethoven's
friends we know from the evidence <>t' the Conversation Books,
[n the summer at Mttdling he was frequently asked if it was finished
and when it would be performed. Some hurried sketches be-
longing to the Credo are found amongst the remarks of his friends,
and also sketches for the Agnus Dei. Schindler asks him in
August: "Is the Benedictus written out in score? Arc those
.sketches for the Agnus?" Rudolph had communicated to aim
bis intention to spend a part of the summer in Modling. Beetho-
ven writes to him on August •'> and September 2, making apologies
for apparent aeglect in not waiting upon him (he had do carriage
the first time, was in ill-health the second), l>ut says Dot a word
aboul the mass. Some of the remarks in the Conversation Book
are vague as to the composition referred to, but many are plain
enough to show that Beethoven had informed his friends and ad-
visers of the negotiations with Simrock. Surprise is expressed at
Simrock's delay. Beethoven is advised to write to him and also
to Brentano in Frankfort, who had been authorized to collect the
honorarium. In April somebody writes: "Have you written to
Simrock that he must not publish the mass at once, as you want
first to send it or hand it to the Archduke?" Again: "If you send
the Recepisse of the stage-coach he will certainly .send you the
money at once" And later: "It would be quicker to give the music
to the stage-coach and send Brentano the receipt at the same time
informing Simrock that Brentano had been assured of its despatch;
then Brentano can send you the money at once without waiting to
receive the music." In April again : "But he has not yet replied to
your last offer of the mass? I mean Simrock — 200 ducats could
help you out greatly Because of your circumstances. You must
not delay writing to Simrock or Brentano. Brentano can send
you the monev <tl once or at least very soon." "I am surprised
that Simrock has not answered yet." Meanwhile Simrock
answers. "Leave Simrock's letter with me." says the mentor,
"I'll answer it and give you the letter this afternoon if you are
Satisfied with it you will sign it and I will po>t it to-morrow. There
must be no delay." "He says the mass can be used only by Catho-
lics, which is not true." "lie is paying too little rather than too
much wit h "200 duca I S."
It is obvious that some difficulty had arisen between Beet-
hoven ami Simrock. What that difficulty was is explained in a
letter from Simrock to Brentano dated November 12, 1820. It
was ;i misunderstanding concerning the price of the "new grand
46 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
musical mass" which the composer wished to sell for 100 Louis
d'ors. The publisher had agreed to the price, understanding
Louis d'ors to mean what the term meant in Bonn, Leipsic and
throughout Germany, namely, the equivalent of Friedrichs d'ors,
pistoles. In order to avoid unpleasantness after the reception of
the mass he had explained this clearly to Beethoven and in a letter,
dated September 23, had repeated that by Louis d'ors he meant
Friedrichs d'ors; he was not in a position to give more. He
would hold the sum in readiness against the receipt of the mass,
which Beethoven had promised to provide with German as well as
Latin words. He was also under the impression that he had asked
a speedy decision, as he did not want to keep his money tied up in
Frankfort. Hearing nothing for four weeks he had quit counting
on the mass and made other use of his money. Learning, however,
from Brentano's letter of November 8th that Beethoven had agreed
to let him have the mass, he now finds himself in the embarrassment
of not having the gold Louis d'ors on hand, but as Brentano had
said nothing on the subject he would in the meantime try to secure
the coin, unless Brentano were willing to take the equivalent in
florins at the rate of 9.36. He asked to be informed of the ar-
rival of the music so that he might instruct Heinrich Verhuven to
receive it on paying the sum mentioned.
Simrock waited four weeks before abandoning hope that Beet-
hoven would send the mass; it was ten weeks and more before
Beethoven answered Simrock's letter. Then he sent his reply
to Brentano enclosed in a letter dated November 28. The letter
has not been found, or at least not made public; but the letter to
Brentano1 makes it plain that Beethoven had acceded to Sim-
rock's offer and agreed to take pistoles for Louis d'ors. He says:
Your kiudness permits me to hope that you will not refuse to have
the enclosure sent to Simrock, inasmuch as in it my views are set forth
concerning the whole matter. Nothing remains now except to take what
he offers, namely the 100 pistoles and as much more as you, an expert in
the business, can get for me by the rate of exchange. I am convinced
of your kind disposition in this regard. I am very hard-pressed just now,
but such things are to be told last of all to a publisher; it is, thank God,
not my fault, but my sacrifices for others, chiefly, too, for the weak
Cardinal who led me into this morass and does not know how to help
himself. As soon as the translation is finished I shall trouble you again by
sending you the mass, and I pray you give a little attention then to secur-
ing what you can for me from the Jewish2 publisher.
'The letter is preserved in the Beethoven House at Bonn. It was first published
in the "Vossische Zeitung" by Dr. Kalischer on July 26, 1903. See Kalischer-Shedlock,
II, 177.
!Dr. Kalischer refers the remark about the "Jewish publisher" to Schlesinger in
Berlin; but this may be a mistake. In a later correspondence with Peters, who suggests
Loan Ad yam ed on the Mass 47
Thus matters stand with the Mass al the end of 1S-20, and
thus they seem to have remained throughout the next year.
Simrock always was to be but never was blesl with the score.
On July 18, 1821, Beethoveu promises to put the work into the
Archduke's hands "while here" — i. e., at Unterd5bling; he leaves
the reasons for the delay to the imagination of his patron: "the
details might prove anything l>ut pleasanl to V. I. II." In
November he thinks again of Simrock and on the 12th writes to
Brentano:
The mass might have heen sent hefore this, but had to he carefully
looked through, for the publishers in other countries do not get along well
with my manuscript, as I know from experience, and a copy for the en-
graver must be examined note by note. Moreover, I could not come
because of illness, the more since despite everything I have been compelled
to make a considerable number of potboilers (as unfortunately I must
call them i. I think I am justified in making an attempt to get Simrock
to reckon the Louis d'ors at a higher rate, inasmuch as several applica-
tions have been made from other quarters, concerning which I shall write
you soon. As for the rest, do not question my honesty; frequently I
think of nothing except that your kind advance may soon be repaid.
It seems a fair inference from the concluding remark, to-
gether with the advice of his friend or friends in the Conversation
Book of the previous summer concerning a collection through
Brentano as soon as the mass had been handed over to the stage-
coach, that Beethoven had got an advance from Brentano on the
money which was awaiting the arrival of the work in Frankfort.
The following letter to Brentano strengthens the inference:
Vienna, December -20, 1821.
Noble man!
I am awaiting another letter respecting the mass, which I shall send
you to give you an insight into the whole affair. In any event the en-
tire honorarium will be paid to you whereupon you will please deduct the
amount of my indebtedness to vou, mv gratitude to von will always be
unbounded. I was so presumptuous as without asking to dedicate a
composition of mine to your daughter Maxe, please accepl the dcn\ as a
mark of my continual devotion to you and your entire family— do not
misinterpret the dedication as prompted by interest or as a recompense
— this would pain me greatly. There are nobler motives to which such
things may be ascribed if reasons must be found. The new year is about
to enter, may it fulfil all your wishes and daily increase your happiness as
the father of a family in your children. I embrace you cordially and
the term, Schlesinger ia thus referred n>; but there is nothing t-> indicate thai when
correspondence between Schlesinger and Beethoven had icarcely begun, Brentano wbb
railed mi to come to the rescue. Beethoven may mean ■ flintf nt Simroek for his action
in the matter of the Louis <l*cirs.
48 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
beg you to present my compliments to your excellent, only and glorious
Tonj.
Yours, etc.
I have received from here and elsewhere offers of 200 ducats in gold
for the mass. I think I can get 100 florins W. W. more. On this point
I am waiting for a letter which I will send you at once, the matter might
then be presented to Simrock, who will certainly not expect me to lose so
much. Till then please be patient and do not think that you have acted
magnanimously towards an unworthy man.
Brentano informed Simrock of the situation; but the subject
is now carried over into the next year and must be left for the
nonce, while we take up the history of some other compositions.
The last three pianoforte sonatas, Op. 109, 110 and 111, belong to
this period. Also the Bagatelles Op. 119, Nos. 7 to 11 inclusive.
Their story is known. Friedrich Starcke, Chapelmaster of an
Austrian regiment of infantry, had undertaken the publication of a
pianoforte method which he called the "Wiener Pianoforteschule."
Part III of the work, which appeared early in 1821, contained these
five Bagatelles under the title "Trifles" (Kleinigkeiten). Above
them Starcke printed: "A contribution from the great composer
to the publisher." They must have been asked for in 1820.
Somewhere about February of that year an unidentified hand
writes in the Conversation Book: "Starcke wants a little music-
piece by you for the second part of his Klavierschirfe, for which he
has contributions from the leading composers besides short notices.
. . . We must give him something. Notwithstanding his great
deserts in music and literature he is extremely modest, industrious
and humble. . . . He understands the art of compiling well. There
are now weaklings everywhere even among the strong." To
this appeal Beethoven yielded. He wrote the five Bagatelles,
sketches for which are found amongst some for the Sonata in E
major (Op. 109) and the Benedictus of the mass. No. 6 is also
sketched among studies for the Credo. No doubt these little
pieces were some of the "potboilers" (Brodarbeit) referred to in
the letter to Brentano; also some folksong arrangements; and it
may even be, that Beethoven included also the three great sonatas.
Schindler relates that when Beethoven heard that it was bruited
about that he had written himself out, his invention was exhausted,
and that he had taken up Scottish melodies like Haydn in his old
age, he seemed amused and said: "Wait a while, you'll soon learn
differently." Schindler then adds: "Late in the Fall (1820),
returned from his summer sojourn in Modling, where like a bee he
had been engaged busily in gathering ideas, he sat himself down
Three Sonatas at a Breath 49
to his table and wrote out the three sonatas Op. 109, 110, ill 'in
a single breath,' as he expressed it In a letter t<> Count Brunswick:
in order to quiel the apprehension of his friends touching his men-
tal condition." Schindler w ;is dubious about the "single breath"
and, indeed, there was a considerable lapse of time between the
Writing of the firsi of the three sonatas and the last two. The
Sonata in K belongs unquestionably to the year 1820. The first
theme is found in the Conversation Book of April, ami tin- work
w as sketched before lie began t he Benedictus of t he ma>s ami while
In- was at work on this movement, the (redo, the Agnus Di i and
the Bagatelles for Starcke. Before the end of the year Archduke
Rudolph received the manuscript for his collection. It was de-
dicated to Maximiliane Brentano,1 and published in November,
1821, by Schlesinger in Berlin.
Beethoven has himself left data concerning the other two
sonatas. On the autograph of that in A-flat major, Op. 110, he
wrote the date "December 25, 1821." Sketches for it follow
sketches for the Agnus Deioi the mass, which were begun in IK-JO. J
It was published by Schlesinger in Berlin and Paris in 1822.
There is evidence in a memorandum to Schindler found among
the hitter's papers, and also in a letter to Schlesinger of 1823,
that Beethoven intended to dedicate both of the last two sonatas
to Madame Brentano. "Hies- -nichts" ("nothing to Ries"), says
the memorandum, significantly. Ideas utilized in the C minor
Sonata, Op. Ill, are found amongst those for Op. 110 and part ic-
ularly among some for the Agnus Dei. The autograph bears the
date January IS, 1822,1 and it is plain that most of the work was
done in 1821. It was published by Schlesinger in April, 1823, after
Beethoven had offered it to Peters of Leipsic. Corrections for
these three sonatas occupied a great deal of time; the engraving
of the French edition of the C minor was so faulty that Beethoven
demanded proof copies three times; twice his call was granted, the
third time it was refused.1 This Sonata, Op. Ill, was dedicated
lSee the letter to Prani Brentano ol December 20, 1S£1, and the note to his daugh-
ter date- 1 December 6, L821. (Kalischer-Shedlock, II. 180.)
•See Nottebohm, "Zweit Beeth.," pp. 166 and 471.
'Beethoven wrote, as if abaenl mindedly, "Ludwig Ludwig am ISten Jenner is^f."
*It is noteworthy, :i< shown by Nottebohm t "Zweil . Beeth. ".pp. 467, 168) thai the
1 1 r - 1 theme ol the firsl movemenl . • f the C minor Sonata was originally intended for a
third movement in ■ "second Bonata" whicb (Op. 100 being finished] can only have
been the one in C minor. It would Beem as if the use o! the theme in the first movemenl
did not occur n> the composer until after be bad conceived the theme of the variations.
Hut the theme had figured twenty years before in a sketchbook used when the Sonata
in \ major, Op. 80, was in baud. Its k<-v t h.-n was P-sharp minor, and it may have been
intended for <>[,. 80.
50 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
to Archduke Rudolph. Beethoven had left the matter to Schle-
singer, but he afterward made a suggestion as to his wishes, for in
a letter to the Archduke on June 1, 1823, he writes: "Y. I. H.
seemed to find pleasure m the Sonata in C minor, and therefore I
feel that it would not be presumptuous if I were to surprise you
with its dedication."
There are few other compositions of these two years to ask
attention, the Canons and five Bagatelles having been mentioned.
There is a song, "Abendlied unter dem gestirnten Himmel,', words
by Heinrich Gobel, the original manuscript of which bears date
March 4, 1820, and which was published as a supplement to the
"Modenzeitung" on March 28, 1820, with a dedication to Dr.
Braunhofer.1 The twenty -five Scotch Songs, Op. 108, were pub-
lished in 1821 by Schlesinger. The performances of Beethoven's
works in Vienna in 1820 and 1821 are quickly summed up. The
Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde performed the "Eroica" on
February 20, the C minor on April 9 and the F major on November
19. The Overture in C, Op. 115, was played at a concert for the
benefit of Widows and Orphans on April 16, 1820. In the
Concerts spirituels, conducted by F. X. Gebauer in the season
1820-21, the Symphonies in C minor, A major, and F major, and
the Oratorio "Christus am Olberg," were performed. Leopol-
dine Blahetka, a young woman of 18 who was creating something
of a furore by her pianoforte playing at the time, played the Con-
certo in B-flat on April 3, having studied it with J. Czerny.
Published .also, together with three other songs — "Geheimniss," "Resignation"
and "So oder so" — by Sauer and Leidesdorf as Op. 113 in 1821 or 1822. Beethoven
presented a copy of it to Fanny Giannatasio on April 19, 1820.
Chapter III
The Year ls-2-2 — The Missa Solrmnis — Beethoven and IIi>
Publishers Brother Johann — Meetings wit li Rochlitzand
Rossini — Overture: "The Consecration of the House" A
Revival of "Fidelio" Madame Schroeder-Devrient
The "Bagatelles" — A Commission from America.
IT is now desirable to disregard the strict chronological sequence
of incident and dispose, so far as is possible, of the history of the
great Mass in 1) prior to the adoption of a new plan by which
Beethoven hoped to make it a source of extraordinary revenue.
So far as it affects Beethoven's character as a man not always
scrupulous in his observance of business obligations, the story
does not need to extend bevond the rear 1822. Careful readers of
» «
this biography can easily recall a number of lapses from high ideals
of candor and justice in his treat merit of his friends and of a nice
sense of honor and honesty in his dealings with his publishers; but
at no time have these blemishes been so numerous or so patent as
they are in his negotiai ions for the publication of the Missa Solem-
rew — a circumstance which is thrown into a particularly strong
Light by the frequency and vehemence of his protestations of moral
rectitude in the letters which have risen like ghosts to accuse him,
and by the strange paradox that the period is one in which his
artistic thoughts and imagination dwelt in the highest regions to
which they ever soared. He was never louder in his protestations
of business morality than when he was promising the mass to four
or more publishers practically at the same time, and giving it to
none of them; never more apparently frank than when lie was
making ignoble use of a gentleman, whom he himself described a-*
one of the best friends on earth, as an intermediary between him-
self and another friend to whom he was bound by business ties and
childhood associations which challenged confidence; never more
obsequious (for even this word musl now be used in describing his
attitude towards Franz Brentano) than after he had secured a loan
from that friend in the nature of an advance on a contract which
[ 51 I
52 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
he never carried out ; never more apparently sincere than when he
told one publisher (after he had promised the mass to another)
that he should be particularly sorry if he were unable to give the
mass into his hands; never more forcefully and indignantly honest
in appearance than when he informed still another publisher that
the second had importuned him for the mass ("bombarded" was
the word), but that he had never even deigned to answer his
letters. But even this is far from compassing the indictment;
the counts are not even complete when it is added that in a letter
he states that the publisher whom he had told it would have
been a source of sorrow not to favor had never even been con-
templated amongst those who might receive the mass; that he
permitted the friend to whom he first promised the score to tie up
some of his capital for a year and more so that "good Beethoven"
should not have to wait a day for his money ; that after promising
the mass to the third publisher he sought to create the impression
that it was not the Missa Solemnis that had been bargained for,
but one of two masses which he had in hand.
It is not only proper, but a duty, to give all possible weight to
the circumstances which can be, ought to be, must indeed be
pleaded in extenuation of his conduct; but the facts can not be
obscured or ignored without distorting the picture of the man
Beethoven as this biography has consistently striven from the
beginning to present it. For English and American readers, more-
over, the shock of surprise will be lessened by a recollection of
Beethoven's first transactions in London, which more than five
years before had called out the advice of the English publishers to
Neate for God's sake not to buy anything of Beethoven! As
for the rest it is right to remember that at this time many of the
sources of Beethoven's income had dried up. He was no longer
able to offer his publishers symphonies in pairs, or sonatas and
chamber compositions in groups. He produced laboriously and,
in the case of compositions which were dear to his heart, with
infinite and untiring care and insatiable desire for perfection.
Engrossed in such works, he gave no thought to pecuniary reward;
but, rudely disturbed by material demands, he sought the first
means at hand to supply the need. Hence his resurrection of
works composed and laid aside years before; his acceptance of
commissions which he was never able to perform; his promise of
speedy delivery of works scarcely begun; his acceptance of ad-
vances on contracts which he could not fulfil; his strange con-
fidence (this we feel we are justified in assuming) in his ability to
bring forth works of magnitude in time to keep his obligations
Reprehensible Conduct towards Simbock '.;
even when the works which he bad in mind had already been there
for years; hi> ill-health which brought with it loss of creative
vitality, of fecundity in ideas and facility in execution in inverse
ratio to the growth of his artistic ideals; the obsession of his whole
being by bis idolatrous love for bis nephew and the mental dis-
tress and monetary sacrifice which his self-assumed obligation
entailed and which compelled him to become the debtor of bis
publishers lesl he encroach upon the emoluments of the Vienna
Congress which he had solemnly consecrated t»» bis foster-son.
Let all these tilings be remembered when the story of his short-
comings is told.1
And now let the story of the Mass be resumed from the point
where it was dropped in the preceding chapter; with it will be
found statements bearing on a few other more or less inconse-
quential compositions.
On May 13, 1822, Simrock reminds Beethoven that a year
has passed since he promised to deliver the score into his hands by
the end of April. Since October ^o, 1820, he (Simrock) had kept
100 Louis d'ors on deposit in Frankfort so that there would be no
delay in the payment of the remuneration. On March 11), Beet-
hoven had written that he had been sick abed for six weeks and
was not yet entirely well. He bad told the publisher to rest easy
in his mind, that being the sole purpose of the letter. The pub-
lisher had gone to the autumn fair of 1821 and to the Easter fair
of 1822 and asked Brentano for the mass; but been told that it had
not been received. He begs for a few worths on the subject. It
would seem as if Simrock had preserved his temper very well.
The letter brings another evidence of his unchanged good will,
lie had resolved at an earlier period to publish the six symphonies
which were in his catalogue in a new edition, but had not done so
because it would not pay. Now, he said, he wanted to rear a
monument to his worthy old friend and had brought out the scores
in a style which he hoped the composer would deem worthy.
'For this arraignment anil defence (if defence it !>'■> <>f Beethoven the pr.>.nt
Editor wishes t" assume rutin- responsibility. Thayer's Botes fail him here, but the
indict mint . In- i-, convinced, is nut only demanded by historical truth hut also wholly
within tin- spirit of Thayer as manifested in the «-arl i<r volumes <>( this «urk. l>r.
Dei ten makes do effort to conceal tin- facts, though In- does nut marshal them so as to
present the mural delinquency in tin- -arum,' li<_'ht in which it appears when Beethoven's
words ami deeds are brought sharplj into juxtaposition; nevertheless, after presenting a
plea in extenuation fully ami fairly. In- says: "We pay tin- tribute "f our profoundest
sympathy fur Beethoven under these circumstances; we know sufficiently well tin- noble
impulses of his soul in all other fields; we an- aware of tin- reasons which compelled him
tut ry everything which promised to better his condition; but tin- conscientious reporter
cannot ignore facts which lie notoriously before bim, ami. bard as it maj I"-. can not
acquit Beethoven of the reproach that his conduct was not in harmony with the principles
of strict justice and uprightness."
54 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
What Beethoven said in reply to this letter is not known, his answer
not having been given to the world; it can be surmised, however,
from the recital given to Brentano in a letter from Beethoven
dated May 19. He had been troubled by "gout in the chest" for
four months, he says, and able to do but little work; nevertheless
the Mass would be in Frankfort by the end of the next month,
that is, by the end of June, 1822. There was another reason for
the delay. Cardinal Rudolph, strongly disposed in favor of his
music at all times, did not want the Mass published so early and
had returned to the composer the score and parts only three days
before. Here we have a very significant statement. What may
be called the official copy of the Mass in D was formally presented
to Archduke Rudolph on March 19, 1823; here, ten months earlier,
he speaks of a score and parts which the Archduke had returned
to him three days before. The Mass, therefore, must have had
what, for the time being (Beethoven never considered it finished
so long as it was in his hands), was looked upon as a definitive
shape at the time when Beethoven promised to send it to Brentano
for Simrock. The Archduke returned it, as Beethoven says, so
that the publication might not be hindered. How long it had
been in the hands of the Archduke no one can tell. Now, said
Beethoven to Brentano, the score will be copied again, carefully
examined, which would take some time owing to his ill health, but
it would be in Frankfort at the end of June "at the latest," by
which time Simrock must be ready to make payment. He had
received better offers from Vienna and elsewhere, but had rejected
all of them because he had given his word to Simrock and would
abide by the agreement even if he lost money, trusting to make his
losses good by other sales to Simrock who, moreover, might be
disposed to make a contract for the Complete Edition. Brentano
communicated with Simrock at once and received a letter from the
publisher on May 29 expressing regret that sickness had been partly
responsible for the delay. He had been expecting the Mass
every day for more than a year, during which time the money had
lain with Heinrich Verhuven because he did not want Beethoven
to wait a single day for it.
Thus on May 19, Beethoven tells Brentano that he will keep
the faith with Simrock even at a sacrifice. On March 1, however,
he had written to Schlesinger in Berlin :
In regard to my health, things are better. As to the Mass I beg of
you to get everything, everything (Alles, alles, in Jahn's transcript) in
readiness as other publishers have asked for it and many approaehes
have been made to me, especially from here, but I resolved long ago that
Tin-; Mass Sold to S« ii i.k-i \< ,i:k 55
it should imt be published here, as the matter is a very important one for
me. For the present 1 ask <>t* you only that you Bignify to me whether
you accept my last offer of the Mass together with the two songs; as
regards the payment of the honorarium, it may wait for more than four
weeks. I must \n>\>\ upon an early answer, chiefly because two other
publishers who want to have it in their catalogues have been waiting for
a definite answer from me for a considerable time. Farewell, and write
to me at once; it would grieve me very much if / could not give you just
this particular work.
Schlesinger, as we learn from a letter dated July i2, 1822, had
received letters from Beethoven under date of April !». May 29 and
June he mistakenly says May 1). He answers the three at once,
excusing his delay on the ground that he had attended the fair
in Leipsic, where he fell ill, and had remained under the weather
for several weeks after his return to Berlin. Meanwhile business
had accumulated. He accepts Beethoven's terms for the mass and
the two songs:
Everything is in order about the Mass; pray send it and the two
songs as soon as possible and draw on me at fourteen days' sight for 650
R. T. I will honor the draft at once and pay it. I have no opportunity
to make payment to you through Vienna. Although several music
dealers there ;ire extensively in my debt I cannot count on prompt pay-
ment from any of them. These gentlemen have two very ugly traits:
1), they do not respect property rights and 2), it is with difficulty that
they are brought to pay their accounts. The book dealers are much
sounder.
By a coincidence Schlesinger's son, who had established him-
self in business in Paris, wrote to Beethoven on the same day and
asked him if a third movement of the Pianoforte Sonata in ( ' minor
i Op. 1 1 1 \ which he was publishing, had not been forgotten at the
Copyists. He. like his father a little later, evidently suspected
that they had not received as much music, measured in detached
movements, as they had paid for; they missed a rondo finale!
The incident may have amused, or (which is more likely) even
angered Beethoven; but it can scarcely account for the fact that
Beethoven rooked about this time to have nothing more to do
with Schlesinger p&re. On July 26 he writes to Peters of Leipsic,
with whom he has now entered into negotiations ami to whom he
has offered the Mass, "In no event will Schlesinger ever get any-
thing more from me; he has played me a Jewish trick, but aside
from that he is not among those who might have received the
Mass." When Beethoven was conducting the negotiations with
Schott and Soii^ in Mayenee which resulted in the firm's getting
the work, he recurred to the Schlesingers in a letter of January
22, 1824, and said: "Neither is Schlesinger to be trusted, for he
56 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
takes where he can. Both pere et fils bombarded me for the
mass, but I did not deign to answer either of them, since after
thinking them over I had cast them out long before." Beet-
hoven's threats were frequently mere brutum fulmen; the Schle-
singers, pere et fils, remained his friends to the end and got two
of the last Quartets.
Both Simrock and Schlesinger are now waiting for Beethoven
to send them the Mass and the fee is waiting for the composer at
Frankfort. Meanwhile negotiations have been taken up with a
newcomer in the field, who, however, is but trying to renew an
association which had begun more than 29 years earlier. Before
entering upon this phase of the history of the Mass it seems well
to dispose finally of the Simrock incident.1 On August 22, 1822,
Simrock wrote to Beethoven again. Beethoven's answer followed
on September 13 and, as it contains more than a mere implication
why he refused to abide by his contract (a point that has been a
matter more or less of speculation from the time when the negotia-
tions ceased till now), it is given in full here:
Baden, September 13, 1822.
My dear and valued Simrock:
You will receive this letter from Baden, where I am taking the
baths, as my illness which has lasted a year and a half is not yet ended.
Much as I should like to write to you about many things I must yet be
brief and only reply to your last of August 22nd. As regards the Mass
you know that at an earlier date I wrote you that a larger honorarium had
been offered me. I would not be so sordid as to haggle with you for a
hundred or few more florins; but my poor health and many other un-
pleasant circumstances compel me to insist upon it. The minimum that
at least four publishers have offered me for the mass is 1000 florins
Convention Coin at the rate of twenty, or counting the florin at 3 Austrian
florins C. C. Much as I shall regret if we must part just because of this
work, I know that your generosity (Biederherzigkeit) will not allow me to
lose money on this work, which is perhaps the greatest that I have com-
posed. You know that I am not boastful and that I do not like to show
the letters of others or even quote from them; if it were not so I might
submit proofs from far and near. But I very much wish to have the
matter about the Mass settled as soon as possible, for I have had to en-
dure plots of all sorts on account of it. It would be agreeable if you
would let me know as soon as possible if you will pay me this honorarium.
If you will, you need only deposit the difference with Brentano, where-
upon I will at once send you a well corrected score of the Mass which will
'This has been made possible for the editor by the courtesy of the present representa-
tives of the venerable house in Bonn, viz.: N. Simrock G. in. b. H. in Berlin, who in 1909
issu«-il a handsome book containing all the letters which passed between N. Simrock and
Beethoven in a period beginning in 1 7!> !• and ending in 1843. Nieolaus Simrock, the
reader may be reminded, was a friend of Beethoven in his childhood and a colleague in
the orchestra at Bonn.
An Appeal to Simbo k's Generosity 57
Buffioe you for the engraving. I hope my dear Simrock, whom I consider
the richest of all these publishers, w ill n< >t permit his old friend to go else-
where f«>r the sake of a lew hundred florins. Concerning all other mat tors
I will write ymi soon; I shall remain here till the beginning of October.
I >hall receive all letters which you may write, safely as 1 did your last,
only I beg you to write soon. Farewell, greet the family cordially for
me; as soon as I can 1 will write to them myself.
Cordially your old friend,
Beethoven.
This letter can scarcely be called ingenuous by the most
zealous of Beethoven's defenders. Aside from the fad that lie hail
closed the contract, had received an advance on the sum deposited
and told Brentano that he would keep his promise even at a
sacrifice to himself, the 1000 florins which he now asks Simrock to
pay was not the minimum sum which other publishers had offered
but the maximum sum which he had asked and all of them had
agreed to pay — which, indeed, B. Schott and Sons did pay a year
and a half later. Under the circumstances it is scarcely to be
wondered at if the appeal to Simrock's generosity fell on stony
soil; but we do not know that it did. The letter was evidently
answered by Simrock, who, despairing of ever getting the Mass,
may have suggested that he would accept other works in lieu of it,
for on March 10, 1823, Beethoven writes again saying (as he had
said to Peters in November, 1822) that he should surely receive a
mass, for he had written two and was only undecided which one to
vend. lb- asked Simrock to be patient till Easter, when he would
>end one of them to Brentano. lie intended also to write
a mass for the Emperor. As to other works, he offered the over-
ture to "The ( onseeration of the House," the music to "The Ruins
of Athens," the overture to "King Stephen," some songs and
" Klein igkeit en" for the pianoforte. Only for the new overture
did he fix a price 1 50 ducats), but he added: "You will surely receive
one of these two grand masses which are already composed; only
1m- patient till after Easter, by which time I shall have decided
which to send." This is the last letter between Beethoven and
Simrock which has been found. It leaves the composer promising
a mass instead of delivering the Mass, and that promise unful-
filled; of a necessity, for the work, though described as "already
composed," was never written.
In IS 11 ('. F. Peters had purchased the Bureau (\v Musiquc
founded in 1798 by Hoffmeister and Kilhnel, publishers of a num-
ber of Beethoven's compositions, including the First Symphony,
between 1800 and 1805. On May is, 1822, Peters addressed a
letter to Beethoven in which he said that he had long wished to
58 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
publish some of his compositions but had refrained from applying
to him because he did not wish to offend the Viennese publishers;
seeing now, however, that he was going outside with his compo-
sitions and giving them "even to the Jew Schlesinger," he would
no longer give heed to such considerations. He had spoken to
Steiner on the subject at the last fair, who had offered no objections,
had, indeed, said that he would be glad if he (Peters) got the works
instead of Schlesinger, and had offered his services as mediary
between him and Beethoven, and asked for a list of compositions
which he wanted. Thereupon he had given Steiner such a list:
symphonies, pianoforte quartets and trios, pianoforte solos "among
which there might be small pieces," songs, etc. — anything, in
short, which Beethoven should send him would be welcome, for he
wanted honor, not profit, from the association. Beethoven
replied on June 5:
Although I met Steiner several days ago and asked him jocularly
what he had brought for me from Leipsic, he did not mention your com-
mission, even in a syllable, nor you, but earnestly pleaded with me to
assure him that / would give him and him alone all my present and future
ivorks and this contract-wise; I declined. This trait suffices to show you
why I often prefer foreign publishers to local; I love straightforwardness
and uprightness and am of the opinion that the artist ought not to be
belittled, for alas ! glittering as is the external aspect of fame, he is not
permitted to be Jupiter's guest on Olympus every day; too often and
too repulsively the vulgar many drag him down from the pure ethereal
heights.
He now opened his budget of wares: the largest work was a
Mass — many had striven for it, "100 weighty Louis d'ors" had
been offered for it, but he had demanded at least 1,000 florins
Convention Coin, for which sum he would also prepare the piano-
forte score; variations on a waltz ("there are many") for piano-
forte— 30 ducats in gold; a comic air wTith orchestra on Goethe's
"Mit Madeln sich vertragen," and another air of the same genre,
16 ducats each;1 several rather extended songs with pianoforte
accompaniment, among them a little Italian cantata with recita-
tive,2 12 ducats each; there were also recitatives to some of the
German songs; 8 ducats each for songs; an elegy for four voices and
string quartet accompaniment,3 24 ducats; a chorus of Dervishes
with full orchestra, 20 ducats; a march for orchestra wrritten for
the tragedy "Tarpeia," with arrangement for pianoforte, 12
Mouthful works.
2Probably "Primo amore," though it has orchestral accompaniment.
'Composed in 1814 in memory of Baroness Pasqualati.
The Mass Sold to Peters 59
ducats; Romance for violin solo and orchestra,1 15 ducats; Grand
Trio for 2 oboi and 1 English horn,-' which mighl be transcribed
for other instruments, SO ducats; four military marches with
percussion ("Turkish music") prices on application; bagatelles,
or trifles for pianoforte, prices on application.
The copy of the letter as printed contains the words here:
"All these works are ready," but they are wanting in the original
draft. Beethoven now goes on with a list of compositions which
Peters "might have soon"; a sonata for pianoforte solo,3 40 ducats;
a string quartet, 50 ducats. More than anything else, however, he
was desirous to have a complete edition of his works, as he wished
to look after the publication in his lifetime. He had received a
number of applications, but could not, or would not, meet all the
conditions. With some necessary help he thought such an edition
of his works might be brought out in two years, possibly in one-
and-a-half ; a new work was to be added to each class, "to the Varia-
tions a new set of variations, to the Sonatas a new sonata," etc.,
"and for all these together I ask 10,000 florins Convention Coin."
He deplores the fact that he is no business man; he wishes that
matters were different than they are, but he is forced to act as he
does by competition, and begs that secrecy be observed touching
the negotiations, to guard against trouble with other publishers.
He was not kept waiting for an answer; — Peters' reply is
dated June 15. He regrets to hear of Steiner's duplicity, but his
conduct may have been harmless in intention and caused by his
weakness. The works which he wanted and of which he had given
a list to Steiner were a quartet for strings, a trio of the same kind,
a concert overture for full orchestra, songs and some small solos
for pianoforte "such as capriccios, divertissements," etc. Then he
takes up Beethoven's detailed offer of compositions:
The most admirable amongst them is your Grand Mass, which you
offer me together with the pianoforte score for one thousand florins C. C.
and to the acceptance of which at the price I confess my readiness
Between honest men (offencn Miinncrn) like us there is no need of a con-
tract; but if you want one send it to me and I will return it signed. If
not, please state to me in writing that I am to receive the Mass in question
■The Romances for Violin Op. 40 and 50 having been published long before,
Beethoven musl have had another one in mind.
-Tin- Trio for wind-inst rument 8, Op. ST, already ID print . Beethoven bad com-
posed variations on "La <i darem" from "Don Giovanni" for tin- same instruments and
the composition was called a Terzetto when performed in 1797. This was probably in
his mind.
The last three sonatas as we know them being out <>f the question, Beethoven
must have thought himself in readiness to write another if it was desired; there was no
lack of material in his sketchbooks.
60 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
together with the pianoforte score for 1000 florins in 20-florin pieces,
and indicate when I am to receive it and that it is to be my sole property
for ever. I want the first so that I may look upon this transaction as
concluded, and the time I want to know so that I can arrange about the
publication. If I were a rich man I would pay you very differently for
this Mass, for I opine that it is something right excellent, expecially be-
cause it was composed for an occasion; but for me 1000 florins for a Mass
is a large expenditure and the entire transaction, on my word, is under-
taken only in order to show myself to you and the world as a publisher
who does something for art. I must ask another consideration, namely,
that nobody learn how much I have paid for the Mass — at least not for
some time; I am not a man of large means, but must worry and drudge;
nevertheless I pay artists as well as I can and in general better than other
publishers.
For the present, Peters adds, he does not want to publish
larger vocal works by Beethoven nor the Mass singly but along
with other works, to show the Viennese publishers that there is
a contract between him and Beethoven which obliges the latter to
send him compositions. To that end he asks for some songs, a few
bagatelles for pianoforte solo, the four military marches; he would
be glad to take also the new string quartet, but 50 ducats is be-
yond his means. Beethoven is at liberty to tell Steiner that he
had applied to Beethoven with his knowledge and consent.
Beethoven's answer (incorrectly dated July instead of June 26)
says:
I write you now only that I give you the Mass together with the
pianoforte score for the sum of 1000 florins, C. C. in 20-florin pieces.
You will in all likelihood receive the score in copy by the end of July —
perhaps a few days earlier or later. As I am always busy and have
been ailing for five months and works must be carefully examined, if they
go to a distance this always is a slower matter with me. In no event
will Schlesinger ever get anything more from me; he has played me a
Jewish trick, but aside from that he is not among those who might have
received the Mass. The competition for my works is very strong at
present for which I thank the Almighty, for I have also already lost
much. Moreover, I am the foster-father of the child of my brother, who
died destitute. As this boy at the age of 15 years shows so much apti-
tude for the sciences, his studies and support cost much money now and
he must be provided for in the future, we being neither Indians nor
Iroquois who, as is notorious, leave everything in the hands of God, and
a pauper's is a wretched lot. I keep silence concerning everything
between us by preference and beg you to be silent about the present
connection with me. I will let you know when it is time to speak, which
is not at all necessary now ... I assure you on my honor, which
I hold highest after God, that I never asked Steiner to receive orders for
me. It has always been my chief principle never to appeal to a pub-
lisher, not out of pride but because I have wanted to see how extended is
the province which my fame has reached. ... As for the songs, I have
Sale of the Mass to Peters Confirmed Gl
already spoken. I think that an honorarium of 40 ducats is not too
much for t lie 3 songs and 1 marches. You can write to me on the sub-
ject. As soon as the Mass is ready I will let you know and ask you to
remit the honorarium to a house here and I will deliver the work as soon
as I have received it. 1 will take care to lie present at the delivery to the
post and that the freight charge shall not he too great. 1 should like
soon to he made acquainted with your plan concerning the complete
edition which is so close to my heart.
Peters answers this letter on July 3. He is willing to pay 40
ducats for the songs and marches and to remit part of the hono-
rarium in advance. Beethoven's complaint about his financial
affairs distresses him and he would like to help him. "It is wrong
that a man like you is obliged to think about money matters.
The great ones of the earth should long ago have placed you in a
position free from care, so that you would no longer have to live on
art but only for art." Before this letter was received Beethoven
had written a second and supplementary reply to the letter of
June 1.3; it is dated July 6. He had reread his letter and dis-
covered that Peters wanted some of the bagatelles and a quartet
for strings. For the former, "among which are some of con s ider-
able length — they might be published separately under the title
'Kleinigkeiten' (Trifles) No. 1, 2, etc." — he asked 8 ducats each.
The quartet was not fully completed, work on it having been in-
terrupted. Here it was difficult to lower the prices, as such works
were the most highly paid for — he might almost say, to the shame
of the general taste, which in art frequently falls below that of pri-
vate taste. "I have written you everything concerning the Mass,
and that is settled." On July 12, Peters writes that he does not
know how long the bagatelles are and so can not tell whether they
are to be printed separately or together; but he asks that a number
be sent to him together with word as to how many of such small
pieces Beethoven has on hand, as he might take them all. As for
songs he would prefer to have some in the style of "Adelaide" or
"Schloss Markenstein." The honorarium for the compositions
which were to be sent now would amount to SOO or 300 florins in
pieces of 20, but as he could not determine the exact amount he
asked Beethoven to collect the amount from Meiss (Meisl) Bro-
thers, bankers, on exhibition of receipt and bill of shipment.
It was all the same to him whether he collected (he money now or
later; it was waiting and at Beethoven's disposal. In this manner,
so convenient for Beethoven, he would make all his payments for
manuscripts purchased. On August 3 Beethoven writes:
I have not made up my mind as to the selectiou of SOngS and
Kleinigkeiten, bu\ everything will he delivered by August 15. 1 await
62 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
your advices in the matter and will make no use of your bill of exchange.
As soon as I know that the honorarium for the Mass and the other works
is here all these things can be delivered by the 15th.
Peters was prompt in his remittance of the money which was
to be subject to Beethoven's order; Beethoven, though less prompt
in getting it, was yet ahead of his delivery of the manuscripts for
which the money was to pay. Singularly enough, the incident
which provides for us knowledge of the time when the money was
received by Peters's agent served as evidence in Beethoven's excuse
for drawing the money without keeping his part of the agreement.
On July 25, about a fortnight after the date of Peters's letter of
advice, Piringer, associate conductor of the Concerts spirituels, who
was on terms of intimacy with Beethoven, wrote him as follows :
Domine Generalissimo!
Victoria in Dobling — fresh troops are advancing! The whole-
salers, Meisl Bros, here in the Rauhensteingasse, their own house, 2nd
storey, have received advices from Hrn. Peters in Leipsic to pay several
hundred florins to Herrn Ludwig van Beethoven. I hasten on Degen's
pinions1 to convey this report to Illustrissimo at once. To-day is the
first sad day in the Viennese calendar, because yesterday was the last day
of the Italian opera.
This letter Beethoven sent to Peters from Baden on September
13 in evidence of his presumption that Piringer, who was a daily
caller at the Steiner establishment, had gossipped about the re-
lations between him and Peters. He was sorry that Peters had
sent the money so early, but fearing talk he had collected the
money. He would send all the little things soon. He had been
pressed by the Cardinal, who had come to Baden on the 15th and on
whom he had to attend several times a week; and work had been
forced upon him by the opening of the Josephstadt Theatre; also
he wanted to write new trios to some of the marches and revise
other works, but illness and too much other employment had
prevented. 'You see from this at least that I am not an author
for the sake of money. . . You will recall that I begged you to
keep everything away from Steiner. Why? That I will reveal
to you in time. I hope that God will protect me against the
wiles of this wicked man Steiner." On November 22, Beethoven
writes again: he had been expecting reproaches for his negligence
but though he had delivered nothing he had received the hono-
rarium. It looked wrong ("offensive" is his word), but he was sure
that all would be set right could they but be together a few minutes.
•Degen was a popular aeronaut who had long before excited the interest of
Beethoven.
"A Mass" not "the Mass" for Peters G3
All the music intended for Peters had been laid aside except the
songs, the selection of which had not yet been made; as a reward
for waiting, Peters should receive one more than the stipulated
number. He could deliver more than the four bagatelles agreed
on, as he had nine or ten extra ones on hand.
Now there enters a new element into the story of the Mass;
let Beethoven introduce it in his own words: "This is the state of
affairs with regard to the Mass: I completed one long ago, but
another is not yet finished. There will always be gossip about me,
and you must have been misled about it. I do not know which of
the two you will receive." The gossip against which Beethoven
warned Peters, it is safe to assume, related to the compositions
which the latter had purchased but not received; in great likeli-
hood rumors about the Mass had reached Leipsic. Peters was in
communication with Steiner and others; and that he knew that the
mass had been planned for the installation of Archduke Rudolph as
Archbishop of Olmiitz he had indicated when he expressed the
belief that it was something "right excellent" because it had been
composed for an occasion. The mass which Beethoven had agreed
to deliver by the end of July could therefore have been none other
than the Mass in D. It is deserving of mention, however, that
there is evidence that Beethoven was thinking of more than one
mass at the time — in fact, that he had thoughts of three. In a
sketchbook of the period is found a memorandum: "The Kyric in
the second mass with wind-instruments and organ only";1 and in
another place there are six measures of a theme for a Dona nobis
with the superscription "Mass in C-sharp minor." To this Dona
there is still another reference or two of a later date; but that is
all. It is likely that the second mass was intended for the
Emperor, as we shall see later; Beethoven himself says that he
had thoughts of a third.
Peters is getting importunate, and on December 20 Beethoven
writes to him that nothing intended for him is entirely ready; there
had been delays in copying and sending, but he had no time to
explain. The songs and marches would be sent "next week" and
there would be six bagatelles instead of four, and he asks that
payment be made for the extra two on receipt. He had SO many
applications for his works that he could not attend to them all:
"Were it not that my income brings in nothing- I should compose
'Evidences of tin- second mass may be found in \.>tttl>olim's "Zweit. Beeth.,"
pages L52 and 541-543.
^Beethoven indulges in bis propensity f"r puns: "Ware mein Gehall oicht ganx
ohne (it-halt ."
64 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
only grand symphonies, church music or at the outside quartets
in addition." Of smaller works Peters might have variations for
two oboes and English horn on a theme from "Don Giovanni"
- — Da ci la mano wrote Beethoven, meaning La ci darem la mano —
and a Gratulatory Minuet;1 he would like Peters' opinion about
the complete edition. In a letter with the double date February
15 and 18, 1823, Peters is informed that three songs,2 six bagatelles,
one march and a tattoo had been sent on the preceding Saturday
— the tattoo in place of one of the promised marches:
You will pardon the delay I believe, if you could see into my heart
you would not accuse me of intentional wrongdoing. To-day I give the
lacking two tattoos and the fourth grand march to the post. I thought
it best to send three tattoos and a march instead of four marches, although
the former can be used as marches. Regimental chapelmasters can best
judge how to use such things and moreover pianoforte arrangements of
them might be made. My conduct as an artist you may judge from the
songs; one has an accompaniment for two clarinets, one horn, violas and
violoncellos and can be sung to these instruments alone or with the piano-
forte without them. The second song is with accompaniment for two
clarinets, two horns and two bassoons, and can also be sung to them alone
or with pianoforte accompaniment alone. Both songs have choruses
and the third is a quite extended arietta with pianoforte alone. I hope
you are now reassured. I should be sorry if these delays were attributed
to my fault or desire. I shall soon write to you about the Mass, as the
decision which you are to have will presently be made.
"Some time" before March 10, 1823, Beethoven repaid the
loan of 300 florins to Brentano, sending the money through
Geimiiller. In his letter of thanks on that date he encloses a letter
to Simrock, unsealed evidently, and says to his friend, "You see
from it the state of things concerning the Mass." What that
state was as it presented itself to the mind of Beethoven we have as
yet no means of knowing; but we know that Peters was still kept in
a state of expectation, for on March 20, 1823, Beethoven writes:
As regards the Mass I will also send you a document which I beg
you to sign, for in any event the time is approaching when you will re-
ceive one or the other. Besides yourself there are two other men who
also desire each a mass. I am resolved to write at least three — the first
is entirely finished, the second not yet, the third not even begun; but in
view of them I must have an understanding so that I may be secured in
any case. You may have the Mass whenever you pay 1000 C. C.
'A composition written for a serenade given to Hensler, Director of the Joseph-
stadter Theatre, as will appear later.
2Nottebohm says that the three songs were "Opferlied," "Bundeslied" and "Der
Kuss." Peters published none of them. The first appeared as Op. 121, the second as
Op. 122, the third as Op. 128, published by Schott and Sons in 1825. This was the firm
which eventually got the Mass in D.
Three Purchasers Fail to Get the Mass 65
So far as Peters is concerned the matter must be dropped for
a space; he published none of the works sent to him, did not re-
ceive the Mass, and, refusing to take a quartet in return for the 360
florins which Beethoven collected in advance, placing the blame on
him, got the money back from Beethoven some time after Novem-
ber, 1S-25. Peters did not gel the Mass; nor did Simrock; nor did
Schlesinger; nor did Probst, another Leipsic publisher with whom
Beethoven carried on negotiations for it and the Ninth Symphony,
as will appear later; nor did Artaria, Beethoven's old publisher
who, in all likelihood, was one of the "two other men" of whom
Beethoven wrote in the letter last quoted. On August "2.'}, 1822,
Artaria received a letter which, as it seems to stand alone so far
as the Mass is concerned, may well be printed in full:
Being just now overwhelmed with work, I can only say briefly that I
have always returned your favors whenever possible. As regards the
Mass I have been offered 1000 florins, C. C. for it. The state of my
affairs do not permit me to take a smaller honorarium from you. All
that I can do is to give you the preference. Rest assured that I do not
take a heller more from you than has been offered me by others. I could
prove this to you in writing. You may think this over but I beg of you
to send me an answer by to-morrow noon as to-morrow is postday and
my decision is expected in other places.
I will make a proposition to you concerning the 1.50 florins C. C.
which 1 owe you, but the sum must not be deducted now, as I am in
urgent need of the 1000 florins. In addition I beg of you to keep every-
thing secret about the Mass.
It must long ago have been observed by the studious reader
of these pages that a great deal of illuminative material in the life-
story of Beethoven is found in the correspondence between the
composer and his publishers; but these letters in the later years of
his life, and especially in the period with which we are now con-
cerned, were but sorry guides to the state of forwardness in which
compositions found themselves at any stated time. Frequently they
offer for publication works which, so far as they had been fixed on
paper at all, existed only in the form of detached sketches; also
some which, so far as we know, existed only in the plans or pur-
poses of the composer of which the letters themselves are the only
surviving records. It seems also to be a fair deduction from them
that Beethoven's attitude towards his publishers with reference to
them depended to a considerable extent on his temporary financial
condition, and sometimes they are an index of that const era I ion to
high artistic ideals of which he remains an unapproaehed exemplar.
The Mass in I) i^ almosl always ready for delivery when he IS in
financial extremities; but when he has helped himself with loans
66 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
or the collection of advances, or the sale of old manuscripts or
potboilers, his insatiable desire to revise, amend and improve his
great work takes possession of him, and the vast amount of re-
writing and recopying thus entailed pushes its ultimate comple-
tion into the future and precipitates another period of distress. He
borrowed money from Brentano on the strength of the deposit
which Simrock had made in Frankfort; collected the honorarium
which Peters had advanced on the purchase of long undelivered
songs, bagatelles and marches; postponed the evil day of liquida-
tion with Steiner; finally borrowed money from his brother Johann,
and to secure the debt practically hypothecated to him all the
manuscripts which lay finished and unfinished in his desk by
placing their sale in his hands, subject to his instructions and ad-
vice. This circumstance brings Johann van Beethoven back
significantly into this history and invites an inquiry into his charac-
ter and his conduct with reference to his famous brother. That,
contemptible as his character may have been, he has yet been
maligned and his conduct towards Beethoven falsified by Schind-
ler and the romance writers who have accepted Schindler's mis-
representations and embellished them with the products of their
own unscrupulous imaginations, is scarcely open to doubt.
Something of the earlier history of Johann van Beethoven has
been told in the chapters of this biography which deal with the
incidents of the vears 1808 and 1812. The brother, whose associa-
tion with a woman obnoxious to him because of her frivolousness
and moral laxity Beethoven sought to prevent by police methods
and thereby only precipitated a marriage, had grown rich enough
in the interim to buy some farm property near Gneixendorf and to
make his winter residence in Vienna. There we find him in the
spring of 1822 living in the house of his brother-in-law, a baker
named Obermayer, at the intersection of Koth- and Pfarrgassen.
Thenceforward for a number of years, because of his relationship to
his famous brother, his idiosyncrasies, habits and public behavior
(and to a smaller number, the conduct of his wife), he became a
conspicuous and rather comical figure in Vienna. Gerhard von
Breuning described him thus:1
His hair was blackish-brown; hat well brushed; clothing clean but
suggesting that of a man who wishes to be elegantly clad on Sundays;
somewhat old-fashioned and uncouth, an effect which was caused by his
bone-structure, which was angular and unlovely. His waist was rather
small; no sign of embonpoint; shoulders broad; if my memory serves me
rightly, his shoulders were a trifle uneven, or it may have been his
'Ina note to Thayer.
Character of Johann van Beethoven 07
angular figure which made him look unsymmetrical; his clothing gener-
ally consisted of a blue frockcoat with brass buttons, white uecktie,
light trousers (1 think corn color), loose linen-thread gloves, the fingers
too long so that they folded at the ends or Stuck OUt loosely. His hands
were broad and bony. He was not exactly tall of stature, hut much
taller than Ludwig. His nose was large and rather long, the position of
his eyes, crooked, the effect being as if he squinted a little with one eye.
The mouth was crooked, one corner drawn upwards giving him the ex-
pression of a mocking smile. In his garb he affected to be a well-to-do
elegant, but the role did not suit his angular, bony figure. He did not in
the least resemble his brother Ludwig.
Breuning also says in his book "Aus dem Schwarzspanier-
hause," that he was sometimes seen driving in the Prater with two
or four horses in an old-fashioned phaeton, either handling the
reins himself or lolling carelessly in the seat with two gallooned
servants on the box. Beethoven's friends used to ridicule his
brother to his face. In a Conversation Book of 1822-23 Count
Moritz Lichnowsky writes: "Everybody thinks him a fool; we call
him only the Chevalier — all the world says of him that his only
merit is that he bears your name." No doubt there was something,
even a good deal, of the parvenu in Johann's character. He had
neither the intellectual nor moral poise to fit him for the place
which he thought he was entitled to fill by virtue of his wealth and
his relationship to one of the most famous men of his age. Nor
could he command respect from a social point of view. How far
from above reproach his wife was, Beethoven showed by his un-
justifiable conduct when he sought to have her ejected from Lin/,
in order to separate her from his brother. That conduct Lud-
wig's letters, soon to be quoted, show had been condoned by him,
but a memorandum found among Schindler's papers discloses that
her conduct in Vienna was such that Beethoven again thought of
invoking the police.1
'1'hat Johann van Beethoven was fond of monev is indicated
in his remarks in the Conversation Books, when his advice to his
'\'>. 34 in Portfolio I of the Schindler papers in Berlin is a note as follows: "Mr.
v. Schindler of course must not be mentioned in the presence (or by) the two persons,
tuit I, certainly." To this Schindler attached the following explanation: "The above
lines were addressed to Police Commissioner (Jngermann as an appendix to a detailed
report t<> him. The commissioner was requested by official <>r other means to help bim
induce liis brother to watcb over the mural coin I net of bis \\ ife, or to li a\ <• it overseen l>y
others, since ber excesses bad reached a pass w bicb already subjected berand 1 1 « ■ r busband
to public censure. But the efforts <>f Beethoven and the public official were fruitless
because his brother could not be persuaded to take energetic action. The excesses of the
[icentious woman grew greater f rum year to year until they 1 id; in 1823, to open scandal
in the barracks where Madame van Beethoven had visited her lovers (officers), with
whom she was seen <>n the public promenades. Then our Beethoven took energetic
steps with tiis brother, trying to persuade him to divorce his vicious wife, 1 >u t made
shipwreck on the indolent f 1 1 1 1 - man, w ho was himself morally depraved."
68 The Life of Ltjdwig van Beethoven
brother is always dictated by financial considerations and, no
doubt, by the thoughts of profits in which he hoped to share.
But what would you? For what other purposes had Beethoven
asked him in to his councils? Surely not to get his views on the
artistic value of his work. He defers in his letters to his brother's
superior business sagacity — that is all. It does not anywhere
appear that Johann ever attempted to overreach him or lead him
to financial injury. No doubt Beethoven in his fits of anger said
many things about him which put him in a bad light before his
friends; but did he not do the same thing in their own cases?
Did Schindler escape calumny? The better evidence is that
offered by the letters which show that Beethoven had confidence in
his brother's honesty and judgment, invited his help, and was
solicitous lest he suffer loss from his efforts. If Johann lacked
appreciation of his brother's real significance in art, he was proud
of the world's appreciation of him, and if he could not have high
regard for that high moral attitude in the matter which had brought
condemnation on his sister-in-law and wife, he at least showed
magnanimity in not trying to do his brother injury and being
always ready to help him when he could. It is very likely that he
was not at all musical and that his affectation of appreciation of his
brother's works made him a fair subject for ridicule. But surely
there was little moral obliquity in that. In a conversation in 1824
the nephew relates that his uncle had been present at a chamber
concert. Beethoven wants to know what he was doing there, and
the nephew replies: "He wants to acquire taste; he is continually
crying bravo." So also Holz relates, in 1826, that Johann had cer-
tainly heard the Quartet in E-flat major ten times, yet when it was
played in that year he said he was hearing it for the first time.1
Beethoven needed Johann 's help; he had a good opinion of his
business ability, and it is possible that he had learned something of
tolerance from the trials and tribulations which his quarrels with
his other sister-in-law had brought him. It is certain that after
a separation of nine years from his brother he was not merely
desirous but eager for a perfect reconciliation and a closer union.
Johann offers his help, but it is Beethoven who expresses the wish
that the two may live together, it is Beethoven who asks his
brother to come to him and help him negotiate the sale of
'Here, as in a former case, the editor of this English edition is seeking to reproduce
the spirit of Thayer, who was so eager to undo some of the injustice which had been
visited upon Beethoven's brothers Karl and Johann that he undertook their defense in a
brochure entitled "Ein kritischcr Brit rag zur Beethovenliteratur," published in Berlin
in 1877. He also spoke with emphasis on the subject in a review of Nohl's biography of
Beethoven which he contributed to the "New York Tribune" in the spring of 1881.
A Defense of the Older Brother 69
his compositions. Johann no doubt conducted some negotia-
tions without his brother's knowledge, hut not without authority;
and so far as the Mass is concerned it is put into the brother's
hands only after Johann has lent Beethoven 200 florins and
the Mass lias been promised not only to Peters but to Simrock
before him. No doubt Johann exceeded his authority; at least,
something had come to the ears of Count Moritz Lichnowsky,
probably from Beethoven himself, which made him say in the con-
versation already cited, "You ought to forbid him doing business
or carrying on correspondence without your signature. Perhaps
he has already closed a contract in your name"; but would it
not have been better for Beethoven's present reputation for
business honesty — if we must distinguish between the ethics of the
counting-house and those of the rest of the world — if he had closed
and kept the contracts which he had made when he called his
brother to help him with his correspondence? Schindler accuses
Johann of having persuaded Beethoven to take unfit lodgings;
but Beethoven expressly exonerates him from blame. He re-
proaches Johann for not having provided his brother with money
to pay his debts or offering his security for them; but Johann lent
him 200 florins before he went to Baden and probably did not see
why he should burden his own business enterprises in order to
enable Beethoven to keep the bank shares intact for the nephew.
He was willing to be helpful, however, and repeatedly offered his
brother a house on his estate, and in 1824 tried to persuade him to
take one rent free; but Beethoven's antipathy to his sister-in-law
would not let him accept.
Exactly when Beethoven went to Oberdobling in the summer
of 1822 is not known, but he was there in July, ami an endorsement
on the Simrock letter of May 13 would seem to indicate that he
was there in that month. His lodgings were in No. 135 Alleegasse.
In the spring or early summer he writes to Johann begging him,
instead of driving in the Prater, to come to him with his wife and
step-daughter. His whole desire is for the good which would in-
evitably follow a union. He had made inquiries about lodgings
and found that it would not be necessary to pay much more than
« I *
at Oberdobling, and that, without sacrifice of any pleasure, much
money might be saved for both. He says:
I have nothing against your wife; I only wish that she might realize
how much you might benefit from being with me and that all the miser-
able trifles of this life ought to cause no disturbances.
Peace, peace be with us. God grant that the most natural tie
between brothers be not unnaturally broken. At the best my life may
70 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
not be of long duration. I say again that I have nothing against your
wife, although her behavior towards me has struck me as strange several
times of late; besides, I have been ailing for three and a half months and
extremely sensitive and irritable. But away with everything which does
not promote the object, which is, that I and my good Karl lead a regular
life which is so necessary to me.
Here there is no mention of business matters and hence it
may be assumed that the letter dates from an early period in the
reunion of the brothers. But business considerations prompt a
letter of July 26 in which he tells Johann that his physician had
ordered him to go to Baden to take thirty baths and that he
would make the journey on August 6 or 7. Meanwhile he would
like to have his brother come to him and give him his help and then
accompany him to Baden and remain there a week. He was
engaged, he said, upon corrections of the Mass for which Peters
was to give him 1000 florins. Peters had also agreed to take some
smaller works and had sent 300 florins, but he had not yet accepted
the money. Breitkopf and Hartel had also sent the Saxon
Charge oV 'Affaires to him to talk about new works and inquiries
had come from Paris and Diabelli in Vienna. Publishers were
now struggling for his works: "What an unfortunate fortunate am
I! ! ! — this Berliner has also turned up — if my health would re-
turn I might yet feather my nest (auf einen griinen Zweig kom-
men)."
The Archduke-Cardinal is here. I go to him twice a week. Though
there is nothing to be expected from him in the way of magnanimity or
money, I am on such a good and confidential footing with him that it
would be extremely painful not to show him some agreeable attention;
moreover, I do not think that his apparent niggardliness is his fault.
In the same letter he says he might have had the 1000 florins
from Peters in advance but did not want to take them. He did
not want to "expose" himself, and he therefore asked his brother
for a loan, so that his trip to Baden might not be delayed. There
was no risk involved, as he would return the 200 florins in Septem-
ber wTith thanks. "As a merchant you are a good counsellor,"
are some of his words. The Steiners are also crowding him into
a corner and trying to force him into a wrritten agreement to let
them have all his compositions; but he had declared that he wTould
not enter into such an arrangement until his account had been
settled, and to that end he had proposed to them that they take
two pieces which he had written for Hungary1 and which might be
'"King Stephen" and "The Ruins of Athens."
Beethoven Asks Johann's Help 71
looked upon as two little operas. They had before then taken four
of the numbers. The debt to the Steiners amounted to 8000
florins, but they had in the "most abominable manner" charged
interest, to which he would not consenl . Part of t he debt had been
Karl's mot her's ' \\ hich he had assumed because he \\ anted to show
himself as kindly disposed as possible, SO thai Karl's interests would
not be endangered. Again he urges him to come to Baden and to
put pantry and cellar in the best of condition againsl September,
for presumably he and his little son would set up headquarters
with him and had formed the noble resolve to eat him out of house
and home.
In this letter was enclosed a memorandum of the deposit of
800 florins (from Peters) to his credit at Maisl's; and another of no
date, hut evidently written at about the same time, stated that the
money was at Maisl's but in case of need he would rather make a
loan than draw it, "for the Mass will be ready on the 15th of next
month." He went to Baden on September 1, but before then wrote
again to Johann expressing a wish to see him so that the affair
with Steiner might be settled, it being necessary to have the music
to "The Ruins of Athens"- in print by the end of October, when the
theatre for which it had been prepared would be opened. A week
after his arrival in Baden, on September 8, he writes that he had
been disturbed at the delay, partly because of his brother's ill
health, partly because he had had no report on the commission
undertaken with Steiner. Simrock had written again about the
Mass, but had mentioned the old price; if he were written to,
however, he thought he would increase it. Two singers had called
on him that day and asked to kiss his hands, "but as they were
very pretty I suggested that they kiss my lips." Another letter
obviously written about the same time but a little later tells of his
temporary apprehension lest his brother had fallen out with Steiner.
He also suspected that his brother might be angered at his not
having mentioned the loan. In this dilemma. Fearful for the -Ma--,
he had written to Simrock that he would let him have it lor 1000
florin-. "But as you write that you want the Mass 1 am agreed,
but I do not want you to lose anything by it." Matters are not
yet straightened out at Steiner's, as appears from a letter which he
enclose-. Meanwhile the Josephstadt Theatre has given him
work to do which will be quite burdensome, in view of his cure,
Staudenheimer having advised him to take baths of one and a
half hour's duration. However, he already had written a chorus
'300 florin-.
•Which li<- bad adapted to "Die Weihe del Qausee."
72 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
with dances and solo songs;1 if his health allows, he will also write
a new overture. On October 6, he addresses his brother in a
jocular mood: "Best of little Brothers! Owner of all the lands in
the Danube near Krems! Director of the entire Austrian Phar-
macy !" The letter contains a proposition for Steiner concerning
the Josephstadt Theatre music. Steiner has two numbers already
and has advertised one of them; there are eight numbers left, in-
cluding an overture. These Steiner can have at the following
rates: the overture 30 (perhaps he could get 40 ducats) ; four songs
with instrumental accompaniment, 20 ducats each; two wholly
instrumental numbers, 10 ducats each: — total, 140 ducats. If
"King Stephen" is wanted there are twelve numbers of which
four are to be reckoned at 20 ducats each, the others at 10 ducats
and one at 5 ducats — summa summarum 155 ducats. "Concern-
ing the new overture, you may say to them that the old one could
not remain, because in Hungary the piece was given as a postlude,
while here the theatre was opened with it. . . . Ponder the
matter of the Mass well, because I must answer Simrock; unless you
lose nothing, I beg of you not to undertake it."
The story of the music composed and adapted for the Joseph-
stadt Theatre will be told in the chronological narrative of incidents
belonging to the year; as for the Mass let it be noted that after
Johann had expressed a desire to take it in hand we hear nothing
more of the correspondence with Peters for a long time. The
autograph score was ready ; Beethoven had it copied, but continued
making alterations in it; not until the next year was it delivered
into the hands of the Archduke and new efforts made towards its
publication.
At the beginning of 1822, Beethoven still lived at No. 244
Hauptstrasse, Landstrasse, Vienna. The first significant happen-
ing to him in the new year was his election as honorary member of
the Musik-Verein of Steiermark in Gratz, whose diploma, couched
in the extravagantly sentimental verbiage of the day and country,
bore date January 1. He noted the conclusion of the C minor
Sonata (Op. Ill) on the autograph manuscript on January 11.
Bernhard Romberg, the violoncello virtuoso, was in Vienna in the
beginning of the year, giving concerts with his daughter Bern-
hardine and a son of 11 years, who was also a budding virtuoso on
his father's instrument. On February 12, Beethoven writes to his
old friend that if he was not present at the concert, it would be
because he had been attacked with an earache, the pain of which
1,1 Wo sich die Pulse," which Beethoven inscribed as having been written "Towards
the end of September."
Advices from London through Neate 73
would he aggravated even by the concert -giver's tones. He con-
cluded the letter with t lie wish in addition "to the fullest tribute of
applause, also the metallic recognition which high art seldom re-
ceives in these days." If Hanslick is correct in his history
of concert life in Vienna, Beethoven's wish was fulfilled:
Romberg's earnings during the Vienna season amounted to 10,000
florins.
When Beethoven went to Oberdftbling he moved into the
house Alleegasse 13.3, but for the time being kept his lodgings in
town. In Oberdobling he began a treatment consisting of taking
powders and drinking the waters. He worked on the Mass, the
Ninth Symphony, and on smaller compositions from which he
expected quicker returns. He was expected to visit Archduke
Rudolph twice a week, but the attendance was irregular. Appli-
cations for his works came to him from other cities and Breitkopf
and Hartel sent the Charge d 'Affaires of the Saxon Legation to him
with a letter regretting that the business connection which for-
merly existed had been discontinued and expressing a desire to
renew it with an opera. The messenger was Greisinger, Haydn's
first biographer, who had made Beethoven's acquaintance as a
young man. He was musical, and Beethoven applied to him for
advice the next year, when he sent an invitation to the Saxon Court
for a subscription to the Mass in D. On September 2, Beethoven
received a letter from Charles Neate, which was plainly an answer
to an appeal which had been sent by Beethoven, concerning the
publication in London of three quartets. Letters from Ries refer
to the same quartets, which as yet existed only in Beethoven's
intentions. Neate says that he had found it difficult to obtain
subscriptions for the works. He thought, however, that he might
still be able to raise £100, but could not get any money before the
arrival of the works in London. There was also apprehension that
the compositions would be copied in Vienna. Beethoven had
referred to a quartet and possibly some successors in his correspon-
dence with Peters, so that it is more than likelv that a deter-
mination to return to the quartet field had been formed by Beet-
hoven before the practical and material incentive came to him in
the last month of the year from Prince Galitzin — the incentive to
which we owe three of the last five Quartets.
There must now be recorded some of the facts connected with
the vi^it to Beethoven of a distinguished musical litterateur from
Leipsic — Friedrich Rochlitz. Rochlitz arrived in Vienna on May
24 and remained there till August 2. He wrote t w 0 letters about
his experiences in the Austrian capital, one under date of June 28,
74 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
the other of July 9. The latter contained his account of his meet-
ings with Beethoven and is reprinted in Vol. IV of his "Fur Freunde
der Tonkunst." He had never seen Beethoven in the flesh and
was eager for a meeting. A friend to whom he went (it is very
obvious that it was Haslinger) told him that Beethoven was in the
country and had grown so shy of human society that a visit to him
might prove unavailing; but it was Beethoven's custom to come to
Vienna every week and he was then as a rule affable and approach-
able. He advised Rochlitz to wait, and he did so until the following
Saturday. The meeting was a pleasant one and enabled Rochlitz
to study Beethoven's appearance and manner; but the interview
was suddenly terminated by Beethoven in the midst of the visitor's
confession of his own admiration and the enthusiasm which Beet-
hoven's symphonies created in Leipsic. From the beginning
Beethoven had listened, smiled and nodded, but after he had curtly
excused himself on the score of an engagement and departed
abruptly, Rochlitz learned that his auditor had not heard or under-
stood a word of all that he had said. A fortnight later Rochlitz
met Franz Schubert in the street, who told him that if he wanted to
see Beethoven in an unconstrained and jovial mood he should go
along with him to an eating-house where the great man dined.
He went and found Beethoven sitting with a party of friends whom
the chronicler did not know. Though he got a nod of recognition
for his greeting he did not join the party but took a seat near
enough to observe Beethoven and hear what he said, for he spoke
in a loud voice. It was not a conversation so much as a monologue
to which he listened. Beethoven talked almost incessantly; his
companions laughed, smiled and nodded approval.
He philosophised and politicised in his manner. He spoke of
England and the English, whom he surrounded with incomparable glory
— which sounded strange at times. Then he told many anecdotes of
the French and the two occupations of Vienna. He was not amiably
disposed towards them. He talked freely, without the least restraint,
seasoning everything with highly original and naive opinions and comical
conceits.
After finishing his meal Beethoven approached Rochlitz and
beckoned him into a little anteroom, where conversation was car-
ried on with the help of a tablet which Beethoven produced. He
began with praise of Leipsic and its music, especially the perfor-
mances in church, concert-room and theatre; outside of these things
he knows nothing of Leipsic, through which he passed as a youth on
his way to Vienna. (No doubt it was the Berlin trip to which
Beethoven referred, of which Rochlitz appears to be ignorant.)
Conversation with Friedrich Rochlitz 75
Praise of Leipsic was followed by violent condemnation of Vienna
and its music.
Of my works you hear nothing. Now — in summer.
No; it's the same in winter. Whal is there for them to hear?
"Fidelio"? they can't perform it and do not want to hear it. The
symphonies? For these they have no time. The concertos? Every-
body grinds out his own productions. The solos? They're out of fash-
ion long ago— and fashion is everything. At the best, Schuppanzigh
occasionally digs up a quartet, etc.
Rochlitz is here probably helping out his memory by drawing
a bit on his fancy; Schuppanzigh was at this time still in Russia,
having started on a tour through Germany, Poland and Russia in
1815, from which lie did not return till 1823. Rochlitz is interest-
ing, but it is well to revise his utterances by occasional appeals to
known facts. He goes on: Beethoven asked him if he lived in
Weimar and Rochlitz shook his head. 'Then you do not know the
great Goethe?" Rochlitz nodded violently in affirmation that he
did know the great Goethe. "I do, too; I got accmainted with him
in Carlsbad — God knows how long ago!" (But it was not in Carls-
bad that Beethoven met Goethe; it was in Teplitz and ten years
"ago.") Beethoven continued: "I was not so deaf then as I am
now, but hard of hearing. How patient the great man was with
me! . . . How happy he made me then! I would have gone to my
death for him; yes, ten times! It was while I was in the ardor of
this enthusiasm that I thought out my music to his 'Egmont' —
and it is a success, isn't it?" A success, surely; but Beethoven is
not likely to have forgotten that the music to "Egmont" was two
years old when he met Goethe. Rochlitz, it is to be feared, is
indulging his imagination again; but he is probably correct on the
whole. Let Beethoven proceed with his monologue:
Since that summer I read Goethe every day, when 1 read at all.
lie has killed Klopstock for me. You are surprised? Now you smile?
Aha! You smile that I should have read Klopstock! I gave myself up
to him many years, — when I took my walks and at other times. Ah
well! I didn't understand him always. He is so restless; ami he always
begins too far away, from on high down; always Maestoso, D-flat major!
Isn't it so? But he's great, nevertheless, and uplifts the soul. When I
did not understand 1 divined pretty nearly. But why should he always
want to (lie? That will come soon enough. Well; at leasl he always
sounds wi'll, etc Hut Goethe: — he lives and wants ns all to live with
him. That's the reason he can be composed. Nobody else can be so
easily composed as he.
Rochlitz had sought Beethoven with a commission from
Hartel: — that he compose music for Goethe's "Faust" like that
76 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
written for "Egmont." The psychological moment for broach-
ing the subject was arrived and Rochlitz made the communica-
tion on the tablet.
He read. "Ha!" he cried, and threw his hands high in the air.
"That would be a piece of work! Something might come out of that!"
He continued for a while in this manner, elaborating his ideas at once and
with bowed head staring at the ceiling. "But," he continued, after a
while, "I have been occupied for a considerable time with three other
big works; much of them is already hatched out — i. e., in my head. I
must rid myself of them first; two large symphonies differing from each
other, and an oratorio. They will take a long time; for, you see, for
some time I can't bring myself to write easily. I sit and think, and think.
The ideas are there, but they will not go down on the paper. I dread the
beginning of great works; once begun, it's all right.
Most of this is in harmony with what we know from other
sources. We have seen how laboriously Beethoven developed
the works of large dimensions in this period; we know that he had
thought of "Faust" as a subject for composition as early as 1808 *
and that it pursued him in his last years. But Hartel's proposi-
tion sent through Greisinger in the same year was for an opera,
and it seems likely that the "Faust" idea was independent of it
and possibly an original conceit of Rochlitz's. Be that as it may,
Rochlitz did make one proposition in which his interest was per-
sonal. After his return to Leipsic he wrote a letter to Haslinger
on September 10, 1822, in which he expressed the wish that Beet-
hoven would give a musical setting to his poem "Der erste Ton,"
and, if Schindler is correct, he suggested to Beethoven himself that
he write music for his "Preis der Tonkunst." Nothing came of
the suggestions, though it would appear that Rochlitz had discussed
both poems with Beethoven. There was a third meeting at which
the two, in company with another friend of Beethoven's (Rochlitz
says it was Gebauer), made a promenade through a valley which
lasted from ten o'clock in the forenoon till six o'clock in the even-
ing. Beethoven enlivened the walk with conversation full of
tirades against existing conditions, humorous anecdotes and droll-
eries. "In all seriousness, he seems amiable, or, if this word startle
you, I say: The gloomy, unlicked bear is so winning and confiding,
growls and shakes his hairy coat so harmlessly and curiously,
that it is delightful, and one could not help liking him even if he
were but a bear and had done nothing but what a bear can do."
The meeting between Rochlitz and Beethoven took place in
Baden; but as we have seen, the latter did not begin his sojourn
there until September 1, and Rochlitz's letter is dated July 9;
'Xohl, II, 50.
Beethoven's Opinion of Rossini 77
so it would appear that Beethoven had come from Oherdiihling on
a visit to Baden; Schindler says nothing to the contrary. Earlier
in 1822 Beethoven received a visit from a man who lies consider-
ably nearer the sympathies of the generation for which this hook
is written than Rochlitz. This man was Rossini. His operas had
been on the current list in Vienna for .several years, and with the
coming of the composer in person, in the spring of 1822, the
enthusiasm for him and his music had grown into a fanatical
adoration. Beethoven had seen the score of "II Barbiere" and
heard it. sung by the best Italian singers of the period. Moreover,
he had a high admiration for the Italian art of song and a very poor
opinion of German singers. In Barbara's troupe were Lablache,
Rubini, Donzelli and Ambroggio, and the Demoiselles Sontag,
Ungher, Lalande and Dardanelli. Rossini was on his wedding
trip, having but recently married Colbran, and his elegant man-
ners and brilliant conversation had made him the lion of aristo-
cratic drawing-rooms in the Austrian capital. "Zelmira" had
been written especially for the Vienna season, though it had been
tried at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples in the preceding December.
It had its first performance at the Karnthnerthor Theatre on April
IS.1 Several of Beethoven's utterances concerning the musician,
who no doubt did much to divert the taste of the masses away from
the German master's compositions, have been preserved. Sey-
fried recorded that in answer to the question. 'What is Rossini?"
Beethoven replied, "A good scene-painter," and Seyfried also
makes note of this utterance: "The Bohemians are born musicians;
the Italians ought to take them as models. What have they to
show for their famous conservatories? Behold their idol — Ros-
sini! If Dame Fortune had not given him a pretty talent and
pretty melodies by the bushel, what he learned at school would
have brought him nothing but potatoes for his big belly!"
Schindler says that alter reading the score of "II Barbiere"
Beethoven said: "Rossini would have been a great composer if
his teacher had frequently applied some blows ad posteriora"
To Freudenberg at Baden in 1824 he remarked: "Rossini is a
talented and a melodious composer; his music suits the frivolous
and sensuous spirit of the times, and his productivity IS so great
that he needs only as many weeks as the Germans need years to
write an opera."
The Knssini craze was no doubt largely responsible for some
of Beethoven's outbreaks concerning the taste of the Viennese,
'Archduke Kudnlpli wrote variations on one of the melodies from the opera, which
Beethoven corrected'
78 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
but on the whole he does not seem seriously to have been disturbed
by it. Schindler cites him as remarking on the change in the
popular attitude: "Well, they can not rob me of my place in
musical history." As for the Italian singers he thought so much
of them that he told Caroline Ungher that he would write an
Italian opera for Barbara's company.
As for Rossini, he had heard some of Beethoven's quartets
played by Mayseder and his associates, and had enjoyed them
enthusiastically. It was therefore natural enough that he should
want to visit the composer. Schindler says that he went twice
with Artaria to call upon him, after Artaria had each time asked
permission, but that on both occasions Beethoven had asked to be
excused from receiving him — a circumstance which had given
rise to considerable comment in Vienna. The story is not true,
but that it was current in Vienna four years afterward appears
from an entry in a Conversation Book of August 1826 where some-
body asks: "It is true, isn't it, that Rossini wanted to visit you
and you refused to see him?" There is no written answer.
We repeat: the story is not true, though both Nohl and Wasielew-
ski accepted it without demur. Twice, at least, Rossini publicly
denied it. In 1867 Dr. Eduard Hanslick visited him with two
friends in Paris. Concerning the interview, Hanslick wrote:1
Suddenly, as if he intentionally wanted to call attention to some-
thing loftier, he asked if the Mozart monument at Vienna was finished?
And Beethoven's? We three Austrians looked rather embarrassed.
"I remember Beethoven well," continued Rossini after a pause, "although
it is nearly half a century ago. On my visit to Vienna I hastened to
look him up."
"And he did not receive you, as Schindler and other biographers
assure us."
"On the contrary," said Rossini, correcting me: "1 had Carpani,
the Italian poet with whom I had already called upon Salieri, introduce
me, and he received me at once and very politely. True, the visit did
not last very long, for conversation with Beethoven was nothing less than
painful. His hearing was particularly bad on that day and in spite of my
loudest shoutings he could not understand me; his little practice in
Italian may have made conversation more difficult."
This confirms what Rossini told Ferdinand Hiller in 1856 :2
During my sojourn in Vienna I had myself introduced to him by
old Calpani [sic]; but between his deafness and my ignorance of German,
conversation was impossible. But I am glad that I saw him, at least.
'In an article in the "Neue Freie Presse" of July 21, 1867, reprinted in "Aus dem
Concertsaal," page 594.
2"Aus dem Tonleben, etc.," II, 49.
Alleged Meeting of Beethoven and Schubert t:>
Quite as inaccurate is a statement of Schindler's touching a
meeting between Schuberl and Beethoven in this year. Schind-
ler's story is totheeffecf thai Schubert, accompanied by Diabelli,
went to Beethoven and handed him the variations for pianoforte,
four hands, which be bad dedicated to him; luit that Schubert was
so overwhelmed at the majestic appearance of Beethoven thai his
courage oozed away and be was scarcely able to write t he answers
to the questions which were put to him. At length, when Beetho-
ven pointed out a trifling error in harmony, remarking that it was
"not a mortal sin," Schuberl lost control of himself completely,
regained his composure only after he bad left the bouse, ami never
again had courage enough to appear in Beethoven's presence.
As opposed to this, Ileinrieh von Kreissle, Schubert's biographer,
adduces the testimony of Joseph Htittenbrenner, a close friend of
Schubert's, who had it from the song composer himself t hat he had
goneto Beethoven's house with the variations, but the great man was
not at home and t he variat ions were left with the servant, lie bad
neit her seen Beethoven nor spoken with him, but learned with de-
light afterwards that Beethoven had been pleased with thevarial ions
and often played them with bis nephew Karl. Now, had Schindler
been an eyewitness of the scene which he describes, he would have
mentioned the fact; but he was not yet living with Beethoven.
While in Baden, Beethoven began the work which was to call
him hack into public notice. This was the music for the opening
of the Josephstadt Theatre, which the director of the theatre,
Carl Friedrich Hensler, director also of the combined theatres of
Pressburg ami Baden, asked of him immediately after his arrival
at tin' watering-place. Hensler (1761—1825) was a popular dram-
atist as well as manager and an old acquaintance of Beethoven's,
by whom he was greatly respected. lie had bought the privilege
of the Josephstadt Theatre in Vienna. Carl Meisl, who was a
Commissioner of the Royal Imperial Navy, had written two
festival pieces for the opening, which had been set down for Octo-
ber S, 1822, the name-day of the Kniperor. The first piece was
a paraphrase of Kotzebue's "Ruins of Athens," written for the
opening of the theatre in Pesth in 1812, for which Beethoven had
composed the music. Meisl took Kotzebue's text and made such
alterat ions in it as were necessary to change "The Ruins of Athens"
into "The Consecration of the House." Nottebohm's reprint in
"Zweite Beethoveniana" (p. 385 et seq.) enables a comparison to
be made with the piece as it left the hands of Meisl and the original.
The new words did m»t always fit the music and caused Beethoven
Considerable concern. A choral dance:
80 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
Wo sich die Pulse
jugendlich jagen,
Schwebet im Tanze
das Leben dahin, etc.
was introduced and to this Beethoven had to write new music,
which he did in September. He also revised, altered and extended
the march with chorus.1 Beethoven wrote a new overture also,
that known as "Consecration of the House," putting aside the
overture to "The Ruins of Athens" because that play had served
as a second piece, or epilogue, at Pesth. Schindler says he began
work on this occasional music in July, after the last touches had
been given to the Mass; but progress was not as rapid as was
desirable because of the extreme hot weather. He also says it was
in Baden and that he was there with him. The letters to Johann
show, however, that Beethoven did not go to Baden till Septem-
ber 1, having before that been in Oberdobling. But he wrote the
new pieces in Baden. On a revised copy of the chorus "Wo sich
die Pulse" Beethoven wrote: "Written towards the end of Septem-
ber, 1823, performed on October 3 at the Josephstadt Theatre."
The 1823 should be 1822, of course, but singularly enough the
same blunder was made on a copy of the overture and another
composition, the "Gratulatory Minuet," which was written about
the same time. The explanation is probably that offered by
Nottebohm, viz.: that Beethoven dated the copies when he sent
them to the Archduke. Beethoven's remark in a letter to Johann
that he had finished the chorus with dances and would write the
overture if his health allowed, also fixes the date of the composition
of the overture in September. This Schindler, though in error
about the work done in July, confirms in this anecdote about the
origin of the overture:
Meanwhile September was come. It was therefore time to go to
work on the new overture, for the master had long ago seen that that to
"The Ruins of Athens" was for obvious reasons unsuitable. One day,
while I was walking with him and his nephew in the lovely Helenenthal
near Baden, Beethoven told us to go on in advance and join him at an
appointed place. It was not long before he overtook us, remarking that
he had written down two motives for an overture. At the same time
he expressed himself also as to the manner in which he purposed treating
them — one in the free style and one in the strict, and, indeed, in Handel's.
As well as his voice permitted he sang the two motives and then asked
us which we liked the better. This shows the roseate mood into which
'Published as Op. 114. and designated as "new" by Beethoven, though not a
measure had been added, bvit only a few lines of text, and the choral music simplified.
Steiner published pianoforte arrangements for two and four hands in 1822, and the
score in 1824.
Opening of the Josephstadt Theatre 81
for the moment he was thrown by the discovery of two genu for which,
perhaps, he had been hunting a long time. The nephew decided in favor
of both, while I expressed a desire to see the fugal theme worked out
for the purpose mentioned. It is not to be understood that Beethoven
wrote the overture "Zur Weihe des Hauses" as he did because I wanted
it so, but because he had long cherished the plan to write an overture in
the striet, expressly in the Handclian, style.
The overture was written. "The newly organized orchestra
of the Josephstadt Theatre did not receive it till the afternoon
before the opening, and with innumerable mistakes in every part.
The rehearsal which took place in the presence of an almost filled
parterre, scarcely sufficed for the correction of the worst of the
copyist's errors." The overture and chorus written for 'The
Consecration of the House" are "occasional" and were conceived
and wrought out in a remarkably short time for that period in
Beethoven's activities. The first was offered for publication to
Steiner and, with other pieces, to Diabelli. The negotiations
failed and the overture finally appeared from the press of Schott
in 1S-2.5, with a dedication to Prince Galitzin.
The performance of 'The Consecration of the House" took
place as projected, on October 3, the eve of the Emperor's name-
day. All of the 400 reserved seats and 14 boxes had been sold
several weeks before. Beethoven had reserved the direction for
himself and sat at the pianoforte, the greater part of the orchestra
within view, his left ear turned towards the stage. He was still
able to hear a little with that ear, as we know from the fact related
by Schindler, thai he was fond of listening to Cherubini's overture
to "Medea" played by a musical clock which stood in a restaurant
adjoining the Josephstadt Theatre. Chapelmaster Franz Gl&ser
stood at his right, and Schindler, who had recently abandoned the
law, led the first violins. At the dress rehearsal Fanny Hecker-
mann sang timidly and dragged perceptibly in the duet. Beetho-
ven observed this and called the singer to him, pointed out the
places in which he wanted more animation, spoke some words of
encouragement and advised her to follow the tenor, who was an
experienced singer. lie then had the number repeated and on
its conclusion remarked: "Well done, this time, Fraulcin Heekcr-
niann!" The tenor was Michael (ireiner, with whom Beethoven
was acquainted, from Baden, and Fraulcin Kaiser sang the part of
Pallas. The rehearsal and the performance demonsl rated plainly,
Schindler says, that under no circumstances was Beethoven able
longer to conduct large bodies of performers. The represen-
tation, despite the enthusiasm of the performers, stimulated by
82 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
Beethoven's encouraging speeches, was not a success. Beethoven
would take none of the fault to himself, however, though his
anxiety led him to hold back the music despite the exertions of his
two leaders, whom he admonished against too much precipitancy,
of which Schindler protests they were not guilty. There were
demonstrations of enthusiasm at the close and Beethoven was led
before the curtain by Director Hensler. The work was repeated
on October 4, 5 and 6. Beethoven's friendly feeling for Hensler
gave rise to a new orchestral composition a few weeks later. The
members of the company paid a tribute to their director on his
name-day, November 3. After a performance of Meisl's drama
"1722, 1822, 1922," the audience having departed, the director was
called to the festively decorated and illuminated stage, and sur-
rounded by his company in gala dress. A poetical address was
read to him by the stage-manager. After he had gone back to his
lodgings, the orchestra and chorus serenaded him, the programme
consisting of an overture to "The Prodigal Son" by Chapelmaster
Drechsel, a concerto for flute by Chapelmaster Glaser, and what
Bauerle's "Theaterzeitung" called "a glorious new symphony"
composed for the occasion by Beethoven, the whole ending with the
march and chorus from Mozart's "Titus." The "new symphony"
was the "Gratulatory Minuet" of which mention has been made.
Nothing is said in the accounts about Beethoven's presence at
the serenade, and as "Fidelio" was performed that night at the
Karnthnerthor Theatre, his absence might easily be explained.
On the next day1 Hensler gave a dinner in the property-room of
the theatre at 3 p.m. Beethoven, Glaser, Bauerle, Gleich, Meisl,
Hopp and others were present. Beethoven had a seat directly
under the musical clock. Glaser told Reubl (Reichl?) who pro-
vided the entertainment to set the clock to the overture to
"Fidelio" and then wrote to Beethoven to listen, as he would
soon hear it. Beethoven listened and then said: "It plays it
better than the orchestra in the Karnthnerthor."
The "Gratulatory Minuet" was offered to Peters in the letter
of December 20. Beethoven was evidently eager to realize
quickly on a work which had cost him but little labor — the product
of a period in which his fancy seemed to have regained its old-
time fecundity and he his old-time delight in work. He offered
it elsewhere and gave a copy (the one that he misdated) to
Archduke Rudolph for his collection. Artaria published it in
1835 under the title "Allegretto (Gratulations-Menuet)" with a
'This anecdote was told to Thayer on October 28, 1859 by an old actor named
Hopp who was present on the occasion.
Unable to Condi i t "Fidelio" s:>
dedication to Car] Holz. The title on the autograph reads:
"Tempo di Minuet to quasi Allegretto." "Allegro qod troppo"
was originally written but was scratched out and "Gratulations-
Menuet" written in its place.
Beethoven's absence from the complimentary function to
to Hensler in the theatre may be explained by the revival of
"Fidelio" which took place on the same night, November .">, after
an absence from the stage of three years (not eight, as Schindler
says I, though we do not know that he was presenl . [t was a bene-
fit performance for Wilhelmine Schroder, then 17 years old, after-
wards the famous dramatic singer Madame Schroder-Devrient.
Baitzinger sang Florestan, Zeltner Rucco, Forti Pizarro. Rauscher
Jaquino, Nestroy the Minister, FrSulein Demmer MarceUine and
FrSulein Schroder Leonore. Schindler tells a pathetic tale con-
cerning the dress rehearsal. Together with his friends, mindful
of the happenings in the Hall of the University in 1819 and in the
Josephstadt Theatre only a short time before, Schindler advised
Beethoven not to attempt to conduct the performance. He hesi-
tated for a few days, then announced his intention to direct with
the help of Umlauf. Schindler escorted him to the rehearsal.
The overture went well, the orchestra being well trained in it, but
at the first duet it became painfully manifest that Beethoven heard
nothing of what was going on on the stage. He slackened hisbeal
and the orchestra obeyed; the singers urged the movement on-
ward. Umlauf stopped the performance at the rappings on the
jailor's lodge-gate but gave no reason to Beethoven. At the same
place on the repetition there was the same confusion. Let Schind-
ler continue the narrative, the correctness of which there seems to
be no reason to question:
The impossibility of going ahead with the author of the work was
evident. Hut how, in what manner inform him of the fact? Neither
Duport, the director, nor Umlauf was willing to speak the saddening
words: "It will do! do; go away, you unhappy man!" Beethoven, already
uneasy in his Beat, turned now to the right now to the left, scrutinizing
the faces to learn the cause of the interruption. Everywhere silence.
I had approached near him in the orchestra. He banded me his note-
book with an indication that I write what the trouble was. Hastily I
wrote in effect : "Please do uol u<> on; more al home." 'With a hound he
was in the parterre and said merely: "Out , quick !" Without stopping he
ran towards his lodgings, PfaiTgaSSe, Yorstadt Leimgrube. Inside he
threw himself on t he sofa, covered his face with his hands and remained in
this attitude till we sat down to eat. During the meal not a word came
from his lips; he was a picture of profound melancholy and depression.
When I tried to go away after the meal he begged uie not to leave him
until it was time to go to the theatre. At parting he asked me to go with
84 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
him next day to his physician, Dr. Smetana, who had gained some repute
as an aurist.
Some details of the representation may be learned from the
account in the "Theaterzeitung" of November 9. The day was
the name-day of the Empress; the square about the Opera-house
wras illuminated; the national hymn, "Gott erhalte Franz den
Kaiser," was sung; the overture received such applause that it had
to be repeated; the great duet and the canon quartet also, and the
soprano and tenor were recalled at the end of the opera. Was
Beethoven present? The question cannot be answered. Alfred
von Wolzogen in his biography of Wilhelmine Schrbder-Devrient
quotes from Claire von Gliimer, who had access to the singer's
notes, in his account of the affair. The incident of the rehearsal is
told with a variation which strengthens Schindler's narrative.
At the performance, Claire von Gliimer says, Beethoven sat be-
hind the chapelmaster in the orchestra so deeply wrapped in his
cloak that only his gleaming eyes were visible. The youthful
prima donna was unspeakably alarmed, but scarcely had she
uttered her first words than she felt her whole body infused with
marvellous power. Beethoven — the public — everything vanished
from view. She forgot that she had studied the role — she was
transformed into Leonore — she lived, she suffered the part, scene
after scene. Beethoven, the story proceeds, though he had heard
not a word but had observed the soul of her singing in her trans-
figured face, had recognized his Leonore in her.
After the performance he went to her; his usually threatening eyes
smiled upon her, he patted her cheeks, thanked her for her Fidelio and
promised to compose a new opera for her — a promise which, unfortunately
was never fulfilled. Wilhelmine never met the master again, but of all
the evidences of homage paid to the famous woman in later years her
most precious recollection were the words of appreciation which Beet-
hoven spoke to her.
The tale is amiable, and plausible enough; standing alone
there would seem to be no ground for doubting its correctness.
But there are circumstances which give our credence pause.
Schindler, who was Beethoven's constant companion in those days,
who presents the story of the rehearsal so convincingly, and who
waited until it was time to go to the theatre, says not a word about
Beethoven's presence at the representation. Would he, after
suffering such a heartbreaking humiliation at the rehearsal, have
gone to the theatre and taken a conspicuous place in the orches-
tra? It does not seem likely. Moreover, in a letter published in
the "Neue Berliner Musikzeitung" of July 30, 1851, Schindler,
Treatment for Deafness Resumed s.*>
discussing an impersonation of Fidelio by Fran Kdster-Schlegel in
Frankfort, says: '"It maybe remarked in passing thai Beethoven
never saw SchrOder-Devrient a> Fidelio, but was dissatisfied with
her concept ion of the character as he had learned to know it from
the public prints and oral communications. His ideal was not an
operatic heroine, etc." This would seem to be conclusive, were
there not evidence that Sehindler's memory had played him false
again. "Fidelio" was repeated on November 4, and also on
November 26 and December 17, 1822, and March 3 and is. 1823,
and B&uerle's "Theaterzeitung" distinctly states that "Beethoven
attended the second performance, sitting in a box in the first tier."
Moreover, Louis Sehlbsser, who was at this performance, adds
confirmation by telling how he saw Beethoven leaving the theatre
in the company of Schindler and von Breuning. Beethoven may
not have been aide to form an opinion of a performance which he
could not hear, but the testimony of Schindler that he never saw
Schrbder-Devrient in the role of Fidelia is greatly weakened by
this proved fact. But would he have made such a statement if
Beethoven had been present at the first performance and paid so
spectacular a tribute to the singer? It is easier to imagine that
Sehindler's memory was treacherous concerning a later perfor-
mance. At best, the evidence is inconclusive, because contra-
dictory. In March, 1823, Chapelmaster Renting remarks in a
Conversation Book: "I saw you in the theatre at the first per-
formance of 'Fidelio'." Did he mean the first performance in
November, 18-2-2, or the first of the two performances in the month
in which he was writing — March, l<S-2.'5? Schrbder-Devrient in
her prime is reputed to have been the greatest of all Fidelios; but
she did not reach her full artistic stature until after Beethoven's
death.
Following Sehindler's narrative we learn that Beethoven's
woeful experience at the rehearsal led to a resolution on hi> part
to make another effort to be healed of his deafness. [He went to
Dr. Smetana, who prescribed medicaments to be taken inwardly,
thereby indicating, as Schindler asserts, t hat he had no expect at ion
of effecting a cure, but wanted only to occupy Beethoven's mind,
knowing what to expeel from SO impatient, wilful and absent-
minded a patient; for Beethoven was as unready to follow a
physician's advice a> a musician's, and was more likely to injure
himself with overdoses of drugs than to invite the benefit which
the practitioner hoped for by obedience to the prescription. The
usual thing happened; not only with Dr. Smetana's treatment, but
also with that cj the priest, Pater Weiss, whom he had consulted
86 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
some 18 years before and to whom hie now returned. For a while
he thought that the oil which the priest dropped into his ears was
beneficial, and Pater Weiss himself expressed the belief that the
left ear, at least, might permanently be helped; but Beethoven
grew skeptical, as he always did unless he experienced immediate
relief, his work monopolized his attention, and despite the priest's
solicitations he abandoned the treatment and yielded himself to his
fate. Thenceforward no one heard him lament because of his
deafness.
The compositions which were in Beethoven's hands at the
close of the year were those which had occupied him in the earlier
months. The Mass, several times completed but never complete
so long as it was within reach, received what must now be looked
upon as its finishing touches; progress was made on the Ninth
Symphony and thought given to a quartet, perhaps several quar-
tets. The Bagatelles for Pianoforte grouped under Op. 119, some
of which had been published a year before (Nos. 7-11), were
finished; Nos. 1 to 6 were ready for the publisher by the end of 1822
— the autograph manuscript bearing the inscription "Kleinig-
keiten, 1822 Novemb." Nottebohm thinks that Nos. 2 to 5 were
conceived between 1800 and 1804; a sketch for No. 5 (C minor,
Risoluto) is found among sketches made in 1802 for the Sonata in
C minor Op. 30; Lenz says sketches for No. 3 (in D, a V Allemande)
are among sketches for the last movement of the "Eroica" Sym-
phony; No. 6 (G major) is sketched on a sheet containing experi-
mental studies for a passage in the Credo of the Mass; sketches
for Nos. 2 and 4 are among suggestions of a melody for Goethe's
"Erlkonig," indicating an early period which cannot be determined.
Of Nos. 7-11, enough has been said in a previous chapter. The
piece published as No. 12 and added to the set by Diabelli after
Beethoven's death was originally a song with pianoforte accom-
paniment and had its origin in 1800 at the latest. "Whether or
not Beethoven made the pianoforte piece out of the projected
song, on which point nothing of significance can be said, it is
certain that it does not belong to the set, which consists of 11
numbers only in the old editions and in the manuscripts of the
Rudolphinian Collection.
Beethoven offered a number of Bagatelles to Peters — at first
four, then a larger number; he sent six to the publisher on February
1.5, 1823. Peters returned them — Beethoven receiving them on
March 19 — with the remark that they were not worth the price
asked for them and that Beethoven ought to consider it beneath
his dignity to waste his time on such trifles; anybody could write
GAUTZIN am) an Oratorio for Boston S7
them. Schindler says that Petere's action aggrieved Beethoven,
which is easily believed; bul Schindler confounded the Bagatelles
Op. 11!) with the set, Op. 126, works of distinctly a higher order
which were not composed at the time. ()n February 25, L823,
Beethoven senl 11 Bagatelles to Pies in London with instructions
to sell them as best he could. Naturally, Op. 1 l!> is meant. On
May 7, 1823, six were offered to Lissner in St. Petersburg. Schle-
singer published the set in Paris a* the end of 182S, as Op. 112,
and Sauer and Leidesdorf issued them almost simultaneously in
Vienna with the same opus number. The number 11!> appears to
have been assigned to the set after an agreement had been reached
with Steiner concerning the works now numbered 1 12 to lis. The
last known song by Beethoven, "Der Kuss," was finished at this
time, though written down practically as we know it in 1798.
Sketches involving the few changes made are found among some
for the overture "The Consecration of the House" and the Ninth
Symphony. The autograph is dated "December, 1822." It was
sent to Peters, who did not print it; in 1SC25 it was sent to the
Schotts, numbered lc28, and they published it.
In the last weeks of the year a connection was established
which was destined to be of great influence in Beethoven's final
creative activities. Prince Nicolas Boris Galit/.in, born in 1795,
who as a young man had taken part in the Napoleonic wars, was
an influential factor in the musical life of St. Petersburg. He
played the violoncello, and his wife (nie Princess Saltykow) was
an admirable pianist. Prince Galitzin was an ardent admirer of
Beethoven*S music and had arranged some of the works written
for the pianoforte for strings. Whether or not he had made the
persona] acquaintance of Beethoven lias not been established,
hut wanting to have as his private property some composition by
the master whom he revered, he addressed a letter to Beethoven
on November 9, 1822, saying that as a passionate amateur of
music and an admirer of the master's talent he asked him to com-
pose for him one, two or three string quartets, for which In- would
be pleased to pay any sum demanded and that he would accept
the dedication of the works with gratitude. Beethoven's answer,
dated January 25, 1823, has not been found but it is known that
he accepted the commission and fixed the honorarium at 50 ducats
each. This is i lie prologue to t he story of the lasl Quartets.
In Charles C. Perkins's "History of the Handel ami Haydn
Society, of Boston," Vol. I, p. 87, the author writes: "The mosl
interesting matter connected with the history of the society in the
year 1 s 2 : i .... is the fact that Beethoven was commissioned to
88 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
write an oratorio for it." The date is obviously wrong; it should
be 1822, for in a letter dated December 20, 1822, as will appear in
the next chapter of this work, Beethoven tells Ries that he has
received requests from all parts of Europe "and even from North
America." The historian of the Boston Society adds:
That the commission was given is certain, but as it is not mentioned
in the records, Mr. A. W. Thayer is probably right in thinking that it was
given unofficially by Richardson and two or three other members. In
October 1854 Mr. Thayer wrote a letter to Mr. J. S. D wight, the well-
known editor of the "Musical Journal," to say that he had questioned
Schindler, Beethoven's biographer, on the subject and had learned from
him that in 1823 a Boston banker, whose name was unknown to him,
having occasion to write to Geymuller, a Viennese banker, had sent an
order to the great musician to compose an oratorio for somebody or some
society in Boston and it was forwarded to its destination. . . . Wishing
to know the truth about the matter I wrote to Mr. Thayer, then, as now,
U. S. Consul at Trieste, for information, and in reply learned that in one
of Beethoven's note books he had found this passage: "Biihler writes:
'The oratorio for Boston?' (Beethoven) T cannot write what I should
like best to write, but that which the pressing need of money obliges me
to write. This is not saying that I write only for money. When this
period is past I hope to write what for me and for art is above all — Faust.' ;
The passages cited are from a Conversation Book used in the
early days of April, 1823. In the fall of that year, on November
5, the "Morgenblatt fiir Gebildete Leser" closed an article on
Beethoven with the words: "A symphony, quartets, a Biblical
oratorio, sent to him in English by the consul of the United States,
observe the United States, and possibly one of Grillparzer's
poems, may be expected."
Chapter IV
The Solemn Mass in D — A Royal Subscription — More
Negotiations with England — Opera Projects — Grillpar-
zer's "Melusine" — The Diabelh' Variations Summer
Visitors — An Englishman's Account — Weber and Julius
Benedict — Hies and the Ninth Symphony — Franz Liszt
and Beethoven's Kiss — The Year 18^3.
WHEN the year 1828 opens, the Mass in D is supposedly
finished and negotiations for its publication have been
carried on in a manner the contemplation of which
must affect even the casual reader grievously. The work had
been originally intended for the functions attending the installa-
tion of Archduke Rudolph as Archbishop of OlmUtz — not merely
as a personal tribute to the imperial, archepiseopal pupil, but for
actual performance at the cermony of inthronization — a fact
which ought to be borne in mind during its study, for it throws
light upon Beethoven's attitude towards the Catholic Church
(at least so far as that church's rubrics are concerned) as well as
towards religion in general and art as its handmaiden and mistress.
Archduke Rudolph had been chosen Cardinal on April 24, IS 1!), and
Archbishop on June 4 of the same year; he was installed as head of
the see of OlmUtz on March 20, 1820; but the fact of his selection
for the dignities was known in Vienna amongst his friends as early
as the middle of 1S18. When the story of the year 1823 opens,
therefore. Beethoven's plan IS nearly five years old and Archduke
Rudolph has been archbishop nearly a year. We first hear of the
Mass this year in a letter dated February 27, when Beethoven
apologizes to his august pupil for not having waited upon him.
lb- had delayed his visit, he said, because he wanted to send him a
copy of the Mass; but this had been held back by correct ions and
other circumstances. Accompanying the letter were the copies of
the overture to "The Consecration of the House" and the "Gratu-
latory Minuet." Finally, on March P), 1823, on the very eve
of the first anniversary ol the installation. Beethoven placed a
l B9 1
90 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
manuscript copy of the Mass in the Archduke's hands. In the
catalogue of the Rudolphinian Collection, now preserved by the
Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna, it is entered thus:
"Missa Solemnis. Partitur. MS. This beautifully written MS.
was delivered by the composer himself on March 19, 1823."
The plan to write the Mass for the installation ceremonies
seems to have been original with Beethoven; it was not suggested
by the Archduke or any of his friends, so far as has ever been
learned. He began work upon it at once, for Schindler says he saw
the beginning of the score in the fall of 1818. Nottebohm's study
of all the sketches which have been discovered (save a number now
preserved in the Beethoven House in Bonn which do not add
materially to our knowledge) led him to conclusions which may
be summed up as follows: The movements were taken up in the
order in which the various portions of the text appear in the Roman
missal, but work was prosecuted on several movements simul-
taneously. The Kyrie was begun at the earliest in the middle of
1818, i. e., shortly after the fact of the Archduke's appointment
became known ; the Gloria was completely sketched by the end of
1819, the Credo in 1820; the entire Mass was complete in sketch-
form in the beginning of 1822. While sketching the Mass Beet-
hoven composed the Pianoforte Sonatas, Op. 109, 110 and 111,
the Variations, Op. 107, No. 8, and several other small pieces,
including the canons "O, Tobias," "Gehabt euch wohl," "Tugend
ist kein leerer Name," and "Gedenkt heute an Baden." But with
the elaboration of the sketches the Mass was not really finished,
for subsequently Beethoven undertook many changes. The
Allegro molto which enters in the Credo at the words et ascendit is
shorter in the autograph than in the printed edition. At the
entrance of the words et iterum and cujus regni the autograph is in
each case two measures shorter than in the printed score. In the
autograph, and also in the copy which Beethoven gave to the
Archduke, the trombones do not enter till the words judicare vivos
et mortuos. There are no trombones in the Gloria. The trom-
bone passage which now appears just before the entrance of the
chorus on judicare was formerly set for the horns. After the
words et mortuos the trombones are silent till the end of the Credo
in the autograph; they enter again in the beginning of the Sanctus,
but are silent at the next Allegro. They occur in the Benedictus,
but are wanting in the Agnus Dei. From the nature of these
supplementary alterations it is to be concluded that considerable
time must have elapsed before they could all be made and the Mass
be given the shape in which we know it. Holding to the date on
Beethoven and Religion 91
which tlit* copy was delivered to the Archduke March 1!), 1823 .
the earliest date at which the Mass <;m have received its definitive
shape must beset down as the middle of ls-2.5. Beethoven, there-
fore, devoted about five years to its composition. He made so
many changes in the tympani part of the Agnus Dei that he wore
a bole in the very thick paper, his aim being, apparently, by means
of a vague rh,\ thin to suggesl tlie distance of the disturbers of the
peace. That he was sincere in his purpose to provide a nia^s for
the installation ceremonies is to be found, outside of Schindler's
statement, in a letter to the Archduke written in 1S1!>, in which
he say - .
The clay on which a high mass of my composition is performed at the
ceremony for Y. I. II. will be to me the most beautiful in my life and ( rod
will enlighten me so that my poor powers may contribute to the glory of
this solemn day.
Something was said, in the conclusion of the chapter of this
biography devoted to a review of the incidents of the years 1807
to 1800, concerning the views Beethoven entertained on the sub-
ject of religion and dogmatic and sectarian Christianity. His
attitude towards the Roman Catholic Church becomes an almost
necessary subject of contemplal ion in a study of the Solemn Mass
in I); but it is one into which the personal equation of the student
must perforce largely enter. The obedient churchman of a Roman
Catholic country will attach both less and more importance, than
one brought up in a Protestant land, to the fact that he admonished
his nephew when a lad to say his prayers and said them with him
(as the boy testified in the guardianship proceedings), that he him-
self at least once led him to the door of the confessional,1 that he
consented to the summoning of a priest when in cr/rcmis and that
he seemed to derive comfort and edification from the sacred func-
tion. It is not necessary, however, to go very deeply into a criti-
cal study of the Mass in order to say that while the composition
shows respect for traditions in some portions and while it is possi-
ble to become eloquent without going beyond the demonstration
contained in the music itself, in describing the overwhelming
puissance <>t' his proclamation of the fatherhood of God and belief
in Him as the Creator of all things visible and invisible, the most
obvious tact which confronts the analytical student is that
'In a Conversation Book <>f 1820 ire read this remark by Beethoven: "What I
think of confession may be deduced from the fact thai I myself led Karl to the Abbol ol
St. Michael for confession. Hot the abbot declared tint as h>ng as hi* had to visit his
mother, confession would be of no avail."
92 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
Beethoven approached the missal text chiefly with the imagination
and the emotions of an artist, and that its poetical, not to say dra-
matic elements were those which he was most eager to delineate.1
One proof of this is found in what may be called the technical his-
tory of the Mass, and is therefore pertinent here. It was scarcely
necessary for Beethoven to do so, but he has nevertheless given us
an explanation of his singular treatment of the prayer for peace.
Among the sketches for the movement is found the remark:
"dona nobis pacem darstellend den innern und aussern Frieden"
("delineating internal and external peace"), and in agreement with
this he superscribes the first Allegro vivace in the autograph with
the same words. In the later copy this phrase is changed to
"Prayer for internal and external peace," thus showing an appre-
ciation of the fact that the words alone contain the allusion to
peace which in its external aspect is disturbed by the sounds of war
suggested by the instruments. The petition for peace is empha-
sized by the threatening tones of military instruments accompany-
ing the agonizing appeal for mercy sent up by the voices. The
device is purely dramatic and it was not an entirely novel conceit
of Beethoven's. When the French invaded Styria in 1796, Haydn
wrote a mass "In tempore belli" in which a soft drum-roll entered
immediately after the words "Agnus Dei" and was gradually re-
inforced by trumpets and other wind-instruments "as if the enemy
were heard approaching in the distance."
Whence came the plan of postponing the publication of the
mass for a period in order to sell manuscript copies of it by sub-
scription to the sovereigns of Europe does not appear. Beethoven
had it under consideration at the beginning of 1823, for the year
was only a week old when he sent his brother Johann with a letter
to Griesinger of the Saxon Legation asking him to give advice on
the subject to the bearer of the letter, apologizing for not coming in
person on the ground of indisposition. Whether or not Griesinger
came to his assistance we do not know, but within a fortnight work
on the project had been energetically begun. Schindler was now
called upon to write, fetch and carry as steadily and industriously
as if he were, in fact, what he described himself to be — a private
secretary. Among his papers in Berlin are found many billets and
JIn Vol. IV of the German edition of this biography, Dr. Deiters presents a long
and extremely interesting descriptive and critical analysis of the mass from the point of
view held by a devout Roman Catholic churchman; wherefore, in spite of his enthusias-
tic appreciation of the music, he is obliged to point out its departure from some of the
dogmas of the church, as well as the rubrics which the composers had long disregarded.
All this is, however, far outside the scope of this biography as originally conceived by
Thayer and to which the editor has sought to bring it back in this English edition.
Royal Subscriptions [nvtted 93
loose memoranda bearing on the subject, withoul date, bu1 grouped
as to periods by Schindler himself and provided with occasional
glosses touching their con tents. Beethoven took s<> much of his time
in requisition, indeed, thai be offered to pay him 50 florins after
the collection of one of the subscription fees, hut Schindler records
thai he uever received them nor would he have accepted them.
II< w;i-. as he informed the world for many years afterward on his
visiting card, "L'Ami de Beethoven," and his very considerable
and entirely unselfish labors were "works of friendship" for which
he wanted do remuneration; l>nt he was very naturally rejoiced
when Beethoven presented him with several autograph scores, and
we have seen how, after the death of Beethoven, Breuning gave
him many papers which seemed valueless then hut are looked upon
as invaluable now. Moreover, he disposed of his Beethoven
memorabilia to the Royal Library of Berlin for an annuity of
4<)() thalers — all of which, however, does not detract from the
disinteredness of his labors for Beethoven, alive, suffering and so
frequently helpless.
The invitations to the courts were issued in part before the
end of January. A letter to Schindler, evidently written in that
month, asks him to draw out a memorandum of courts from an
almanac in which the foreign embassies stationed at Vienna were
listed. The invitations were posted on the following dates: to
the courts at Baden, Wurtemburg, Bavaria and Saxony on
January 23; "to the other ambassadors" (as Beethoven Dotes) on
January 26; to Weimar on February 4; to Mecklenburg and Hesse-
Darmstadl on February .">: to Berlin, Copenhagen, Hesse-Cassel
and Nassau on February (>: to Tuscany on February 17, and to
Paris on March 1. The invitation to the court at BEesse-Cassel
had been written on January 23, but it was not senl because, as
Schindler says, "it had been found that nothing was tobegol from
the little courts." The letter came back to Beethoven and its
preservation puts in our hands the formula which, no douht was
followed in all the formal addresses. We therefore give it here:
The undersigned cherishes the wish to send his latesl work, which
he regards as the most successful of his intellectual products, (o the Most
Exalted < lour! of ( !assel.
It is a grand solemn mass for 1 solo voices with choruses and com-
plete grand orchesl ra in score, which can also be used as a grand oratorio.
He therefore Kcl's the High Embassy of His Royal Highness, the
Elector of Hesse-Cassel, to lie pleased to procure for bim the necessary
permission of your Exalted Court.
[nasmuch, however, as the copying of the -.-ore will entail a con-
siderable expense the author docs not think it excessive if he fixes an
94 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
honorarium at 50 ducats in gold. The work in question, moreover, will
not be published for the present.
Vienna, 23 January, 1823. Ludwig van Beethoven.
Only the signature was in Beethoven's handwriting. It is
not known how many of these invitations were issued; Schindler 's
account goes only to the subscriptions received and even here it is
not entirely accurate. There were ten acceptances. The first
came from the King of Prussia. Prince Hatzfeld acted in the
matter for Berlin and Beethoven also invoked the aid of Zelter.
Court Councillor Wernhard, Director of the Chancellary of the
Embassy at Vienna, brought the report to Beethoven and asked
him if he would not prefer a royal order to the 50 ducats. Without
hesitation, Beethoven replied "50 ducats," and after Wernhard
had gone he indulged in sarcastic comments on the pursuit of de-
corations by various contempories — "which in his opinion were
gained at the cost of the sanctity of art." Beethoven received the
money, but the score was not delivered, owing, no doubt, to delay
in the copying, and in July Prince Hatzfeld feels compelled to
remind the composer of his remissness. Prince Radziwill in
Berlin also subscribed, but he did not receive his copy till more
than a year later. On June 28, 1824, a representative of the
Prince politely informed Beethoven that he had sent a cheque
for 50 ducats to him with a request for a receipt and a copy of
the score, but had received neither. On July 3, Schindler in-
formed Beethoven that Hatzfeld had earnestly inquired whether
he was now going to receive the Mass. He was being so pestered
about the matter from Berlin that it wTas becoming burdensome.
He asked that Beethoven write to the Prince without delay, telling
him when he should receive the Mass, so that he might show it in
his own justification in Berlin. Schindler says the fault lay with
the copyists; in every copy many pages had to be rewritten.
Much to Beethoven's vexation and impatience the Saxon
court was very tardy in its reply, or rather in subscribing, for at
first the invitation was declined; but Beethoven was not thus to be
put off by a court with which his imperial pupil was closely con-
nected. He called in the help of Archduke Rudolph, to whom on
July 1, 1823, he wrote a letter. He complains in this letter of pain
in the eyes from which he has been suffering for a week. lie was
forced to make sparing use of them and therefore had not been able
to look through some variations composed by the Archduke, but
had been obliged to leave the task to another. He continues:
In regard to the Mass which Y. I. H. wished to see made more gener-
ally useful: the continuously poor state of my health for several years,
An Archduke Asked to be Solicitor 95
more especially the heavy debts which I bave incurred and the fact that
I had to forg< > the \i-it to England which I was invited t<> make, com-
pelled me to think of means for bettering my com lit ion. For this the Mass
seemed suitable. I was advised t<> offer it to Beveral courts. Hard as it
u.i> for me to do this I nevertheless did not think thai I oughi to subjecl
myself to reproach by not doing it. I therefore in\ ited several courts to
Subscribe for the Mass, fixed the fee at 50 ducats, as it was thought that
would not he too much and, if a number of subscribers were found, also not
unprofitable. Thus far, indeed, the subscription does me honor, their
Royal Majesties of France ami Prussia having accepted. I also a few-
days aL'o received a letter from my friend Prince Gallit/.in [sic] in St.
Petersburg, in which this truly amiable prince informs me that 1! -
Imperial Majesty of Russia had accepted ami I should soon hear the
details from the Imperial Russian embassy here. In spite of all this,
however, though others have a I so I .ceo me subscribers I do not get as much
as I would as fee from a publisher, only I have the advantage that the
work remains mine. The costs of copying are large and will be in-
creased by the Dew pieces1 winch are to be added, which I shall send to
Y. I. H. as soon as I have finished them. Perhaps Y. I. II. will not find it
burdensome graciously to ask II. R. H. the Grand Duke of Tuscany to
take a copy of the Mass. The invitation was sent some time ago to the
Grand Duke of Tuscany through the agent v. Odelgha, and (). solemnly
assures me that the invitation will surely be accepted, but I am not en-
tirely confident, since it was several months ago and no answer has been
received. The matter having been undertaken, it is only natural that
as much as possible should have been done to attain the desired result.
It was hard for me to understand this, still harder for me to tell Y. I. II.
of it or permit you to notice it, but "Necessity knows no lair." Put I
thank Him above the stars3 that I am beginning to use my eyes again.
I am now writing a new symphony for England, for the Philharmonic
Society, and ho] e to have it completely done in a fortnight. I can not
yet strain my eyes for a long period, wherefore I beg Y. I. II. graciously
to be patient in regard to Y. I. H.'s variations which seem to me charm-
ing but need carefully to be looked through by me. Continue Y. 1. I!, to
practice the custom of briefly jotting down your ideas at the pianoforte;
for this a little table alongside the pianoforte will be Qecessary. By this
means the fancy will not only be Strengthened but one learns to ti\ at
once the most remote ideas. It is also necessary to write without the
pianoforte, ami sometimes to develop a simple chorale melody now with
simple, and anon with varied figurations in counterpoint and lliis will
cause no headache to Y. I. II. but rather a great pleasure at finding
yourself absorbed in tin* art. Gradually there comes the capacity to
represent just that only which we wish to feel, an essential Deed in the
case of men of noble mould. -My eyes command me to stop, etc.
This letter was written in Yioiuia, but from 1 let /.eudorf be
sent a postscript in which be said:
'These pieces, we learn later, were t.> )>.- an offertory, a graduate and :i Tantum
ergo.
"Beethoven'* mind reverti t'> the choral movement "f the Ninth Symphony which
is occupy i nc hi in .
96 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
If convenient, will Y. I. H. graciously recommend the Mass to
Prince Anton in Dresden, so that His Royal Majesty of Saxony may be
induced to subscribe to the Mass, which will surely happen if Y. I. H.
shows the slightest interest in the matter. As soon as I have been in-
formed that you have shown me this favor, I shall at once address my-
self to the Director General of the Theatre and Music there, who is in
charge of such matters, and send him the invitation to subscribe for
the King of Saxony which, however, I do not wish to do. My opera
"Fidelio" was performed with great success in Dresden at the festivities
in honor of the visit of the King of Bavaria, all their Majesties being
present. I heard of this from the above-mentioned Director General,
who asked me for the score through Weber and afterwards made me a
handsome present in return. Y. I. H. will pardon me for inconvenienc-
ing you by such requests but Y. I. H. knows how little importunate I am
as a rule; but if there should be the least thing unpleasant to you in the
affair you will understand as a matter of course that I am none the less
convinced of your magnanimity and graciousness. It is not greed, not
the desire for speculation, which I have always avoided, but need which
compels me to do everything possible to extricate myself from this posi-
tion. In order not to be too harshly judged, it is perhaps best to be
frank. Because of my continual illness, which prevented me from writing
as much as usual, I am burdened with a debt of 2300 florins C. M. which
can be liquidated only by extraordinary exertions. If these subscrip-
tions help matters, for which there are the best of hopes, I shall be able to
get a firm foothold again through my compositions. Meanwhile, may
Y. I. H. be pleased to receive my frankness not ungraciously. If ever
I should be charged with not being as active as formerly, I should keep
silent as I always have done. As regards the recommendations I am
nevertheless convinced that Y. I. H. will always be glad to do good
whenever possible and will make no exception in my case.
Beethoven's impatience with the Saxon Court was so great
that some time before his hopes had been reanimated, probably by
the application for his opera, he had said in a note to Schindler:
"Nothing from Dresden. Wait till the end of the month then
an advocate in Dresden." These words led Schindler to the sin-
gular conclusion that Beethoven had thoughts of compelling
the King of Saxony to reach a decision by judicial means. Ob-
viously, all that Beethoven meant by "advocate" was a pleader,
an intercessor. He could have contemplated legal measures only
if he had sent a copy of the Mass to the King with the invitation,
and this we know he did not do from a letter written by Archduke
Rudolph, which says, that the King of Saxony had not received
a score by July 31. Archduke Rudolph became the advocate
through his brother-in-law Prince Anton, brother to the King,
and so did the Director General v. Kbnneritz, to whom Beethoven
wrote on July 17 and again on July 25. In the first letter he
promises to send the invitation to the King and in the next he
Subscriptions by Regal Coubts 97
docs so. This must have been a Beoond invitation, for Beethoven
tells v. Konneritz that the original <>n<- had Ik-cm declined. A
paragraph from each letter deserves reproduction.
I know that yon will scarcely think of me Bfl among those who write
simply for vulgar gain, but when do not circumstances sometimes compel
a man to act contrary to his habits of thought ami principles! ! My
Cardinal is a good-hearted prime, but he lacks means.
Dp to now, in spite of all external dory, I have scarcely received for
the work what I would have been paid l>\ a publisher, the costs of copying
having been so great. My friends conceived the idea of thus circulating
the Mass, for I, thank God, am a layman in all speculations. Besides,
t here is no citizen of our country who has not Buffered loss, and BO ha\ •• 1 .
Were it not for my sickness of years' standing, I should have received
enough from foreign lands to live a care-free life, caring only for art.
Judge me kindly ami not unfavorably, I live for my art alone and to
fulfil my duties as a man, hut alas! that this can not always he done
without the help of the subterredrial powers.
These last efforts were successful; King Friedrich August
subscribed for the Mass, and on July .SI Archduke Rudolph wrote
to his music-master: "My brother-in-law Prince Anton has already
written to me that the King of Saxony is expecting your beautiful
Mass." On September 1-2, Prince Anton wrote to Beethoven that
he had no doubt his royal brother would grant his wish, especially
as he had spoken to him on the subject in the name of his brother-
in-law, the Cardinal. The money must have arrived soon after-
ward and Beethoven set Schindler's mind at ease by writing to him:
In order that evil report may not longer injure the poor Dresdeners
too much, I inform you that the money reached me to-day, with all marks
of respect.
According to Fiirstenau the manuscript copy of the Mass is still
in the private music collection of the King of Saxony in Dresden.
The Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt was appealed to directly
under date of February 5, the letter, probably following the for-
mula and signed by Beethoven, being forwarded through the
Hessian ambassador, Baron von Ttirckheim, a cultured art
connoisseur and subsequently Intendant of the Grand Ducal
Theatre in Darmstadt. Louis Schldsser was In Vienna at the
time, and Baron von Ttirckheim, knowing that he wanted to make
Beethoven's acquaintance, gave him the opportunity by asking
him to carry the information that the invitation had been accepted,
to Beethoven, handing him the dispatch with the Grand Ducal
seal affixed for that purpose. SchlSsser went to Beethoven, "No.
GO Kothgasse, first storey, door to the left," and has left us a
98 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
description of the visit, which must have been made in April or
early in May, 1823. Beethoven read the document with great
joy and said to Schlosser:
Such words as I have read do good. Your Grand Duke speaks
not only like a princely Maecenas but like a thorough musical connoisseur
of comprehensive knowledge. It is not alone the acceptance of my work
which rejoices me but the estimation which in general he places upon my
works.
No success was met with at the cultivated Court of Weimar,
though here Beethoven invoked the assistance of no less a dignitary
than Goethe. His letter to the poet is still preserved in the Grand
Ducal archives and is worthy of being given in full :
Vienna, February 8th, 1823.
Your Excellency!
Still living as I have lived from my youthful years in your im-
mortal, never-aging works, and never forgetting the happy hours spent in
your company, it nevertheless happens that I must recall myself to your
recollection — I hope that you received the dedication to Your Excel-
lency of "Meeresstilie und gliickliche Fahrt" composed by me. Because
of their contrast they seemed to me adapted for music in which the same
quality appears; how gladly would I know whether I have fittingly united
my harmonies with yours; advice too, which would be accepted as very
truth, would be extremely welcome to me, for I love the latter above all
things and it shall never be said of me Veritas odium parit. It is very
possible that a number of your poems which must ever remain unique,
set to music by me, will soon be published, among them "Rastlose Liebe."
How highly would I value some general observations from you on the
composition or setting to music of your poems! Now a request to Y. E.
I have composed a Grand Mass which, however, I do not want to publish
at present, but which is to be sent to the principal courts. The honorarium
for the same is 50 ducats only. I have addressed myself in the matter to
the Grand Ducal Weimarian Embassy, which has accepted the appeal to
His Serene Highness and promised to deliver it. The Mass can also be
used as an oratorio and who does not know that the benevolent societies
are suffering from the lack of such things. My request consists in this,
that Y. E. call the attention of His Serene Highness, the Grand Duke, to
this matter so that His Highness may subscribe for the Mass. The Grand
Ducal Weimarian Embassy gave me to understand that it would be very
beneficial if the Grand Duke could be induced to regard the matter
favorably in advance. I have written much but accumulated scarcely
anything, and now I am no longer alone but have for more than six
years been father to a son of my deceased brother, a promising youth
in his sixteenth year, wholly devoted to science and already at home in
the rich shafts of Hellenism; but in these countries such things cost a
great deal and, in the case of young students, not only the present
but also the future must be borne in mind, and as much as I formerly
kept my thoughts directed aloft I must now extend my glances down-
wards. My income is all outgo — the condition of my health for years
A Vain A.PPEAL to Goethe 99
has not permitted thai I make artistic journeys nor seize upon the many
things which yield money!? — If my health should be completely restored
1 might expect other and better things. Y. E. must not think that it
is because I am askings favor that I bave dedicated the "Meeresstille
unil eltlckliche Fahrt" to vou — this was already dune in Maw L822, and
this method of making the Mass known was not thought «>f till a few
weeks ago. The respect, love and esteem which I bave cherished f<>r the
only and immortal Goethe since the days of my youth bave remained with
me. Things like this are not easily put into words, especially l>y a bungler
like myself, who has always been bent only on making tones bis '»un, but
a singular feeling impels me always to tell you this, inasmuch as I live in
your works. I know that you will not refuse to help an artist who feels
only too keenly how far mere monetary reward is from her art | now that
he is compelled by need and eonstrained to work and labor bi <m
other* for others. The jjood is always plain to us and therefore I know that
Y. E. will not deny my request.
A few words from you would fill me with happiness.
I remain, Your Excellency, with the sincerest and most unbounded
respect,
Beethoven.
According to Schiiuller, who surely was in a position to know,
no answer to this letter was ever received; nor did the Grand Duke
subscribe That the invitation reached its destination may
safely he assumed from Beethoven's remark about the Interest
displayed in the plan at the embassy; hut tin- document is not
to he found in the archives. Goethe's indifference, if In- was in-
different in the premises, may be explained on a number of
grounds. If he ever was thoroughly appreciative of Beethoven's
music, it was only later in life, lie was in the prime of life with
fixed tastes in music as well as the other arts before Beethoven
came with his new evangel. Bernhardt , Zelter and men of their
>tamp produced the music which was most to his liking. It is
true that in July, IS 10, he wrote a letter in which be said that
he had never seen a more self-contained, energetic and .sincere
artist than Beethoven and that he could well understand why he
appeared singular in the eyes of the world; hut it is doubtful if be
ever felt any real attachment to the man, and not altogether im-
possible, if the Teplitz stories arc true, that he resented the had
manners of which Beethoven is said to have been guilty. But a
long time had elapsed since the two great men came together in
IS 10.
Bavaria's story is a short one. In a Conversation Book
towards the close of May, Solum Her writes: "A negative answer has
come from Bavaria." To the King of Maples, Beethoven scut a
French copy of the letter of invitation practically indention! with
100 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
the formula, and also to the King of France.1 In the latter
case Cherubini was asked to be the advocate. The draft of Beet-
hoven's letter to him is still preserved among the Schindler papers
in Berlin:
Highly respected Sir!
It is with great pleasure that I embrace the opportunity to approach
you in writing; in spirit I am with you often enough, inasmuch as I value
your works more than all others written for the stage, though the beauti-
ful world of art must deplore the fact that for a considerable period no
new theatrical work of yours of large dimensions has appeared, at least
not in our Germany; high as your other works are esteemed by true
connoisseurs, it is yet a veritable loss to art not to possess a new product of
your great mind. True art remains imperishable and the genuine artist
feels sincere pleasure in real and great products of genius, and so I, too,
am enraptured whenever I hear a new work of yours and feel as great an
interest in it as in my own works. — In brief, I honor and love you — If
it were not for my continual ill health and I could see you in Paris, with
what extraordinary delight would I discuss art matters with you?! I
must add that to every artist and art-lover I always speak of you with
Enthusiasm, otherwise you might (illegible word) believe, since I am about
to ask a favor of you, that this was merely an introduction to the subject.
I hope, however, that you will not attribute such lowmindedness, so
contemptible an action, to me. My request consists in this, etc.2 That
in this, etc. I know that if you will advise His Majesty to take the Mass,
he will surely do so. My situation ma critique demande que je ne fixe
seulement come ordinaire mes pensees aux del aux contraire, ilfaut les fixer
en has pour les necessites de la vie. Whatever may be the fate of my re-
quest to you, I shall always love and honor you et vous resteres toujours
celui de mes contemporains, que je Vestime le plus si vous me voulez faire
une [sic] estreme plaisir, cetoit si m'ecrireess quelque lignes, ce que me
soulagera bien — Fart unie touta [sic] le monde and how much more true
artists, et peut etres vous me dignes aussi, de me mettre also to be counted
amongst this number,
avec la plus haute
estime
voire ami
e serviteur
Beeth.
The letter was despatched on March 15. Cherubini did not
receive it, and as late as 1841 expressed his great regret at the mis-
carriage which, however, worked no harm to the enterprise.
King Louis XVIII not only subscribed for the Mass but within
'Were it not for the very general confusion which still exists touching musical
terms, it might be Bet down as a l>it singular that neither Beethoven nor Schindler seems
to have known that the French equivalent of "oratorio" is "oratorio," and nothing else.
The letter, however, reads: elle .ie prete de mcme a etre executee en Oratoire. In France an
orcfoire is still an oratory, a room for prayer.
2The blanks were filled according to the formula.
A Medal from the King of France 101
less than a year sent Beethoven a gold medal weighing twenty-one
Louis d'ors, showing on tin- obverse side tin- busl of the King and
on the reverse, within a wreath, the inscription: DonnSe pur le
Roi a Monsieur Beethoven. Duke d'Achats, First Chamberlain
of the King, accompanied the gift with the following letter:
Je m'empresse de votu prevenir, Monsieur, que le Roi " accueilU avec
bonti Vhommage <le hi Partition de Voire Messe en Musique et m'u chargS
df vousfaire parvenir une medaille d\>r a ->// effigie. .!<■ me fSlicite d* avoir
a ions transmettre le tSmoinage tie In satisfaction de Sa MajestS et }e saisis
cette occasion de vous ojjrir V assurance de nm consideration distinguee.
Le Premier GentUhomme
de la Chambre du l(,,i
Aux Tuileries ce 20 Fevrier 1824. Le due d'Achftts.
'This was a distinction," says Schindler, "than which one more
significant never fell to the lot of the artist during his lit'.";
hut the biographer certainly is in error when he intimates that
the medal was given in payment of the subscription price. Beet-
hoven informed Archduke Rudolph that the King had accepted the
invitation in his letter of June 1, 1S2.S; the medal was received
early in 1824, over eight months later. Beethoven's needs and the
reply which he gave the messenger from Prussia when he offered
a decoration instead of the 50 ducats, indicate plainly enough how
he felt as to the remuneration. Moreover, in a billet which he
sent to Schindler instructing him to call upon von Obreskow of
the Russian Embassy to tell him how to pay the subscript ion of the
Czar, Beethoven says: "let him know incidentally, when oppor-
tunity offers, that France simply sent the money to vuu." Evi-
dently King Louis XVIII paid the money in the regular way ami
sent the medal as a special mark of distinction.
No subscription was received from the King of Naples. The
negotiations with the Grand Duke of Tuscany were more success-
ful, though they dragged on into the next year. They were a
subject of discussion in the Conversation Book in which (Hunt
Lichnowsky, Brother Johann and Nephew Kail took part. From
remarks there recorded it appears that an appeal was also made to
Ex-Empress Maria Louisa, Duchess of Parma. Here the agent
was Odelga and there was a plan to interest Countess Neuberg.
Count Lichnowsky seems to have suggested the name of Maria
Louisa and off ered to write to Count Neuberg, whom he knew, on
the subject. It looks also as if the case of the Grand Duke of
Tuscany had been exceptional, in that the Mass had been for-
warded before the subscription had been received; this at least
might he the interpretation of a remark noted by Karl: "I shall
102 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
go to Odelga on Sunday. We must get to work, or they will-
keep the Mass and send nothing."
Schindler says that Beethoven sent a carefully written letter to
the King of Sweden to accompany the invitation; but nothing came
of it. The King of Denmark subscribed, but as we hear nothing of
the particulars, it is most likely that everything went smoothly in
his case.
Prince Galitzin was asked to make a plea to the Russian
Court and reported in a letter to Beethoven, dated June 2, that the
invitation had been accepted and the official notification would
follow in due course through the Russian Embassy. The money
came soon afterwards. On July 9, Schindler writes in a jocular
vein, using a metaphor which had already done service in Beetho-
ven's correspondence:
I take pleasure in reporting to you herewith, that by command of the
Emperor of all the Russias, 50 horsemen in armor are arrived here as a
Russian contingent to do battle under you for the Fatherland. The
leader of these choice troops is a Russian Court Councillor. Herr Stein,
pianoforte maker, has been commissioned by him to quarter them on you.
Rien de nouveau chez nos voisins jusqu'ici.
Fidelissimus Papageno. 1
The director of the business affairs of the Russian Embassy, von
Obreskow, had made inquiry as to how the fee was to be paid.
Beethoven wrote to Schindler to tell Obreskow to pay the bearer on
delivery of a receipt; to say (if it became opportune) that the King
of France had done so; and admonished him always to remember
that such personages represented "Majesty itself"; also to "say
nothing about the Mass not being finished, which is not true, for the
new pieces are only additions." Impatience at the non-delivery
of the Mass at the expected time must have been expressed by the
Russian Embassy, for in a note which Schindler dates "in the
winter of 1824," Beethoven says:
Mr. v. Schindler:
Here the Paquett for the Russian Embassy, please look after it at
once, moreover say that I shall soon visit him in person, inasmuch as it
hurts me that lack of confidence has been felt in me and I thank God
I am in a position to prove that I do not deserve it in any way nor will
my honor permit it.2
Prince Galitzin, who had already expressed his delight in the
new work and who had also been invited to subscribe, suggested
'"Papageno" was the name applied to Schindler in his notes when Beethoven
wished to enjoin silence on his factotum; the allusion, of course, being to the lip-locked
bird-catcher in Mozart's "Magic Flute."
2If this note refers to the Mass. Schindler's date must be a year too late.
Prince Gautzin's Subscription 103
thai the Mass be published by popular subscription at four <>r five
ducats, as there were not many amateurs who could afford to pay
50 ducats for a written copy. "All that I can do," the Prince
writes in conclusion, "is to beg you to put me down among your
subscribers and to send me a copy as soon as possible SO t hat I may
produce it at a concert for the benefit of the widows of musicians
which takes place annually near Christmas." Plainly, this was a
subscription in the existing category; there was no other, and
Beethoven, in view of the invitation to the courts, could not at
once entertain the subject of a popular subscription for a printed
edition. Galitzin also accedes to a request which had obviously
been made to him when the invitation was extended, that the
50 ducats already deposited in Vienna by him for a quartet be
applied to the account of the Mass. He writes on September
^':5 (October 3): "I have just received your letter of the 17th
and hasten to answer that I have instructed the house of
Ihnikstein to pay you immediately the 50 ducats which I
fancied had long ago been placed at your disposal." The bankers
Henikstein sent the Prince Beethoven's receipt for the 50
ducats "which we paid to him on the order ami account of
Your Highness as fee for the Mass which we have forwarded
through the High State Chancellary." The score was in the
hands of Prince Galitzin on November 20, but the performance
which he had projected did not take place until April (i, 1824.
It was the first performance of the Mass anywhere, and Galitzin
wrote an enthusiastic account of it to Beethoven under date of
April 8.1
A special invitation to subscribe to the Mass was not extended
to the Austrian court for reasons which, no doubt . were understood
between Beethoven and Archduke Rudolph and which may have
been connected with efforts which were making at the time to
secure a court appointment for the composer. At the request of
Artaria, however, an invitation was sent to Prince Paul Esterhazy.
Beethoven had little confidence in the successful outcome of the
appeal, probably with a recollection in his mind of the Prince's
attitude toward him on the occasion of the production of the Ma^s
in C in 1807, to which he seems to refer in a letter to Schindler
dated June 1 :2
'In view of what will have to be said later about the controversy which raged for
years after Beethoven's death about the financial dealings between Prince Galitain and
Beethoven, it was thought best to establish at this time the fad thai Galitain subscribed
for the Mass an<l paid the fee in the manner which has been Bel forth.
'The letter is iueorn-etly dated July 1. by Kalis, her. Thay.-r's trail-, ript and
also one made by Dr. Kopfermann of the Royal Library at Berlin f<T Pr. Deiters give
June as the month.
104 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
You will kindly again make inquiry of (illegible) for a report. I
doubt if it will be favorable for I do not expect a good opinion from him,
at least not to judge by earlier times! I think that such matters can
only be successfully presented to him by women.
Beethoven's suspicious nature had other food. On the out-
side of this letter he wrote:
N. B. So far as I can remember there was nothing said in the in-
vitation to Prince Esterhazy about the Mass being distributed only in
manuscript. What mischief may not result from this. I suspect that
the purpose of Herr Artaria in suggesting that the Mass be offered to the
Prince gratis was to enable him to steal a work of mine for the third time.
Beethoven's lack of faith in the enterprise was justified; Esterhazy
did not subscribe.
No invitation was sent to the English court, probably because
Beethoven cherished a grudge in that quarter; but subscriptions
were asked of two large singing societies — the Singakademie of
Berlin and the Cacilien-Verein of Frankfort. Zelter was director
of the Singakademie, and to him Beethoven wrote on February 8
as follows, after the introductory compliments and reflections:
I wrote a Grand Mass, which might also be performed as an oratorio
(for the benefit of the poor, as is the good custom that has been intro-
duced) but did not want to publish it in print in the ordinary way, but
to give it to the principal courts only. The fee amounts to 50 ducats.
Except the copies subscribed for, none will be issued, so that the Mass is
practically only a manuscript.
He informs Zelter that an appeal has been sent to the King of
Prussia and that he has asked the intercession in its behalf of
Prince Radziwill. He then continues:
I ask of you that you do what you can in the matter. A work of
this kind might also be of service to the Singakademie, for there is little
wanting to make it practicable for voices alone; but the more doubled and
multiplied the latter in combination with the instruments, the more
effective it would be. It might also be in place as an oratorio, such as
is in demand for the Societies for Poverty. More or less ill for several
years and therefore not in the most brilliant situation, I had recourse to
this means. I have written much but accumulated almost O. Dis-
posed to send my glances aloft— but man is compelled for his own and
for others' sake to direct them downwards; but this too is a part of man's
destiny.
The letter will be seen, on comparison with that written on the
same day to Goethe, to be either a draft for the latter in part or an
echo of it. There is the same pun on "geschrieben" and "erschrie-
ben," the same lament about having to keep his eyes on the ground
Zelter and the Solemn Mass 105
while desirous to keep them fixed on higher things, the Bame re-
ference to the value of the Mass for concert purposes in behalf of
charity. As this last point is our which would naturally occur to
the writer in addressing a musician and not at all naturally in an
appeal to a poet, it is safe to say thai theZeltei letter was written
first. It is an unpleasant duty to call attention to a very signifi-
cant difference between this letter and the invitation issued t<» the
courts as Well as the letter to Goethe. In the latter he di>-
tinetlv says that the Mass will not he published in the ordinary
way "for the present," thus reserving the privileged printing it at
a future time. To Zelter, and presumably to the Frankfort
society, he plainly intimates that there is to be no publication in
the ordinary way at all. It is not a violent presumption that
Zelter may have observed this discrepancy, which was of vital mo-
ment to his society, and that this may have caused the terminal ion
of the negotiations, which began auspiciously enough in a letter
written by Zelter on February 22 in reply to Beethoven's. In this
letter he said he was ready to purchase the Mass for the Singaka-
demie at his own risk, provided Beethoven would adapt it to tin-
use of the society — that is, arrange it for performance practically
without instruments — a proceeding, he explained, which would
make it practicable for all similar concert institutions. To this
letter Beethoven replied on March 25:
I have carefully considered your suggestion for the Singakademie.
If it should ever appear in print I will send you a copy without pay. It
is true that it might almost he performed a la capella, hut to this end the
whole would have to be arranged. Perhaps you have the patience to do
this. Besides, there is already a movement in it which is entirely a /a
capella and I am inclined to call this style the only true church style. I
thank you for your readiness. From such an artist as you are. with
honor, I would never accept anything. I honor you and desire only an
opportunity to prove this to you in deed.
There the matter ended, so far as is known. The aegol iations
with the Frankfort society were more successful. On May 1J),
1823, J. X. Schelble, director, wrote saying:
The hope of receiving a new composition from you, great master, in-
spires all the members and re invigorates their musical seal. I therefore
request you as soon as it is convenient to you to forward a copy of your
Ma>s to me.
There were, therefore, as appears from this account and tin-
list of names sent in November, 1825, to the publishers of the Mass,
ten subscribers, namely: the Czar of Russia, the Kings of Prussia,
Saxony, France and Denmark, the Grand Dukes of Tuscany and
106 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
Hesse-Darmstadt, Princes Galitzin and Radziwill and the Cacilia
Society of Frankfort. Beethoven's receipts, 500 ducats (£250
or about $1200), were very materially reduced, how much we can
not say, by the costs of copying. In this work his principal helper
was a professional copyist named Schlemmer, who could best
decipher his manuscript. But Schlemmer was sickly and died
before the year was over; his successor was named Rampel, and
seems to have caused Beethoven a great deal of annoyance; he
probably was made to bear a great deal of the blame for the tardi-
ness of the work, for which, also, the composer's frequent alter-
ations were in part responsible. One of the numerous letters to
Schindler from this period throws a little light on this subject:
Samotnracian L l.1
How about the trombone part. It is certain that the youngster
still has it, as he did not return it when he brought back the Gloria.
There was so much to do in looking over the wretched scribbling that to
carry back the trombone part was forgotten. If necessary, I shall come
to Vienna about the police matter. Here, for Rampel, is first the theme of
the Var. which is to be copied for me on a separate sheet — then he is to
copy the rest to Var. 13 or to the end of Var. 12, and so an end of this.
Get from Schlemmer what remains of the Kyrie: — show him the postscript
and herewith satis. — for such Hauptl Is there is nothing more to be
done. Farewell — attend to everything — I am obliged to bind up my
eyes at night and must be very sparing in my use of them. Otherwise,
Smettana writes, I shall write but few more notes. To Wocher, whom I
shall visit myself as soon as I come to town, my prettiest compliments and
has he yet sent away the Var. ?
Beethoven's thoughts in connection with the Mass were not
all engrossed during 1823 with the finishing touches on the com-
position and the subscription; he was still thinking of the publica-
tion of the work. His thoughts went to London, as a letter to
1Beethoven had a number of nicknames for Schindler besides Papageno with its
various qualifications. One of these was Lumpenkerl; another H an pf lumpenkerl —
Ragamuffin and Chief Ragamuffin. In this instance Schindler is a "Samothracian
ragamuffin" and Schindler in a gloss tells us that the allusion was to the ancient
ceremonies of Samothrace, Schindler being thus designated as one initiated into the
mysteries of Beethoven's affairs and purposes. The injunction of silence was under-
stood, of course. Count Brunswick, Count Lichnowsky and Zmeskall were also initi-
ates. Wocher, to whom Beethoven sends his compliments, was Prince Esterhazy's
courier. Beethoven's second thoughts seem frequently to have been bestowed on the
trombones. We have already seen how often this was the case in the alterations in
the Mass in D. An interesting illustration was found by the present editor among
Thayer's papers. The biographer owned a sheet of four pages containing, in Beet-
hoven's handwriting, the trombone parts of the Trio in the Scherzo of the Ninth
Symphony with instructions to the copyist where they were to be introduced. As the
trombones do not take part in the first and third movements nor in the Scherzo outside
of the Trio, but are highly important in the choral Finale, it would seem as if Beet-
hoven had thought of the beautiful effect which they produce in the Trio after he had
decided that they were necessary in the Finale.
Negotiations with Diabellj 107
Ries shows. The WLasa also came up in his dealings with Diabelli
in Vienna. There were, probably, other negotiations, of which
we are do! advised. An agreement had been reached with Dia-
belli concerning the Variations, Op. 120 en the Diabelli waltz
theme), and the Mass had also been mentioned. Whatever the
nature of the negotiations may have been, Diabelli now seems to
have been insisting on conditions which Beethoven could not
accepl without breach of contract with his subscribers or revoking
the subscriptions. In March Diabelli called Schindler into his
shop and had a talk with him which is detailed iu a Conversation
Book. It is Schindler who is speaking:
Diabelli called me in to-day while I was passing and said to me that
he would take the Mass and publish it in two months by subscription.
He guarantees you the 10U0 florins, as he says he has already told you.
You can have as many copies as you want — Diabelli only a>ks of you
that you let him know your decision within a few days, then he will have
work begUD at once and promises that everything shall he ready by the
end of May. You, however, will not have any further care in the matter.
I think the proposition a very good one, the more, because the work will
be printed at once.
Beethoven appears to have doubts or scruples on the score of
the invitations sent to the sovereigns.
It will make no difference to the most exalted courts if printed
copies are put out. Do you want the 1000 florins in cash at once or
later? — he assures me that they will he guaranteed to you; the business
now is that you come to an understanding.
It appears, now, that Diabelli wants to publish tin- three
supplementary pieces also; but Beethoven still hesitates :
It would be best if you were to persuade Diabelli to print the work
at once, but wait a few months with the publication by subscription.
Then you will not be compromised in the matter, nor he either.
Later (there has plainly been another consultation between
Schindler and Diabelli):
Diabelli agrees to wait until the tardy answers have been received
before opening the subscription. But he i> not willing to wait a whole
year.
And in April:
Are you agreed? The only question is whether you give Diab. the
privilege of announcing the subscription a month before he pays. It
is his wish not to put t he Mass in hand until he has paid. About 1 >i a belli
t hen -do you want to leave the mat ter to me or consider t he publication
by yourself? Diabelli wants the Mass by July I in order to have it ready
by the St. Michael Pair.
108 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
Later, August 1 and September 1 are mentioned. Beethoven
was firm in his determination to keep faith with his subscribers.
He writes to Schindler: "There are only two courses as regards the
Mass, namely, that the publisher delay the publication a year and a
day ; or, if not, we can not accept a subscription." Later he writes :
"Nothing is to be changed in the Diabelli contract except that
the time when he is to receive the Mass from me be left undeter-
mined." The contract in question which was thus to be amended
concerned the Variations, but presumably the Mass also. Beet-
hoven writes:
From uiy little book I see that you have doubts in the matter of the
Mass and Diab., wherefore, I beg you to come soon, for in that case we
will not give him the Var. either, as my brother knows somebody who
wants to take them both. We are therefore in a position to talk to him.
Either this disagreement or some other in a matter in which
Schindler acted as Beethoven's agent brought out a letter from the
latter to the former in which he expresses a belief that the business,
"so disagreeable to you," might be brought to a conclusion soon:
"moreover I was not, unfortunately, entirely wrong in not wholly
trusting Diab." Schindler, in a gloss on this note, says that the
disagreeable business concerned the Mass. Diabelli had made
plans which were not only harmful to the work but humiliating
as well to Beethoven. Schindler pointed this out and Diabelli
became violent and declared that since the contract was as good
as closed he would summon Schindler before a court of law if it
were not kept. "But," says Schindler, "the threat did no good;
he had to take back the document." The numerous notes to
Schindler about this period are undated and the times at which
they were written have been only approximately fixed by Schind-
ler; there is also some vagueness touching the time and order of the
written conversations, but the evidence thus far presented, to-
gether with a significant remark in a billet to Schindler, to the
effect that he had thought of a project which would "act like a
pistol-shot on this fellow," would seem to justify the assumption
that Beethoven had entered into the same kind of obligation
with Diabelli as he had with Simrock and Peters so far as the Mass
was concerned, and that before the execution of a formal contract,
which seems to have been considered necessary in this case, which
was to include the Variations on the Diabelli Waltz theme, Beet-
hoven had embarked on his enterprise with the sovereigns, which
made the speedy publication of the Mass in the ordinary way
impossible with honor; further, that a threat to withhold the Varia-
tions had been used to bring the irate publisher to terms. In the
Di BIOl - AjSPE* r OF THE NEGOTIATIONS 109
April Conversation Book Schindler says: "Won't Diabelli make
wry faces when your brother demands the documenl back almost
as Boon as he has received it !"
To the commercialized mind o! to-day it is possible thai the
picture which has just been presented bere <>t' a superlatively greal
artist hawking bis creations in the courts of Europe, appealing to
ln's friends ami patrons among the greal to ad as bis go-betweens,
railing againsl the tardy and permitting those who were prompl
in paymenl to wait unconscionable periods for I heir property, may
Beem to present as little of the aspect of debasement of genius and
its products as it did at a time when greal musicians were menials
in the households of the highborn, and thrift could only follow
fawning. But Beethoven had done much to exalt art and eman-
cipate the artist, and what would have caused little comment in
the case of his predecessors amongst court musicians was scarcely
venial in him who preached a uew ethic as well as artistic evangel.
And so, to minds untainted by trade and attuned to a love of
moral as well as aesthetic beauty, the spectacle which Beethoven
presents in 1823 must he quite as saddening as that disclosed by
his dealings with the publishers in the years immediately preced-
ing. A greater measure of commiseration goes out to him now,
however, because of the evidence that the new phase cost him
greater qualms of conscience and that the exigencies which im-
pelled him were more pressing. His physical ailments were in-
creasing; his deafness had put a stop to his appearances in public
as an art ist ; his eyes wen- t roubling him; there was do lessening of
liis concern about his ward, but an increase in the cost of his main-
tenance; his income was continually dwindling because of his
lessening productivity, notwithstanding thai the fees which be
could command for new works (and even the remnants of his
youthful activity) had reached dimensions of which he had never
dreamed in the heyday of his powers; be fell t he oppressive burden
of his debts more and more as his unreasoning love for his foster-
son prompted him to make provision againsl the future. The
royal subscription was, no doubt, a welcome scheme which, if not
suggested by his advisers, was certainly encouraged by them; but
it must bave cosl his proud soul do little humiliation to bave his
application rejected after he had BO deeply bent "the pregnant
binges of the knee." The publishers gave him less concern.
They were his natural enemies and he theirs "hellhounds who
licked and gnawed his brains," as he expressed it in a letter to
IIolz in 1825; yet he knew that he would need them, and he knew
aNo that as goon as he went to them, and the mass appeared in
110 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
print, the manuscript copies which he had sold would be all but
worthless. But this may have troubled him little, as he, in all
likelihood, shared Schindler's conviction that there was no per-
manency of interest in the work on the part of the crowned heads
and that they would not be troubled by the appearance of the work
in print. Patronage of art is part of the obligation which rests
upon royalty, and it would have been little less than a crime to
withhold the Mass from the public; but what of the exclusiveness
of right which was implied, if not expressed, in the letter to Zelter
and presumably also in that to the Csecilia Society of Frankfort?
He had informed the kings, who might not even deign to glance at
the Mass, that he had no "present" intention to print the work,
leaving them to gather that he would do so later; but he plainly
gives Zelter to understand that it is to remain a manuscript.
Here, too, the advice of his friends, who could see his need but did
not feel the moral responsibility which he may, or ought to, have
felt, must have been persuasive and also comforting.1 The
world has too long enjoyed the great work to distress itself about
the circumstances of its creation and publication; but thehistorian
and moralist may yet as deeply deplore them as pity the conditions
which compelled the composer to yield to them.
Preliminary to the narrative of the other varied incidents of
the year 1823, let us set down a brief mention of the fact that on
January 20 Beethoven wrote a little piece for voice and pianoforte
in the album of Countess Wimpfen, nee Eskeles, on the words of
Goethe: "Der edleMensch sei hulfreich und gut," [sic] which was
published in facsimile in the "Allgemeine Wiener Musikzeitung" on
November 23, 1843. Having traversed the year in our search for
material relating to the Mass in D, the next most significant subject
is that which concerned the Symphony in D minor, on which he
worked industriously and which had been the subject of correspon-
dence between himself and Ries (in London) for some time before
the year opened. On April 6, 1822, Beethoven had inquired of his
old pupil: "What would the Philharmonic Society be likely to
offer me for a symphony?" Ries, evidently, laid the matter before
the directors of the society who, at a meeting on November 10,
"resolved to offer Beethoven fifty pounds for a MS. symphony."2
Ries conveyed the information to Beethoven in a letter dated
'In Hetzendorf, while the negotiations with the courts are pending. Count Moritz
Lichnowsky writes in a Conversation Book: "Can you not sell the Mass to publishers
next year, so that it may become publicly useful?"
'"The Philharmonic Society of London," by George Hogarth, London, 1862,
page 81.
Dealings with the London Philharmonic ill
November 15 and in a reply dated December 20, Beethoven,
although lit- protested that the reinuiierat ion was not to be
compared with what other nations might give, accepted the
offer, adding:
I would write gratU for the first artists of Europe, if I were QOl still
poor Beethoven. If J were in London, what would I not write for the
Philharmonic Society! For Beethoven ••an write, God I"- thanked,
though he can <lo nothing else in this world. If God gives me hack my
health, which has at least improved somewhat, I shall yet he able to
comply with all the requests which have come from all parts of Europe,
and even from North America, and I might yet feather my nest.
A glimpse into the occupations, cares and perplexities which
beset Beethoven at this period is given by the first letter in the
.series written in the new year — on February 5, which Hies, in his
"Notizen," gives only in part:
I have no further news to give you about the Sinfonie but meanwhile
you may confidently count on it. Since 1 have made the acquaintance
here of a very amiable and cultivated man, who holds an appointmenl in
our imperial embassy at London, he will undertake later to forward the
Symphony to you in London, so that it will soon be in London. Were I
not so poor that I am ohliged to live by my pen I would accept nothing
at all from the Ph. Society; as it is I must wait until the fee for the Sin-
fonie is deposited here. But to give you an evidence of my affection for
and confidence in the society 1 have already delivered the new Overture
referred to in my last letter, to the gentleman of the Imperial society.1
As he is to start from here for London in a few days he will deliver it to
vou in person in London. Goldsehmidt will no doubt know where you
Live; if not, please tell him, so that this accommodating gentleman will
not be obliged long to hunt you. I leave to the Society all the arrange-
ments about the Overture which, like the Symphony, it can keep for is
months. Not until after the lapse of that time shall I publish it. And
now another request: my brother here, who keeps his carriage, wanted
a lift from me and so, without asking me. he offered the Overture in
question to a publisher in London named Bosey [Boosey]. Let him
wait, and tell him that at present it is impossible to say whether he can
have the Overt ure or not ; I will write to him myself. It all depends on | he
Philharmonic Society; say tO him please thai my brother made a mi-take
in the matter of the Overture; as to the other works which he wrote about,
lie may have them. My brother bought them of me in order to t raffic wit h
them, as I observe. 0 f rater J I beg of you to write to me as .soon as
possible after you have received t he < hrert ure, whether t he Philharmonic
Society will take it, for otherwise I shall publish it soon.
I have heard nothing of your Sinfonie dedicated to me. If I did
not look upon the Dedicat as a sort of challenge for which I might give
you Revanche I should long ago have dedicated some work to you. As
it is, [have always thought that I must first see your work. How willingly
'Si>. Beethoven of <•■ >nr^<- means tli" Embassy. The Overton was no doul>t that
to "The Consecration of the Souse," Op. 184.
112 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
would I show you my gratitude in some manner. I am deeply your
debtor for so many proofs of your affection and for favors. If my
health is improved by a bath-cure which I am to take in the coming
summer I will kiss your wife in London in 1824.
What justification Beethoven had, or imagined he had, for
imputing a dishonorable act to his brother, cannot be said; it is
noteworthy, however, that he does not even mention him in a
letter written twenty days later which reiterates much that had
already been set forth, and offers to send the Symphony at once on
receiving word from Ries accompanied by a draft. He also in-
tends to send six Bagatelles and asks Ries to traffic, as best he can,
with them and two sonatas. Had he received a dedication from
Ries, he says, he would at once have inscribed the Overture to him.
Not long afterward Beethoven wrote again to Ries. The letter,
which has been preserved only in part, is printed with a few
omissions and changes in the "Notizen" (p. 154). Its significant
remark about the new Symphony is that it is to bear a dedication to
Ries; its most valuable contribution, however, refers to the Mass in
D and the explanation which it offers of the fact that Beethoven
sent no invitation to the English court to subscribe for that work.
"In addition to these hardships," Beethoven writes, "I have many
debts to pay, for which reason it would be agreeable to me if you
have disposed of the Mass to send me also the check for it, for by
that time the copy for London will have been made. There need
be no scruples because of the few souverains who are to get copies
of it. If a local publisher made no objections, there ought to be
still fewer in London; moreover, I bind myself in writing that not a
note of it shall appear either in print or otherwise." The poor
Archduke-Cardinal comes in for his customary drubbing, the
special complaint now being that Beethoven is obliged to draw his
"wretched salary" with the aid of a stamp. The letter was placed
for delivery in the hands of the amiable gentleman of the Austrian
Embassy whose name we now learn to be Bauer and who was also
the bearer of an address to King George IV1 which Ries was to ask
Bauer to read, after which the latter was to see to its delivery into
^auer was in Beethoven's company a short time before he went to England, and
the incident of the sending of the score of "Wellington's Victory, or the Battle of
Vittoria" came up for conversation between them. We read in a Conversation Book,
in Bauer's hand: "I am of the opinion that the King had it performed, but perhaps no-
body reminded him that on that account he ought to answer. I will carry a letter to the
King and direct it in a channel which will insure its delivery, since I cannot hand it over
in person." The story of King George's action, or want of action, has been told in
earlier pages of this work. From the opening phrase of the address to the King it is
fair to surmise that it was to follow an invitation to subscribe for the Mass in D, and
from the letter to Ries that Beethoven subsequently decided to strike the King of
England from his list.
A.\ Appeal to the King oi England 113
the royal hands and if possible get in PetllTD at leasl a "butcher's
knife or a tortoise"; a printed copy of t he "Battle of Vittoria" was
to accompany it. Tin' character of the address to the king can be
guessed at from the following draft for an earlier letter which was
found amongst Schindler's paper-:
In thus presuming, herewith, t<> submil my tnosl obedient prayer to
Your \fajesty, I venture al the same time to supplement it with a second.
Already in the year is^.'{, the undi rsigned took the liberty, at the
frequent requests of several Englishmen then living here, to send his
composition entitled "Wellington's Battle and Victory at Vittoria"
which no one possessed at that time i to ^ our Majesty). The then Im-
perial Russian Ambassador, Prince Rasoumowsky, undertook to send the
work to Your Majesty by a courier.
For many years the undersigned cherished the sweet wish that
Your Majesty would graciously make known the receipt of his work to
him; hut he has not yet been able to hoast of this happiness, and had to
content himself with a hrief notice from Mr. Hies, his former worthy
pupil, who reported that Y. M. had been pleased graciously to deliver the
work to the then Musical Director, Mr. Salomon and Mr. Smart for
public performance in Drury Lane Theatre. This appears also from the
English journals, which added, as did Mr. Hies, that the work had
been received with extraordinary favor not only in London but else-
where. Inasmuch as it was extremely humiliating to the undersigned to
learn all this from indirect sources, Y. M. will surely pardon his sensi-
tiveness and graciously permit him to observe that he spared neither
time nor cost to lay this work before your exalted person in the most
proper manner in order to provide a pleasure for Y. M.
From this the undersigned concludes, that it may have been im-
properly Bubmitted to Y. M. and inasmuch as the most obedient petition
which is now submitted, enables him again to approach Y. M., he takes the
privilege of handing to Y. M. accompanying printed copy of the Battle
of Vittoria in score, which has been set aside for this purpose ever since
1815 and which has been retained so loiii^ because of the Uncertainty felt
by the undersigned concerning the matter.
Convinced <>f the lofty wisdom and graciousness which Y. M. has
hitherto shown toward ait and artists to their appreciation and good
fortune, the undersigned flatters himself that Your Majesty will i_rra-
ciously condescend to take all this in consideration ami grant his most
humble pet ition.
[Convaincu de In haute sagesse <l<>nt Voire MajestS </ toujour* m ap-
precier Vart ainri que de In haute faveur qu'elle accords a V artiste /<• soue-
rigni seflatte </uc Voire Majesti prendra Vun <t Vautr onsideration ft
vaudra en grace condescendre a *<i tree-humble demande.]
a Vienne le ' \ fevrier.
There are other letters to Ries which must be considered later.
Thev do QOl bear out Schindler's content ion t hat an est ramrement
■
had taken place bet ween former master and pupil, but were it not
that Beethoven's utterances on that point were chronic when
114 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
negotiating sales of his works it might be said that they show that
his burden of debt rested with peculiar grievousness upon him at
this time. That it did trouble him more than ordinarily is other-
wise evidenced. In April Schindler writes: "Don't think night
and day about your debts. When you are well again you'll pay
them without feeling it." Steiner, who may have thought that
consideration was no longer incumbent on him, now that Beet-
hoven was offering his works to other publishers, pressed him for
the money which he had loaned him and threatened to sue him for
800 florins. Beethoven presented a counter-claim and demanded
that Steiner publish a number of compositions which he had pur-
chased but had not issued. The debt to Brentano also distressed
him. He had as yet received nothing from the royal subscribers
to the Missa Solemnis. He appealed to his brother Johann to go
security for him, but he refused. Then he consulted Dr. Bach, who
advised him to dispose of one of the seven shares of bank stock
which he had purchased after his stroke of fortune at the time of the
Congress of Vienna. Schindler was called on to act as fiscal agent
in what must have seemed a complicated matter to Beethoven,
since at another time he had wanted to hypothecate a share and,
on getting it out of its hiding-place, learned that all he had to do to
get the money he needed was to cut off a coupon and collect it.
Now he writes to Schindler:
Do not forget the B. A. (bank share); it is highly necessary. I
should not like to be sued for nothing and less than nothing. The con-
duct of my brother is worthy of him. The tailor is coming to-day and I
hope to turn him away without unpleasantness.
Another note to the same:
Try to find some philanthropist who will make me a loan on a bank
share, so that, first, I need not put too severe a strain on the generosity of
my only (the word is indistinct) friend v. B. and may not myself get in
need because of the withholding of this money due to the beautiful arrange-
ment made by my dear brother!
On a separate scrap of paper is written: "It must not appear
that the money is needed." The date of this note is fixed by the
circumstance that it is the one in which Beethoven asks Schindler
to draw up a list of courts to which the invitations to subscribe to
the Mass were to be sent. In still another note he refers to bank
shares which evidently were to be hypothecated. It was while in
this distressful state concerning his debts that he took the first
steps toward making his nephew his legal heir. On March 6, 1823,
he wrote to Bach:
Ski.ks Appointment as Coi bt Composer 115
Death might come unannounced and give no time t<» make a legal
will; therefore I hereby attest with my own hand that I declare my
nephew Karl van Beethoven to be my universal heir and that after my
death everything without exception which run be railed mi/ property shall
belong to him. 1 appoint you to be his curator, and if then- should be no
testament after this you are also authorized and requested to find a
guardian for my beloved nephew- -to the exclusion of my brother Johann
Van Beethoven - and secure his appoint men t according to law. 1 declare
this writing to be valid for all time as being my last will before my death.
I embrace you with all my heart.
The words excluding Johann from the guardianship were
written on the third page of the document and on the first there
was this addition: "NB. In the way of capital there are 7 shares
of hank stock; whatever else is found in cash is like the hank shares
to be his." Shortly before his death he reiterated this bequest with
modifications entailed by changed conditions.
The origin of a canon which Beethoven improvised at the
coffee-house "Zur goldenen Birne" on February £0 to the words
"Bester Herr Graf, Sie sind ein Schaf" is said by Schindler to have
been a discussion between the composer and Count Lichnowsky
concerning a contract with Steiner. Obviously, Beethoven and
his adviser had disagreed.
In November 1822, Anton Tayber, Imperial Court Com-
poser, died. Beethoven applied for the appointment as his
successor and Counts Lichnowsky and Dietrichstein entered
the lists for him. Beethoven made a personal appeal to Diet-
riehstein, who was the "Court Music-Count" who, on February
£.'}, 1X23, disclosed the plan which had been conceived to
promote Beethoven's interests with the Emperor in a letter to
Lichnowsky:
It would have been my duty long ago to reply to goo,] Beet-
hoven, since he came to me so trustfully. Hut after I had spoken with
you I decided to break silence only after I had received definite infor-
mation on the subject in question. I can now tell you positively thai the
posl held by the deceased Tayber — who was not Chamber hut Court
Composer -is not to be filled again. I do not want to write to Beethoven
because 1 do not like to disappoint a man whom 1 so sincerely respect, and
therefore I beg of you when Occasion offers to let him know the fact and
then to inform me when and where I may meet him, as I have forgotten
where he lives.
I am also sending you herewith the score of a mass by Reuttcr
which Beethoven wished to see. It is true that II. M. the Kmperor is
fond of this style, but Beet h oven, if he writes a mass, need not adhere to it .
Let him follow the bent of his great genius and have a care only that the
mass be not too long or too difficult to perform; — that it be B tutti mass
116 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
and have only short soprano and alto solos in the voices (for which I have
two fine singing-boys) — but no tenor, bass or organ solos. If he wishes
he may introduce a violin, oboe or clarinet solo.
His Majesty likes to have fugues well worked out but not too long;
the Sanctus and Osanna as short as possible, in order not to delay the
transubstantiation, and — if I may add something on my own account —
the Dona nobis pacem connected with the Agnus Dei without marked in-
terruption, and soft. In two masses by Handel (arranged from his
anthems), two by Naumann and Abbe Stadler, this makes a particularly
beautiful effect. These in brief, as results of my experience, are the
things which are to be considered and I should congratulate myself, the
court and art if our great Beethoven were soon to take the work in hand.
On March 10 Dietrichstein sent Beethoven three texts for
graduals and a like number for offertories from which to choose
words to be used in the mass to be composed for the emperor.
On the count's letter Beethoven wrote the memorandum: "Treat
the gradual as a symphony with song — does it follow the Gloria?"
Here we have some light on the subject which came up for thought
during the account of Beethoven's negotiations with publishers for
the Mass in D. It would seem to appear that Beethoven was much
pleased with the interest manifested in his application by Count
Dietrichstein, and looked writh auspicious eye upon the latter's
plan to put him into the Emperor's good books. There can scarcely
be a doubt but that he gave considerable thought to the proposed
mass even while still at work on the Mass in D. He conceived
the plan of accompanying the Kyrie with wind-instruments and
organ only in a "new mass," as he designates it, and sketches for a
Dona nobis pacem which have been found "for the mass in C-sharp
minor" point to a treatment which may be said to be in harmony,
so far as can be seen, with Count Dietrichstein's suggestions. On
one occasion he writes to Peters that he had not made up his mind
which mass he should have, and on another that he had three
masses, two other publishers having asked for such works. He
tells Schindler that reports that the Mass in D was not finished
were to be denied because they were not true, the unfinished num-
bers being additions. So also he writes to the Archduke. These
additions were to be a gradual, an offertory, and a setting of the
hymn Tantum ergo sacramenlum, and it is a fair presumption, since
appropriate texts for the first two wrere sent to Beethoven by
Count Dietrichstein, that they were contemplated in connection
with the mass for the emperor and that possibly after the abandon-
ment of that project they were associated with the Mass in D.
Nothing is known of the music which Beethoven had in mind for
these additional numbers, but many sketches are lost and there is
Consideration of Operatic Subjects 117
no knowing how much music which was never written out Beet-
hoven carried in his head. '
Beethoven spoke of the "second" mass to others besides the
publishers. Nothing came of it, however. He decided to post-
pone work on the mass for the Emperor, pleading the pressure of
other obligations in the letters of thanks which he scut to < lounl 9
Lichnowsky and Dietrichstein. They ami Archduke Rudolph
were greatly disappointed and, if Schindler is to be believed, the
Archduke aud Lichnowsky rebuked liim.'-
In this period, too, the alluring vision of a new opera presented
itself, haunted the minds of Beethoven and his friends for a space
and then disappeared in the limbo of unexecuted projects.
"Fidelio" had been revived on November .'$, 1822, at the Ka'rnth-
nerthor Theatre. Its success was so great that the management
of the theatre offered a commission to Beethoven for a new opera.
Beethoven viewed the proposition favorably and his friends hailed
it with enthusiasm, especially Count Moritz Lichnowsky. Beet-
hoven's love for classic literature led him to express a desire for a
libretto based on some story of the antique world. He was told
that such stories were all worn threadbare. In the Conversation
Books we see what suggestions were offered by others: a text by
Schlegel; Voltaire's tragedies; Schiller's "Fiesco." Local poets
and would-be poets were willing to throw themselves into the
breach. Friedrich August Kanne, editor of the musical journal
published by Steiner and Co., wrote a libretto which Beet-
hoven sent to Schindler with a note saying that except for the
fact that the first act was rather lukewarm it was so admirably
written that it really did not require the collaboration of "one of
the first composers," adding, "I do not want to say that it is just
the most suitable thing for me, but if I can rid myself of obliga-
tions to which I am bound, who knows what might— or will —
happen!" Lichnowsky tells Beethoven in February that he b
determined to see Grillpar/.er, with whom he evidently wants to
talk about an opera-book on "Macbeth" or "Romeo and Juliet."
Brother Johann brings Beethoven a proposition from Johann
'In his letter to Zelter, Beethoven says that one <>f tin- numbers of the M.i^ was
without aeeompaniinent. There being no 'i rap pell a setting ol any section of the missel
text in the Mass in I), it is likely that Beethoven herd too. had the three additional
pieces in mind. For this speculation, however, as well as the hypothesis that the set-
tings originally contemplated for the "second" mass in ('-sharp minor were transferred
to the scheme of the Mitsa 8oUmnis, t he pr.->.-nt editor is alone responsible. In ■ I Ion-
venation Hook of L823 an unidentified friend answers several questions about the hymn
"Tantum ergo" and its introduction in the service!
•Schindler bases his statements on alleged testimony of the Archduke's secretary
Baumei^ter. bul there is no word of reproval in any of the letters of the two men which
have been found.
118 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
Sporchil, historian and publicist, and Sporchil, receiving encour-
agement, submitted a work act by act to the composer, who wrote
comments on the manuscripts but never did more.1 Lichnowsky
hears of an opera on "Alfred the Great," said to be very beautiful
and full of spectacular pomp. He will bring it to the composer in
a few days. The Count has also written to Grillparzer, and Beet-
hoven, recalling that he is an old acquaintance, resolves to visit
him. Lichnowsky's suggestion bore fruit of a kind. Grillparzer
has left us an account of his attempt to collaborate with Beethoven
on an opera in his "Erinnerungen an Beethoven."2 The request
for a libretto, he says, came to him through Count Dietrichstein
and was somewhat embarrassing to him because of his unfamil-
iarity with the lyric drama and his doubts touching Beethoven's
ability, after his later works, to compose an opera. Finally, how-
ever, he decided to make the attempt, and submitted a subject to
Beethoven's friends and then to Beethoven himself. It was a
semi-diabolical story drawn from Bohemian legendary history,
entitled "Dragomira." It met with Beethoven's approval and he
agreed to write it, but afterward changed his mind and took up the
fairy tale of Melusina. Of the manner in which he treated this
subject Grillparzer says:
So far as possible I banished the reflective element and sought, by
giving prominence to the chorus, creating powerful finales and adopting
the melodramatic style for the third act, to adjust myself to Beethoven's
last period. I avoided a preliminary conference with the composer con-
cerning the subject-matter, because I wanted to preserve the indepen-
dence of my views. Moreover, it was possible to make alterations, and in
the last instance it rested with him to compose the book or not to compose
it, as he listed. In order not to coerce him in the least I sent him the book
by the same channel which had brought me the call. He was not to be
influenced by personal considerations or embarrassed in any manner
whatsoever.
The book appealed to Beethoven, but several conferences
between him and the poet were necessary before it was brought into
satisfactory shape. Grillparzer had excluded much of the mate-
rial in the old legend which was unsuited to dramatic treatment,
and strengthened the plot with conceits of his own invention. As
soon as he had sent the text he went to Beethoven at Schindler's
1Sporchil's drama bore the title "The Apotheosis in the Temple of Jupiter Ammon."
What it had to do with the new operatic project is not plain to this editor, for it was but a
new text to be used to the music of "The Ruins of Athens." Beethoven once described
"The Ruins" as "a little opera" and his abiding and continued interest in it is disclosed
by the fact that after he got into touch with Grillparzer he discussed the possibility of
its revival with that poet.
2Grillparzer's "Werke," Vol. XVI, p. 228 et seq.
Gbillparzeb and His "Mill -Ina" 119
request. At first blush Beethoven was much pleased with the
book, and he wrote Grillparzer a letter which delighted the port.
Grillparzer describes the visit to Beethoven at bis lodgings in the
Kothgasse which he made in company with Schindler:
I found him lying in Boiled ni_rlit wear on a disordered bed, a book in
his hand. At the In -ad of the bed was a small door which, as I observed
later, opened into the dining-room and which Beethoven seemed in a
manner to be guarding, for when subsequently a maid came through it
with butter and eggs be could not restrain himself, in t he middle of an ear-
nest conversation, from throwing a searching glance at the quantity of
the provisions served —which gave me a painful picture of the disorder
prevailing in his domestic economy.
As we entered Beethoven arose from the bed, gave me his hand,
poured out his feelings of good-will and respect and at once broached the
subject of the opera. "Your work lives here," said he, pointing to his
heart; "I am going to the country in a few days ami shall at once begin to
compose it. Only, I don't know what to do with the hunters' chorus
which forms the introduction. Weber used four horns; you see, there-
fore, that 1 must have eight; where will this lead to?" Although 1 was
far from seeing the need of such a conclusion I explained to him that with-
out injury to the rest of the book the hunters' chorus could be omitted,
with which concession he seemed to be satisfied, and neither then nor
later did he offer any objection to the text or ask that a change be made.
He even insisted on closing a contract with me at once. The profits of
the opera should be divided evenly between us, etc. I declared to him,
and truthfully, that I had not thought of a fee or anything of the kind
while at work. . . . Least of all was it to be the subject of conversation
between us. Be was to do with the 1 k what he pleased— I would never
make a contract with him. After a good deal of talk (or rather of writ-
ing, for he could no longer hear .speech i back and forth, 1 took my leave,
promising to \ isit him in Hetzendorf after he had settled himself t here.
I had hoped that he had given up all thoughts of business in regard
to the matter; but a few days later my publisher, Wallishauser, came to
me and said that Beethoven insisted upon the execution of a contract.
If I could not make up my mind, Wallishauser Suggested that I assign the
property-right in the book to him and he would arrange with Beethoven,
who was already advised of such a step. I was glad to get rid of the
business, lei Wallishauser pay me a moderate sum, and bam-In-. 1 the
matter from my thoughts. Whether or not they made a contract 1 do
not know.
OttoJahn's uotesofa conversation with Grillparzer state that
Beethoven made a contract with Barbaja, who was the de facto
manager of the Karn t liuert hor Theatre, for 6,000 florins, W, W.
(2,500 C. M-'. Shortly afterward Barbaja abandoned the con-
tract, saying to Beethoven thai he knew that though he was bound
by it he could not use the opera. Thereupon Beethoven tore up
the document. On April 20, 1824, Duporl wrote to Beethoven that
Barbaja had sent word from Naples that he would like to have an
120 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
opera by Beethoven and would give time and terms as soon as he
received assurance that his contract for the theatre would be
extended from December 1. The extension was not granted.
Schindler denied that a contract between manager and composer
ever existed.
Grillparzer kept his promise to visit Beethoven at Hetzen-
dorf , going thither with Schindler. Part of his account may best
be given in his own words:
We took a promenade and entertained each other as well as was
possible half in conversation, half in writing, while walking. I still
remember with emotion that when we sat down to table Beethoven went
into an adjoining room and himself brought forth five bottles. He set
down one at Schindler's plate, one at his own and three in front of me,
probably to make me understand in his wild and simple way that I was
master and should drink as much as I liked. When I drove back to
town without Schindler, who remained in Hetzendorf, Beethoven in-
sisted on accompanying me. He sat himself beside me in the open car-
riage but instead of going only to the edge of the village, he drove with
me to the city, getting out at the gates and, after a cordial handshake,
starting back alone on the journey of an hour and a half homeward.
As he left the carriage I noticed a bit of paper lying on the seat which
he had just vacated. I thought that he had forgotten it and beckoned
him to come back; but he shook his head and with a loud laugh, as at the
success of a ruse, he ran the faster in the opposite direction. I unrolled
the paper and it contained exactly the amount of the carriage-hire which
I had agreed upon with the driver. His manner of life had so estranged
him from all the habits and customs of the world that it probably never
occurred to him that under other circumstances he would have been guilty
of a gross offence. I took the matter as it was intended and laughingly
paid my coachman with the money which had been given to me. *
In a Conversation Book used during the visit to Hetzendorf
may be read one side of a conversation about "Melusine" which
permits us to observe the poet's capacity to look into the future:
Are you still of the opinion that something else ought to be sub-
stituted for the first chorus of our opera? Perhaps a few tones of the
hunting-horns might be continued by an invisible chorus of nymphs.
I have been thinking if it might not be possible to mark every appearance
of Melusine or of her influence in the action by a recurrent and easily
grasped melody. Might not the overture begin with this and after the
rushing Allegro the introduction be made out of the same melody?
I have thought of this melody as that to which Melusine sings her first
song.
Grillparzer speaks of "Dragomira," promises to send the plot
to Beethoven in writing and makes many observations concerning
'Thayer saw Grillparzer on July 4, 1860, and got from him a conhrmation of both
incidents here narrated.
Advice Sought from Friends 121
music and musicians which musl have interested Beethoven even
when he did not agree with him. He asserts thai <>n the whole the
North Germans know little of music they will never produce
anything higher than "l)er Freischtitz." Also he has a good
word for Italian opera:
And yet I cannot agree with those who unqualifiedly reject Italian
0[HTa. To my mind there arc two kinds of Opera -one setting OUt from
the text, the other from the music. The latter is the Italian opera.
Lablache, and in a degree Fodor, are better actors than the Germans
ever had. Perhaps Mozart formed himself On the Italian opera. It
is worse now. Von would have trouble to find singers for your opera.
There are many others with whom Beethoven discussed the
opera and who came to him to tell him of their desire to Bee it
written. Duport is greatly interested, wants to read the hook
with care and asks Beethoven's terms; Lichnowsky is willing to
risk the financial outcome; "I will go security," he says in October,
"for the money which you want for the opera. After selling the
opera to the director you can still reserve the right of disposing of
it at home and abroad." And again: "If you do not compose the
opera it will be all day with German opera — everybody says that.
After the failure of Weber's opera 'Euryanthe' many sent the
books back. 'Freischiitz' is not a genuine opera. If you can
use me in any way, you know me and how sincere I am"; and still
again, towards the end of November: "You will get incomparably
more without a contract; if you want one, the director will make a
contract with pleasure at once. Talk it over with Grillparzer; it
will also be all one to him. Duport already asked about the opera
several days ago." From other quarters Beethoven is urged to
write to Duport after the latter had written to him. In a letter
which must have been written late in the year, since Beethoven is
back in his town lodgings, he writes to Grillparzer telling him that
the management had asked for his (Grillpar/.er's) terms and
suggesting that he write directly to the management and he would
do the same.1 A later conversation which must have taken place
toward the close of the vear (and mav have been the result of this
letter) begins with a complaint by Grillparzer againsl the censor-
ship for having forbidden his "( )t tokar." Beethoven's part in the
dialogue may easily be supplied by the imagination, and it will be
seen that he is still unreconciled to the opening chorus.
'The concluding paragraph <>f tin- letter 1 > < - 1 r : i > - his growing antipathy towardi
Schindler: "Afternoons yon will Bnd me in tin- coffee-house <>|>|>.>sit,- tin- 'Goldene
Birne.' If you want to cornea please come alone. This importunate appendix of ■
Schindler. ;i- you must have noticed in Hetsendorf, has long been extremely objectionable
to me — otium est vitium."
122 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
You have again taken up "Melusine?" I have already appealed
to the management twice but have had no answer. — I have already said
that I was compelled to ask 100 ducats for it. — Because as a matter of
fact, all the profits of an opera-book remain with the theatre in which it
is performed for the first time. — I could have made a spoken drama out of
the same material which would have brought me three times as much — I
must ask so much in order to meet my obligations to Wallishauser. For
ordinary opera-books they pay up to 300 florins C. M. Have you
already begun to compose? — Will you please write down for me where
you want the changes made? — Because then, nevertheless, the piece will
have to begin with a hunt. — Perhaps the last tones of a vanishing hun-
ters' chorus might blend with the introduction without having the hunters
enter. — To begin with a chorus of nymphs might weaken the effect of the
chorus at the close of the first act. — I am not quite versed in opera
texts. — You want to deliver it to the theatre by September. — The direc-
tion wants to make a creditable showing in the eyes of the public. — Doesn't
the text of the opera also seem too long to you? — To whom are you think-
ing of giving the role of Raimund? — They are talking of a young tenor
who may have made his debut by that time. I believe his name is
Cramolini; besides a handsome figure he is said to have a beautiful voice.
— It is said that the direction is having him educated. — Forti is a little
too gross. — Then I am to expect your written suggestion as to altera-
tions, soon? — I am not busy at present. — I am ready for anything.
For a space there is talk about oratorio texts ("Judith") and
the possibility of musical expression in the case of Christ. Then
the text of "Dragomira" is referred to, concerning which Beethoven
seems to have asked. Grillparzer says:
Dragomira. Great variety — great characters, effects. — The mother
of St. Wenzelaus, the Duke of Bohemia. — One of her sons kills the other.
She herself is a pagan, the better son is a Christian. They still show the
spot in Prague where she was swallowed up by the earth with horses and
equipage. — After I have lost all hope here I shall send it to Berlin.
There is much more talk in the Conversation Book about the
opera, but neither sequence nor date can always be determined.
Lichnowsky tells him that the management of the theatre is will-
ing to do anything asked of it and is negotiating with Grillparzer.
Brother Johann says: "Grillparzer is coming to-morrow — that is no
affair of yours. — You wrote to the management to make arrange-
ments with the poet, and to this it was agreed; hence Grillparzer
must make terms." In the same book Schikh, the editor, writes:
"Why don't you compose Grillparzer's opera? Write the opera
first and then we shall be in a position to wish you also to write a
Requiem."
Grillparzer says that Beethoven told him in Hetzendorf that
his opera was ready (whether he meant in his head or in its essen-
tial elements in the numerous sketchbooks, the poet could not say),
Grlllpabzeb Parts with Beethoven 123
hut after the composer's death do! b single oote was found which
could indubitably be assigned to their common work. The poet
had faithfully adhered to his resolve do! to remind the composer
of the work in any way and "was never near him again until,
clad in black and carrying a burning torch in my [his] hand," he
walked behind his coffin. Grillparzer'a memory i> faulty in a few
details. He says that lie never met Beethoven after the visit to
Hrt/endorf except once; but the two men were together again
in 1824. This, however, is inconsequential; the fact remains thai
Beethoven did not compose "Melusine." — Why not? Many
reasons must be obvious to those who have followed this nar-
rative closely: illness; vexation of spirit; loss of initiative; a
waning of the old capacity to assimilate conceptions and ideas
which did not originate in his own consciousness and were not
in harmony with his own predilections. Moreover, it was the
period of his greatest introspection; he was communing more
and more with his own soul, and separating himself more and
more from all agencies of utterance except the one which spoke
most truthfullv and directly within him, and to which he en-
trusted his last revelations — the string quartet. "Melusine" was
not composed, hut the opera continued to occupy his attention at
intervals until deep into the next year, and unless Holz is in
error, some of his last labors were devoted to it. Too literal an
acceptance must not, therefore, be given to Sehindler's statement
that he "suddenly*' abandoned the plan of writing a German
opera because he learned that the similarity between the sub-
jects of "Melusine" and "Undine" would embarrass the produc-
tion of the former in Berlin.
A project which cropped out intermittently during 1823 was
the writing of an overture on the musical motive suggested by the
letters composing the name of Bach. The thought seems to have
become fixed in his mind in 1822, though the device of using
*
~B A c iT
as a motive in composition was at least as old as the Leipsic mas-
ter's "Art of Fugue," and no doubt familiar to Beethoven. How-
ever, he was deeply engrossed in ruga! writing at this period and it
is very likely, as Nbttebohm suggests, that he conceived an over-
ture on the motive as a tribute to Bach's genius. Several sketches
showing different forms of the theme appear in t he books of L823;
and a collateral memorandum, "This overture with the new sym-
phony, and we shall have a concert {Akademie) in the Karnt liner-
124 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
thor Theatre," amongst sketches for the last quartets in 1825,
shows that he clung to the idea almost to the end. Had Beethoven
carried out all the plans for utilizing the theme which presented
themselves to him between 1822 and 1825, there would have been
several Bach overtures; unfortunately, he carried out none.
On April 13, 1823, the boy Franz Liszt, who was studying with
Carl Czerny and had made his first public appearance on the first
day of the year, gave a concert in the small Ridotto room. To-
gether with his father he had been presented to Beethoven by
Schindler, but had not been received with any special marks of
friendliness. The precocious boy gave expression to the hope
that Beethoven would attend his approaching concert. 1 Later in
the Conversation Book:
Little Liszt has urgently requested me humbly to beg you for a
theme on which he wishes to improvise at his concert to-morrow. He will
not break the seal till the time comes. The little fellow's improvisations
do not seriously signify. The lad is a fine pianist, but so far as his fancy
is concerned it is far from the truth to say that he really improvises (was
Phantasie anbelangt, so ist es noch weit am Tage bis man sagen kann, er
phantasiert). Czerny (Carl) is his teacher. Just eleven years. Do
come; it will certainly please Karl to hear how the little fellow plays.
It is unfortunate that the lad is in Czerny's hands. — You will make
good the rather unfriendly reception of recent date by coming to little
Liszt's concert? — It will encourage the boy. — Promise me to come.
Did Beethoven attend the concert, and did he afterwards go
upon the stage, lift up the prodigy and kiss him? So the world
has long believed on the authority of Nohl,2 who got the story from
Liszt himself. Schindler ought to be a good witness in this case,
since he pleaded the cause of the little lad before his great friend;
but unfortunately Schindler in this instance gives testimony at one
time which he impeaches at another. In the second edition of his
"Biography of Beethoven" (Minister, 1845, second appendix,
page 71, note) he says:
One can never know if a child will grow into a man, and if so what
kind of man; so I could not foresee when I introduced the promising boy
Liszt and his father in 1823, to Beethoven, what kind of musical vandal
would grow out of this young talent. Did Beethoven have a premoni-
tion? The reception was not the usual friendly one and I had reason at
'Thayer copies the entry found in the Conversation Book, but doubts if the hand-
writing is that of Liszt fils. It is as follows: "I have often expressed the wish to Herr von
Schindler to make your high acquaintance and am rejoiced to be able now to do so.
As I shall give a concert on Sunday the 13th I most humbly beg you to give me your
high presence." The courtly language suggests the thought that the father may have
written the words for the boy.
'"Beethoven, Liszt und Wagner," p. 190.
Beethoven and the Boi Liszt 125
the time not to l>e particularly satisfied, since the prodigy had interested
me in an unusual degree. Beethoven himself noticed that he had been
Bomewhal lax in his interest in little Franz, which made it easy to per-
suade him to honor the concert of little Liszt with his presence in order to
atone fur the indifference he had first shown.
In the thin! edition of his hook i I860, Part II, p. ITS | he >ays:
1 'lie author knows of only one reception to which the term '"friendly"
• an not be applied. It was in the case of little Fran/. Li>zt, who, accom-
panied by his father, was presented by me. This unfriendliness grew out
of the excessive idolization of this truly sensational talent; hut chiefly it
was due t<» the request made of Beethoven to give the twelve-year-old
lad a theme for improvisation Bt his farewell concert a request which
was as indiscreet as it was unreasonable. But hyperenthusiasm always
betrays a want of timeliness. It is not impossible that this enthusiasm,
after Beethoven had declined the request with obvious displeasure, yet
managed to secure from Emperor Franz, or at least Archduke Rudolph,
a theme for the young virtuoso. The idolatry of the wonder-child gave
the master, who had gone through so severe a school of experience,
a text for many observations on the hindrances and clogs to the equable
development of extraordinary talents as soon as they were made the
darlings of the multitude. Sketches of the life of Liszt have Stated that
Beethoven attended the farewell concert of 182,'i; in Schilling's encyclo-
paedia it is added that Heethoveii at this concert shook the hand of little
Liszt and thereby designated him as worthy of the name of artist.
Beethoven did nd attend the concert ; nor any private concert after 1816. '
The visit of Louis Schloesser, afterwards ehapelniaster in
Darmstadt, who delivered the message from the Grand Duke of
Hesse-Darmstadt, took place in the spring of the year. His de-
scription of the visit was printed in the journal "Hallelujah" in
1 ss.> (Nos. 20 and SI ). Schloesser revisited him later and met him
afterwards in town, walking with him to Stciner, whom he said he
was about to take to task for a remissness. "When it comes to the
publication of a new work," Beethoven said, "they would like to
postpone it as long as possible, even till after my death, thinking
thus to do a Letter business with it ; but I shall checkmate them."
Schloesser was surprised on this occasion to find Beethoven dressed
with unwonted elegance and remarked the fact to M ayseder, who
explained, with a smile, that it was not the first time that his
■In view "f thr fad that Beethoven would not have been able to bear ■ note ol t tie
music bad be been present and that, unless deeply moved, I"' would nol have made n
public exhibition ol Ins feelings, snd thai even Schindler does nol seem t" have heard "f
the itory <>f tli>- kiss, it i* very likely, in the opinion <>f the present editor, thai t!i>- whole
story is a canard invented for advertising purposes. 'Ilia > ex's note on the copy which be
made "f the conversation at the time of the presentation of the lad is: "I*. does nol
appear to bave attended the concert, as tome one reports to him thai he 'improvised on
a Hungarian-German theme.*" Hut there are several versions of the itorj tee Frimmel,
"Bausteine, etc.," p 91 and Beethoven ma] at another time have kissed the boy.
126 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
friends had stolen his old clothes at night and left new ones in their
place. Mayseder added that the substitution was never noticed
by Beethoven, who donned the garments with perfect calmness.
Schloesser observes that he never detected the least sign of ab-
sentmindedness in Beethoven.
At the last meeting between the men Schloesser showed Beet-
hoven one of his compositions, a somewhat complicated work.
Beethoven looked through it and observed: "You write too much;
less would have been better. That's the way of our young heaven-
stormers who think that they can never do enough. But that will
change with riper age, and I prefer a superabundance to a paucity
of ideas." To the question how this might be attained Schloesser
says Beethoven replied "literally":
I carry my thoughts about me for a long time, often a very long
time, before I write them down. Meanwhile my memory is so tenacious
that I am sure never to forget, not even in years, a theme that has once
occurred to me. I change many things, discard and try again until I
am satisfied. Then, however, there begins in my head the development
in every direction and, insomuch as I know exactly what I want, the
fundamental idea never deserts me — it arises before me, grows — I see
and hear the picture in all its extent and dimensions stand before my
mind like a cast and there remains for me nothing but the labor of writing
it down, which is quickly accomplished when I have the time, for I
sometimes take up other work, but never to the confusion of one with the
other. You will ask me where I get my ideas? That I can not tell you
with certainty; they come unsummoned, directly, indirectly, — I could
seize them with my hands out in the open air; in the woods; while walk-
ing; in the silence of the night; early in the morning; incited by moods
which are translated by the poet into words, by me into tones, — sound
and roar and storm about me until I have set them down in notes.
At parting, Beethoven gave Schloesser a sheet containing a
canon for six voices on the words, "Edel sei der Mensch, hulfreich
und gut," with the inscription: "Words by Goethe, tones by Beet-
hoven. Vienna, May, 1823." On the back he wrote: "A happy
journey, my dear Herr Schloesser, may all things which seem
desirable come to meet you. Your devoted Beethoven."1 Judg-
ing by the position of the canon in the Rudolphinian Collection,
Nottebohm was of the opinion that it was composed at an earlier
date, say 1819-20. Beethoven also gave Schloesser, who was
going to Paris, a letter of introduction to Cherubini which accom-
plished his acceptance as a pupil of the Conservatoire.
Our old friend Schuppanzigh, after an absence of seven years,
returned to Vienna in 1823. On May 4 he gave a concert at which
'Xohl is mistaken in saying that the canon was written in Schloesser's album. It
is printed in the B. and H. "Ges. Ausg.," Series XXIII, No. 256.
Variations on a Waltz bt Diabelli 127
Piringer conducted the orchestra, and on June 14 the quartet
meetings were resumed, with Holz, Weiss and Linke as his asso
elates.
Schindler places the incident whic] the incentive to the
creation of the Ias1 of Beethoven's characteristic works f«>r the
pianoforte, the "Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli," <>[>. K'<>, in
the winter <>t* 1822 '23. In this, as will appear presently, he was in
error, as be was also touching the date of the completion »>f the
composition, bul otherwise his storj is no doubt correct. Anton
Diabelli, head of the music-publishing house of Diabelli and Co.,
having composed a waltz, conceived the idea of having variations
written on its melody by a large group of I he popular composers of
the da_\-. Beethoven was among those who received the invitation,
but, mindful of his experiences in 1808, when be contributed a
setting of "In questa tomba" to a similar conglomeration, he de-
clared that lie would never do so again. Moreover, so Schindler
says, he did not like the tune, which he called a Sehusterfleck.1 He
declined Diabelli's request, hut not long afterward asked Schindler
to inquire of Diabelli if he were disposed to take from him a Bel <>f
variations on the waltz, and if so, what he would pay. Diabelli
received the proposition with delight and offered 80 ducats, re-
quiring not more than six or seven variations. The contract was
formallv closed and Beethoven remarked to Schindler: "Good: he
shall have variations on his cobble!" This the story as told by
Schindler. Lenz, who claimed to have the authority of Ilolx for
his version, says that after receiving thirty-two variations from
other composers, Diabelli went to Beethoven and asked him for
the one which he had promised. Beethoven inquired how many
variations he already had and when Diabelli replied "Thirl y-l wo"
* I »
he said: "Well, go and publish them and I alone will write you
thirty-three." This story, however, lacks probability. I. en/
himself says that Diabelli told him that Beethoven had not agreed
to write for him; hence he could not have asked for the "promised"
variation. But Schindler is also wrong in saying that the varia-
tions were the first work taken up by Beethoven after his removal
to I let /.end or f in t he summer of 1829 and that they were published
in July. They were advertised as published by Diabelli in the
» i »
"Wiener Zeitung" on June 1<>, L82S, ami there are other dates to
corroborate the evidence that they were finished when Beethoven
removed to Hetzendorf on May 17. On May 7 Beethoven offered
i.\ Schutterfieck, thai ia ■ cobble, orcobbler'i patch, like V«Utr Mieh*i nml Ratafia
in the musical terminology of Germany, i-* ••» tutu- largely made up of repetitioni '■:>
differenl degree* <>f the Kale "f a tingle figure or moth
128 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
them for publication to Lissner in St. Petersburg; on April 25 he
wrote to Ries: "You will also receive in a few weeks 33 variations
on a theme, dedicated to your wife," and on July 16: "By this time
the variations must be with you." The date of Diabelli's con-
ception of the plan was probably a whole year, even two years
earlier than the date given by Schindler. In a letter dated June
5, 1822, Beethoven offered to Peters "Variations on a Waltz for
pianoforte solo (there are many)" for 30 ducats; they must there-
fore have been far advanced in composition and fully planned at
that time. Nottebohm says that Schubert's contribution to the
collection of variations bears on the autograph the date "March,
1821." The Variations appeared from the press of Diabelli and
Co. in June, with a dedication to Mme. Antonia von Brentano;
not, it will be observed, to the wife of Ries. Had there been an
English edition there would have been such a dedication, but it
is another case in which an English publisher was disappointed
in the conduct of the composer. Ries had complied with Beet-
hoven's solicitations and secured a publisher. He closed an
agreement with Boosey ; but when the manuscript reached London,
Boosey was already in possession of a copy of the Vienna edition
and the work had also been printed in Paris. The copy made for
London bore a dedication written in large letters by Beethoven to
Madame Ries; but the printed copies were inscribed to Madame
Brentano. Beethoven attempted an explanation and defence in
a letter to Ries dated Baden September 5 :
You say that I ought to look about me for somebody to look after
my affairs. This was the case with the Variat. which were cared for by
my friends and Schindler. The Variat. were not to appear here until
after they had been published in London. The dedication to B
(not clear) was intended only for Germany, as I was under obligations to
her and could publish nothing else at the time; besides only Diabelli,
the publisher here, got them from me. Everything was done by Schind-
ler; a bigger wretch I never got acquainted with on God's earth — an
arch-scoundrel whom I have sent about his business. I can dedicate
another work to your wife in place of it.
How much blame in this affair really attached to Schindler
is not known; it seems pretty apparent that though Beethoven
also fuming against him at the time at home, he was doing duty
in London as a whipping-boy. Beethoven went right on calling
in the help of the "biggest wretch on earth and arch-scoundrel."
After the labors and vexations of town life in the winter, the
call of the country in the summer was more than usually impera-
tive, because the work which had long occupied Beethoven's
mind — the Ninth Symphony — was demanding completion. His
Troubled i;y 1 1 i — Eti - it II; hdobf 129
brother Johann had invited him to visit him on bis estate near
Gneixendorf, but he lia<l declined. His choice for the Bummer
sojourn fell upon Hetzendorf, a village not far from Vienna, w here
he liit upon a villa, surrounded by a beautiful park, which be-
longed to Baron Mttller-Pronay. There was some haggling about
the rent and some questioning about the post service an im-
portant matter in view of the many negotiations with publishers,
in all of which Schindler was depended on but eventually all was
arranged. Ill health marred the Hetzendorf sojourn. Beet hoven's
other ailments were augmented by a painful affection of the eyes
which called for medical treatment, retarded his work and caused
him no small amount of anxiety. Complaints on this BOOre began
in April and were continued through July, on the 15th of which
month he writes to the Archduke, "My eyes are better, hut im-
provement is slow. It would be more rapid if I were not obliged
to use glasses; it is an unfortunate circumstance which delays me
in everything"; and later, when on a short visit to Vienna: "I have
just heard here that Y. I. H. is coming to-morrow. If I cannot
obey the wishes of my heart, please ascribe it to my eyes. They
are much better, but I must not breathe t he t own air for many more
days, for it would have ill effects on my eyes." In August, very
shortly before his departure for Baden : "I am feeling really badly,
not my eyes alone. I purpose to drag myself to Baden to-morrow
to take lodgings and in a few days will have to go there to stay.
The town air lias an injurious effect on my entire organization and
I hurt myself by going t wice to my physicians in the city." From
Baden on the 22nd he complains of a catarrhal affection, the misery
in his bowels and the trouble with his eyes, but adds: "Thank
God, the eyes are so much improved that I can again use them
considerably in the daytime. Things are going better also with
my other ailments; more could not be asked in this short time."
Among the cheering incidents of the summer were the reports
which reached him of the product ion of "Fidelio" under t lie direc-
tion of Weber in Dresden. Weber opened a correspondence on
January 28 and continued it with letters dated February 18, April
7 and June 5; Beethoven's answers were dated February 16, April
lo and June ?). Most unforl una t ely all these letters have dis-
appeared, and the only hints we haveas to their contents are from
the draft for Weber's first communication discovered among the
papers of t he writer:
"Fidelio." To Beethoven. The performance in Prague under
my direction of tins mighty work, uliieh bears testimony to German
grandeur and depth of feeling, gave me an intimacy, as inspiring as it was
130 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
instructive, with the essence through which I hope to present it to the
public in its complete effectiveness here, where I have all possible means
at my command. Every representation will be a festival day on which
I shall be privileged to offer to your exalted mind the homage which lives
in my heart, where reverence and love for you struggle with each other.
Weber had received the score of the opera on April 10 from
Beethoven, who had to borrow it from the Karnthnerthor Theatre,
whose musical archives were in the care of Count Gallenberg.
Through Schindler, Gallenberg sent word to Beethoven that he
would send the score, provided two copies were on hand; if not, he
would have a copy made. Schindler, reporting the message to
Beethoven, adds that Gallenberg had said he thought Beethoven
himself had the score: "But when I assured him that you did not
have it he said that its loss was a consequence of your irregularity
and many changes of lodgings."1 Nevertheless, Weber got the
score and after fourteen rehearsals the representation took place
with great success. Von Konneritz, Director-General of the
Royal Chapel, reported the triumph to Beethoven and sent Beet-
hoven a fee of 40 ducats. Beethoven in acknowledging receipt on
July 17 is emboldened "by the account which my dear friend
Maria Weber gives me of the admirable and noble motives of Your
Excellency" to ask his intercession with the Saxon court in behalf
of the Mass in D, as has already been recorded in this chapter.
A number of incidents may now hurriedly be marshalled. In
1822 the Royal Academy of Music of Sweden had elected Beetho-
ven to foreign membership. The consent of the Austrian govern-
ment was necessary to his acceptance of the honor and this seems
to have been deferred an unconscionably long time; at least Beet-
hoven's letters to the Academy and to King Charles XIV (whom as
General Bernadotte, then French ambassador at Vienna, he had
known 25 years before) are dated March 1, 1823. When permis-
sion came he wrote notes to the editors of the newspapers "Beob-
achter" and "Wiener Zeitschrift," asking them to announce the
fact of his election — a circumstance which shows that he was not
always as indifferent to distinctions of all kinds as he professed
occasionally. Franz Schoberlechner, a young pianist, appealed
to him for letters of recommendation to be used on a concert-
tour. The letter reached Beethoven through Schindler, to whom
he returned it with the curt indorsement: "A capable fellow has no
need of recommendation other than from one good house to an-
other." Schindler importuned him again, and Beethoven wrote
'See the conversation, Vol. I, p. 321.
Troubles with a Country Landlord LSI
to him somewhat testily: "It must be plain to you that I do not
want to have anything to do with this matter. As for 'being
noble' I think I have shown yon sufficiently that I am that <>n
principle; I even think that you musl have observed thai I have
never been otherwise. Sapienti sat." Thai ended the matter;
but when Chapelmaster Dreschler of the Josephstadl Theatre
became a candidate for the post of second court organist, Beetho-
ven recommended him enthusiastically to Archduke Rudolph,
whom in a second letter he urged to remain firm notwithstanding
that Alihe Stadler had presented another candidate. Archduke
Rudolph spoke to the emperor and Count Dietrichstein In favor
of Drechsler, but in vain. In His letters Beethoven referred to a
canon, "(irossen Dank," which he said he had written for the Arch-
duke and which he intended to hand him in person. Sketches for
it have been found among those for the third movement of the
Ninth Symphony, but nothing has yet been heard of the completed
work.
Beethoven's domestic affairs continued to plague him. While
at Hetzendorf he had the services of a housekeeper whom he
described as "the swift-sailing frigate" Frau Schnaps. in letter- to
Schindler. He has no vnd of trouble about his town lodging in the
Kothgasse where Schindler was living, and must needs take time
to write long letters to his factotum on the subject. Here is one
sent from Hetzendorf on July 2:
The continued brutality of the landlord, from the beginning a> long
as I have been in the house, calls for the help of the R. I. Police. Go to
them direct . As regards the storm-window, the housekeeper was ordered
to look after it and particularly after the recenl severe rain-storm t<> see if
it was necessary to prevent rain from entering the room; but she found
that it had neither rained in nor could rain in. Believing this. I put 0D
the lock so that the brutal fellow could not open my room in my absence
as he threatened to do. Tell them further how he behaved towards you
and that he put up the hill without notice, which he has do riJit to do
before St. James's day. — He has also refused to give me a receipt from
St. George's to St. James' as this paper shows because of the demand t hat
I pay a charge for lighting of which I knew nothing. This abominable
lodging without a stove-flue and with the mosl wretched sort of mam
chimney has cost me at least 259 florins W. W. for extra expenses above
the rent in order to make it habitable while I was there in the win-
ter. It was an intentional cheat, inasmuch as I never saw the lodgings in
the firsl storey but only in the second, for which reason many objection-
able things remained unknown to me. 1 can not comprehend how it is
possible that so shameful a chimney, ruinous to human health, ran be toler-
ated by the government. You remember how the walls of your room
looked because of smoke, how much it cos! to gel rid of some but not
all of the nuisance. The chief thing now is that he be commanded to
132 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
take down the notice and to give me the receipt for the rent paid at any
rate. I never had that wretched lighting, but had other large expenses in
order to make life endurable in this lodging. My sore eyes can not yet
stand the town air, otherwise I would myself go to the imperial police.
Schindler obeyed instructions; the police director, Ungermann,
sent his compliments to Beethoven, told him that his wishes were
all granted in advance but advised him to pay the 6 florins for
lighting to prevent a scoundrelly landlord from having any kind
of hold upon him — and Schindler got well scolded for his pains!
How could he accept something-or-other from such a churl ac-
companied by a threat? Where was his judgment? Where he
always kept it, of course! The bill came down, but Beethoven did
not keep the lodging.
Beethoven's nephew Karl pursued his studies at Blochlinger's
Institute till in August and then spent his vacation with his uncle
in Baden. He made himself useful as amanuensis and otherwise,
and his words are occasionally found among the notes of conver-
sation. His mother remains in the background for the time being,
which is providential, for Beethoven has trouble enough with his
other delectable sister-in-law, the wife of Johann, whose conduct
reaches the extreme of reprehensibleness in the summer of 1823,
during a spell of sickness which threw her husband on his back.
The woman chose this time to receive her lover in her house and to
make a shameless public parade of her moral laxness. The step-
daughter was no less neglectful of her filial duties. Accounts of
his sister-in-law's misconduct reached Beethoven's ears from
various cmarters and he was frank in his denunciation of her to his
brother and only a little more plain-spoken than Schindler, who
was asked by Beethoven to lay the matter before the police, but
managed to postpone that step for the time being.1
Meanwhile Beethoven was hard at work on the Ninth Sym-
phony. It was so ever-present with him that there was neither
'Here are a few extracts from a letter written to Beethoven on July 3, 1823: "As
I have been visiting him (Johann) three to four times a day ever since he took to his
bed, and have entertained him by the hour, I have had an opportunity carefully to
observe these two persons; hence I can assure you on my honor that, despite your
venerable name, they deserve to be shut up, the old one in prison, the young one in the
house of correction. . . . This illness came opportunely for both of them, to enable them
to go their ways without trammel. These beasts would have let him rot if others had
not taken pity on him. He might have died a hundred times without the one in the
Prater or at Nussdorf the other at the baker's deigning to give him a look He
often wept over the conduct of his family and once he gave way completely to his grief
and begged me to let you know how he is being treated so that you might come and give
the two the beating they deserve .... It is most unnatural and more than barbarous
if that woman, while her husband is lying ill, introduces her lover into his room, prinks
herself like a sleigh-horse in his presence and then goes driving with him, leaving the sick
husband languishing at home. She did this very often. Your brother himself called
my attention to it, and is a fool for tolerating it so long."
Autographed Shutters in Demand LS3
paradox nor hyperbole id bis word-: "I am never alone when I am
alone." He bad much to irritate him while sketches and drafts of
the symphony were piling up before bim in August, and finally, if
Schindler is to be believed, be could no longer endure the obse-
quious bows with which bis landlord. Huron Pronay, always greeted
bim, and resolved to abandon the pretty villa at Betzendorf and
go to Baden. lie may have formed the plan earlier in the year —
probably had — hut the baron's ex ssive politeness belped to
turn his departure into something like a holt. He went to Baden
on a bouse-hunting expedition with Schindler, and returning, sent
his "swift-sailing frigate" to Schindler with a billet commanding
him to be up and off at 5 o'clock in the morning "presto pre-
stissimo." He knew only one lodging in Baden suited to bis re-
quirements— the one which he had occupied in 1822 — hut the
owner refused to let him have it again. This owner was a lock-
smith. To him Schindler was sent. In the name of bis master he
made all manner of humble promises concerning more orderly
conduct and consideration for the other tenants, hut the plea
was rejected. A second appeal was made and now the bouseowner
relented, but made it a condition that Beethoven replace the win-
dow-shutters which had been removed. Beethoven was the more
willing to do this, since he thought it necessary for the sake of bis
eyes. The landlord had not divulged the reason for his demand.
Beethoven was in the habit of scrawling all kinds of memoranda
on his shutters in leadpencil — accounts, musical themes, etc.
A family from North Germany had noticed this in the previous year
and on Beethoven's departure had bought one of the shutters as
a curiosity. The thrifty locksmith had an eye for business and
disposed of the remaining shutters to other summer visitor-.
Beethoven had arrived in Baden on August 13 with the help
of Schindler, towards whom he was filled with as much gratitude
as can be read in the following remarks from two letters to his
nephew dated August 16 ami 23:
My ruined belly must be restored by medicine and diet, and this I
owe to the faithful mesaengerl You can imagine bow I am racing about,
for only to-day did I really begin my service to the muses; I must, though
that is not noticeable, for the baths invite me at leasl to the enjoyment
of beautiful nature, but ttOUS xummcs trop puuvrc ft il Jnut icrirc on <lr
rC avoir pas de quoi.
He (Schindler) was with me only a day here to take a lodging, as you
know; slept in I let zendorf. and as he Said, went hack to Josephstadl in
the morning. Do not gel to gossipping againsl him. It mighl work him
injury, and is he not already sutlieiently punished? Being what lie is,
134 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
it is necessary plainly to tell him the truth, for his evil character which is
prone to trickery needs to be handled seriously.
Beethoven's unamiable mood, which finds copious expression
in abuse of Schindler at this juncture, has some explanation (also
extenuation, if that is necessary) in the rage and humiliation with
which contemplation of his brother's domestic affairs filled him.
Johann was convalescing and wrote a letter to the composer
which occasioned the following outburst under date of August 13 :
Dear Brother:
I am rejoiced at your better health. As regards myself, my eyes are
not entirely recovered and I came here with a disordered stomach and a
frightful catarrh, the first due to the arch-pig of a housekeeper, the second
to a beast of a kitchen-maid whom I have once driven away but whom
the other took back. You ought not to have gone to Steiner; I will see what
can be done. It will be difficult to do anything with the songs in puris
as their texts are German; more likely with the overture.
I received your letter of the 10th at the hands of the miserable
scoundrel Schindler. You need only to give your letters directly to the
post, I am certain to receive them, for I avoid this mean and contempti-
ble fellow as much as possible. Karl can not come to me before the 29th
of this month when he will write you. You can not well be wholly
unadvised as to what the two canailles, Lump and Bastard,1 are doing to
you, and you have had letters on the subject from me and Karl, for,
little as you deserve it I shall never forget that you are my brother, and a
good angel will yet come to rid you of these two canailles. This former
and present strumpet who received visits from her fellow no less than
three times while you were ill, and who in addition to everything else has
your money wholly in her hands. O infamous disgrace! Isn't there a
spark of manhood in you?!!!. . . About coming to you I will write
another time. Ought I so to degrade myself as to associate with such
bad company? Mayhap this can be avoided and we yet pass a few days
with you. About the rest of your letter another time. Farewell.
Unseen I hover over you and work through others so that these canailles
shall not strangle you.
As always your faithful
Brother.
There were several visitors to Beethoven at Baden in the
summer of 1823 who have left accounts of their experiences. One
was an Englishman, Edward Schulz, who published his story in
the "Harmonicon" in January 1824. This extremely lively letter
was reprinted by Moscheles in his translation (or rather, adapta-
tion) of Schindler's biography of Beethoven and incorporated in
the second German edition, where Schindler accompanies it with
several illuminative glosses which are less necessary now than
'Meaning Johann's wife and step-daughter. Very incomprehensibly Kalischer
thinks the Lump was Schindler!
Beethoven's Tribute to Handel 185
they were when the biographer wrote. Schulz visited Beethoven
on September 28 in the company <>f Haslinger. 1I<- describes it as
a dies fausttu for him and, ;h Schindler shrewdly observes, it
must also have been one for Beethoven, Bince he managed to hear
tin- conversation of his visitors without the aid of an ear-trumpet.
He talked with greal animation, a> was his wont when in good hu-
mor, hut, says the English visitor, "one unlucky question, <»n<- ill-
judged piece of advice — for instance concerning the cure of his
deafness is quite sufficient to estrange him from you forever."
He asked Haslinger about the highest possible uote on the trom-
bone, )>ut was dissatisfied with the answer which lie received; in-
troduced his nephew and showed his pride in the youth's attain-
ments by telling his guest that he might put to him "a riddle in
Greek" if he liked. At dinner during a visit to the Helenenthal he
commented on the profusion of provisions at dinner, saying: "Why
BUch a variety of dishes? Man is hut little above other animals
if his chief pleasure is confined to a dinner-table." A few ex-
cerpts from the letter will serve to advance the present narrative:
In the whole course of our table-talk there was nothing so interesting
as what he said about Handel. I sat close hy liini and heard him assert
very distinctly in German, "Handel is the greatest composer that ever
lived." I can not describe to you with what pathos, and I am inclined to
Bay, with what suhlimity of language, he spoke of the "Messiah" of this
immortal genius. Every one of us was moved when he said, "I would
uncover my bead, and kneel down at his tomb!" II. and I tried re-
peatedly to turn the conversation to Mozart, hut without effect. 1 only
lieard him say, "In a monarchy we know who is the first"; which might
or might not apply to the subject He is engaged in writing a new
Opera called "Melusine," the words l>y the famous but unfortunate j
(irillparzer. He concerns himself hut very little about the newest pro-
ductions of living composers, insomuch, that when I asked about the
"Freischtits," he replied, "I believe one Weber has written it.". . . . He
appears uniformly toentertain the most favorahle opinion of the British
nation. "I like," said he, "the nohle simplicity of the English manners,*'
and added other praises. It seemed to me as if he had yet some hope-, of
visiting this country together with his nephew. I should not forget to
mention that I heard a MS. trio of his for the pianoforte, violin and
violoncello, which I thought very heautiful, ami is, 1 understood, to ap-
peal shortly in London.
Our author's statement that he heard a manuscript piano-
forte trio at this time piques curiosity. Schindler disposes of the
question as to what it may have been in the manner more charac-
teristic of the present than the past attitude of German writers
towards everything English or American. "Who knows what it
was that the non-musical gentleman took for a trio'" he asks.
Evidently Schindler was of the opinion that no Englishman except.
136 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
possibly, a professional musician, could count three or recognize
the employment of pianoforte, violin and violoncello in a piece of
music. He is right in scouting the idea that it could have been
the great Trio in B-flat, for that work had long been in print.
Nor is it likely to have been the little trio in the same key dedi-
cated to Maximiliane Brentano; for though that was not published
at the time, it is not likely that Beethoven would produce it in 1823
as a noveltv. There are in existence sketches for a Trio in F minor
made in 1815, but nothing to show that the work was ever written
out. Had it been in Beethoven's hands at a time when he was
turning over the manuscripts of earlier days, it would surely have
been offered to a publisher; so that is out of the way. There is
only one other known work which invites speculation — the
"Adagio, Variations and Rondo," for pianoforte, violin and violon-
cello, which Steiner and Co. gave to the public in 1824, as Op. 121.
The variations are on a melody from Wenzel Miiller's opera "Die
Sch western aus Prag" ("Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu"). It is at
least remotely possible that this was the trio which the English
traveller heard, and if so we have in the fact a hint as to the time
of its origin — the only hint yet given.
A few days after the one just recorded Beethoven received a
visit from a man of much greater moment than the English travel-
ler. The new visitor was Carl Maria von Weber. That the
composer of "Der Freischutz" was unable in his salad days to
appreciate the individuality of Beethoven's genius has already
been set forth; and the author of the letter in the "Harmonicon"
seems to have learned that Beethoven was disposed to speak
lightly of Weber only a month before he received him with most
amiable distinction at Baden. Schindler's explanation, that a
memory of Weber's criticism of the Fourth Symphony may at the
moment have risen, ghost-like, in Beethoven's mind and prompted
the disparaging allusion quoted by Schulz, is far-fetched. It is
not necessary to account for such moody remarks in Beethoven's
case. He was often unjust in his comments on even his most
devoted friends, and we may believe that to Schulz he did speak
of the composer as "one Weber," and at the same time accept the
account which Max Maria von Weber gives of the reception of his
father by Beethoven. From the affectionate biography written
by the son, we learn that after the sensational success achieved by
"Der Freischutz" Beethoven was led to study its score and that he
was so astonished at the originality of the music that he struck the
book with his hand and exclaimed: "I never would have thought
it of the gentle little man (sonst weiche Manuel) . Now Weber must
Von Weber's Visit to Beethoven 137
write operas; aothing but operas one after the other and without
polishing them too much. Ca#per, the monster, stands out here
like a house. Wherever the devil puts in his claws they art* frit."
He learned to know "Euryanthe" later and was less impressed by
it than l>y its predecessor. After glancing through it hurriedly
he remarked: "The man has taken too much pain-."1 Whatever
may have been their earlier feelings and convictions, however,
the representations of "Fidelio" at Prague and Dresden under the
direction of Weber wanned their hearts towards each other.
Weber's filial biographer says that when the youthful sin of his
father was called to the not ice of Beethoven, the latter showed some
resentment, hut there is no shadow of this in the pictures which
we have from the pens of Weber himself, Max Maria von Weber
and Julius Benedict, of the meeting between the two men. Weber
had come to Vienna, bringing with him his pupil Benedict, to
conduct the first performance of "Euryanthe." On his visit in
the previous year, when "Der Freischutz" was produced, he had
neglected to call on Beethoven, but now some kindly words about
"Euryanthe" spoken by Beethoven to Steiner being repeated to
him, he made good his dereliction and, announced by Haslinger,
drove out to Baden to pay his respects. In his diary Weber noted
the visit thus: "The 5th, Sunday (October, 18*3), at 8 o'clock,
drove with Burger (Piringer), Haslinger and Benedict to Baden;
abominable weather; Saw spring and baths; to Duport and Beet-
hoven; received by him with great cordiality. Dined with him,
his nephew and Eckschlager at the Sauerhof. Very cheerful.
Back again at 5 o'clock." On the next day (though the letter is
dated "October 5") Weber wrote an account to his wife as follow-:
I was right tired but had to get up yesterday at 6 o'clock because
the excursion to Baden had been appointed for half-past 7 o'clock. This
took place with Hasslinger. Piringer and benedict; but unfortunately the
weather was atrocious. The main purpose was to see Beethoven. He
received me with an atfection which was touching; he embraced me most
heartily at least six or seven times and finally exclaimed ent busiastically:
"Indeed, you're a devil of a fellow! — a good fellow!" We spent the after-
noon very merrily and contentedly. This rough, repellant man actually
paid court to me, served me at table as if I had been his lady. In short.
this day will always remain remarkable in my memory as well as of thOM
present. It was uplifting for me to be overwhelmed with such loving
attention l>V this great genius. How saddening is his deafness! Every-
thing must be written down for him. We inspected the baths, drank
the waters, and .it 5 o'clock drove back to \ ienna.
'Schindler quotes Beethoven ;i- remarking of "Euryanthe" that it w.is "an accumu-
lation of diminished ieventhHjhorda— all little backdoor*!"
138 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
Max Maria von Weber in his account of the incident says
that Beethoven, in the conversation which followed his greeting of
the "devil of a fellow," railed at the management of the theatre,
the concert impresarios, the public, the Italians, the taste of the
people, and particularly at the ingratitude of his nephew. Weber,
who was deeply moved, advised him to tear himself away from his
discouraging environment and make an artistic tour through
Germany, which would show him what the world thought of him.
"Too late!" exclaimed Beethoven, shaking his head and going
through the motions of playing the pianoforte. "Then go to
England, where you are admired," wrote Weber. "Too late!"
cried Beethoven, drew Weber's arm into his and dragged him
along to the Sauerhof, where they dined. At parting, Beethoven
embraced and kissed him several times and cried: "Good luck to
the new opera; if I can I'll come to the first performance."
A generation later Sir Julius Benedict, who had also put his
memory of those Vienna days at the service of Weber's son, wrote
down his recollections for his work in these words:
I endeavor, as I promised you, to recall the impressions I received
of Beethoven when I first met him in Vienna in October, 1823. He
then lived at Baden; but regularly, once a week, he came to the city and
he never failed to call on his old friends Steiner and Haslinger, whose
music-store was then in the Paternostergasschen, a little street, no longer
in existence, between the Graben and the Kohlmarkt.
If I am not mistaken, on the morning that I saw Beethoven for the
first time, Blahetka, the father of the pianist, directed my attention to a
stout, short man with a very red face, small, piercing eyes, and bushy
eyebrows, dressed in a very long overcoat which reached nearly to his
ankles, who entered the shop about 12 o'clock. Blahetka asked me:
"Who do you think that is?" and I at once exclaimed: "It must be
Beethoven!" because, notwithstanding the high color of his cheeks and
his general untidiness, there was in those small piercing eyes an expres-
sion which no painter could render. It was a feeling of sublimity and
melancholy combined. I watched, as you can well imagine, every word
that he spoke when he took out his little book and began a conversation
which to me, of course, was almost incomprehensible, inasmuch as he
only answered questions pencilled to him by Messrs. Steiner and Has-
linger. I was not introduced to him on that occasion; but the second
time, about a week after, Mr. Steiner presented me to the great man as
a pupil of Weber. The other persons present were the old Abbe Stadler
and Seyfried. Beethoven said to Steiner: "I rejoice to hear that you
publish once more a German work. I have heard much in praise of
Weber's opera and hope it will bring both you and him a great deal of
glory." Upon this Steiner seized the opportunity to say: "Here is a
pupil of Weber's"; when Beethoven most kindly offered me his hand,
saying: "Pray tell M. de Weber how happy I shall be to see him at Baden,
as I shall not come to Vienna before next month." I was so confused at
Sir Julius Beneuk t\s Record 130
having the great man speak to me that I hadn't the courage to ask any
questions or continue the conversation with him.
A few days afterwards I had the pleasure of accompanying Weber
and Haslinger with another friend to Baden, when they allowed me the
great privilege of going with them to Beethoven's residence. Nothing
could be more cordial than his reception of my master. He wanted to
take us to the Helenenthal and to all the neighborhood; but t In* weather
was unfavorable, and we were obliged to renounce this excursion. They
all dined together at one table at an inn, and I, seated at another close
to them, had the pleasure of listening to their conversation.
In the month of November, when Beethoven came to town and paid
his daily visit to the Paternostergasschen, I seldom missed tin- oppor-
tunity of being one of the circle of young admirers, eager to show their
reverence to the greatest musical genius as well as hoping to be honored
by his notice. Among those whom I met upon this errand were Carl
Maria von Bocklet, his pupil, Worzisehek, Leon de St. Louvain, May-
seder, Holz, Bohm, Linke, Schuppanzigh, Franz Schubert and Kanne.
On the morning after the first performance of "Euryanthe," when
Steiner and Haslinger's shop was filled with the musical and literary
authorities, Beethoven made his appearance and asked Haslinger:
"Well, how did the opera go last night?" The reply was: "A gnat
triumph." "Das freut mich, das freut mieh" he exclaimed, and per-
ceiving me he said: "I should so much have liked to go to the theatre,
but," pointing to his ears, "I go no more to those places." Then ln-
asked Gottdank, the regisseur; "How did little Sontag get on? I take
a great interest in her; and how is the book — good or bad?" Gottdank
answered the first question affirmatively, but as to the other he shrugged
his shoulders and made a negative sign, to which Beethoven replied:
"Always the same story; the Germans cannot write a good libretto."
Upon which I took his little conversation book and wrote in it: "And
'Fidelio'?" to which he answered: "That is a French and Italian book."
I asked him afterwards: "Which do you consider the best libretto-?";
he replied " A\ assert r&ger' and 'Vestalin.''
Further than this I cannot recall any distinct conversation, al-
though I often met him, and I had never the good fortune of hearing him
perform or seeing him conduct. But the wonderful impression his first
appearance made on me was heightened every time I nut him. When
I Baw him at Baden, his white hair flowing over his mighty shoulder-, with
that wonderful look — sometimes contracting his brows when anything
afflicted him, sometimes bursting out into a forced laughter, indescrib-
ably painful to his listeners— I was touched as if King Lear or one of tin-
old Gaelic bards stood before me; and when I thought how the creator
of the sublimest musical works was debarred by a cruel fate for a Lrr«;it
many years from the delight of hearing them performed and appreciated
I could but share the deep grief of all musical minds.
I may add that I heard the first public performance of one of his
so-called "posthumous quartets in his own presence. Scnuppanzign
and his companions, who had been his interpreters before, were scarcely
equal to this occasion; as they did not seem to understand the music
themselves, they failed entirely to impart its meaning to the audience.
The general impression was most unsatisfactory. Not until Ernst had
140 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
completely imbued himself in the spirit of these compositions could the
world discover their long-hidden beauties.1
Madame Marie Pachler-Koschak, with whom Beethoven had
spent many happy moments in 1817, was among those who took
the waters at Baden in the summer of 1823, but we are told she
searched for him in vain, a fact which shows in what seclusion he
must have dwelt some of the time at least. She was more for-
tunate when she returned in September to complete her cure;
and when she left Baden she carried with her an autographic
souvenir — a setting of "The beautiful to the good," the concluding
words of Matthison's "Opferlied" which he had in hand in this
year. Towards the close of October Beethoven returned to
Vienna. We know the date approximately from Benedict's ac-
count, the first performance of "Euryanthe" having taken place
on October 25. He removed to new lodgings in the Ungarstrasse,
where his nephew remained with him as long as he continued a
student at the university. Here he worked at the Ninth Sym-
phony, more particularly on the last movement.
The exact chronological order in which works were taken up
in 1823 cannot be recorded here. Matthison's "Opferlied" was
taken up several times — in 1794, then in 1801 and 1802; finally in
1822 and 1823. In its last stages he extends its dimensions, adds
the refrain for chorus and an orchestral accompaniment.2 Beet-
hoven had offered it to Peters in February, 1823, though at that
time he described its accompaniment as being for two clarinets,
horn, viola and violoncello, so that the violins and bassoon were
added later. Why Peters did not publish the song is not known;
the manuscript does not seem to have been returned to Beethoven.
Nottebohm concludes that two or more versions were made in
1822 and 1823 (possibly as late as 1824), and that the final form
was that known as Op. 121b. On April 9, 1825 ("Notizen," p.
1G1), a letter was written to Ries which said: "You will soon re-
ceive a second copy of the 'Opferlied,' which mark as corrected by
me so that the one which you already have may not be used.
Here you have an illustration of the miserable copyist whom I
have, since Schlemmer died. You can depend on scarcely a note."
'The Quartet which Benedict heard was that in E-flat major, Op. 127, which had its
performance on March 6, 1825, the year in which Benedict left Vienna with Barbaja.
His letter to Thayer, therefore, carries us far beyond the period now under discussion.
The conversation about the libretto of "Euryanthe" is said by Max Maria von Weber to
have taken place at the dinner in Baden; but Benedict's is the likelier story.
2It was performed for the first time at a concert of the Gesellschaft der Musik-
freunde on April 4, 182-1, but it had been completed a long time before.
Soxes am) Military Marches 141
A sketchbook analyzed by Nottebohm,1 which contains sketches
made at different times hound up with sketches for the last quar-
tets made in L824, shows sketches for a pianoforte sonata for four
hands, the Ninth Symphony, the Mass in C-sharp minor, a fugue
on B-a-c-h, and the "Bundeslied," besides the latest form of the
"Opferlied" but not wholly like the printed edition. The impetus
tot he ( '-sharp minor mass came in lS-2:{ and the ot her sketches in
all likelihood were made in the same year. It is therefore to l»e
concluded that he worked on the new "Opferlied" in 1823 and pos-
sibly carried it over to the early part of 1824. Beethoven owed
money to his brother and offered the song as Johann's property, in a
letter of November 1824, to Schott and Sons, who published it in
1825; but he made alterations by letter as late as May 7, ls-2.5.
Schindler's statement that the two songs "Opferlied" and "Bun-
deslied" were composed to be sung by the tenor Elders at a benefit
concert in Pressburg, is wrong. Schindler's inexactitude as to dates
is shown by his statements that the concert took place in 1822 and
the song published in 1826. The first song was written in the
soprano clef; the second has tenor clef but two solo voices; neither
was made for Ehlers. As to the "Bundeslied" (words by Goethe) so
far as the history of the song is concerned, the documentary evi-
dence is found in the sketchbook just mentioned; whether or not it
had its origin at an earlier date has not been ascertained,1 but
received alterat ions later. It, too, was published by Schott in 1825.
Besides these songs, and the Bagatelles mentioned in the
letter of February, 1823, as sent to Peters, there arc several other
minor compositions which may well be discussed here. The
Tattoo with percussive instruments (Turkish music), the t wo ot her
Tattoos and a March, were all old compositions. Up to 1ST t,
when t he letter was made public-, only one of the Tattoos had been
printed. It was that in F major, which, according to the autograph
preserved by Artaria, was composed for the Bohemian Landtoehr
in ISO!) and then designated as March Xo. 1. A copy more fully
orchestrated than it is in t he printed form was dedica ted to Prince
Anton in that year.1 A second autograph of later date also in
Axtaria's collection) is entitled "Zapfenstreich No. l." Sere die
march had a trio which has not become known. It was then,
together with the one thai follows, rewritten for the tournament
'"Zw.-it. Beeth.," p. 540 el teq.
*C«erny wrote in 1 1 1 « - catalogue <>f the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde concerning
this song, the "Opferlied" and "Der Kuss," "sketched al -i < ery <-.irly period." The Dote
cannot be considered seriously, as t bere is nothing to show thai be bad sny information
on the subject.
~ •■ list of compositions in the chapter "f tlii> wurk «!•-%-. >t <•<! to iso<).
142 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
at Laxenburg held in honor of the birthday of Empress Maria
Ludovica on August 25, 1810, and this version has been printed in
the Complete Edition of Beethoven's works.1 In the earliest
print by Schlesinger it is number 37 in a collection of "Quick-
steps for the Prussian Army. For the York Corps"; but Notte-
bohm says that the version does not agree with any of the
manuscripts mentioned. Simultaneously with this march another
was published which was composed in 1810 for Archduke Anton.
An autograph at Haslinger's bears the inscription "Zapfenstreich
No. 3," and below it "One step to each measure." A copy in the
archives of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde is inscribed "March
for H. I. Highness, the Archduke Anton, by Ludwig van Beethoven,
1810 on the 3rd of the Summermonth" (i.e., June). A third
form was prepared for the tournament of 1810, and this has been
published. Artaria had a "Trio No. 3" in F minor, 6-4 time.
This is followed in the "Gesammt-Ausgabe" by a third in C major
with a trio in F major, which was published from a copy made by
Nottebohm. This, which has been published by Haslinger,
Steger, and Liszt and Franke, was entitled "Zapfenstreich No. 2."
In Nottebohm's opinion it belongs to the two others and like them
had its origin between 1809 and June 1810. These were the three
Tattoos which Beethoven sent to Peters, who, however, did not
publish them. The fourth March was the Military March in D
major composed in 1816.2 It was first published in 1827, after
Beethoven's death, in an arrangement for pianoforte, by Cappi and
Czerny; a four-hand arrangement followed soon after and it was
given to the world in its original shape in the Complete Edition.
It was composed at the personal request of F. X. Embel, "Magiste-
rial Councillor and Lieut. -Colonel of the Civil Artillery," who
probably preferred his request in 1815, a sketch for it appearing in
a book used in 1815-1816. — The data concerning these old works
are given here because Beethoven brought them out of his port-
folio and offered them to the publishers in this year.
The Bagatelles, Op. 126, belong to this period, though their
completion fell later. Taking up earlier sketches probably,
Beethoven worked on them after the Ninth Symphony was prac-
tically complete in his mind and the sketchbooks — at the close of
1823 at the earliest. It is likely that they were not finished until
the middle of 1824. Nottebohm had subjected them to a minute
study which leads him to the conclusion that the pieces were
conceived as a homogeneous series, the numbers being linked to-
*B. and H., Series XXV. Nos. 120 and 287.
*See ante.
Minor Compositions of the Year IS^.'J 143
gether by key-relationship. On the margin of a sketch for the
first one Beethoven wrote "Cycle of Trifles" ("Kleinigkeiten"),
which fact, their separation from each other (all but the first two)
by the uniform distance of a major third, taken in connect ion with
their unity of style, establishes a cyclical bond. When be offered
them to Schott in 18'24 he remarked that they were probably the
best things of the kind which he had ever written. They were
among the compositions which had been pledged to his brother, in
whose interest he offered them to Schott. They were published by
that firm, probably in the early part of 1825.
In lS'-iS Diabelli and Co. published a "Rondo a Capriccio"
in G which had been purchased at the auction sale of Beethoven's
effects after his death. It bore on its title-page the inscription:
"Die Wuth liber den Verlornen Groschen, ausgetobt in einer
Caprice" ("Rage at the loss of a groat stormed out in a ( Japrice"
Nothing is known of its origin. In the catalogue of the Gesell-
schaft der Musikfreunde, Czerny noted it as belonging to Beet-
hoven's youthful period; which may be true of its theme, but can
not be of its treatment. Among the sketches and drafts for the
Bagatelles is a sketch for an arch and mischievous piece evidently
intended for strings,1 and a two-part canon on the words
"Te solo adoro" from Metastasio's "Betulia liberata," which, as
transcribed by Nottebohm, has been printed in the Complete
Edition.
^'ottebohm's "Zweit. Beeth.," p. 208.
Chapter V
The Symphony in D Minor — Its Technical History — Schiller's
"Ode to Joy" — An Address to Beethoven — The Concerts
of 1824 — Laborious and Protracted Preparations — Pro-
duction of the Symphony and Mass in D — Financial
Failure — Negotiations with Publishers Resumed.
THE Symphony in D minor, familiarly known the world
over as the "Ninth," and also as the "Choral" Symphony
in England and America, was completed in February,
1824. The conclusion of the work upon it, Schindler says, had
a cheering effect upon Beethoven's spirits. He no longer grudged
himself occasional recreation and was again seen strolling
through the streets of Vienna, gazing into the shop-windows
through eyeglasses which dangled at the end of a black
ribbon, and, after a long interregnum, greeting friends and
acquaintances as they passed. The history of the work is far
more interesting than that of any of his compositions, with
the possible exception of the Mass in D. Nottebohm has pains-
takingly extracted from the sketchbooks all the evidence which
they afford, touching the origin and development of the work,
and presented it in a chapter of his "Zweite Beethoveniana";1
and his conclusions have been adopted in the presentation of
facts which follow.
Thoughts of a symphony to succeed the Symphonies in A and
F major (Nos. 7 and 8), were in the composer's mind while he was
making sketches for those two works in 1812; but the memo-
randa there found tell us only in what key the new symphony was
to be; they are mere verbal notes: "2nd Sinfonie, D minor" and
"Sinfonie in D minor — 3rd Sinfonie." A fugue-theme, identical,
so far as the first three measures go, with that of the Scherzo of
the Ninth Symphony, presented itself to him and was imprisoned
in his note-book in 1915, being recorded among the sketches for the
'Page 1.57 et scq.
I H4 1
Growth of the Choral Symphony 145
Sonata for Pianoforte and Violoncello in D, Op. 102, No. 2. ' There
i^ another sketch with a note- to •-how that Beethoven was think-
ing of a n. >w symphony at the time; but the Bketch cannot be
associated with the Ninth Symphony, the composition of which
really began when the beginning of the firsl movement was
sketched. Of this fragment a are found <>n loose leaves belonging to
the year 1M7. By t be end of t hat year and the beginning of 1 s 18
(presumably from September to May) extended sketches of the
movement were made. The principal subject is definitively
fixed, hut the subsidiary material is still missing. The fugue-theme
of is] 7 is assigned to the third movement. There is do suggestion
of the Use of Schiller's "Ode to Joy," hut a plain in t imat Ion of an
instrumental finale. In 1818 a plan is outlined for the introduction
of voices into t be slow movement of a symphony which is to follow
the "Sinfonie in D." It is as follows:
Adagio Caniique.
Pious song in a symphony in the ancient modes — Lord (iod we
praise Thee — alleluia — cither alone or as introduction to a fugue. The
whole -2nd sinfonie might he characterized in this manner in which case
the vocal parts would enter in the last movement or already in the Adagio.
The violins, etc., of the orchesi ra to be increased tenfold in the last moi e-
ment. Or the Adagio might be repeated in some manner in the last
movement, in which case the vocal parts would enter gradually — in tin-
text of the Adagio Greek myth, Caniique EcclesiasHqut — in the Allegro
feast of Bachus [sic].
It will be recalled that in 1822 Beethoven told Rochlitz that
lie had two symphonies in his mind which were to differ from each
other. One difference at least is indicated here by the purpose to
use voices in a movement to be written in the old modes. Hi-,
well-known love for classic subjects, m> doubt, prompted the
thought of the "pious orgies" of a Pagan festival. Schiller's hymn
is still absent from his mind. These sketches were all sidewise
excursions undertaken while Beethoven was chiefly occupied with
the composition of the Pianoforte Sonata, Op. 106. What pro-
gress, if any, was made with the Symphony during the next four
years can not well he determined. The work was interrupted by
'There are several »ti>ri.-» touching tli<- origin >>f the fugue-theme of tin- Scherta "f
the I> minor symphony, which may I"- given f<>r what they are worth. Caerny
that the theme occurred to Beethoven while listening to the twittering "f iparrowi in
■ garden. Holt t < ■!< I Jahn thai one evening Beethoven iraa seated in the forest at
SchOnbrunn and in it"- gloaming fancied he san .ill about him s multitude ol gnomes
popping in and out >>f tli>ir hiding-places; and tin* stirred his fancy to the invention of
the theme. Another story has it that it Bashed into l>i> mind with s sudden outburst-
ing glitter >>f I i i_r t» r -. after be Umi long been seated in the < li rk .
Sinfonie at the beginning only \ voices, * viol, viola, basso, amongst them forte
with other voices and if possible bring in all tin- other instruments one by one and grad-
ually."
146
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
the composition of other works, notably the Mass in D, the last
three Pianofortes Sonatas and the overture and chorus for "The
Consecration of the House." It was not until the Mass and the
Josephstadt Theatre music were finished in the sketches that he
gave his attention largely to the Symphony. In the sketches of
1822, there are evidences of considerable progress on the first move-
ment, little if any on the Scherzo (designed to take third place
in the scheme of movements), the fugue-themes of 1815 and 1817
appearing in them almost unchanged. There is no hint as yet of
the slow movement, but among the sketches appears the beginning
of the melody of the "Ode to Joy" with the underlying words,
assigned as a Finale. The thought of using the ode for a con-
cluding movement had presented itself, but only tentatively, not
as a fixed determination. Following this sketch, but of another
date (to judge by the handwriting and the contents), comes a
memorandum indicating that the symphony in mind was to con-
sist of four movements — the first (no doubt, though it is not men-
tioned) being the present first, the second in 2-4 time, the third
(presumably) in 6-8, while the fourth was to be built on the fugal
theme of 1817 and to be "well fugued." The next recognizable
sketch is for a Presto in 2-4 designated as .a second movement and
this is followed by the beginning of the first movement preceded
by four measures in triple time marked "Alia Autrichien" A
third sketch is marked as belonging to a "Sinfonie allemand."
It is a new melody to the words beginning Schiller's ode to be used
in a chorus; and again the accompanying memorandum reads:
"Sinfonie allemand," but now with this addition: "either with
variations after which the chorus Freude schoner Gotterfunken
Tochter aus Elysium enters or without variations End of the
Sinfonie with Turkish music and vocal chorus." It is possible
that the melody had an earlier origin than that which appears first
in the sketches and was eventually used. The last relevant sketch
in the book of 1822 is a sort of thematic index to the symphony as it
now lay planned in Beethoven's purpose:
3. Adagio
The second movement was to be a fugued Scherzo with the theme
of 1815, the fourth the Presto in 2-4 time which first appeared in
Two Symphonies m Contemplation 147
tin's year, the fifth the "Ode to J<»y." In the midst of these
sketches appears the significant remark: "Or perhaps instead of a
new symphony, a new overture on Bach, well fugued with .'> ."l
The conclusions to be drawn from the sketches thus far are
that, as was the case in 1812 when the Seventh and Eighth Svm-
phonies were broughl forth as a pair, Beethoven was again con-
templating the almost simultaneous production of I wo symphonies.
He did not adhere to the project long, .so far as we can know
from the written records, and the remark about the substitution
of an overture on B-a-c-h probably marks the time when he began
seriously to consider the advisability of abandoning what would
then have been the Tenth Symphony. With the exception of a
portion of the first movement, the Ninth Symphony was .still in a
chaotic state. Taken in connection with negotiations which hail
been concluded with the Philharmonic Society of London, it may
he assumed, however, that the present Symphony in D minor
was associated in Beethoven's mind with the English commission,
and that the second, which he had thoughts of abandoning in
favor of the overture, was to have been a "Sinfonie allemand."
For a time, at least, Beethoven is not likely to have contemplated
a choral movement with German words in connection with the
symphony for the London Philharmonic Society: this was to have
an instrumental finale. The linguistic objection would be in-
valid in the case of the German symphony, however, and to this
was now assigned t he contemplated setting of Schiller's poem.
Work now proceeded with little interruption (except that
occasioned by the composition of the Variations, Op. 120), and
most of the first half of lH^.'J was devoted to the first movement,
which was nearly complete in sketch-form before anything of the
other movements appeared beyond the themes which have al-
ready been cited. When the foundation of the work is firmly
laid we have the familiar phenomenon of work upon two or three
movements simultaneously. In a general way it may be asserted
that the year 1828 saw the birth of the Symphony, though work
was carried over into L824. The second movement was complete
in the sketches before the third this was aboul August ; the third
before the fourth aboul the middle of October. The second
t heme of t be .slow movement was perfected before t be sketches for
the first movement were finished. In a Conversation Book used
in the fall of the year ltt^:5 the nephew writes: "I am glad that you
have brought in the beautiful andante." The principal theme of
the movement appears to have been conceived between May and
'Nottebohm fills tin- hiatal with "Trombones? Subject*?"
148 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
July, 1823, but it had to submit to much alteration before it
acquired the lovely contours which we now admire. This was
the case, too, with the simple folksong-like tune of the Finale.
Sketches for the Finale show that Beethoven had made con-
siderable progress with the setting of Schiller's ode before he
decided to incorporate it with the Symphony. In June or July,
1823, he wrote down a melody in D minor which he designated
"Finale instromentale," and which, transposed into another key
and slightly altered, was eventually used in the finale of the Quar-
tet in A minor, Op. 132. That it was intended for the Finale of the
symphony is proved by the fact that it is surrounded with sketches
for the Symphony in D minor and Beethoven recurred to it twice
before the end of the year; there was no thought of the quartet at
the time.
When he began work on the Finale, Beethoven took up the
choral part with the instrumental variations first and then at-
tacked the instrumental introduction with the recitatives. The
present "Joy" melody, as noted in the fall of 1822, was preceded by
a different one conceived later, if the sketches are taken as a guide.
After adoption the tune, especially its second period, underwent
many transformations before its definitive form was established.
Among the musical sketches occur several verbal memoranda con-
taining hints which were carried out in part, for instance: "Turk-
ish music in Wer das nie gekonnt stehle"; in sketches for the Allegro
alia marcia: "Turkish music — first pianissimo — a few sounds
pianissimo — a few rests — then the full strength"; a third: "On
Welt Sternenzelt forte trombone blasts"; a fourth (in studies for the
final chorus: "the height of the voices to be more by instruments"
(which may be interpreted to mean that Beethoven realized that
he was carrying the voices into dangerous altitudes and intended
to give them instrumental support). Other sketches indicate that
Beethoven intended for a considerable time to write an instrumen-
tal introduction with new themes for the Finale. For this prelude
there are a number of sketches of different kinds, some of them
conceived while sketches for the first movement were still in hand.
Before July, 1823, there are no hints of a combined vocal and in-
strumental bridge from the Adagio to the setting of the "Ode to
Joy." After that month there are evidences that he had conceived
the idea of introducing the "Joy" melody played upon wind-in-
struments with a prelude in the recitative style, a reminiscence of
the first movement and premonitory suggestions of the fundamen-
tal melody. This was the first step towards the eventual shape of
the finale. The lacking element was the verbal link which should
[ntr< M)i cing i in. < )ni. ro •!' n
149
conned th<- instrumental movements with the choral conclusion.
The sketches bear <»ut Schindler's remark: "When be reached the
development <>t' the fourth movement there began a struggle such
a^ i~. seldom seen. The object was to find a proper manner »>f in-
troducing Schiller's <>«!«•. One day entering the room he exclaimed
T have it! I have it!' With that be showed me the sketchbook
bearing the words, 'Lei us sing the song of the immortal Schiller
Freudt .' '
By grouping a number of sketches it is now possible to make a
graphic representation of the ideas which passed through B<
boven's mind while seeking a way to bridge the chasm between
instrumental and vocal utterance by means of the formula <>f re-
citative. The sketches are in parts illegible, in parts bo obscure
that Nottebohm and Deiters differ in their readings; regard has
been had for both in the following version: Over a portion of an
<a>
f>»
Y
instrumental recitative (a) occur the words: "Nein dirsr
erinnern un unsere I'erztrcifl." (No, these .... remind us) of our
despair); other sketches follow in the order here indicated:
— ;i
* m
•+-n- * '
f
H>ule 1st "in Merllcher Ta?
(To-day is a solemn day)
*
?■ ? -f- ;;_?.: r
mei r.e Fru(FreuDde?)dle - sei ••! • fel -
n-.y fn ifncnds?) let it be cele-brat - I
E^fejfc * ' * ; r »* ' ' |
durchrr.it Gesang und [Tan/
with song and [JDance? PI
150
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
0 nein die - ses nicht et - was
O no not this some-thing
ist es was irh fordere
i
p p p p p r ty
an -de -res ge-fiil-lig
r-
^^-^
#— *■
i§a
fttc
P
E^
^
sondern nur etwas heiterer
but only a little merrier
S
auch die - ses nicht ist nur Pos - sen
or ("bes - ser")
etwas schb - neres und bessers
(nor this ei - ther it is but sport
(or no better)
b
>f r t P r u p p
^
auch die- ses
(nor this
es ist zu zartl zartl
it is too tender tender
«g p P P P P rP V?
£e&
£
et-was auf - ge-weck-tes[?] muss man su- chen
(for some-thing ani-mat - ed we must seek)
£
» i #
f J IP P P P IP ^
Jfc
£
# — »
j
PM
^
^
lchwer- de sehn dass ich selbst euch etwas
(I shall see to it that I my-self in- tone something
teS
p IT *ft ft > tf=t
vor- sin
then do
- ge
you
als-dann
sing
stimmt
af - ter
nur
me)
nach
-
■j
n
Die -ses ist es Ha es ist nun ge- fun-den Ich
This it is Ha now it is found I
r
selbst werde vorsingen Freu -de scho ner
myself will intone it
*
die-ses 1st es
this it is
Es ist nun ge - fun - den
it now is die - cov - ered
Freu -
I II I I Ijjj! I
IlNBTBTJMENTAL \\u Y< H \\. PaBTS UNITED
101
m.clllfur
'-M. I . -• t-nT~rh
Later comes the memorandum which Beethoven showed
Schindler {"Lassl uns das Lied des unsierbliehen Schiller* ring
Freude, etc." ami then :
pMz-fhm
Bum akbt dlete T6b6 frthl -
Frendel Preuda y- .» » "
(••nol IteM I r.- joyful- I I -^J
The entire Symphony was finished in sketch-form at the end of
1828 and written out in score in February, 1824. Omitting from
consideration the theme of the second movement, noted in 1815
ami again in 1817 (probably with an entirely different purpose in
mind i, the time which elapsed between the beginning of the first
movement 1 1817—1818) and the time of completion was about but
and a half years. Within this period, however, there were ex-
tended interruptions caused by other works. Serious and con-
tinuous lahor on the Symphony was not taken up until after the
completion of the Missa solemnis; it began in 1822, occupied the
greater part of 18*2:5 and ended in the early part of 1824. Beet-
hoven, therefore, worked on the Symphony a little more than
a vear.
Those who cherish the fantastic notion that the Symphony
was conceived ah initio as a celebration of joy, and therefore feel
obliged to go back t<> Beethoven's first design to compose music for
Schiller's ode, have a large territory for the play of their fancy.
Beethoven formed the plan of Betting the ode while still living in
Bonn in 1793. It is h.-ard of again in a sketchbook of 1798, where
then- is a melodic phrase adapted to the words, "Muss ein 1 1 « • I • ♦ • r
Yater wohnen." Amongst sketches for the Seventh and Eighth
Symphonies (say in 1811) there crops up a melody for the
beginning of the hymn, and possibly a little later 1812 a more
extended sketch amongst; material used in the Overture, Op. I 15,
into which he appears at one time t<> have thought of introducing
portions of it . All these sketches, of course, preceded the melody
of 1812, conceived for use in a "Sinfonie allemand.*1 When
Beethoven first took up the ode for Betting it was to become a
"durchkomponirtes Lied," i. e., each stanza was to have an illus-
trative setting; when he planned t<> incorporate it in an overture
he proposed to use only selected portions of the poem, for he
accompanies the melodic sketch with the note: "Disjointed frag-
ments like Princes arc beggars, etc., Dot the whole*'; and a little
152 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
later: "disjointed fragments from Schiller's Freude connected into
a whole."1
The questions which have been raised by the choral finale are
many and have occupied the minds of musicians, professional and
amateur, ever since the great symphony was first given to the world.
In 1852 Carl Czerny told Otto Jahn that Beethoven had thought,
after the performance, of composing a new finale without vocal
parts for the work. Schindler2 saw the note in Jahn's papers and
wrote in the margin : "That is not true" ; but it must be remembered
that there was a cessation of the great intimacy between Beet-
hoven and Schindler which began not long after the Symphony
had been produced, and lasted almost till Beethoven was on his
deathbed. Schindler can not have been present at all of the
meetings between Beethoven and his friends at which the Sym-
phony was discussed. Nevertheless he is upheld, in a measure, by
the fact (to which Nottebohm directed attention) that Beethoven,
if he made the remark, either did not mean it to be taken seriously
or afterwards changed his mind ; for after keeping the manuscript
in his hands six months he sent it to the publisher as we have it.
Seyfried, writing in "Cacilia" (Vol. IX, p. 236), faults Beethoven
for not having taken the advice of well-meaning friends and written
a new finale as he did for the Quartet in B-flat, Op. 130. Even
if one of the well-meaning friends was Seyfried himself, the state-
ment has value as evidence that Beethoven was not as convinced as
Czerny's story would have it appear that the choral finale was a
mistake. Sonnleithner, in a letter to the editor of the "Allgemeine
Musikalische Zeitung" in 1864, confirmed Jahn's statement by
saying that Czerny had repeatedly related as an unimpeachable
fact that some time after the first performance of the Symphony
Beethoven, in a circle of his most intimate friends, had expressed
himself positively to the effect that he perceived that he had made a
mistake (Misgrijf) in the last movement and intended to reject it
and write an instrumental piece in its stead, for which he already
had an idea in his head. What that idea was the reader knows.
That Beethoven may have had scruples touching the appropriate-
^'Abgerissene Satze wie Fiirsten sind Bettler u. 3. w." The phrase is probably a
record of Beethoven's imperfect recollection of the line "Bettler werden Fiirstenbrlider,"
which appeared in an early version of Schiller's poem where now we read "Alle Menschen
werden Briider." The thought lies near that it was the early form of the poem, when it
was still an "Ode to Freedom" (not "to Joy"), which first aroused enthusiastic admiration
for it in Beethoven's mind. In a Conversation Book of \Hi-l Bernard says to Beethoven:
"In your text it reads," followed by the observation, "All this is due here to the direc-
tion of the aristocracy" — which may or may not have connection with a conversation
in which politics was playing a part.
2So Thayer remarks.
Preparing fob mi. Firsi Performance Ijo
ness of the choral finale, is comprehensible enough in view of the
fact that the original plan of the Symphony contemplated an
instrumental close and thai Beethoven labored so hard to estab-
lish arbitrarily an organic union between the ode and the first
three movements; bul it is not likely thai be gave long thought to
the project of writing a new finale. II< had witnessed the ex-
traordinary demonstration of delight with which the whole work
had been received ami be may have found it as easj aa some of his
commentators to believe thai his device for presenting the choral
finale as the logical and poetically jusl outcome of the preced-
ing movements had been successful despite its obvious artificiality.
For the chief facts in the story of the first performance of
the I) minor Symphony in Vienna we arc largely dependent on
Schindler, who was not only a witness of it bul also an active agent.
Beethoven was thoroughly out of sympal by with the musical taste
of Vienna, which had been diverted from German ideals by the
superficial charm of Rossini's melodies. He wanted much to
produce his symphony, but despaired of receiving adequate sup-
port or recognition from his home public. His friends offered
him encouragement, but his fear and suspicion that his music was
no longer understood by the Viennese and be no longer admired,
had grown into a deep-rooted conviction. The project of a con-
cert at which the Mass in I) should be performed had been mooted
months before. One day Sontag visited him and asked, "When
are you going to give your concert?" We have a record of her
speeches only; what Beethoven said must be supplied from tie-
reader's fancy. It is plain enough thai instead of answering the
question he expressed a doubl as to a successful financial outcome.
"You give the concert,'* said the singer," and I will guarantee that
the bouse will be full." Still a moody suspicion, which the lady
thinks it her ri^ht to rebuke: "You have too little confidence in
yourself. Has not the homage of the whole world given you a
little more pride? Who speaks of Opposit ion? Will you not learn
to believe that everybody is longing to worship you again in new
works? () obstinacy!" This was in January. Beethoven had
inquired of Count Brllhl in Berlin whether or not a performance of
the new Mass and Symphony might be given in that city, and
BrtthJ had favored the plan. When news of this fa.t became
known in Vienna, a number of Beethoven's friends addressed him
in the following memorial :
To Herrn Ludwig \ ran Beethoven.
Out of the wide circle <>f reverent admirers surrounding your
genius in this your second native city, there approach you to-day ■ sm;ill
154 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
number of the disciples and lovers of art to give expression to long-felt
wishes, timidly to prefer a long-suppressed request.
But as the number of spokesmen bears but a small proportion to
the many who joyfully acknowledge your worth and what you have
grown to be to the present as well as the future, so the wishes and re-
quests are by no means restricted to the number of those who are like-
minded with themselves and who, in the name of all to whom art and the
realization of their ideals are something more than means and objects of
pastime, assert that their wish is also the wish of an unnumbered multi-
tude, their request is echoed loudly or in silence by every one whose
bosom is animated by a sense of the divine in music.
It is the wish of those of our countrymen who reverence art to which
we desire more especially to give expression; for though Beethoven's
name and creations belong to all contemporaneous humanity and every
country which opens a susceptible bosom to art, it is Austria which is
best entitled to claim him as her own. Among her inhabitants apprecia-
tion for the great and immortal works which Mozart and Haydn created for
all time within the lap of their home still lives, and they are conscious with
joyous pride that the sacred triad in which these names and yours glow
as the symbol of the highest within the spiritual realm of tones, sprang
from the soil of their fatherland. All the more painful must it have been
for you to feel that a foreign power has invaded this royal citadel of the
noblest, that above the mounds of the dead and around the dwelling-
place of the only survivor of the band, phantoms are leading the dance
who can boast of no kinship with the princely spirits of those royal houses;
that shallowness is abusing the name and insignia of art, and unworthy
dalliance with sacred things is beclouding and dissipating appreciation
for the pure and eternally beautiful.
For this reason they feel a greater and livelier sense than ever before
that the great need of the present moment is a new impulse directed by a
powerful hand, a new advent of the ruler in his domain. It is this need
which leads them to you to-day, and following are the petitions which
they lay before you in behalf of all to whom these wishes are dear, and in
the name of native art.
Do not withhold longer from the popular enjoyment, do not keep
longer from the oppressed sense of that which is great and perfect, a per-
formance of the latest masterworks of your hand. We know that a grand
sacred composition has been associated with that first one in which you
have immortalized the emotions of a soul, penetrated and transfigured by
the power of faith and superterrestrial light. We know that a new
flower glows in the garland of your glorious, still unequalled symphonies.
For years, ever since the thunders of the Victory at Vittoria ceased to
reverberate, we have waited and hoped to see you distribute new gifts
from the fulness of your riches to the circle of your friends. Do not
longer disappoint the general expectations! Heighten the effect of your
newest creations by the joy of becoming first acquainted with them
through you! Do not allow these, your latest offspring, some day to
appear, perhaps, as foreigners in their place of birth, introduced, perhaps,
by persons to whom you and your mind are strange! Appear soon among
your friends, your admirers, your venerators! This is our nearest and
first prayer.
A.\ Address ro i he ( Composes 155
Other claims on your genius have been made public. The desires
expressed and offers made to you more than a year ago by the man
ment of our Court Opera and the Society of Austrian Friends of Music-
had too long been the unuttered wish of all admirers of art, and your
name .stimulated the hopes and expectations of t<><> many not to obtain
the quickest ami widest publicity, not to awaken the most general interest.
Poetry has d • her share in giving support to these lovely hopes and
wishes. Worthy material from the hand of a valued poet waits ti> be
charmed into life by your fancy. Do r »t let that intimate call to
noble an aim be made in vain. Do not delay longer to lead us Lack to
those departed days when the Bong of Polyhymnia moved powerfully ami
delighted the initiates in art and the hearts of the multitude!
Need we tell you with what regret your retirement from public lib"
ha-; filled US? Need we assure you that at a time when all glances were
hopefully turned towards you, all perceived with sorrow that the mi,- man
whom all of us are compelled to acknowledge as foremost among 1 i \ i n _r
men in his domain, looked on in silence as foreign art took possession of
German soil, the seat of honor of the German muse, while German works
gave pleasure only by echoing the favorite tunes of foreigners and, where
the most excellent had lived and labored, a second childhood of taste
threatens to follow the Golden Age of Art?
You alone are able to insure a decisive victory to the efforts of the
best amongst us. From you the native Art Society and the German
Opera expect new blossoms, rejuvenated life and a new sovereignty of the
true and beautiful over the dominion to which the prevalent spirit of
fashion wishes to subject even the eternal laws of art. Bid us hope that
the wishes of all who have listened to the sound of your harmonies will
soon be fulfilled! This is our most urgent second prayer.
May the year which we have begun UOt come to an end without
rejoicing us with the fruits of our petition and may the coming Sprim:
when it witnesses the unfolding of one of our longed-for gifts become a
twofold blooming-time for us and all the world of art!
Vienna, February, 1824.
This address was signed by thirty of Beethoven's friends and
admirers, among them being Prince Lichnowsky, Count Dietrich-
stein, Count Lichnowsky. Abbe* Stadler, Count Palfy, Count
Pries, Dr. Sonnleithner, and the publishers Diabelli, Artaria,
Leidesdorf mid Steiner mid ( '<». The most acl ive agent in securing
signatures was Count Lichnowsky. It was published in B&uerle's
'Theater-Zeitung" and also in Kanne's journal. This publication,
and gossip to the effect that he had prompted both writing and
printing, annoyed Beethoven greatly. Be gave vent to his rage
in a remark which he him. self w rote in a ( 'on versa t ion Book : "Now
that the thing lias taken this turn I can no longer find joy in it.
The atrocity of attributing such an act to me sickens me with the
whole business and I am scarcely abb- to address e\ en a few words
to men of such intellectual prominence. Not a single critic can
boast of having received a letter from me. I have never "
156 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
there his outburst breaks off; he did not finish the sentence in
writing. Schindler tried to ease his mind! "Your fears are
groundless," he wrote; "your honor has not been compromised —
let that suffice you; nobody will accuse you of having been directly
concerned in it." Court Secretary von Felsburg and J. N.
Bihler, a tutor in the imperial household, waited upon Beethoven
one afternoon to present the address, and talk over its suggestions.
Beethoven said he wanted to read it when alone. Later Schindler
went to him and found him with the letter in his hand. He was
manifestly moved by its expressions and handed it to Schindler to
read while he went to the window and gazed out for quite a while.
Then he returned to Schindler, said briefly: "It is very beautiful!—
it rejoices me greatly!" and when Schindler also had expressed his
delight added: "Let us go out for a walk." During the walk he
remained sunk in thought.
The object had in view by the designers of the memorial was
accomplished; — Beethoven was lifted out of his despondent mood
and inspired with new determination. By March Schindler had
been informed that the concert would be given in Vienna. He
lauded Beethoven's decision and begged him not to distress him-
self with vain imaginings about the outcome — everything would
go gloriously and everybody would esteem it an honor to partici-
pate. Expressions of satisfaction poured in on the composer from
all quarters, and also offers of help. Beethoven's friends gathered
together and discussed the details in the liveliest fashion — the time,
the place, the programme, the choir and orchestra, who should sing
the solos, the price of seats, the number of rehearsals. The con-
cert-season was drawing to a close and delay was hazardous; but
delay there was, for Beethoven was vacillating, full of doubtings
and suspicions, and there was a too great multiplicity of counsellors.
Schindler was kept extremely busy; Lichnowsky and Schuppanzigh
bestirred themselves mightily ; Brother Johann came to the fore with
advice and suggestions, especially about the business administra-
tion; Nephew Karl, much to Schindler's dissatisfaction, not only
ran errands but volunteered his opinion on many topics. A page
from a Conversation Book will disclose how the consultations with
Beethoven were carried on — for Beethoven's consent to every
step had to be obtained, which was a pity. In the following
excerpt it is Schuppanzigh who is speaking to the composer, whom
he, as was his wont, addresses in the third person — as was fitting
to the dignity of "Mylord Falstaff."
How about the concert? It is getting late — Lent will not last much
longer. He ought to give three movements [the mass is meant, of course].
A ( '< insper \< v of Friends 157
— Under no circumstances a piano piece. There are no piano players
here. He will need Buringer [Piringer] to provide the besl dilettante*
Sonnleithner to l<.ok after tin- Bingers, ami Plachetka [Blahetka] for the
announcements and bills- Young Sonnleithner bas all tin- amateur
singers under his thumb. It would !■<• a good idea tor him [Beethoven]
to pay a \i>it to Duport U) (all: /<> him <>n<-c nmrc aboui inc.
The significance <»f tin- Concluding remark will appear later.
At another time Karl i> reporting progress:
Piringer has Said that he would undertake the appointment of the
instrumentalists, Sonnleithner the chorus, Schuppanzigb the orchestra,
Blahetka the announcements, tickets, etc. So everything is looked after.
"Sou can give two concerts. . . . When will you have it announced?
Schuppanzigb is coming to-morrow. . . . Blahetka offered to stamp the
ticket-, etc., l)ut I think that all such matters ought to he [entrusted]
to your brother. It would he safer. . . . Piringer has enough to do with
the choruses. Piringer is a very capable man hut not the man that
Schuppanzigb is; in any event it would he unjust to disregard S., as he has
taken so much pains and spurred on the others.
At first it was agreed t hat the place should l>e the Theater-
an-der-\\ieii. Count Pally, who had Signed the memorial, was
willing to provide the theatre ami all the forces, vocal as well as
instrumental, for 1200 florins, let Beethoven have as many re-
hearsals as he desired and fix the prices of admission. But a
difficulty presented itself at once. At the Theater-an-der-Wien
Seyfried was chapelmaster and Clement leader of the orchestra.
Beethoven wanted Umlauf to In* general conductor of the concert
ami Schuppanzigb leader of t he orchesl ra. ( lounl Palfy was will-
ing to sacrifice Seyfried, hut not ( 'lenient —at least, he a^ked that
if Clement was to he displaced it he done wit h as little injury to his
feelings as possible. He therefore suggested that Beethoven write
a tetter of explanation to Clement, which he felt sure would solve
t he difficulty. Meanwhile Schindler had begun negotiations with
Duport, director of the Ka'rnthnerthor Theatre. Duport was
favorably inclined towards the enterprise and a No towards Schup-
panzigh; hut troublesome questions of another kind were now
precipitated questions aboui prices of admission, the solo singers
and the Dumber of rehearsals. On all these points Beethoven w as
so irresolute thai theprojeel seemed likely to fall by the wayside;
in which crisis the leading spirits thoughl themselves entitled to
n^ort to a stratagem to give stability t<> the wavering mind of
Beethoven. In at leasl one instance the Conversation Book
record was given the appearance of a formal journal <>f proceed-
ings. It was now planned t hat Lichnowsky, Schindler and Schup-
panzigb should simultaneously call upon Beethoven as if by
158 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
accident, turn the conversation on the points on which it was neces-
sary for Beethoven to reach a decision and that his utterances
should then be put into writing and he be asked, half in jest, half
in earnest, to affix his signature to the document. The ruse suc-
ceeded for the nonce, but the result would eventually have been
woeful had Beethoven been less irresolute. After the conspirators
had gone away Beethoven saw through the trick which had been
played on him and, scenting treachery as was his wont, decided
off-hand to abandon the concert. He issued his pronunciamento
to the three friends in this characteristic fashion :
To Count Moritz Lichnowsky. I despise treachery. Do not
visit me again. No concert.
To Herrn Schuppanzigh. Let him not visit me more. I shall give
no concert.
To Schindler. I request you not to come again until I send for you.
No concert.
The three friends refused to take umbrage at Beethoven's
rudeness; the notes were not accompanied by a silken rope; they
gave him time to get over his wrath and suspicion and then went
on with the preparations for the concert. In the Conversation
Book there appears a record of a consultation which may fairly be
set down as that of the meeting at which Beethoven's helpers em-
ployed their stratagem.1 Schindler opens a page formally thus:
Protocol of March 2.
Present :
Mr. L. van Beethoven, a musikus.
Mr. Count v. Lichnowsky, an amateur.
Mr. Schindler, a fiddler.
Not yet present to-day:
Mr. Schuppanzigh, a fiddler representing Mylord Fallstaff.
At this consultation Schindler reports an offer from Palfy to
furnish the Theater-an-der-Wien, orchestra, lights, etc., apperti-
nentia for 1000 florins, provided a second or third concert be given.
At a moderate charge for admission (which would be necessary)
he says the receipts would be 4000 florins, which would yield a
profit of 2000 florins at the first concert and about 3000 at the
second, when there would be no copying charges. The prices
would not be so high as at the Ridotto Room. If Duport were
to charge only 300 florins, there would still be a further charge of
300 florins for building the platform and no end of vexation and
labor. Palfy wanted only his expenses. Would Beethoven
'For this assumption the present editor is alone responsible. Thayer, who says
nothing on the subject, corrects Schindler's date to March io, for no obvious reason.
Lookinc Ai i i.ic 1)i:tails 159
authorize him (Schindler) and Lichnowsky to complete arrange-
ments with Palfy? JI«- need not be paid, an. I it would be possible
to withdraw from the arrangement at any time. Haste was neces-
sary, for a supervisor must Ik- appointed Umlauf or somebody
else — so that rehearsals might begin. If Schuppanzigh were given
too much to do and anything went ill the conductor would lay
the blame on insufficient study. From tin- record of a subse-
quent consultation in March) thefo"owing excerpts arc made:
Lichnowsky: It is right that the orchestra be doubled, but super-
fluous to engage more than arc necessary; after Schuppanzigh and Um-
lauf know what is at their service at the Wiedener Theatre we can tell
what is needed.
Schindler: Lichnowsky says that a smaller orchestra is more effec-
tive at the Theater-an-der-\Yien than a large one in the Ridotto Room.
You need not take all at the Theater-an-der-\Yien — none at all if you do
not need them, — that is the arrangement with Palfy.
Lichnowsky: Unnecessary expenses must be avoided.
Schindler: You will not have to pay the forces at the Theater-an-
der-\Yien at all — so that may be deducted. The days of performance if
agreeable to you would be the i^nd or 'S.Srd or 24th of this month.
Lichnowsky: You will make money, and more if you give a second
concert, when it will not be necessary that all the pieces be new; you will
have the same symphony and two other missal movements.
Schindler: Thepricesof admission will be considerably modified at -2
florins for the parterre, -2 florins for the gallery and 15 florins t\>r t he seats. —
You ought not to seek difficull ies where there are none; if the worst comes
to the worst, everyl hing will be settled — The question is not whether there
are more difficulties at the theatre or the Ridotto Room — I shall Bee
Schuppanzigh to-day noon; but before then Lichnowsky will go to Palfy
tentatively to report your decision.
The conversation continued (probably the next day):
Schindler: Schuppanzigh is greal ly pleased t hat you have come to an
understanding with Palfy. He will make use of the entire orchestra <>f
the theatre. lie is coming to the Ridotto Room to-day, as lit' hopes to
find you there. The choruses at the theatre are also good; Schuppanzigh
says t hat t he women's choir of t he society is not of the besl because t hey
are all young girls; which is true. —The Haron took the tempt) j 1 1 — t once
again as fast, therefore your advice was highly important; not until the
second time did it go well. Besides, the women's choir is thoroughly bad.
Falstatf was also convinced ami is now glad that nothing but tin- men's
choir will be needed. The BOlo Voices are much too weak for the room
ami too — young.— The soprano singer is sixteen years old at the most.
Palfy is sending you word t hat he will send you his offer, which you know,
and t he promise which he made, to-morrow in writing. — 1 <>u are choosing
the lesser of two evils. Twenty to t wenty-four for each part in the chorus
are already on hand.— Of the twelve violins for each part we to-day
selected the m\ best, who are to he arranged in rank and file. — The only
wish that Palfy has, as he admitted to Lichnowsky to-day, is that K lenient
160 The Life of Ltjdwig van Beethoven
be handled as gently as possible so that his feelings may not be hurt.
For this reason we all request you to write a billet to Klement and tell the
truth as it is. But as there is no question but that he will come to the
second concert, I suggest that the direction be then given to him. — Schup-
panzigh is agreed to this. And as Piringer of the Theater-an-der-Wien
pretends that as a high R. I. official he cannot take part, Klement might
take first place among the second violins at the first concert and Schup-
panzigh at the second. — Palfy does not at all want that you shall take
Klement, but only that you shall take the trouble to write him a billet
and tell him about the matter. He will certainly be agreeable. — He
[Schuppanzigh] has become much quieter and more commode since he was
in Russia — his paunch is already beginning to embarrass him. Bohm
will play first violin, Piringer will not play at the An-der-Wien, which is
all one to Schuppanzigh.
But matters were not so easily arranged with Clement as
Schindler had imagined. He did not want to be deprived of the
honor of playing at the concert, the orchestra of the Theater-an-
der-Wien sided with him and declared that it would not play
under Schuppanzigh. Schindler appealed to Count Palfy, who
knew that though you can lead a horse to water you cannot make
him drink. He said that he could command the men to play under
Schuppanzigh, but he did not want to be answerable for the mis-
chief which would result. Schindler advised Beethoven that if
Palfy stood by Clement the contract, for the Karnthnerthor Theatre
be closed with Duport. Up to late in April it was as good as settled
that the concert would be given at the Theater-an-der-Wien,
though Beethoven's fatal indecision left the point uncertain.
With negotiations pending with both theatres the Ridotto Room
came up for consideration, and finally (it would seem as a con-
sequence of advice by the Steiner firm), also a fourth locale.
This was the Landstandischer Saal, a small room in which the
Concerts Spirituels took place. Lichnowsky, when he heard that
Beethoven was considering such a step, hurried to him with
representations that if the hall were taken there would be trouble
with Palfy and he himself humiliated and embarrassed, since he
had come to an agreement with the manager in his name. He as
well as Schindler was sorely tried by the new turn of affairs and
represented to Beethoven that the room was too small, holding
only 500 persons, and that the court would not go there. But
Nephew Karl favored the hall because its choice would avoid
the difficulties (Sauerei) incident to the selection of either of the
theatres. Lichnowsky and Schindler did not seek to hide their
displeasure from Beethoven because of his willingness to take the
advice of others (meaning, no doubt, Brother Johann, Nephew Karl
and Steiner), in preference to theirs, but at length circumstances
Composition of tin: Pi.ki ouming Fo» i 161
compelled him to abandon all other plana ami icnr to take
the KSrnthnerthor Theatre. He considered the noon hour aa
the time for the concert, bul Johann told him thai an evening
concert was worth 1500 florins more than oik- given in the day-
time; he dung to the Landstfindischer Saal, but Schindler told
him that on tin- day which had been fixed upon there was to be
a concert at the EUdotto Room in which Sontag, Uilger and the
Italian singers would take part. "Tl - girls" would therefore he
unavailable for his concert and the court would, of course, go
to the fashionahle place and affair. As late as April 21, it was
publicly announced that the concert would be given in the Theater-
an-der-Wien, but at length Beethoven made up his mind, ami
Schindler was empowered to close with Duport for the Karnth-
nerthor Theatre. Palfy yielded to the composer's wishes, but
regretfully, saying that he would rather lose 1000 florins than the
honor of having the concert in his house. It would seem as if it
was the cabal in the orchestra against Schuppanzigh which ended
Beethoven's irresolution. Beethoven now decided to take the
Court theatre for 400 florins, chorus and orchestra being included
as well as the lighting, with the privilege of a repetition on
the same terms in seven or eight days. In the letter which
Beethoven sent to Duport, were named Sontag, Unger and
Preisinger (bass) as solo singers, Umlaut" and Schuppanzigh aa
leaders, the orchestra and chorus were to be augmented from
the amateur forces of the Gesellschafl der Musikfreunde. There
were to be 24 violins, 10 violas, 12 contrabasses ami violon-
cellos, and the number of wind-instruments was to be doubled,
for which reason room would have to be provided for the
orchestra on the stage. Duport was requested to fix the date
not later than May 3rd or 4th and was informed that the
reason why the agreement with Count Palfy had been cancelled
was that the Theater-an-der-'Wien was lacking in capable solo
Singera and that Palfy wanted Clement to lead the orchestra,
whereas Beethoven had long before selected Schuppanzigh for
the post. With a change of date to May 7 this arrangement
was formally confirmed.
But many details remained to be settled, the most vc\ations
to Beethoven being the prices of admission. Beethoven wanted
an advance on the regular tariff. Duport appealed to the Minis-
ter of Police, but permission to rai>e the prices was refused. In
the selection of solo singers Therese Grtinbaum had been con-
sidered, but sin- was eventually set aside in favor of Henrietta
Sontag, for whom Beethoven had a personal admiration he
162 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
could not know much, if anything, about her voice and art).
She and Unger, who had a sincere love for Beethoven's music,
were the composer's "pretty witches" and had been invited by him
to dinner. Jager had been suggested for the tenor part, but Anton
Haitzinger was chosen because, in a spirit of professional courtesy,
Jager refused to take a part away from a Karnthnerthor singer.
Forti and Preisinger were rival candidates for the solo bass parts.
The latter was considered the more musical of the two and better
fitted for Beethoven's music, and was therefore selected. He
took part in the rehearsals, and for him Beethoven made a change
in the music of the recitative in the Symphony (Schindler gives it
in his biography) ; but at the last the tessitura of the part was found
to be too high for him and Preisinger had to withdraw. It was
impossible under the circumstances now to appeal to Forti, and the
part was entrusted to Seipelt of the company at the Theater-an-
der-Wien.
It was originally intended that the programme should consist
of the new Overture (Op. 124), the Mass in D and the new Sym-
phony; but realizing that this would make the concert unduly long
Beethoven first decided to omit the Gloria of the mass, and after
the rehearsals had already begun he curtailed the list still more by
eliding the Sanctus. The large amount of copying involved was
done by a staff of men some of whom worked, apparently, under
the supervision of the widow of Schlemmer, Beethoven's favorite
copyist who had died the year before. The composer angrily
rejected Haslinger's suggestion that the chorus parts be engraved,
but consented to have them duplicated by lithographic process.
The church authorities were opposed to the performance of missal
music in a theatre and the censor therefore withheld his approval
of the programme. So, in April, at the suggestion of Schindler,
Beethoven wrote a letter to the censor, Sartorius, in which he
pleaded for his consent to the performance on the ground that he
was giving the concert by request, had involved himself in costs by
reason of the copying, there was no time in which to produce other
novelties, and if consent were refused he would be compelled to
abandon the concert and all his expenditures would have been in
vain. The three ecclesiastical pieces which were to be performed
were to be listed on the programme as hymns. The letter failed of
its mission; not until an appeal was made to Count Sedlnitzky,
the Police President, through the agency of Count Lichnowsky,
was the performance sanctioned.
One further detail of the preparations, as disclosed by a dis-
cussion in Beethoven's ministerial cabinet, is too interesting to be
Tin: Composes wi> Honorary Tin 163
omitted. The time is come when bills musl be posted in front of
the theatre. Schindler is the first speaker:
Master! Listen ! I have something to say, bo follow me: How shall
the placard be worded i it must be printed to-day ; shall I put in Memberof
the Royal Academy at Stockholm and Amsterdam? Tell me briefly.
What s tremendous title!!
§ hupvanzigh: 1 am nol in favor of it. Beethoven is dictator and
president of all the academies in the world and sensible people will look
upon this title as vanity on liis part.
Schindler: My lord is not wrong. At any rate it will \><- made pub-
lic by the last notices in the newspapers. Tin- name of Beethoven
shines brightest without al!i\ of any kind and when most unassuming;
all the World knOWS Who and w hat you are. It will do your posterity DO
good. — Who knows what a later time will bring forth. ... I musl
now to get the hill ready for to-morrow. It is half-past 5.
'1'his was, no doubt, another case in which it was thought
judicious to get Beel hoven's consent beyond equivocation. There
is record of another conversation on the subject. Schindler
speaks again:
Well then, it shall appear on the hill to-morrow. Member of the
Royal Academies of Stockholm and Amsterdam. Nothing more; that
sounds best. — Then it ought to read of Arts and Sciences.- -But w hen one
says Roy. Acad, the epitheton Arts and Sciences is understood.
In neither of these consultations, which took place two da\ 9
before the concert, is there any indication that Beethoven ob-
jected to the use of the title; on the contrary, he seems to have
desired to make it more explicit by the inclusion of the words
"Arts and Sciences." But Schindler relates thai when Bernard,
in preparing an announcement for the public press, added to Beet-
hoven's name: "Honorary Member of the Academics of Arts and
Sciences at Stockholm and Amsterdam and also Honorary ( Citizen
of the R. I. Capita] and Resident ial City Vienna," he rebuked the
editor severely, not wanting to have such "silly and ridiculous
playthings" figure in the announcement. As a matter i>( fact, all
tiths were omitted in the affiches of the two concerts, though Otto
Jahn found one for the second meeting in the Puchs Collection
which contained them. It would seem that after one had been
thus printed it was after all rejected l>y Beethoven.
The rehearsals were now in progress. Dir/ka was making
good headway with the choruses ami was satisfied; Schuppanzigh
was holding rehearsals for the strings in the rehearsal-room of the
Ridotto; the solo Bingers were studying under the supervision of
Beethoven, sometimes in his lodgings, I mlauf assisting. Ac-
customed to Rossini's music, the principal singers found it difficult
164 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
to assimilate the Beethovenian manner, especially as it is exem-
plified in the concluding movement of the symphony. They
pleaded with the composer for changes which would lighten their
labors, but he was adamant. Unger called him a "tyrant over all
the vocal organs" to his face, but when he still refused to grant her
petitions she turned to Sontag and said : "Well, then we must go on
torturing ourselves in the name of God!" The choirmaster
requested that the passage in the fugue of the Credo where the
sopranos enter on B-flat in alt be altered, because none of the singers
could reach the note; but though Umlauf reinforced that argument,
a refusal was the only reply. In only one alteration did Beethoven
acquiesce; — he changed the concluding passage of the bass recita-
tive, because Preisinger could not sing the high F-sharp; but
Preisinger did not sing at all at the concert. The consequences of
his obduracy were not realized by Beethoven at the concert, for
though he stood among the performers and indicated the tempo at
the beginning of each movement he could not hear the music
except with his mental ear. The obvious thing happened; — the
singers who could not reach the high tones simply omitted them.
Duport had allowed two full rehearsals. There was to have been
a third, but it was prevented by a rehearsal for a ballet. At the
final meeting on May 6, Beethoven was "dissolved in devotion and
emotion" at the performance of the Kyrie, and after the Symphony
stationed himself at the door and embraced all the amateurs who
had taken part.1 The official announcement of the concert
read as follows:
GRAND
MUSICAL CONCERT
by
MR. L. VAN BEETHOVEN
which will take place
To-morrow, May 7, 1824
in the R. I. Court Theatre beside the Karnthnerthor.
The musical pieces to be performed are the latest works of Mr.
Ludwig van Beethoven.
'The statement about the Kyrie was made by Holz to Jahn; that about the Sym-
phony, by Fuchs.
I \< idi. \ i - mi i in. Peri i »rm w i. 105
Fir.^t : A ( rrand ( hrerture.
Second: Three Grand Hymns with Solo ami Chorus Voices.
Third: A Grand Symphony with Solo ami Chorus Voices
entering in the finale on Schiller's Ode to Joy.
The solos will be performed by the Demoiselles Sonntag and linger
ami t in- Messrs. J [aizinger ami Seipelt. Mr. Schuppanzigh
has undertaken the direction of the orchestra, Mr. Chapel-
master (Jmlauf the direction of tin- whole ami the Mu-ie
Society the augmentation of the chorus and orchestra as a
favor.
Mr. Ludwig van Beethoven will himself participate in the general
direction.
Prices of admission as usual.
Beginning at 7 o'clock in the evening.
The overture was that to "The Consecration of the House."
Duport had a hand in the drafting of the announcement and
wanted to include in it the statement that Beethoven would con-
duct with Umlanf. Schindler in reporting the fad to Beethoven
added: "I did not know what to reply and so it was omitted this
time. "N ou could surely conduct the overture alone. It would
put too severe a si rain upon your ears and for that reason I would
not advise you to conduct the whole."
The t beatre was crowded in every part except t he imperial box;
that was empty. Beethoven had gone in person, accompanied by
Schindler. to invite the Imperial Family, and some of its members
promised to attend; but the Emperor and Empress had left Vienna
a few days before and Archduke Rudolph, who bad naturally
displayed interest in the affair, was in Olmtitz. Hut we bear of
several of Beethoven's present ami former friends seated in various
parts of the house; — poor, bedridden Zmeskall was carried to bis
seat in a sedan chair. Some of the foremost musicians of \ ienna
were in the hand Mayseder, Btthm, Jansa, I.inke. etc. The
performance was far from perfect. There was lack of a bomoge-
aeous power, a paucity of nuance, a poor distribution of lights and
shades. Nevertheless, strange as the music must have sounded to
the audience, the impression which it made \\;i> profound and the
applause which it elicited enthusiastic to a degree. At one point
in the Scherzo, presumably at the startling entry of the tympani
at the ritmo di trc batiutc, the listeners could scarcely restrain
166 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
themselves, and it seemed as if a repetition then and there would
be insisted upon. To this Beethoven, no doubt engrossed by the
music which he was following in his mind, was oblivious. Either
after the Scherzo or at the end of the Symphony,1 while Beethoven
was still gazing at his score, Fraulein linger, whose happiness can
be imagined, plucked him by the sleeve and directed his attention
to the clapping hands and waving hats and handkerchiefs. Then
he turned to the audience and bowed.
After the concert Beethoven's friends, as was natural, came
together to exchange comments and felicitate him. From Schind-
ler Beethoven received a report which is preserved in the Conver-
sation Book. It gives us a glimpse of his own joy and the com-
poser's happy pride in having been more enthusiastically greeted
than the court:
Never in my life did I hear such frenetic and yet cordial applause.
Once the second movement of the Symphony was completely interrupted
by applause — and there was a demand for a repetition. The reception
was more than imperial — for the people burst out in a storm 4 times. At
the last there were cries of Vivat! — The wind-instruments did very
bravely — not the slightest disturbance could be heard. — When the par-
terre broke out in applauding cries the 5th time the Police Commissioner
yelled Silence! — The court only 3 successive times but Beethoven 5
times. — My triumph is now attained; for now I can speak from my heart.
Yesterday I still feared secretly that the Mass would be prohibited be-
cause I heard that the Archbishop had protested against it. After all
I was right in at first not saying anything to the Police Commissioner.
By God, it would have happened! — He surely never has been in the Court
Theatre. Well, Pax tecum!
Joseph Hiittenbrenner went with Schindler when he escorted
the composer to his lodgings. At this point there appears to be
something like a flight of the imagination in Schindler's narrative.
irThe incident is variously related. Schindler and Fraulein Unger (the latter of
whom told it to George Grove in London in 1869) say that it took place at the end of the
concert. Thalberg, the pianist, who was present, says that it was after the Scherzo.
A note amongst Thayer's papers reads: "November 23, 1800. I saw Thalberg in Paris.
He told me as follows: He was present at Beethoven's concert in the Karnthnerthor
Theatre 1824. Beethoven was dressed in black dress-coat, white neckerchief, and waist-
coat, black satin small-clothes, black silk stockings, shoes with buckles. He saw after
the Scherzo of the 9th symphony, how B. stood turning over the leaves of his score
utterly deaf to the immense applause, and Unger pulled him by the sleeve and then
pointed to the audience when he turned and bowed. Umlauf told the choir and
orchestra to pay no attention whatever to Beethoven's beating of the time but all to
watch him. Conradin Kreutzer was at the P. F." Did Thalberg describe Beethoven's
dress correctly? Evidently not. In a conversation just before the concert Schindler,
who is to call for Beethoven, tells him to make himself ready. "We will take
everything with us now; also take your green coat, which you can put on when you
conduct. The theatre will be dark and no one will notice it. . . . O, great master, you do
not own a black frock coat! The green one will have to do; in a few days the black one
will be ready."
Friends A< i i sed of I >ishonesi i i»
1 1
Arrived at borne Schindlei hands Beethoven the box-office report.
He takes it, gives it a glance and falls in a swoon. The two friends
raise him from the floor and carry him to a sofa, where he lies
without uttering a word until far into the night. Then they ob-
serve thai In* has fallen asleep, and depart. Nexl morning Beet-
hoven is found on the sofa, still in his concert-clothes. Schindler
sliouM have taken a glance at the Conversation Books 1m:
writing this dramal ic story. There 1 would have found a record
of his own words which shows that he came to Beethoven on the
day after the concerl and asked him to send his nephew to meel
him in the afternoon at the box-office of the theatre where the
accounts were to lu- settled. He did not know what the receipts
were even then, for he remarks to Beethoven, "In Paris and Lon-
don the concert would certainly have yielded from L2 to 15
thousand florins; here it may be as many hundreds." And then
he goes on: "After yesterday you must now too plainly see that you
are trampling upon your own interests by remaining longer within
these walls. In short, I have no words to express my feelings at
the wron<j which you are doing yourself, . . . Have you recovered
from yesterday's exertions?"
The financial results of t he concert fell far short of Beet hoven's
expectations. The gross receipts were 2200 florins in the de-
preciated Vienna money, of which only 420 florins remained after
paying the cost of administration and copying; and againsl this
pitiful sum some petty expenses were still chargeable. Beetho-
ven was not only disappointed ; he was chagrined and thrown into
a fuming ill-humor. He invited Schindler, Umlauf and Schuppan-
zigh to dine with him at the restaurant "Zum wilden Mann" in
the Prater. The compos,-- came with his nephew ; "his brow was
clouded, his words were cold, peevish, captious." Bays Schindler.
He had ordered an "opulent" meal, hut no sooner had the party
sat down to the table than the "explosion which was imminent"
came. In plainest terms he burst out with the charge that the
management ami Schindler had cheated him. Umlauf and Schup-
panzigh tried to convince him that that was impossible, as every
penny had passed through the hands of tin- two theatre cashiers,
whose accounts tallied, and that though it was Contrary to cus-
tom, his nephew had acted in behalf • '!' his brother as comptroller.
Beethoven persisted in his accusation, saying that he had his
information from an entirely credible source. Thereupon Schind-
ler and Umlauf abruptly left the room. Scbuppanzigh remained
behind just long enough to get a few Btripeson his broad hack ami
then joined his companions in misery. Together they finished
168 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
their meal at a restaurant in the Leopoldstadt.1 Schindler, after
a disquisition on Beethoven's habit of estranging his friends by
insulting them and then winning them back by the frankness of his
confessions and the sincerity of his contrition, says that after the
composer's return from Baden in November, he approached him
in this winning mood, "and the entire occurrence was at once
drowned in the waters of Lethe." But Schindler was not only in
error as to the time of the incident — he says it was after the second
concert — he also seems to have forgotten that he received a letter
which on its face shows that he had written to Beethoven defend-
ing himself against the charges made. Beethoven's letter was as
follows:
I did not accuse you of any wrongdoing in connection with the con-
cert; but unwisdom and arbitrary actions spoiled much. Besides I have
a certain fear lest some great misfortune shall some time happen to me
through you. Clogged drains often open suddenly, and that day in the
Prater I thought you were offensive in several things. Moreover there
are many times when I would rather try to repay the services which you
perform for me with a little gift than with a meal, for I admit that I am
often too greatly disturbed. If you do not see a pleasant face you say at
once: "Bad weather again to-day"; for being commonplace yourself how
can you help misunderstanding that which is not commonplace?
In short I love my independence too much. There will be no lack of
opportunities to invite you, but it is impossible to do so continually, in-
asmuch as thereby all my affairs are disarranged.
Duport has consented to next Tuesday for the concert. For the
Landstandischen Saal, which I might have had for to-morrow, he again
refuses to let me have the singers. He has also again referred me to the
police; therefore please go there with the bill and learn if there is any
objection to the second time. I would never have accepted the favors
done me gratis and will not. As for friendship that is a difficult thing in
your case. In no event would I like to entrust my welfare to you since
you lack judgment and act arbitrarily, and I learned some time ago to
know you from a side which is not to your credit; and so did others. I
must confess that the purity of my character does not permit me to re-
compense mere favors with friendship, although I am ready willingly to
serve your welfare.
B n.
A second concert had been contemplated from the outset, or at
least since the opening of negotiations with Palfy. Schindler says
'It is more than likely that Beethoven's "credible" informant was his brother
Johann. He was jealous of Schindler's participation in the composer's business affairs
and probably took advantage of a favorable opportunity to strengthen Beethoven's
chronic suspicion and growing distrust of what the composer himself looked upon as
Schindler's omciousness. In the Conversation Book used at the meeting after the
concert, Karl tells bis uncle: "Schindler knows from an ear-witness that your brother
said in the presence <>f several persons that he was only waiting for the concert to be
over before driving S. out of the house."
1'inan- iai. I'ah.i re Repeated 169
that Duport offered to pay all expenses and iruarantrr 500 florins
Conventioo Coio 1200 florins Vienna Standard with tin- under-
standing that the profits should be divided equally between Beet-
hoven and the exchequer of the theatre. Hut he wanted a change
made in tin- programme. To this change, obviously designed a- a
concession to the popular taste, Beethoven seems to have given
bis consent. The concert took place on Sunday, May 23rd,a1
midday— half-past IS o'clock. Of the missal hymns only our,
the Kyrie, was performed; between the overture ami it Beethoven's
trio. "Tremate, empj, tremate," was sung by Madame Dardanelli
ami Si.^nori Donzclli ami Botticelli. The original solo singers sang
in the Ki/ric and the Symphony, which numbers were separated by
Rossini's "Di tanti palpiti" in a transposed key Bung by the tenor
David "almost throughout in a falsetto voice." Schindler says
that Sontag also sang her favorite aria di bravura by MLercadante,
but of this number there is no mention on the affiche. The delight-
ful weather lured the people into the open air, the house was not
half full and there was. in consequence, a deficit of 800 florins.
Nor wa> the popular demonstration of enthusiasm over the music
so great as at the first concert, and Beethoven, who had not favored
the repetition, was so disheartened that he was with difficulty per-
suaded to accept the 500 florins which Duport had guaranteed to
him. He was also vexed to find his old trio announced as a novelty
(it was composed more than twenty years before and had been
performed in 1814), and so was Tobias Haslinger, who had bought
but had not published it. Moreover, Haslinger had been over-
looked in the distribution of complimentary tickets. Beethoven
had to apologize to him for the oversight, which he protested w;^
due to an inadvertence, and also to explain that the announce-
ment of the trio as a new work was of Duport \s doing, not his.
Chapter VI
Incidents and Labors of 1824 — Bernard's Oratorio — Visitors
at Baden — New Publishers — A Visitor from London —
Beethoven's Opinion of his Predecessors — The Quartet
in E-flat, Op. 127.
AT the end of the chapter preceding the last, which recorded
the doings of the year 1823, Beethoven was left in his
lodgings in the Ungargasse, occupied with work upon the
Ninth Symphony, which was approaching completion, oppressed
with anxiety concerning his health and worried about his brother's
domestic affairs. As the story of his life is resumed with the year
1824, there has been no serious change in his physical condition,
but complaints of ill health are frequent in his communications
with his friends. His eyes continue to trouble him till late in
March; Schindler cautions him not to rub them, as that might
increase the inflammation; Karl suggests buying a shade to pro-
tect them from the glare of the light; and when Count Brunswick
wants to take him along with him to Hungary, Schindler advises
him to take the trip, as it might be beneficial for his eyes.
For a moment we have a glimpse at the gentler side of the
composer's nature in a letter which he sends when the year is
about a week old to the widow of his brother, the wicked mother of
his adopted son, in lieu of the New Year's call which they had been
prevented by work from making. He should have come to wish
her happiness for the year, he says, had he been able: "but I
know that, nevertheless, you expect nothing but the best of
good wishes for your welfare from me as well as Karl." She had
complained of being in need, and he says he would gladly have
helped her, but had himself too many expenditures, debts and
delayed receipts to prove his willingness at the moment; but he
would now give it to her "in writing" that thenceforth she might
retain the portion of her pension which had been set apart for her
son. If, in the future, he could give her money to better her con-
dition, he would willingly do so; moreover, he had long before
I 170]
Kind Interest in Karl's Mother 171
assumed the debt of 280 florins and ^0 kreutzers which she owed
Steiner. Manifestly a truce had been established between the
woman and her brother-in-law, and in the absence of any evidence
that she was in any way concerned in an escapade of Karl's later
in the year, it would appear that she never violated it ; it was not
the woman whom Beethoven hated, but the youth whom In- loved,
who brought grief and an almost broken heart into his last days.
Nevertheless, there is more than passive contentment exhibited in
this letter; there is also an active magnanimity which finds even
warmer expression in a letter which he seems to have written at
an earlier date to his friend Bernard. Bernard1 had been help-
ful to Beethoven in drawing up the memorial to the court in the
matter of the guardianship and was among the friends whom
Beethoven consulted about Karl's education and bringing up. To
him Beethoven writes:
I beg of you before the day is over to make inquiries about F. v. B.
[Frau van Beethoven] and if it is possible, to have her assured through
her physician that from this month on so long as I shall live she shall have
the enjoyment of the whole of her pension, and I will see to it that if I die
first, Karl shall not need the half of her pension. It was, moreover, al-
ways my intention to permit her to keep the whole of her pension so soon
as Karl left the Institute, but as her illness and need are so great she must
be helped at once. God has never deserted me in this heavy task and 1
shall continue to trust in Him. If possible I beg of you to send me infor-
mation yet to-day and I will see to it that my tenacious brother also makes
a contribution to her.
The nephew was now attending the philological lectures at
the university and living in the winter and spring months with
his uncle. He had left Blo'chlinger's Institute in August 1823 and
matriculated at the university. He was active in the service of
Beethoven, doing work as his amanuensis, carrying messages,
making purchases, and so on; in fact, Beethoven seems to have
taken up more of his time than was good for his studies. He h»\ ed
him tenderly and was unceasingly thoughtful of his welfare; but
the jealousy of his affection led him to exercise a strictness of
discipline over him which could not fail to become irksome to a
growing stripling. He left him little liberty, and, yielding to a
disposition prone to passion, he not seldom treated him with great
severity. The youth appears in the ( Conversation Books as lively,
clever and shrewd, and Beethoven, proud of his natural gifts of
mind, was indulgent of his comments on others, permitting him
'Beethoven's letters to Bernard were published by Alexander Bajdecki in the
February Dumber, 1909, <>f "Nord und Slid"; Bajdecki found the letters in the hands o(
a niece of one of Bernard's daughters to whom he had bequeathed them. I hey are nol
included in the Kaliachez or Prelinger collections.
172 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
apparently to speak lightly and discourteously of the men upon
whose help and counsel he was obliged to depend. The result
of Beethoven's extremes of harsh rebuke and loving admonition,
of violent accusation and tender solicitude, was to encourage him
in his innate bent for disingenuousness and deception, and he
continued the course which he had begun as a boy of repeating
words of disparagement touching those against whom his uncle
levelled his criticisms, and of reporting, no doubt with embellish-
ments of his own invention, the speeches which told of the popular
admiration in which the great composer was held. By this species
of flattery he played upon the weakness of his uncle and actually
obtained an influence over him in the course of time which he
exploited to his own advantage in various directions. He was
naturally inclined to indolence and self-indulgence, and it is not
strange that Beethoven's self-sacrifice in his behalf never awakened
in him any deep sense of gratitude, while his unreasonable and
ill-considered severity aroused a spirit of rebellion in him which
grew with his advance towards adolescence. Beethoven never
seems to have realized that he had outgrown the period when he
could be treated as a child, and it was a child's submission which
he asked of him.
Grillparzer's opera-book was a frequent subject of conver-
sation between Beethoven and his friends in the early months of
1824, but petitions and advice were alike unfruitful. He did not
go to work upon it nor yet upon a composition which presented a
more urgent obligation. This was the oratorio which he had
agreed to write for the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde and on which
he had received an advance of money in 1819. Here the fatal
procrastination, though it may have been agreeable to Beethoven,
was not altogether his fault. Bernard began the book, but seems
to have put it aside after a few weeks. In April, 1820, he tells
Beethoven in a Conversation Book, "I must finish the oratorio
completely this month so that it may be handed to you in Mod-
ling." In August, possibly, somebody writes: "I have put it
seriously to Sanctus Bernardus that it is high time that it be
done; that Hauschka was urging a completion. He will finish it
this month, id est in 5 days, and see you this evening at
Camehl's .... When I told Bernard that Hauschka had come
to you about it he was embarrassed and — it seems to me that he
is throwing the blame on you. He does not want to show his
poetical impotency."
For four years after giving the commission, the Gesellschaft
der Musikfreunde waited before it put any signs of impatience on
Growing Impatience About a\ Oratorio 173
record. Towards the close of ( October, 1823, Bernard gave a copy
of the texl of the oratorio, which was entitled "Der Sieg des
Kreutzes" ("The Victory of the Cross"), to Beethoven and also
one to Sonnleithner for the society. After waiting Dearly three
months, the directorate of the society at a meeting held on January
!>, 1824, took action, the nature of which was notified to both
Beethoven and Bernard. The latter was informed that as the
society had left the choice of the text w bich lie was to compose to
Beethoven, it could not say whether or not the society would make
use of the poem which lie had senl until Beethoven had gel it to
music, and the censor had given it his sanction. He was also
asked to cooperate with the society in stimulating Beethoven to
finish the work "so long expected by the musical world." Beet-
hoven w as told that t he choice of a hook for t he oratorio which the
society had commissioned him to write four years before had been
left to him; that it had been informed that Bernard had under-
taken to write it; that its inquiries as to when the music would he
completed had always been answered by the statement that the
poem had not been received. Not presuming to ask a composer
of his eminence to outline the plan of a musical composil ion before
he had become familiar with the work as a whole and had sat isfied
himself touching its plan and execution, the society, therefore,
had thitherto always directed its inquiries to Bernard, who had de-
livered the hook in October. In view of the fact that the societv
■
could not use the text until it had been set and he (Beethoven)
had repeatedly expressed his intention to write a work of the kind
and confirmed the receipt of earnest money paid at his request,
the society asked him explicitly to say whether or not he intended
to compose Bernard's poem, and, if so, when the work might be
expected.
Beethoven answered the letter at great length. He said that
he had not asked Bernard to write the text hut had been told t hat
the society hayfl commissioned him to do so; Bernard being the
editor of a newspaper it was impossible for him to consult him
often; moreover, consultations of this character would he long
drawn out and personally disagreeable, as Bernard had written
oothing for music except "Libussa," which had not been performed
at the time, hut which lie had known since ISO!) and which had
required many alteration-; lie was compelled to he somewhat
skeptical about the collaboration ami have the hook before him in
its entirety. He had once received a portion of the hook, hut
Bernard, to the best of his recollection, had said t hat it would have
to he changed and he had given it hack to him. At last he had
174 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
received the whole text at the time that the society received it,
but other obligations which illness had retarded had had to be
fulfilled, since, as the society probably knew, he was compelled to
live from his compositions. Many changes, some of which he had
indicated to Bernard, would have to be made in the book. He
would finish his suggestions and consult with Bernard, for,
though I find the material good and the poem has a value, it cannot re-
main as it is. The poet and I wrote "Christus am Olberg" in 14 days,
but that poet was musical and had written several things for music and I
could consult with him at any moment. Let us leave out of considera-
tion the value of poems of this sort; we all know what allowances are to
be made — the merit lies in the middle. So far as I am concerned I would
rather set Homer, Klopstock, Schiller to music; if they offer difficulties to
be overcome these immortal poets at least deserve it. As soon as I am
through with making changes in the oratorio with Bernard I shall have
the honor to inform you of the fact and at the same time let the society
know when it may with certainty count upon it. That is all that I can
say about it at present. Respecting the 400 florins, Vienna standard, sent
to me without demand I would have sent them back long ago had I been
able to foresee that the matter would last much longer than I had im-
agined; it was grievous to me not to be able to express myself on the
subject. Concerning it I had a notion, in order to provide at least the
interest on the sum, to unite with the society in a concert; but neither
Herr Schindler nor my brother was authorized to say anything on the
subject, and it was farthest from my thoughts that it should be done in
such a manner. Please inform Herrn von Sonnleithner of this. I also
thank the society heartily for the offer of the platform and its aid which
it proffered me and in time I shall make use of them. I shall be glad to
hear whether the society wishes to make use of my works after my con-
cert, among which is a new symphony. The Grand Mass is really rather
in the oratorio style and particularly adapted to the society. I shall be
especially pleased if my unselfishness and also my zealous desire to serve
the society in whose benevolent deeds in behalf of art I always take the
greatest interest, are recognized.
It is interesting to note in connection with this letter that
Beethoven resents the statement that he had asked for the money
given as an earnest; that he was unwilling to assume responsibility
for the selection of Bernard as his collaborator (though Bernard was
among his friends and advisors and he had expressed satisfaction
with his choice when he accepted the commission, only insisting
that the poet be paid by the society) ; that he gave at least moder-
ate approval to the book as a whole but insisted on some altera-
tions which were essential; that he had been contemplating co-
operation with the society in a concert, and that he had received an
offer of assistance from it in a concert which he was to give. The
letter was written on January 23, some time before the receipt
of the memorial which was the first official step toward the great
Contradictor! Advice is to Bernard's Boos 175
concerts of May 7 and 23. There is evidence o! a kindly feeling
between the society and him, and, indeed, that feeling was never
interrupted, though the Gesellschafl der Musikfreunde uever got
the oratorio nor received back the money advanced ou its commis-
sion. The society afterward elected him to honorary membership.
Beethoven was frequently urged to set to work on the music
of "The Victory of the Cross"; but he was also advised not to com-
pose it. Archduke Rudolph accepted the dedication of the poem
and wrote to Beethoven telling him of the fact ami expressing
wish that he would set it to music, lint Schikh said to him:
"If I were Beethoven I would never compose the extremely tire-
some text of this oratorio." Beethoven had expressed satis-
faction with the subject and the <|iiality of the line-; he di>cu^
changes which he wished to have made with Bernard after In- had
had time to consider the work as a whole; he promised Hauschka
in September that he would compose it as soon as he returned to
the city, and asked him to pay Bernard his fee; but he uever
seriously to work upon it, though at the end of the letter to
Hauschka (which hears date September 28, 1824 he reiterated
his promise so that he might, with mock solemnity, at tot it by
affixing his hand and seal.
The hook of "The Victory of the Cross" was based upon the
ancient story of the apparition of the cross and the Legend "In
hoc signo vinces" to Constantine the Great. Constantine has
crossed the Alps into Italy and lies encamped confronting his
enemy MaxentlUS before Home. His daughter Julia, who is
represented as wife to Maxentius, attempts to avert the hat tie. but
the vision strengthens Constantine' a resolve. Julia hears the
angelic canticles which accompany the apparition and is converted
to the true faith, persisting in it to martyrdom, to which she is
condemned by her husband. M axentius also hears the voices, l»ut
his augurs (allegorical figures representing Hate and Discord)
interpret them to his advantage, whereas similar figures (Faith,
Hope and ( han't >/) inspire the Christian army. I Mous canticles ou
the one hand, harsh songs on the other, precede the 1. attic, the
progress of which is related by a solo voice. < 'onstantine promises
to raise the cross on the forum in Rome; the victory is won and
celebrated with Christian hymns, "Hosanna !" and "( dory toGod!'
Beethoven's copy of the lihretto has been preserved, and in
it there are indications that he made some heroic excisions. He
permitted Faith, Hope and Charity to remain, but banished Hate
and Discord. It is pretty plain that Beethoven found Dothing
inspiring in the work. IIolz told Jahn that he said to him, "How
176 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
could I get up any enthusiasm about it?" Schindler says that
Beethoven's failure to set the book caused a rupture of the friend-
ship which existed between him and Bernard. The directors of
the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde dropped the matter, neither
importuning Beethoven more nor taking any steps to recover the
money paid on account.
One outcome of the concerts of May was the appearance of a
new portrait of Beethoven. It was a lithographic reproduction of
a crayon drawing made by Stephen Decker and was printed as a
supplement to the "Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung" edited by
F. A. Kanne, on June 6, 1824. In this and two subsequent num-
bers of the journal (June 9 and 16) Kanne reviewed the concerts
with discriminating appreciation, ending with an enthusiastic
encomium of the composer. In 1827 Steinmiiller made a plate of
Decker's drawing for Artaria. Schindler and Frimmel agree in
saying that the well-known portrait by Kriehuber is an imitation
of Decker's drawing, which was made, as Kanne's journal stated,
"a few days after his great concert in May, 1824." 1
During the preparations for the concerts, thought was also
given to the usual summer sojourn, and various places — Grinzing,
Heiligenstadt, Penzing, Breitensee, Hietzing, Hetzendorf — were
canvassed in consultation with Beethoven by his friends. His
brother had again offered him a home on his estate and it was ex-
pected that Count Brunswick would come for the concert and take
Beethoven back with him to Hungary. In all of the excursions
which were made in the vicinity of Schbnbrunn in search of a sum-
mer home, Schindler accompanied the composer to see, to advise,
to negotiate. The choice fell upon Penzing, where an apartment
was found in the first storey of the house numbered 43 belonging to
a tailor in Vienna named Johann Horr, who was rejoiced to have
so distinguished a tenant. Beethoven took it for the summer
beginning on May 1, for a rental of 180 florins, C. M. The re-
ceipt is in existence, with a characteristic memorial of Beethoven's
violent and abrupt change of mind concerning men and things.
The lodgings were in all things adapted to his needs and Beetho-
ven, entirely satisfied, moved into them soon after the second
concert. An old couple lived in the parterre, but otherwise he was
the only tenant of the house. But the house lay close to a foot-
bridge over the little stream called the Wien Fluss and people
'Frimmel, however, placing faith in a tradition to that effect, says that the Decker
drawing was made in the fall of 1825 in the Schwarzspanier House. The print issued by
the "Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung" could not be found by Dr. Deiters;but Thayer,
(who spells the name of the artist "Daker,") saw one in the hands of Prof. Spatzenegger,
a son-in-law of the artist, in Salzburg.
Two New Offers of the Mass in D 1
. «
crossing it frequently stopped to gaze into bis rooms. He could
have saved himself the annoyance l>y drawing th<- curtains, but
instead In- flew into a rage, quarrelled with his landlord, against
whom he recorded bis anger by scrawling the epithet "Schurke"
( rogue, wretch, scoundrel, etc.) under his name on the receipt, and
removing to Baden (Gutenbrunn). He had been in the bouse bu
weeks; in Baden he staid from aboul the 1st of Augusl till some
time in November; and thus was again paying rent for three
lodgings at the same time.
The matter of the subscriptions for the Mass being disposed
of (except so far as the deliveries of some of the scores was con-
cerned i, and the Symphony completed, Beethoven now had time,
while getting ready for their performance, to think also of their
publication. As he had promised to deliver the Mass to Simrock
long before, so also he had contracted to give exclusive possession
of the Symphony for eighteen months to the Philharmonic Society
of London, in March, 1823. It was eleven months after that date
that the score was finished and thirteen months before it was placed
in the hands of the Philharmonic Society's agent in Vienna.
Hogarth in Ins history of the Philharmonic Society is only tech-
nically correct when he says that it was not "received" by the
society until "after it had been performed at Vienna." It was
handed to Ries's representative on April 26 or 27, 1824; the first
concert took place on May 7th. When Beethoven took up the
matter of publication again lie ignored Simrock, Peters, Schlesinger
and the Vienna publishers and turned to Sehott and Sons of
Mavenceand II. A. Probst of Leipsic. Sehott ami Sons had Bent
him their journal "Cficilia" with the request that he recommend a
correspondent in the Austrian capital, and also send them some
compositions for publication. He answered on March 10. 1824,
that lie would gladly serve the paper if it were not that he felt it to
he a higher and more natural calling to manifest himself through
his musical compositions; but lie had instigated a search for a fit
man to act as Viennese reviewer. Of his compositions he offered
"a new Grand Mass with solo and chorus and full orchestra" which
lie considered his "greatest work." and a new Grand Symphony
with a finale in the style of his Pianoforte Fantasia with chorus
"but on a much larger scale"; also a new quartet U^v strings.'
The fees demanded were 1000 florins C. M. for the Mass. coo
florins for the Symphony and 50 ducats for the Quartet. "This
business only to oblige you." On the same day he w rote to II. A.
'This could only have been Hi'' Quartet in E-fUt, which, himvvcr. was far from
finished.
178 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
Probst offering the Mass and Symphony at the same prices but
stipulating that the latter should not be published before July,
1825, though, to recompense the publisher for the delay, he would
let him have the pianoforte arrangement gratis. Only a portion of
this letter has been preserved, but the contents of the lost fragment
can be gathered from Probst's answer under date March 22, in
which he promises to deposit at once with Joseph Loydl and Co.
100 imperial ducats to Beethoven's account, to be paid over on de-
livery of three songs with pianoforte accompaniment (two of them
to have parts for other instruments, the third to be an arietta),
six bagatelles for pianoforte solo, and a grand overture with piano-
forte arrangement for 2 and 4 hands. What these works were
may easily be guessed. After this business had been arranged to
the satisfaction of both parties, Probst said, he would communicate
his decision respecting the Mass. Beethoven wrote, probably on
July 3, explaining his delay on the score that the compositions
"had just been finished" but were now ready for delivery at any
moment to Herrn Gloggl, to whom he requested that the money be
sent. On August 9, Probst informed Beethoven that the 100
ducats had already been sent to Loydl and Co., in Vienna. A
letter written by Beethoven on the same day has been lost, but a
portion of its contents can be deduced from Probst's reply a week
later — August 16. The Leipsic publisher admitted that his action
in depositing the money to be delivered in exchange for the manu-
scripts had been due to reports which had reached him touching
difficulties which another publisher had had with the composer.
In purchasing manuscripts without examination he was departing
from his established rule of action and he trusted to the admiration
which he felt for the composer's genius that the latter had set apart
works of excellence for him. He would gladly have published the
Symphony, but was deterred by the danger of piracy which was
peculiarly great in Austria. He promised a speedy and handsome
publication of the works purchased. A memorandum by Beet-
hoven indicates that he answered this letter, but the nature of his
reply is not known. It is to be presumed that he withdrew his
offer of the Symphony. The correspondence with Probst ended
and the negotiations, which had again reached the point of a
deposit of the fee against the delivery of the manuscripts, came
to nothing; Schott and Sons secured not only the Mass, Symphony
and Quartet, but the smaller pieces also. The firm accepted the
offer of the Quartet at once, but asked either a reduction of the
fees for the Symphony and Mass, or permission to pay the money
in installments at intervals of six months. Subsequently the firm
SCHOTT AND SONS Hi V 1111. MASS 17:»
offered to provide a guaranty for the deferred payments and to
consider any proposition which Beethoven had to make. The
two letters, dated respectively March 24 and April 10, remaining
unanswered, Schott and Sons again wrote on April id and still
again on April -,'T; introducing with the former letter Christian
Rummel, Chapelmaster o! tin- Duke <>t' Nassau, and firing a
contribution to "Cficilia" in the latter. In tin- midst of ma
preparations for the concert, Beethoven replied and repeated his
offer of the Mass and Symphony, but held the matter of the Quartet
in abeyance. He asked thai payment for the other works be made
by bills drawn on a Vienna l>ank payable 600 florins in one month,
500 florins in two months and 600 florins in four months. On
July ■> he also collect led the Quartet, which he promised to deliver
inside of six weeks. With this the business was concluded and, as
an undated letter of Beethoven's shows, much to his gratification;
the business methods of Schott and Sons were extremely satis-
factory to him. Hut the year came to an end, and the Mayence
publishers were still waiting for their manuscripts, while Beetho-
ven was kept busy writing explanations in answer to their <|iiev-
tions and requests. On September 17 Beethoven says he will
attend to the copying of the works as soon as he has returned to
Vienna, and send the Quartet by the mid. lie of ( tetober; in Novem-
ber he is obliged to give two lessons a day to Archduke Rudolph
and has no t ime to look after the mat tcr; on December 5 the works
are most certainly to be delivered to Fries and Co. within the
current week; on December 17 it will l>e another week before the
works can be delivered the Archduke has but gone and lie must
look through the copy ol the score several times and he begs his
correspondents not to think ill of him, for he had "never done
anything wrong," intimating that a certain publisher in Vienna
was trying to seduce him from the Mayence firm and to that end
was seeking to make them suspicious, etc.; meanwhile he offers
for publication the overture which had been performed at his
concert, six bagatelles and three songs in behalf of his brother to
whom they belong, the price 1:50 ducats in gold. These were the
works which Probst had agreed to purchase for l <>»> ducat a and the
money for which had been sent to Vienna. Schott agreed to
buy them for ISO ducats and Beethoven wrote to his brother in
Gneixendorf on December 24: "I inform you that Mayence will
give 130 ducats in gold for your works: if Ilerr Probst will not
pay as much, pre them to Mayence, who will at once Bend you a
cheque; these are really honest, not mean, business men." Johann
promptly put himself in communication with Schott and Sons
180 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
and graciously confirmed the sale of the works at 130 florins, "out
of respect" for his brother.
Peters, who had been informed of the state of affairs concern-
ing the Mass, evidently sent a complaint, or protest, to Beethoven,
for on December 12, 1824, the latter informs the publisher that the
case has been closed by his promise of the work to another pub-
lisher. He (Peters) should have received a quartet had the
publishers who took the Mass not made the Quartet a condition of
his acceptance. But he should surely have another quartet soon,
or he was ready to make him a proposition for a larger work, in
which case the sum which had been paid might be deducted from
the new fee. Let Peters but be patient and he should be com-
pletely satisfied. Then follows this rebuke:
You did wrong to yourself and to me, and you are still doing the latter
in, as I hear, accusing me of having sent you inferior works. Did you
not yourself ask for songs and bagatelles? Afterward it occurred to you
that the fee was too large and that a larger work might have been had for
it. That you showed yourself to be a poor judge of art in this is proved by
the fact that several of these works have been and will be published, and
such a thing never happened to me before. 1 As soon as I can I will liqui-
date my indebtedness to you, and meanwhile I remain, etc.
In September of this year the interest of Beethoven's old
friend Andreas Streicher, whose wife was a visitor at Baden,
seems to have been awakened in a marked degree, and he gave
himself to the devising of plans to ameliorate the composer's
financial position. He revived the project for a complete edition
of the compositions which, as he outlines it, he thinks might yield
a profit of 10,000 florins, good money; proposes six high-class
subscription concerts in the approaching winter, which, with 600
subscribers, would yield 4,800 florins; finally he suggests that
manuscript copies of the Mass in D with pianoforte or organ ac-
companiment be sold to a number of singing societies. Though
this project had in a measure been attempted in the case of the
Singverein of Berlin and achieved in that of the Cacilienverein of
Frankfort, Beethoven seems to have authorized Streicher to make
an effort in the direction proposed, for two copies of a letter evi-
dently written to be communicated to singing societies or rep-
resentative members have been found. In the letter Beethoven
suggests that owing to the cost of copying, etc., the price be 50
ducats — just as much as he had asked of his royal subscribers for
the full orchestral score. None of the projects came to execution,
'Only the Bagatelles, Op. 119, had been published when this was written.
Praise for Kncland and the English 181
though the first, which lay close to Beethoven's heart, came up for
attention at a later date.
Towards the end ol September, Johann Stumpff, a native ol
Thuringia but a resident of London, was among the visitors at
Baden who were admitted to intimate association with Beethoven.
This was another Stumpff, not the one who came to Vienna in
1818 with a letter from Thomas Broadwood, and who tnind the
new English pianoforte. He was a manufacturer of harps and an
enthusiastic admirer of Beethoven's music. Anticipating a meet-
ing with the composer, he had provided himself with a letter it!
introduction to Haslinger, whose help to that end he asked. He
had also gotten a letter from Streicher, w nose acquaintance he had
made in London. He accomplished his end and wrote a long and
enthusiastic account of his intercourse with Beethoven at Baden,
whither Haslinger had accompanied him on Ids first visit.1 He
was received l>v Beethoven with extraordinary cordiality. The
composer accepted an invitation to dinner, entertained his hosl at
dinner in return, played for him on his Broadwood pianoforte after
Stein, at Stumpff's request, had restored its ruins), and at parting
gave him a print of one of his portrait sand promised to alight at bis
house if ever he came to London. Much of his conversation, which
StnmptF records, is devoted to a condemnation of the frivolity and
had musical taste of the Viennese, and excessive laudation of
everything English. "Beethoven," StumptF remarks, "had an
exaggerated opinion of London and its highly cultured inhab-
itants," and he quotes Beethoven as saying: "England stands
high in culture. In London everybody knows something and
knows it well; but the man of Vienna can only talk of eating and
drinking, and sings and pounds away at music of little significance
or of his own making." He spoke a great deal about sending his
nephew to London to make a man of him, asked questions about
the cost of living there and, in .short, gave proof that an English
visit was filling a lar^'e part of his thoughts. The incidents of
t he conclusion of the dinner which he gave to StnmptF may he told
in the hitter's words:
Beethoven now produced the small bottle. It contained the
precious wine of Tokay with which he rilled the two glasses to the brim.
'Stumpff's manuscript, which also covered the principal incidents of a trip through
Germany, after his death came into the possession "f his surviving partner, I Martin,
who permitted Thayer t.i transcribe aO <>f it relating t" Beethoven. Man} "f his
observations parallel those mad.- by Reichardt, RochDts, Schulti and other >■ i - i t »rs,
ami i !n ir repetition here would add nothing to the story "f Beethoven's I if'- and manners;
besides, tin- account is too long to !>>■ inserted in full The reader who wishes c> read all
of it is rrf.-rn-'l to the German edition . . f Thayer's biographj . V<>!. \ . page I ^-
182 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
"Now, my good German-Englishman, to your good health." We drained
the glasses, then, extending his hand, "A good journey to you and to a
meeting again in London." I beckoned to him to fill the glasses again
and hurriedly wrote in his notebook: "Now for a pledge to the welfare of
the greatest living composer, Beethoven." — I arose from my chair, he
followed my example, emptied his glass and seizing my hand said : "To-day
I am just what I am and what I ought to be, — all unbuttoned." And
now he unbosomed himself on the subject of music which had been de-
graded and made a plaything of vulgar and impudent passions. "True
music," he said, "found little recognition in this age of Rossini and his
consorts." Thereupon I took up the pencil and wrote in very distinct
letters :
"Whom do you consider the greatest composer that ever lived?"
"Handel," was his instantaneous reply; "to him I bow the knee,"
and he bent one knee to the floor.
"Mozart," I wrote.
"Mozart," he continued, "is good and admirable."
"Yes," wrote I, "who was able to glorify even Handel with his
additional accompaniments to 'The Messiah'."
"It would have lived without them," was his answer.
I continued writing. "Seb. Bach."
"Why is he dead?"
I answered immediately "He will return to life again."
"Yes, if he is studied, and for that there is now no time."
I took the liberty of writing: "As you yourself, a peerless artist in the
art of music, exalt the merits of Handel so highly above all, you must
certainly own the scores of his principal works."
"I? How should I, a poor devil, have gotten them? Yes, the
scores of 'The Messiah' and 'Alexander's Feast' went through my hands."
If it is possible for a blind man to help a cripple, and the two attain
an end which would be impossible to either one unaided, why might not
in the present case a similar result be effected by a similar cooperation?
At that moment I made a secret vow: Beethoven, you shall have the
works for which your heart is longing if they are anywhere to be found.
Stumpff relates that Beethoven's brother, who came into the
room during his visit, seemed glad to greet him and begged him
most amiably to call on him, as he desired to talk with him about a
number of things. In saying farewell Beethoven accompanied him
to the door and said: "That is my brother — have nothing to do
with him — he is not an honest man. You will hear me accused of
many wrong actions of which he has been guilty." Stumpff
returned to London on December 6. He fulfilled his vow touch-
ing the gift of Handel's works two years later.
On November 17, 1824, as the autograph attests, Beethoven
wrote a four-part canon on the words "Schwenke dich ohne
Schwanke," which he sent to Schott and Sons for publication in the
"Cacilia," where it appeared in April, 1825. There the title is
"Canon on one who was called Schwenke." The person whose
The Quartet in E-flat, Op. 127 189
name 1ms thus been perpetuated was Carl Schwenke, son of
Christian Friedrich Gottlieb Schwenke, Director of Church Music
an«l Cantor at the Johanneum In Hamburg. 01 the acquaintance-
ship between Beethoven and him, the canon is the only relic.
In tin- latter pari ol the summer Beethoven accepted a com-
mission from Diabelli for "a Sonata in F for pianoforte, four
hands." The project seems to have originated with the publisher,
who asked for such a composil ion and specified the key in a letter
dated August 7, 1824. Beethoven waited a fortnight before reply-
ing and then agreed to compose the work for a fee of 80 ducats in
gold, although a sonata for four hands was not in his line. He
mentioned the composition and the fee which he was to receive
for it in the draft for a letter to Schlesinger next year, but never
wrote the work; uor have any certain traces of it been found in the
sketchbooks.
There is only one other work which calls for attention ;h hav-
ing largely occupied Beethoven's mind this year. It is the Quar-
tet for Strings in E-flat, Op. P27. When Beethoven in -January,
lS-2:>, accepted the invitation of Prince (ialit/.in to write three
quartets for him, he had for some time been contemplating a
return to the field which he had cultivated so sueces>fulJv hut had
permitted to lie fallow after the completion of the quartet in F
minor, Op. 95, in October, 1810. lie had held out a promise for
speedy delivery of a quartet to Peterson June 5, 1822, but Peters
declined the work in his next letter, (ialit/.in sent the stipulated
fee of 50 ducats promptly to his hankers in Vienna, l>ut sub-
sequently yielded to Beethoven's request and permitted the money
to he applied to his subscription for the Mass. On March 10,
1824, Beethoven offered "a new quartet" to Schott and Son- for
50 ducats and the publishers promptly notified their acceptance of
the offer to him. \eate was informed by a letter dated March l!>
that the Quartet was finished; hut, as usual, the word was used in
a Pickwickian sense. The correspondence with Schott and Sons
sings the same tune with respeel to the Quartel that it doe- re-
garding Mass and Symphony. On May 20 Beethoven cannot
positively promise it; on July :> he is Bure thai the publishers will
receive it in six weeks; on September 1? the time of delivery is
postponed to the middle of ( October; in November to the beginning
of December; and on December 1? he says there i- -till something
to be written on it. All the works which Schott and Sons have
bought are to be delivered at one time, yet when t hey receive the
Mass and Symphony on .January l<i, 1825, the Quartel is with-
held hut promised in another week, and, after a month ha- passed,
184 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
in still another week. The Quartet is performed for the first time
by Schuppanzigh on March 6, 1825. At last Beethoven writes
to Schott and Sons on May 7, 1825: "You will have received the
Quartet by this time — it is the one promised to you." In March,
1826, its publication is announced in the "Cacilia." The auto-
graph of the first movement is dated "1824" and no doubt the
bulk of the work upon it was done in the latter part of the year,
though it must have existed at least in a fragmentary form in
Beethoven's head when he wrote to Neate in March that it was
finished.
At the close of the year Beethoven's nephew Karl is still
pursuing his philological studies at the university and living with
his uncle. During the summer his holidays are spent in the coun-
try with Beethoven, to whom he is the cause of no little anxiety,
especially when towards the end of the year he repeats his youth-
ful escapade of running away from home. Beethoven, thinking of
his foster-child's welfare and apparently made ill at ease by symp-
toms which made him apprehend that he was likely to die suddenly
of an apoplectic stroke ("like my good grandfather, whom I
resemble," he wrote), sent a letter to Dr. Bach on August 1, begging
him to draw up a formal will and reiterating his intention to make
his nephew inheritor of all his property. He also directed: "As
it is customary to make a bequest to relatives even if they are in
no wise related," that his French pianoforte be given to his
brother. "As regards Steiner, let him be content with the assur-
ance that he shall be paid in full by the end of September — for if
anything comes of the Mayence business it will not be before then
and the first 600 florins must go to two of the noblest of mankind
who, when I was almost helpless, most kindly and disinterestedly
came to my assistance with this sum." No doubt the Brentanos
were meant; Steiner had evidently been dunning him for the old
debt.
About the beginning of November, Beethoven returned again
to Vienna, where he took up a new residence — probably at No. 969
Johannesgasse, a house owned by a family named Kletschka. He
did not remain there long, however, as the other tenants complained
of his pianoforte playing and the disturbance caused by his quarrels
with his nephew and the housekeeper. He received notice to quit
and removed, presumably, to apartments in the second storey of a
house in the Kriigerstrasse, now known as No. 13.
Thoughts of a visit to England had been revived early in the
year by a letter from Neate and, while the plans of the concert were
making, it had been determined, so far as it was possible to do so,
A\ English Visit Again Contemplated 185
that the visit should be undertaken in the fall and thai Schindler
should accompany him. This Is the key to Schindler's forceful
observation after tli<' financial fiasco «>f the concert. A second
letter bearing <>n the subjecl was written by Nfeate on December
20. Consideration <>f it belongs in the next chapter.
Chapter VII
The Year 1825 — The London Philharmonic Society again —
Karl Holz — The Early Biographies — Visits of Rellstab,
Kuhlau, Smart and Others — Stephan von Breuning —
The A Minor Quartet, Op. 132.
THE letter from Neate referred to at the conclusion of the
last chapter brought with it an invitation from the Phil-
harmonic Society of London which kept the thought of an
English visit alive in Beethoven's irresolute mind for a considerable
space longer. Neate wrote in an extremely cordial vein. He had
long wished to see Beethoven in England, he said, where he believed
that his genius was appreciated more than in any other country;
and now he had received the pleasant charge from the Philhar-
monic Society to invite him to come. He made no doubt but
that in a short time he would earn enough money richly to com-
pensate him for all the inconveniences of the journey. The Phil-
harmonic Society was disposed to give him 300 guineas for con-
ducting at least one of his works at each of the Society's concerts
in the coming season, and composing a new symphony which was to
be produced during his visit but to remain the composer's pro-
perty. As an additional pecuniary inducement he held out that
Beethoven could give a concert of his own at which he would make
at least £500, besides which there were many other avenues of
profit open to him. If he were to bring along the quartets of which
he had written, they would yield him £100 more, and he might
therefore be sure of carrying back a large sum of money, enough,
indeed, to make all the remainder of his life much pleasanter than
the past had been. He told Beethoven that the new Symphony
had arrived and the first rehearsal of it set for January 17. He
hoped that Beethoven would be on hand to direct it at the first
concert of the Society and trusted that a report that a copy of it
was in Paris was not true.
Beethoven replied: He was delighted with the terms which the
Society offered, but would like to have 100 guineas more to pay for
[ 186]
I'i.an- for thk Trip t<> London 187
the expenses of the trip, it being accessary thai be buy a carriage
for the journey, and take a companion with him. He would bring
a new quartet. The rumor thai I bere was a copy <>f the Symphony
was not true; it would, indeed, be published in Germany, hut nol
before the year was pasl during which it was to remain thesociet *a
property.1 He urged thai .separate string rehearsals be held and
tli«- choruses be thoroughly studied above all, and . directions
for the reprise in the second movement, the marks for which had
been forgotten in the copy. An early reply was asked, as he had
been requested to write a large work upon which he did not wish
to begin before receiving an answi r, for while he did uol write in
the hope of gaining a fortune it was necessary thai he have assur-
ance that lie would earn a living. To tin's letter Neate replied on
February 1. He had conveyed the contents of Beethoven's letter
to the directors of the Philharmonic Society and had now regret-
fully to report that they had declined to make any change in
their offer. He was personally willing to give the advance asked,
but the individual directors were not masters of their conduct
in all things; they had to abide by the laws of the Society.
He hoped that under the circumstances Beethoven would come;
he was sure the trip would pay him, and the directors would im-
patiently await his presence at the second concert, il being already
too late for the first. There was to be another rehearsal of the
Symphony that evening.
Again Beethoven had to struggle with the question as to
whether or not he should make the journey to London. lie was
strongly urged to go by his de-ire to earn a large sum of
money. His friends pressed him with arguments in favor of the
trip. Karl admonished him to make up his mind without gh ing
heed to his insatiably sordid brother, but reminded him that
Neate had assured him he would make enough money to be free of
care for the rest of his life. .lohann did [not talk of the financial
advantage alone but said that he would benefit physically, travel
being good for the health. Apparently answering an objection of
Beet hoven's on the score of his age, Karl reminded him that Haydn
also wont to London when he was fifty years old and he was
•"not so famous." Schuppanzigh bursts out with his brusque
third person singular: "I wish he would pluck up enough courage to
make the trip; he would not regret it." Who should accompany
him" Schindler had been recommended by Neate, bu1 his name
'Th<- correspondence nowhere shown a modification "f the stipulation that the
Symphony w«j to I"- the exclusive property ->f the Society f"r is month*. But Kirch-
hoffer, Bies'i representative, knew <>f the preparations f"r the Vienna performai
188 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
does not occur in these conversations; instead, there is talk of
Schuppanzigh and young Streicher. But as it turned out, no one
was to accompany him, nobody alight with him either at the house
of Stumpff or the Hotel de la Sabloniere in Leicester Square which
Neate had recommended as a French house much visited by
foreigners. His doubts, suspicions, fears for his health, anxiety
about his nephew, his fatal indecision, prevailed ; — he would make
the visit some other time — perhaps in the fall, as he wrote to Neate.
Meanwhile would Neate aid him in the matter of the quartets?
He had finished one and was at work on a second, which would be
completed soon. Then he wrote again — on May 25; he was satis-
fied with the offer of £100 for the three quartets, was Neate agreed
to his plan of sending them to a banker to be delivered on payment
of the fee? If so he would send the first quartet at once and the
fee might be paid after he had given notice of the completion of the
other two.
The absence of Ries's name in these negotiations is explained
by the fact that he was no longer in London. He had purchased
an estate in Godesberg, near Bonn, and removed thither in 1824.
He had invited Beethoven to be his guest there and it would
seem that he was advised about the English situation. At least
in a letter, presumably written early in 1825, Beethoven deems it
incumbent to inform Ries that the present efforts to dispose of the
Ninth Symphony were tentative and that the period during which
the Philharmonic Society was to hold the work would be scrupu-
lously respected. It had never been sent to Bremen or to Paris
as had been reported. The occasion for this letter was one from
Ries requesting metronome marks for "Christus am Olberg," and
for the score of the Ninth Symphony for the approaching Lower
Rhenish Music Festival, which he had been engaged to conduct.
These Niederrheinische Musikjeste had come into existence in 1817.
The seventh meeting was to be held at Aix-la-Chapelle. Reports
of the Vienna performance had been spread and it was desired to
make the Symphony a feature of the festival scheme. In January,
Schott and Sons were asked if the score would be in print by May
and replied in the negative. Thereupon Ries was asked to write
to Beethoven for a manuscript copy. Ries did not favor the pro-
duction of the Symphony1 but wrote for the music nevertheless,
and Beethoven sent him the score of the purely instrumental
'Dr. Dciters thinks Ries's hesitation was due to fear of difficulties in the perform-
ance— a fear which was realized; it is more likely, however, as may be deduced from the
context of the letter, that Ries felt that his London friends were not being treated fairly
in the matter, Reethoven having entered upon an obligation with them to let them have
exclusive possession of the Symphony for eighteen months after the time of delivery.
The Ninth Symphony at Aix-la-Chapelle 189
movements and the parts of the finale. This was about March 12;
a week later, on March 19 (two days, by the way, before the first
performance in London), he sent the chorusmaster's score of the
finale and suggested that the instrumental score might be written
out and appended. In the earlier letter in which Beethoven had
promised to send the Symphony and in which he enclosed the
metronome marks for the "Christus am Olberg," Beethoven
offered to send also the Mass in D, an overture which he had written
"for the Philharmonic Society," and some smaller things for orches-
tra and chorus, which would enable the festival managers to give
two or three concerts instead of one. He suggested that 40
Carolines would, perhaps, not be too much as a fee. Beethoven
explained to Ries that he had only one copy of the score of the
Ninth Symphony, and as there was a concert in prospect he could
not send it; so Ries had a score made of the finale for the festival
performance. Beethoven had also sent the "Opferlied," the Over-
ture in C (Op. 115, of course), the Kyrie and Gloria of the Mass and
an Italian duet. He was still to send a grand march and chorus
(from "The Ruins of Athens"), and might add an overture which
was as yet unknown outside of Vienna, but thought he had sent
enough. The Symphony and "Christus am Olberg" were per-
formed on the second day of the festival. The time was too short
for the difficult music thoroughly to be learned and at the per-
formance portions of the slow movement and Scherzo of the Sym-
phony were "regretfully" omitted. There were 422 performers in
chorus and orchestra, and the popular reception of the music was
enthusiastic enough to enable Ries to report to Beethoven that the
performance had been a success; and he sent him 40 Louis
d'ors as a fee. Ries recognized the symphony as a work without
a fellow and told Beethoven that had he written nothing else it
would have made him immortal. "Whither will you yet lead us?"
he asked. Very naturally, Beethoven had reported the negotiations
touching a visit to England to Ries, who expressed his satisfaction
that he had not accepted the engagement and added: "If you want
to go there you must make thorough preparations. Rossini got
£2500 from the Opera alone. If Englishmen want to do an ex-
traordinary thing, they must all get together so as to make it
worth while. There will be no lack of applause and marks of
honor, but you have probably had enough of these all your life."
Mass and symphony had been delivered to Fries, the banker,
on January 16, to be forwarded to Schott and Sons. Beethoven
informed the firm by letter and took occasion to deny the report
that it had been printed elsewhere. However, he does not seem
190 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
to be entirely at ease in the matter. "Schlesinger is not to be
trusted, for he takes where he can; both Pere etjils bombarded me
for the Mass, etc., but I did not deign to answer either of them,
since after thinking them over I had cast them out long before."1
He asks their attention to his plan for a complete edition of his
works, which he would like to prepare and take a lump sum as an
honorarium. He sends two canons for publication in the journal
"Cacilia," and attempted a joke on his friend Haslinger which
exercised his mind not a little during the next month or two. This
was a skit purporting to be an outline or draft for an article on
Haslinger's career. The Schotts, either not understanding the joke
or desiring to injure a rival who had spoken ill of them to Beet-
hoven, printed the communication together with the two canons as
if they belonged together. Beethoven either felt or affected to feel
great anger at the proceeding; he sent a letter to the publishers
and demanded its publication without change or curtailment.
In this he rebuked them for printing what was intended as a
pleasantry but might easily be construed as an intentional in-
sult. He had not destined it for publication, and it was contrary
to his nature intentionally to give offence to anybody. He had
never resented anything that had been said about him as an artist,
but he felt differently about things which affected him as a man.
Haslinger was a respected old friend and he had thought to
heighten the effect of the joke by suggesting that his consent to the
publication be obtained. The printing was an abuse of the pri-
vileges of private correspondence, especially as the canons printed,2
being set forth as a supplement to the skit, thereby became inex-
plicably incongruous. He would have a care that such a thing
should not occur again. Whether or not the communication was
ever printed does not appear; neither does it appear that Beethoven
took the matter so greatly to heart as his letter was calculated to
make the public believe, had it been printed. In August he wrote
to his new friend Karl Holz: "I hear with amazement that the
Mayence street-boys really abused a joke! It is contemptible;
I assure you it was not at all my intention. What I meant was
to have Castelli write a poem on these lines under the name of the
musical Tobias, which I would set to music. But since it has so
happened, it must be accepted as a dispensation from heaven.
It will form a companion-piece to Goethe's Bardt sans compa-
1Had he wholly forgotten the letter in which he offered Schlesinger the Mass in 1822
and said that it would grieve him very much if he could not give him "just this particular
work"?
:The canons were those on Hoffmann and Schwenke.
A Joke on Haslingeb Mis< auhies 191
raison with all other author-. But I believe Tobias has wronj
you a little, etc., — Voila it i- better to he revenged than to tall
into the maw of a monster.1 I can't shed tears over it but must
laugh like—." To hi- nephew he wrote: "It was not righl for
May em -e todoa thing like that, but a- it is done it will do no harm.
The times demand strong men to castigate these petty, tricky,
mi -era Me little fellows"; and then, as if repenting him of the sound-
ing phrase, he wrote in the margin: "much as my heart rebels
against doing a man harm; besides it was only a joke and I never
thought of having it printed." It would seem t hat Haslinger must
have known of the skit before it was sent to Schott, for in a letter
of February .">, Beethoven suggested to the firm, ;i- a joke. to
ask Haslinger for the "romantic biography'1 which Beethoven
hail written of him, and added: "That is t he way to handle this fel-
low, a heartless Viennese, who is the one who advised menol to deal
with you. Silentium!" And he describes Steiner as a "rascallv
fellow and skinflint," and Haslinger as a "weakling" whom he made
useful to himself in some things. Haslinger may have felt in-
censed at the publication, hut he eventually accepted it in an
amiable spirit and it did not lead to any rupture of friend-hip
between tin- men.
An amusing illustration of how Beethoven could work him-
self into a rage even when alone is preserved at tin1 Beethoven
Museum in Bonn, in the shape of some extraordinary flosses on a
letter fnnn a copyist named Wolanek, who was in his employ in
the spring of the year. Wolanek was a Bohemian. Beethoven
had railed against him whenever sending corrections to a publisher
or apologizing for delays, and it is not difficult to imagine what the
poor fellow had to endure from the composer's voluble tongue and
fecund imagination in the invention and application of epithets.
In delivering some manuscripts by messenger some time before
Ka-ter, Wolanek ventured a defense of his dignity in a letter which,
though couched in polite phrase, was nevertheless decidedly
ironical and cutting. He said that he was inclined to overlook
Beethoven's conduct towards him with a smile; since there were
so many dissonances in t he ideal world of tones, why not al-o in the
world of reality? For him there was comfort in t he reflection that
if Beethoven had been copyist to "those celebrated artists, Mo/art
and Haydn," he would have received similar treatment. He re-
queued that he he not associated with tho.-e wretehes of eopyi-t-
'Tlu- remark i- meaningless and iras made only for the sake <>f :i play on words -
Rarhe ami Rachen. Beethoven professed friendship t.> Haslinger t<. the end, though be
lampooned bim in private.
192 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
who were willing to be treated as slaves simply for the sake of a live-
lihood, and concluded by saying that nothing that he had done
would cause him to blush in the slightest degree in the presence of
Beethoven. It did not suffice Beethoven to dismiss the man from his
employ ; such an outcome seemed anticipated in the letter. He must
make him feel that his incompetency was wholly to blame and
realize how contemptible he looked in the eyes of the composer.
The reference to Mozart and Haydn was particularly galling. Beet-
hoven read the letter and drew lines across its face from corner to
corner. Then in letters two inches long he scrawled over the
writing the words: "Dummer, Eingebildeter, Eselhafter Kerl"
("Stupid, Conceited, Asinine Fellow"). That was not enough.
There was a wide margin at the bottom of the sheet, just large
enough to hold Beethoven's next ebullition: "Compliments for
such a good-for-nothing, who pilfers one's money? — better to pull
his asinine ears!" Then he turned the sheet over. A whole page
invited him — and he filled it, margins and all. "Dirty Scribbler!
Stupid Fellow! Correct the blunders which you have made in
your ignorance, insolence, conceit and stupidity — this would be
more to the purpose than to try to teach me, which is as if a Sow
were to try to give lessons to Minerva!" "Do YOU do honor
to Mozart and Haidn by never mentioning their names." "It
was decided yesterday and even before then not to have you write
any more for me."
The E-flat Quartet was now finished and about to be performed
by Schuppanzigh and his companions. Beethoven was greatly
concerned about the outcome and, as if at once to encourage and
admonish them, he drafted a document in which all pledged them-
selves to do their best and sent it to them for signature. They
obeyed, Linke adding to his name the words: "The Grand Master's
accursed violoncello." and Holz: "The last — but only in signing."
The performance took place on March 6, and the result was dis-
appointing. The music was not understood either by the players
or the public and was all but ineffective. Schuppanzigh was held
responsible and his patience must have been severely taxed by
Beethoven's upbraidings and his determination to have an im-
mediate repetition by other players. Schuppanzigh defended
himself as vigorously as possible and was particularly vexed be-
cause Beethoven cited his brother's opinion of the performance — ■
that of a musical ignoramus. He wanted to play the Quartet a
second time, but told Beethoven that he had no objections to the
work being handed over to Bbhm; yet he protested with no little
energy, that the fault of the fiasco was not his individually, as
First Performances of the E-flat Quartet 193
Beethoven had been told. II<- could easily master the technical
difficulties, but it was hard to arrive at the spirit of the work: the
ensemble was faulty, because of this fact and too few rehearsals.
Beethoven decided thai the next bearing should be had from Btthm,
and though Schuppanzigh had acquiesced, he barbored a grievance
against the composer for some time. Bdhm had been leader of the
quartet concerts in Vienna during Schuppanzigh's long absence.
II.- has left an account of the incident, in which he plainly says
that Schuppanzigh's attitude toward the work was not sympa-
thetic and that lie had wearied of the rehearsals, wherefore at the
performance it made but a succes d'esHme. Beethoven -cut for
him (Bdhm) and curtly said: ''You must play my Quartet"
and the business was settled; objections, questionings, doubts were
of no avail against Beethoven's will. The Quartet was newly
studied under Beethoven's own eyes, a circumstance which added
to the severity of the rehearsals, for, though he could not bear a
tone, Beethoven watched the players keenly and detected even the
slightest variation in tempo or rhythm from the movement of the
hows. Bolmi tells a story in illustration of this:
At the close of the last movement of the quartet there occurred a
meno vivace,* which seemed to me to weaken the general effect. At the
rehearsal, therefore, I advised that the original tempo he maintained,
which was done, to the betterment of the effect. Beethoven, crouched in
a corner, heard nothing, hut watched with strained attention. After the
last St roke of the how s he said, laconically "Let it remain no," went to the
desks and crossed out the meno vivace in the four part-.
The Quartet was played twice by Bdhm and his fellows at a
morning concert in a coffee-house in the Prater, late in March or
early in April, and was enthusiastically received. Steiner, who
had attended one or more of tln> rehearsals, was particularly en-
raptured by it and at once offered to buy it for publication for 60
ducats a fact which Beethoven did not fail to report to Schott
ami Sons when he sent the manuscript to them. Subsequently
Mayseder also played it at a private concert in the house of Demb-
scher, an official or agent of the war department of the Austrian
Government, and this performance BEolz described asa reparation
d'honneur. Beethoven was now completely satisfied and. no
douht, went to work on its successor with a contented mind.
It i^ now become accessary to pay attention to the new friend
of Beethoven whose name has been mentioned the successor
of Schindler, as he had been of Oliva, in the office of factotum in
'The mark i> Allegro eon moto in 1 1 » * - Complete Edition; Alio, eommodo in others.
Joarhim '> • -> 1 i t i < > n n'V('> •'"' fowimodo in parenthesis,
194 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
ordinary. This was Karl Holz, a young man (he was born in
1798) who occupied a post in the States' Chancellary of Lower
Austria. He had studied music with Gloggl in Linz and was so
capable a violinist that, on Schuppanzigh's return from Russia in
1823, he became second in the latter's quartet. He seems to have
come into closer contact with Beethoven early in the spring of 1825,
probably when, having to conduct a performance of the B-flat
Symphony at a concert in the Ridotto Room, he asked an audience
of the composer in order that he might get the tempi for that work.
Though not a professional musician, he gave music lessons, later
occasionally conducted the Concerts spirituels and eventually
became the regular director of these affairs. Emboldened by the
kindness with which he was first received he gradually drew
nearer to the composer and in August, 1825, an intimate friendship
seems imminent, as is indicated by Beethoven's remark in a letter
to his nephew: "It seems as if Holz might become a friend." He
was good at figures, a quality which made him particularly ser-
viceable to Beethoven (who was woefully deficient in arithmetic) l
at a time when he was dealing with foreign publishers and there
was great confusion in money values and rates of exchange. He
was also a well-read man, a clever talker, musically cultured, a
cheery companion, and altogether an engaging person. All these
qualities, no less than the fact that he was strong and indepen-
dent in his convictions and fearless in his proclamation of them,
recommended him to Beethoven, and he does not seem to have
hesitated to take advantage of the fact that he entered the inner
circle of Beethoven's companions at a time when the composer had
begun to feel a growing antipathy to Schindler. He promptly
embraced the opportunity which his willing usefulness brought
him, to draw close to the great man, to learn of him and also to
exhibit himself to the world as his confidential friend. He was
not obsequious, and this pleased Beethoven despite the fact that
he himself was not indisposed to play upon his friends for his
own purposes "like instruments," as he himself once confessed.
In a short time Holz made himself indispensable and acquired
great influence over the composer. He aided him in the copying
of his works, looked into the affairs of Nephew Karl and reported
upon them, advised him in his correspondence, and directed his
finances at a time when he was more than ordinarily desirous to
acquire money so that he might leave a competency on his death
xThere are pitiful proofs in the Conversation Books that simple sums in addition
were more than he could master and that on his deathbed he studied the mysteries of
multiplication.
Karl IIolz Supplants S< iiindler 195
to his foster-son. In time Beethoven came to entrust weighty
matters to his decision, even the choice of publishers and his
dealings with them. His prepossessing address, heightened by
his independence of speech, made it less easy to contradict him
than Schindler. Moreover, the recorded conversations -how that
he was witty, that he had a wider outlook on affairs than Beet-
hoven's other musical advisers, that his judgments were quickly
reached ami unhesitatingly pronounced. His speeches are not
free from frivolity nor always from flattery, but he lived at a
time and among a people accustomed to extravaganl c >mpli-
ments and there can be no doubt of his reverence for Beet-
hoven's genius. Beethoven could endure a monstrous deal of
lip-service, as all his friends knew, and surely took no offence
when Holz said to him: "I am no flatterer, hut I assure you that
the mere thought of Beethovenian music makes me glad, first of
all, that I am alive!"
We owe much of our knowledge of the relations between
Beethoven and Holz to Schindler's statements as they appear in
his biography,1 two articles which appeared in the "Kblnische Zei-
tung" in 1845, and among the glosses on the Conversation Book.
But many of his utterances show ill-feeling, which it is not unfair
to trace to a jealousy dating back to the time when IIolz crowded
Beethoven's "Secretary sans salary" out of Beethoven's service
and good graces. There was no open rupture between Beethoven
and Schindler. but a feeling of coolness and indifference which grew
with the advancement of the younger man in the favor of the com-
poser. There is considerably more to be read between Schindler's
lines than on their surface, and because of their personal equation
thev ought to be received with caution. True, he does not deny
that IIolz was possessed of excellent artistic capacities, that he was
well educated and entirely respectable as a man. He describes him
a> a prime specimen of the Viennese "Phseacians" of whom Beet-
hoven was wont to speak with supreme contempt; and there is
ample evidence that IIolz was indeed given to the pleasures w Inch
Beethoven attributed to the denizens of Scheria. But the re-
sults of Beethoven's fellowship with a cheery companion were
certainly not so great as Schindler says, nor so evil ami grievous as
he intimates. His earlier insinuation, that in order to exhibit his
influence to the public IIolz led Beethoven into company and
practices which he would otherwise have avoided, among them
to th«- frequenting of taverns and to excessive wine-bibbing, were
subsequently developed into an accusation that Holz had spread
■Vol. II. i>. in: ei
196 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
a report that the composer had contracted dropsy from vinous
indulgence. Beethoven was accustomed to drink wine from youth
up, and also to the companionship which he found in the inns and
coffee houses of Vienna, which are not to be confounded with the
groggeries with which straitlaced Americans and Englishmen are
prone to associate the words. It was, moreover, undoubtedly a
charitable act to drag him out of his isolation into cheerful com-
pany. We know that he was so accustomed to take wine at his
meals that his physicians found it difficult to make him obey their
prohibition of wine and heating spices when he was ill; but that
he was more given to wine-drinking in 1825 and 1826 than at any
other period, we learn only from Schindler, whose credibility as a
witness on this point is impeached by the fact that, as he himself
confesses, he seldom saw Beethoven between March 1825 and
August 1826. Nor is it true, as Schindler asserts, that Beethoven's
habits now cost him the loss of old friendships. On the contrary,
it was in this period that the cordial relations between him and
Stephan von Breuning, which had been interrupted many years
before, were restored and became peculiarly warm. Czerny told
Jahn that Beethoven's hypochondria led to many estrangements;
but when he was ill, Count Lichnowsky, Haslinger and Piringer
were visitors at his bedside, and not even Schindler seems to have
been able to name a man whose sympathy the composer had sacri-
ficed. His life was solitary; but not more than it had been for
years.1 In Gerhard von Breuning's recollections, as recorded in
"Aus dem Schwarzspanierhause," there is scarcely a mention of
Holz and none at all of the dangers into which Beethoven is alleged
to have been led by him.
Beethoven's letters bear witness to the fond regard in which he
held him. His name, which in German signifies wood and in the
literature of the church also cross, provided Beethoven with a
welcome chance to indulge his extravagant fondness for punning.
Thus in the composer's jovial address-book, not distinguished by
reverence for anything sacred or profane, Holz becomes "Best
Alahoghany," ''Best Splinter from the Cross of Christ," "Best lig-
num cruris." The tone of the letters is always respectful, and once
he begs his friend to forget an undescribed happening. Holz had
his entire confidence, and when the great castrophe of 1826 came,
Holz was the strongest prop upon which he leaned. Schindler
'Beethoven's table habits were thus described by Holz to Jahn: "He was a stout
eater of substantial food; he drank a great deal of wine at table, but could stand a great
deal, and in merry company he sometimes became tipsy (bekneipte er sick). In the
evening he drank beer or wine, generally the wine of Vbslau or red Hungarian. When he
had drunk he never composed. After the meal he took a walk."
Holz Authorized to Write a Biography 197
says that Beethoven was godfather to Holz's child, but that
is plainly an error; Holz was married in the early winter of 1826,
only three or four months before Beethoven's death. The extent
to which lie lia<l won Beethoven's confidence and Beethoven's high
opinion of his character and ability are attested by the following
document, which was signed only a short time after the intimacy
began:
With pleasure I give my friend, Karl Holz, the assurance which has
been asked of me, that I consider him competent t<> write my eventual
biography, assuming that such a thing should l>e desired, and 1 repose in
him the fullesl confidence that he will give to the world without distor-
tion all that I have communicated to him for this purpose.
Vienna, August 30, 1826. Ludwig van Beethoven.
There can be no question as to the sincerity of the desire which
finds utterance in this declaration. It was made in the midst of a
period when Holz was of incalculable service to him, and he had
every reason to believe that Holz had both the ability and the
disposition to write the truthful, unvarnished account of his life
which he wanted the world to have. Schindler says that he sub-
sequently changed his mind, said that the document was the re-
sult of a surprise sprung upon him in the confusion of occurrence-,
and asked von Breuning to request Holz to return it. Breuning
declined to do so, says Schindler, and Beethoven, not having
courage himself to make the request, contented himself with
doubting the validity of a paper which was written only in pencil.
On his deathbed, Schindler continues,1 Beethoven, in answer to a
question directly put to him by Breuning, unhesitatingly de-
clared that Rochlitz was his choice as biographer; and at a later
date, realizing that death was approaching, he requested Breuning
and Schindler to gather up his papers, make such use of them as
could be done in strict truth, and to write to Rochlitz. Two
months after Beethoven had passed away Breuning followed him,
and Schindler was left alone to fulfil the composer's wish. lb
wrote to Rochlitz, who regretfully declined the pious task on the
ground that the state of his health did not permit him to under-
take so large a work. Thereupon Schindler let the matter rest,
waiting for time and circumstances to determine the course which
lie should follow.
Stephan von Breuning had informed his brother-in-law. Dr.
Wegeler, of Beethoven's charge with reference to the papers, and
Wegeler had sent Schindler notes on Beethoven's boyhood years
and his life in Bonn. In 1838 Schindler visited Wegeler in
'See the preface to his biography.
198 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
Coblenz and consulted with him about the biography which,
as Wegeler knew, Rochlitz had been asked, but declined, to
write. Wegeler thereupon suggested that Schindler, he and
Ferdinand Ries collaborate in the writing. Ries was consulted and
agreed, but work had scarcely been begun before differences arose
between Schindler and Ries as to the propriety of giving to the
world matters which Schindler (who insisted that Ries was paying
a grudge which he owed his erstwhile teacher) thought of no in-
terest or too offensive for publication. Ries contended that to tell
the whole truth about great men was right and could do them no
injury. Schindler says he then persuaded Wegeler to continue the
collaboration without Ries, but, delays resulting from correspon-
dence with persons in Vienna, Wegeler became impatient and in
October, 1844, x announced that his notes were about to be pub-
lished. They did not appear, however, and Schindler tried again to
work in company with Ries; but the latter persisted in his purpose,
and the project fell through a second time. This was in 1837, and
the next year, shortly after Ries's sudden death, appeared the "Bio-
graphische Notizen liber Ludwig van Beethoven" by Wegeler and
Ries. In the remarks with which the men prefaced their reminis-
cences there is no reference to the projected collaboration described
by Schindler, nor can it truthfully be said that anything in Ries's
observations bears out Schindler's charge that he felt a grudge
against Beethoven and sought to feed it by telling unpleasant
truths about him.
To continue the story of these early biographies: Schindler
now asked counsel of Dr. Bach, who advised him to betake him-
self to the task of writing the life of Beethoven alone. He did so,
and his book appeared in 1840. Holz never made use of the
imprimatur which he had received from Beethoven, but in 1843
formally relinquished his authorization to Dr. Gassner, of Carls-
ruhe, promising to deliver all the material which he held into his
hands and to use his influence in the procurement of dates from
authentic sources, "so that the errors in the faulty biographies
which have appeared up to the present time may be corrected."
That this was a fling at Schindler's book is evident from a docu-
ment2 in which, on November 1, 1845, Holz, at that time director
of the Concerts spirituels in Vienna, declares that the forthcoming
biography (by Gassner) would "not derive its dates from ficti-
tious or stolen conversation books, and unsophisticated evidence
will also give more intimate information about Mr. Schindler."
'The date is Schindler's, but a palpable error; it may have been 1834.
2It was among Thayer's papers.
Strict Physu ians and an Unrt i.v Patient 199
Twice di<l Schindler attack Holz in the "Kolnische Zeitung" in
1845 and once, it would appear, Holz answered him, but anony-
mously. The subject need not be continued here, however; it has
a bearing only on the credibility of the two men in the discussion of
each other. Gassner's biography never appeared.
Perhaps it was characteristic of Beethoven, and also of the
friends who came to his help in need, that though Schindler had
been written down in his bad books before Holz established him-
self in his confidence, and though there was never a serious es-
trangement between Beethoven and Holz, it was Schindler upon
whom Beethoven leaned most strongly for help when the days of
physical dissolution arrived— Schindler, not Holz. The hitter's
devotion had either undergone a cooling process or been interfered
with by his newly assumed domestic obligations. But Schindler's
.statement that he was "dismissed" in December, 1826, is an exag-
geration, to say the least; Beethoven wrote him a letter a month
before he died, asking his help in collecting money from the Arch-
duke. Holz died on November !), 1858. He had been helpful to
Otto Jahn when the latter was gathering material for a life of
Beethoven.1
The E-flat Quartet had been successfully brought forward, a
pause had been reached in the correspondence with Schotl and Sons
and Xeate, a summer home for Beethoven was in prospect, and con-
siderable progress had been made in the draft for a new quartet
designed for Prince Galitzin, when an illness befell Beethoven
which kept him within doors, and for a portion of the time in
bed, from about the middle of April to the beginning of May,
1825. Beethoven had been told by his physician that he was in
danger of an inflammation of the bowels, and as such Beethoven
described his ailment in letters to his brother and to Schott and
Sons. Dr. Standenheimer had been in attendance on him be-
fore and had insisted upon strict obedience to his prescriptions.
Beethoven now called in Dr. Brannhofer, who proved to be even
less considerate of the patient's wilfulness; he was so hhmt and
forceful in his demands for obedience that Beethoven was some-
what awed, and beneficial results followed. Were it possible for
the readers of these pages who are curious on such subjects to
consult the Conversation Books of this period, they would there
find interesting information as to diagnosis and treatment in the
case of the distinguished patient. Dr. Brannhofer did not want to
"torment" Beethoven long with medicines, but lie gave orders for a
strict diet. "No wine; no cotfee; no spices of any kind. I'll
'Notes of Juhn'.s interview! with Soli were among Thayer*i papera.
200
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
arrange matters with the cook." — "Patience, a sickness does not
disappear in a day." "I shall not trouble you much longer with
medicine, but you must adhere to the diet; you'll not starve on
it." "You must do some work in the daytime so that you can
sleep at night. If you want to get entirely well and live a long
time, you must live according to nature. You are very liable
to inflammatory attacks and were close to a severe attack of
inflammation of the bowels; the predisposition is still in your
body. I'll wager that if you take a drink of spirits you'll be lying
weak and exhausted on your back inside of an hour." The
doctor inspired him with courage and hope, and admonished him
to keep quiet and be patient. In dry weather he was to take walks,
but even after going to Baden he must take no baths so long as
the weather remained damp and symptoms of his illness remained.
Beethoven went to Baden early in May and probably within
a week of his arrival he reported his condition to Dr. Braunhofer
in a semi-humorous manner by writing down a dialogue between
doctor and patient in which the latter suggests desired changes in
his treatment. He asks for something strengthening to help him
get to his desk, thinks that he might be permitted to drink white
wine and water, as the "mephitic beer" revolts him; he is still
very weak, expectorates blood freely "probably from the bronchial
tubes," etc. The physician had asked for a few notes written by
his own hand as a souvenir. Beethoven complies with the request
by sending him a canon written while taking a walk on May 11.
It looks like a sign of mingled apprehension and returning spirits :
Dok - tor sperrt das Thor dem Tod, No - te hilft auch aus der
Close the door 'gainst Death, I plead, Doc- tor, notes will help in
Noth.
need.
m
i>
^^
TT
a
Dok - tor sperrt das Thor dem Tod, No - te
Close the door 'gainst Death, I plead, Doc- tor,
hilft auch aus der Noth.
notes will help in need.
On May 17, he reports to his nephew that he is beginning to do
considerable work.
It was while Beethoven was ill in Vienna that Ludwig Rell-
stab made several visits to him, of which he has left enthusiastic
reports.1 He was 26 years old at the time and had made a mark
as essayist and poet; the chief object of his journey to Vienna from
Berlin, on which he set out on March 21, was to see the composer.
He reached the Austrian capital in the last days of March or the
^'Aus meinem Leben," IJerlin, 18G1, Vol. II, p. 24 et seq.
LUDWIG R.ELL8TAB VlSITS BEETHOVEN 201
first days of April. His account of the meeting is like many others
except that it is written with literary elegance, albeit with that
excessive fervor, that tfberschwdnglickkeii, which is characteristic
of German hero-worshippers. Zelter had given him a letter of
introduction and had written that Rellstab wanted to write the
libretto of an opera to be set by the composer, and this was the
fir>t subject broached after Beethoven had warmly greeted his
visitor and expressed delight with Zelter's letter. Beethoven i-.
pleased at the prospect of getting an opera-book from Rellstab:
It is bo difficult to get a good poem. Grillparzer promised me one.
He has already made our for me but we can not come to an understanding
with each other. I want one thing, lie wants another. You'll have
trouble with me!. . . I care little what genre the works belong to, BO the
material he attractive to me. But it must he Something which I can
take np with sincerity and love. I could not compose operas like "Don
Juan" and "Figaro." They are repugnant to me. I could not have
chosen such subjects; they are too frivolous for me!
Rellstab had had it in mind to write an opera-hook for Weber
and had pondered over many subjects, and he now gave a list of
these to Beethoven— "Attila," "Antigone," "Belisarius," "Ores-
tes" and others. Beethoven read the names thoughtfully and
then apologized for the trouble he was causing his visitor. Rellstab,
seeing an expression of weariness in his face, took his departure,
after saying that lie would send him a specimen of his handiwork.
En a ( lonversal ion Hook used in the middle of April there is further
talk between Rellstab and Beethoven about opera, hut the notes,
which are fragmentary, give no indications of Beethoven's views.
The most interesting incident of the meetings occurred at a sub-
sequent visit. Rellstab had told that lie had been deeply moved
I he dared not express a more specific opinion on the subject , being
in doubt himself) l>y the Quartet in E-flat, which he had heard per-
formed twice in succession.1 He continues:
Beethoven read and remained silent ; we looked at each other mutely,
hut a world of emotions Burged in my breast. Beethoven, too, was un-
mistakably moved. He arose and went to the window, where he re-
mained Standing beside the pianoforte. To see him so near the inurn-
ment ga\ e me an idea which I had never before dared to harbor. If In — -
Oh! he needed only to turn half way around and he would he Facing the
keyboard — if he would hut sit down and give expression to his feelings
in tones! Killed with a timid, blissful hope, I approached him and laid
my hand upon the instrument. It was an English pianoforte by Broad-
wood. I struck a chord lightly with my right hand in order to induce
Beethoven to turn around; hut he seemed not to have heard it. A few
'It iraa probably tin- performance by B"tiuo.
202 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
moments later, however, he turned to me, and, seeing my eyes fixed upon
the instrument he said: "That is a beautiful pianoforte! I got it as a
present from London. Look at these names." He pointed to the cross-
beam over the keyboard. There I saw several names which I had not
before noticed — Moscheles, Kalkbrenner, Cramer, Clementi, Broadwood
himself. . . . "That is a beautiful gift," said Beethoven looking at me,
"and it has such a beautiful tone," he continued and moved his hands
towards the keys without taking his eyes off me. He gently struck a
chord. Never again will one enter my soul so poignant, so heartbreak-
ing as that one was! He struck C major with the right hand and B as a
bass in the left, and continued his gaze uninterruptedly on me, repeated
the false chord several times in order to let the sweet tone of the instru-
ment reverberate; and the greatest musician on earth did not hear the
dissonance! Whether or not Beethoven noticed his mistake I do not
know; but when he turned his head from me to the instrument he played
a few chords correctly and then stopped. That was all that I heard from
him directly.
Rellstab had planned a short excursion to Hungary and then
intended to leave Vienna for his home. Fearful that he might not
see Beethoven on his return to the city he went to him to say
farewell :
Beethoven spoke very frankly and with feeling. I expressed my
regret that in all the time of my sojourn in Vienna I had heard, except one
of his symphonies and a quartet, not a single composition of his in con-
cert; why had "Fidelio" not been given? This gave him an opportunity
to express himself on the subject of the taste of the Vienna people.
"Since the Italians (Barbaja) have gotten such a strong foothold here
the best has been crowded out. For the nobility, the chief thing at the
theatre is the ballet. Nothing can be said about their appreciation of
art ; they have sense only for horses and dancers. We have always had
this state of things. But this gives me no concern; I want only to write
that which gives me joy. If I were well it would be all the same to me!"
On his departure Beethoven, who had been absent from his
lodgings when Rellstab called for his final leavetaking, sent him a
letter to Steiner and Co., containing a canon on the words from
Matthison's "Opferlied" of which he had made use on at least
one earlier occasion ("Das Schone zu dem Guten").
Karl Gottfried Freudenberg, a young musician who after-
wards became Head Organist at Breslau and wrote a book of
reminiscences entitled "Erinnerungen eines alten Organisten,"
visited Beethoven in July of the year and has left a record which
is none the less interesting because its lack of literary flourish is
offset by succinct reports of the great composer's estimate of
some of his contemporaries, and his views on ecclesiastical music.
Beethoven, according to Freudenberg, described Rossini as a
"talented and a melodious composer; his music suits the frivolous
A\ Utterance on Ecclesiastk m. Music 203
and sensuou> spirit of the time, and bis productivity is such
that he needs only a> many weeks as the Germans do years to write
an opera." He said of Spontini: "There is much good in him; he
understands theatrical effects and the musical aoises of warfare
thoroughly"; ol Spohr: "He is too rich in dissonances, pleasure in
his music is marred by his chromatic melody"; of Bach: "His
name ought not to be Bach (brook) but Ocean, because <>f his
infinite and inexhaustible wealth of combinations and harmonies.
He was the ideal of an organist." This led Beethoven int.. the
subject of music for the church. "I, too, played t he organ a great
deal in my youth," he said, "hut my nerves could not stand the
power of the gigantic instrument. I place an organist who is
master of his instrument, first among virtuosi." Pure church
music, lie remarked, ought to he performed only by voices, unless
the text he a Gloria or something of the kind. For this reason he
preferred Palestrina to all other composers of church music, hut it
was folly to imitate him unless one had his genius and his religious
beliefs; moreover, it was practically impossible for singers to-day
to sing the long-sustained notes of this music in a cantabile manner.
Karl August Reichardt, afterwards Court Organist in Alten-
burg, S. M. de Boer, a member of the Academy of Fine Arts in
Amsterdam, Carl Czerny, Friedrich Kuhlau, Sir George Smart
and Moritz Schlesinger were among the visitors to Baden in the
summer to whose meetings with the composer the Conversation
Books hear always interesting and sometimes diverting witness.
Reichardt \s visit seems to have been brief, and it is safe to presume
that the young man received scant encouragement to remain Ion::.
for his talk was chiefly about himself, his desire to get advice ;i- to
a good teacher and to have Beethoven look at some of his music.
The man from Holland, who probably had usi-d his predicate as a
member of the Academy which had elected Beethoven an honorary
member to gain an audience, must have diverted the composer with
his broken German, which looks no more comical in the Conver-
sa1 ion Book than it must have sounded; but a canon wit hout words
which he carried away with him may be said to hear wit uesS to the
fact that he made a good impression on Beethoven, to whom he
gave information concerning the state of music in the Dutch
country. C/.erny, apparently, was urged by his erstwhile teacher
to get an appointment and to compose in the larger forms. Beet-
hoven was curious to learn how much ( '/erny received for his
compositions and ( '/erny told him that he attached do importance
to Ill's pieces, because ],r scribbled them down SO easily, and that
he took music from the publishers in exchange.
204 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
The visit of the Danish composer, flautist and director,
Friedrich Kuhlau, led to a right merry feast, for a description of
which Seyfried found a place in the appendix of his "Studien."
That the boundaries of nice taste in conversation and story-telling
may have been strained a bit is an inference from the fact that
several pages of the Conversation Book containing the recorded
relics of the affair are missing. After a promenade through the
Helenenthal in which Beethoven amused himself by setting all
manner of difficult tasks in hill-climbing, the party sat down to
dinner at an inn. Champagne flowed freely, and after the return
to Beethoven's lodgings red Voslauer, brought from his closet
or cellar, did its share still further to elevate the spirits of the
feasters. Beethoven seems to have held his own in the van of
the revel. Kuhlau improvised a canon on B-a-c-h, to which Beet-
hoven replied with the same notes as an opening motive and the
words "Kiihl, nicht lau" ("Cool, not lukewarm") — a feeble play
on the Danish musician's name, but one which served to carry the
music. Beethoven wrote his canon in the Conversation Book.
The next day Kuhlau confessed to Schlesinger that he did not
know how he had gotten home and to bed: Beethoven's post-
festal reflections may be gathered from the letter which accom-
panied a copy of the canon which he sent to Kuhlau by the hands
of Holz:
Baden, September 3, 1825.
I must admit that the champagne went too much to my head also,
yesterday, and that I was compelled again to make the experience that
such things retard rather than promote my capacities; for easy as it
generally is for me to meet a challenge on the instant, I do not at all
remember what I wrote yesterday.
In handing over letter and canon to Holz for delivery he
wrote to him that he had scarcely reached home before it occurred
to him that he might have made a dreadful mess of it on the day
before.
Schlesinger, of Paris, son of the Berlin publisher, was a very
insistent as well as persistent courtier, with an auspicious eye to
business at all times. He wanted to purchase the two new quar-
tets and did succeed in getting one of them, and he aroused Beet-
hoven's suspicions by the pertinacity with which he pleaded for
permission to attend a rehearsal of the second; the pride of the
composer revolted, evidently, at the thought that a publisher
should ask to hear a work of his which he purposed buying. But
Schlesinger, who had Nephew Karl as his advocate at court in all
things, made it appear that he was eager only for the inestimable
A Garrulous Parisian Publishes i205
privilege of hearing the new works of the master, and put in a
plea that he might also hear the Quartet which had already
been sold to Sehott and Son^. IIolz discloses a distrust of him
very plainly and misses no occasion to warn Beethoven against
entangling alliances with the Parisian publisher. Schlesinger
wins his way to a very familiar footing with Beethoven, going BO
far once as to ask him if a report which he had heard that Beetho-
ven had wanted to marry the pianist, Cibbini, Was true.1 The old
page does not tell us what answer Beethoven gave, hut Schlesinger,
who had disclosed his own heartwounds and railed against t tit-
fair sex because of his experiences, tells the composer that he shall
be the first to make the bride's acquaintance should he ever
married. Schlesinger appears desirous to become a sort of dealer
en gros in Beethoven's products; he would like the two new Quar-
tets (in A minor and B-flat major); he will publish a Complete
Edition and begin with the chamber pieces, to which ends he wants
still another quartet and three quintets; he seeks to awaken a
literary ambition in the writer of notes — the journal published by
the Schlesingers in Berlin will be glad to republish whatever
Beethoven may write to the Mayenee journal about the joke on
Haslinger, and Beethoven ought really to write some essays— on
what a symphony and an overture ought to be and on the art of
fugue, of which he was now the sole repository. He knows how
to approach genius on its most susceptible side. Beethoven must
go to England, where he is so greatly admired; he reports that
Cherubini had said to his pupils at the Conservatoire in Paris:
"The greatest musical minds that ever lived or ever will live, are
Beethoven and Mozart." At dinner, at the suggestion of the same
garrulous talker, the company drink the healths of Goethe and
Cherubini. Again Schlesinger urges Beethoven to go to London:
"I repeat again that if you will go to England for three months I
will engage that, deducting your travelling expenses, you will make
1000 pounds, or c2.5,000 florins W. W. at least, if you give only two
concerts and produce some new music. . . The Englishmen are
proud enough to count themselves fortunate it' Beethoven would
only be satisfied with them." When the toast to Cherubini is
drunk, Schlesinger takes occasion to satisfy the curiosity of Beet-
hoven touching the status of the composer whom he most admired
among living men.
'Antonia Cibbini, nSe Koseluch, was among those who attended the performance
of the Quartet. In tin- conversation which followed, Karl tells his undo: "'I'll'- Cibbini
looked to rue like n bacchante when the (Quartet irafl played; it pleased her to
greatly."
206 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
Cherubini has now received the title of Baron from the government
as well as the order of the Legion of Honor. It is a proof of the recogni-
tion of his talent, for he did not seek it. Napoleon, who appreciated him
highly, once found fault with one of his compositions and Cherubini
retorted: "Your Majesty knows no more about it than I about a battle."
Napoleon's conduct was contemptible. Because of the words that I
have quoted he took away all of Cherubini's offices and he had nothing
to live on. Nevertheless, he did an infinite amount of good for popular
culture. If Napoleon, instead of becoming an insatiable world-con-
queror, had remained First Consul, he would have been one of the
greatest men that ever existed.
Schlesinger had his way about hearing the new Quartet (in
A minor, Op. 132), for it was rehearsed at his rooms on Wednesday,
September 7, preparatory to the performance, which was to take
place at the tavern "Zum wilden Mann" at noon on September 9.
Beethoven wanted the players to come to him at Baden for the
final rehearsal, but that was found to be impracticable. On the
day after the meeting at Schlesinger's, however, Holz went out to
Beethoven to tell him all about it. He reported that Wolfmayr
"at the Adagio wept like a child?" and that "Tobias scratched
himself behind the ears when he heard the Quartet; he certainly
regrets that the Jew Steiner did not take it."
We have an account of the performance at the "Wilden Mann"
from the English visitor whom Beethoven received at this time.
This was Sir George Smart, who, in the summer of 1825, made a
tour of Germany in company with Charles Kemble. He was with
Mr. Kemble when that gentleman made the agreement with
Weber for "Oberon," but his "principal reason for the journey,"
as he himself put it, "was to ascertain from Beethoven himself the
exact times of the movements of his characteristic — and some of
his other — Sinfonias."1 Sir George recorded the incidents of his
meetings with Beethoven in his journal, from which the following
excerpts are taken:
On the 7th of September, at nine in the morning, I called on May-
seder, who received me most politely. . . We conversed about Beethoven's
Choral Symphony; our opinion agrees about it. When it was performed
here Umlauf conducted it and Kletrinsky and Schuppanzigh were the
'By the "Characteristic Symphony" Smart meant the Ninth, which he had directed
at its first performance in London on March 21, 1825. Mr. Thayer visited Sir George in
February, 1861, and received from him permission to make a transcript of all the entries
in his journal touching the meetings with Beethoven, also supplementing them with
oral information. The journal remained in manuscript for forty years after Sir George's
death and then was edited by H. Bertram Cox and C. L. E. Cox and published by Long-
mans, Green and Co. in 1907, under the title: "Leaves from the Journals of Sir George
Smart." The extracts here quoted are from the book, and show signs of having been
revised after Thayer copied them.
Sir George Smart's Joi SNAL 207
leaders. All the basses played in the recitative, hut they had the story
that it was writ t i'ii for Dragotietti only.
Friday, September 9th.— We then went to Mecchetti's music shop,
tli<-y, too, ar«> publishers, and bought three pieces for BirchaU... Mr.
Hoi/., an amateur in some public office and a good violin player, came in
and said Beethoven bad come from Baden this morning and would be at
his nephew's — Karl Beethoven, a young man aged twenty — No. 72
Aileegasse. . . At twelve 1 took Ries1 to tin- hotel Wildemann,1 the
lod_'in_'> of Mr. Schlesinger, the music Bellei of Paris, as I undent) !
from Mr. Hoi/ that Beethoven would lie there, and there I found him.
He received me in the mosl flattering manner. There was a numerous
assembly of professors to hear Beethoven's second1 new manuscript
quartette, bought by Mr. Schlesinger. This quartette is three-quarters
of an hour long. They played it twice. The four performers were
Schuppanzigh, Hoi/, Weiss, and I.incke. It is most chromatic and there
is a bIow movement entitled "Praise for the recovery of an invalid."
Beethoven intended to allude to himself I suppose for he was very ill
during the early part of this year. He directed the performers, and took
off his coat, the room being warm and crowded. A staccato pa^.<_c not
heing expressed to the satisfaction of his eye, for alas, he could not hear, he
seized Holz's violin and played the passage a quartet of a tone too flat.
I looked over the score during the performance. All paid him the L'reat-
est attention. About fourteen were present, those I knew were Boehm
(violin i, Marx ( 'cello), Carl Czerny, also Beethoven's nephew, who is
like Count St. Antonio, so is Boehm, the violin player, The partner of
Steiner, the music seller, was also there. I fixed to go to Baden on Sunday
and left at twenty-five minutes past two.
Saturday, September loth. I called for the music at Axtaria's for
Birchall, for which I paid, and on our return found a visiting-card from
Earl Stanhope and also from Schlesinger of Paris with a message that
Beethoven would he at his hotel to-morrow at twelve, therefore of course
I gave up going to Baden to visit Beethoven, which he had arranged for
me to do. ... In the morning Mr. Kirchotl'er called to say he should
invite me to his house. It was he who, through Ries, had the arrai
ment of procuring the ( 'horal Symphony for our Philharmonic Society.
Sunday, September 11th. . . . From hence I went alone to Schle-
singer's, at the "Wildemann," where was a larger party than the pre-
vious one. Among them was [/Abbe" Stadler, a fine old man and a
good composer of the old school, to whom I was introduced. There was
al^o presenl a pupil of Moscheles, a Mademoiselle Eskeles and a Made-
moiselle Cimia [Cibbini?], whom I understood to he a professional
player. When I entered Messrs. C. Czerny, Schuppanzigh and Lincke
had just begun the Trio, Op. 70, of Beethoven, after which the .same
performers played Beethoven's Trio, Op. 7!) — hoth printed l»y Steiner.
Then followed Beethoven's quartette, the same that I had heard on
September the nth and it was played by the same performers. Beetho-
ven was seated near the pianoforte heating time during the performance
■Not the composer, but a pianoforte maker of Vienna
H'lie Thayer transcript lias it correctly: "at the inn Zum wildtn Mann."
'In the Thayer transcript: "t!i<- second <>f the tlir.-.- MSS. quartettes bought by
Schlesinger."
208 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
of these pieces. This ended, most of the company departed, but Schle-
singer invited me to stop and dine with the following company of ten:
Beethoven, his nephew, Holz, Weiss, C. Czerny, who sat at the bottom of
the table, Lincke, Jean Sedlatzek — a flute player who is coming to Eng-
land next year, and has letters to the Duke of Devonshire, Count St.
Antonio, etc. — he has been to Italy — Schlesinger, Schuppanzigh, who
sat at the top, and myself. Beethoven calls Schuppanzigh Sir John
Falstaff, not a bad name considering the figure of this excellent violin
player.
We had a most pleasant dinner, healths were given in the English
style. Beethoven was delightfully gay but hurt that, in the letter
Moscheles gave me, his name should be mixed up with the other pro-
fessors. However he soon got over it. He was much pleased and rather
surprised at seeing in the oratorio bill I gave him that the "Mount of
Olives" and his "Battle Symphony" were both performed the same
evening. He believes — I do not — that the high notes Handel wrote for
trumpets were played formerly by one particular man. I gave him the
oratorio book and bill. He invited me by his nephew to Baden next
Friday. After dinner he was coaxed to play extempore, observing in
French to me, "Upon what subject shall I play?" Meanwhile he was
touching the instrument thus
to which I answered, "Upon that." On which theme he played for about
twenty minutes in a most extraordinary manner, sometimes very fortis-
simo, but full of genius. » When he arose at the conclusion of his playing
he appeared greatly agitated. No one could be more agreeable than he
was — plenty of jokes. We all wrote to him by turns, but he can hear a
little if you halloo quite close to his left ear. He was very severe in his
observations about the Prince Regent never having noticed his present of
the score of his "Battle Symphony." His nephew regretted that his
uncle had no one to explain to him the profitable engagement offered by
the Philharmonic Society last year.
Smart accepted Beethoven's invitation to visit him at Baden
on September 16, and at this meeting accomplished the specific
purpose of his visit to Vienna by getting Beethoven to give him
the tempo of various movements from his symphonies, by playing
portions of them on the pianoforte.2
'Dr. Deiters prints in a foot-note a different version of this story from Castelli's
memoirs. According to this it was Castelli who set the theme for Beethoven, he having,
after long urging, said, "Very well, in the name of the three devils; but Castelli, who has
no idea of pianoforte playing, must give me a theme." Thereupon Castelli brushed his
finger up and down three adjacent keys of the pianoforte and these notes Beethoven
continually wove into the music which he improvised for an hour, by the clock. Smart
names the ten men who composed Schlesinger's party; Castelli's is not among them,
and Smart's story, noted in his journal at the time, is unquestionably correct. Schle-
singer may have given another dinner, or Castelli's imagination been livelier than his
memory.
2When Mr. Thayer visited Sir George Smart in London in 1861 he made the fol-
lowing notes of the conversation: Smart spoke, or rather wrote on Beethoven's slate; —
Beethoven's Intkkkst in Knclish Matters 209
Though he had been warned not t<> write in Beethoven's book,
Sir George did not, or was not always able to, obey the injunction.
A considerable portion of the conversation at the meeting i> pre-
served in a Conversation Book which covers three dad--, Septem-
ber Ki, 1!) and 24. Prom this hook someexcerpts are made here,
since they bear on the subject which idled so large a place in the
plans of Beethoven for several years, and were in his mind up to
the time of his death— the English tonr. Other matters bearing
on points of history which have been or may he mentioned, are
included. The nephew has translated for Beethoven tlie an-
nouncement of the Ninth Symphony as it appeared on the pro-
gramme of the Philharmonic's concert of March 21, viz.: "New
Grand Characteristic Sinfonia, MS. with vocal finale, the principal
parts to be sung by Madame Caradori, Miss Goodall, Mr. Vaughn
and Mr. Phillips; composed expressly for this Society." No
doubt Beethoven gave expression, as he frequently had done, to
his admiration for the English people and possibly also for their
national hymn, for Karl translates the stanza:
Long may he reign!
May he defend our laws,
And ever give us cause
To sing with heart and voice:
God save the kin^!
The one-sided conversation proceeds:
Smart. — You understand English writing? — Extremement him.
Winter me <lit que on V intention de donner Fidelio a music.
Karl. — lie would like to know the tempi of the finale of the last
symphony. Haven't you it here? —
How long you worked on the symphony? — How long dors it
last? — 1 hour and 3 minutes — % hour — We are now going to take a
walk.
be had been warned not to write in Beethoven's hooks — in French, a language which
Beethoven I as he says) spoke fluently. Be I Smart i was particularly desirous of under-
standing Beethoven s intentions as to the performance of the Choral Sym. and spoke
with him about the recitative for instruments in the last movement. Beethoven's
reply was:
"The recitative in strict time."
Smart objected, that s<> played, it was not a recitative nor had words t<< recite.
Beethoven replied, "he called it so;" ami finally closed the discussion with "1 wish it to
go in strict time"; which, from a composer, was of course decisive. The question "f
how the bass recitatives ought to be played had already been discussed when there-
hearsals for the concert of L824 were in progress, as may he seen in a Conversation
Book of March: Seas' inllrr :- "How many contrabasses are to play the recitative? Mil
—Th.rc would be no difficulty in strict time, hut to give it in ■ singing style will make
careful study necessary. -If old Krams were still alive we could lei the matter go un
concernedly, for he directed is contrabasses who had to do what he wanted Good;
then jus! M if words were under it?— If necessary I will write words under it BO that
they may learn tO sing."
210 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
According to Smart's journal, Beethoven now ordered dinner
"with his funny old cook," told his nephew to look after the wine,
and the party of five took a walk in the course of which Schuppan-
zigh told Smart that it was while sketching in the open air that
Beethoven caught his deafness. "He was writing in a garden and
was so absorbed that he was not sensible of a pouring rain, till his
music paper was so wet that he could no longer write." The story
is inconsequential unless Schuppanzigh had it from Beethoven
who, as we have seen in an earlier volume (VoL I, p. 263 et seq.),
gave an entirely different account of the origin of his deafness to
Neate. Holz talks to Beethoven now about Schlesinger, telling
him that it was the publisher's purpose to print the quartets in
succession, which would postpone the appearance of the thirteenth
for two years, and advises Beethoven hereafter to make immediate
publication a condition of purchase. He suggests that if he were
to threaten not to compose the quintets under the circumstances it
might help.
Smart. — Elle est morte. — Kalkbrenner est a Paris. — Broadwood,
Stodart, Tomkinson, dementi and Co. — Les meilleurs Pieces a vendre a
Londres sont les Duettos pour le Piano Forte. — Mais je dis pour nous de
composer a present. — Cramer, Moscheles, Neate, Potter J'ai voyage"
par le Rhine et par la Donau. — Je suis Protestant; le premier chose est
d'etre honnete homme Esterhazy. — Le nom de Capitaine, ou comme
tous les autres. — On faites de badinage contre moi en Allemagne — contre
lui — moi je suis Garqon.
Karl. — He asked why you had not come before now; he said the
300 pounds of the Philhar. Society were not be to looked upon as the
principal thing. For that you needed only to appear 2 or 3 times in the
orchestra and make money with your own concerts. — He said that in a
short time you could make at least 1000 pounds and carry it away with
you. — 10,000 florins, Vienna money. — If you would only go. The 1,000
pounds would be easily earned and more. — You can do better business
with the publishers there than here. — And you'll find 1,000 friends,
Smarth [sic] says, who will do everything to help you. — The sea fish. — In
the Thames. . . . We'll wait till the year is over before going to England.
.... You'll not leave London so quickly if we are once there. — Others are
living there too, like Cramer, etc. — In two years at least 50,000 florins net.
Concerts. — I am convinced that if you were to want to go away from
here they would do everything to keep you here.
We shall let Smart conclude the story of the meeting:
On our return [from the walk] we had dinner at two o'clock. It
was a most curious one and so plentiful that dishes came in as we came
out, for, unfortunately, we were rather in a hurry to get to the stage coach
by four, it being the only one going to Vienna that evening. I over-
heard Beethoven say, "We will try how much the Englishman can
drink." He had the worst of the trial. I gave him my diamond pin as
A Visitor i b< »m Amerk \
-m
a remembrance of the high gratification I received by the honour of his
invitation ami kind reception and he wrote me tin- following droll canon
as fast as his pen could write in about two minutes of time as I ■- 1 « ■ - ■ > 1
at the door ready to depart.
m? i
f
3
Ars Ion - ga
vl-ta br>- - \'i»
"Written on tin- Kith of September, L825, in Baden, when my dear
talented musical artist and friend Smart (from England visited me here.
l.wdu ig van Beet boven."
Smart left Vienna on his return journey to London on Septem-
ber ~<>. Three months later Beethoven received a \i-it from one
who must have raised more curious questionings in hi- mind than
did the brilliant young Englishman. With Smart he had cor-
responded years before. Smart had produced his oratorio and his
"Wellington's Victory" in England and conducted the fir>t per-
formance in London of his Ninth Symphony, there were direct
bonds of sympathy between them. The other visitor brought a
message of appreciation from across the wide Atlantic. It was
Theodore Molt, evidently a German or a man of German birth.
who, a music teacher in Quebec, was making a European tour and
gained the privilege of telling Beethoven to his face how greatly
he admired him, then asked the favor of a souvenir which he could
carry back on a journey of "3,000 hours" as a precious keepsake.
For him, on December 16, Beethoven wrote the canon, "Fivu
dich des Lebens" (Ges. Aus. Series XXV, 285, 5).1
To this period belongs an anecdote which is almost a parallel
of one related bv Zelter to Goethe. It was told- by M it tag. a
bassoon player who had taken part in a performance of the Septel
at a concert on December 11. Going home one evening, Mittag
-topped into a tavern known as "Zum Dachs" to drink a glass of
beer. Smoking was not allowed in the place and there were few
guests. In a corner, however, sat Beethoven in the attitude of one
lost in thought. After Mittag had watched him a lew minutes he
jumped up and called to the waiter: "My bill!" "Already paid!"
shrieked the waiter in his ear. Mittag, thinking that Beethoven
'From Thayer'a note-book of 1857: "Circuinstimco nlan-.J to me by the ton of Mr.
M..lt. When Mr. M..it called upon Beethoven, December 16, 1825, B.'a birthday]
Beethoven showed bim some verses he bad just written complimentary t.. a young
lady mikI fell into such enthusiasm talking aboul her thai be passed entire!] from hi-
musical conversation. Verses i><">r enough, Mr. Molt said. Mr. Molt also described
the meanness of tin- rooms in which B. lived."
:To Thayer; from hi- QOte-book.
212 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
ought not to be left alone, followed him without betraying himself
and saw him enter his house safely.
On November 29, 1825, Beethoven was one of fifteen men
elected to honorary membership in the Gesellschaft der Musik-
freunde by the directors (Cherubini, Spontini, Spohr, Catel and
Weigl being among them); the election was confirmed by the
society on January 26, 1826, but the diploma was not issued until
October 26, and thus reached Beethoven's hands only a few months
before his death. On November 25, Beethoven wrote to Schott
and Sons promising to send them the metronome marks for the
Mass in D soon, telling them to print the list of subscribers before
the dedication, asking delay in the matter of the dedication of the
Ninth Symphony, and requesting that the publication of both
works be postponed three months. He gives the title of the
mass as follows:
MISSA
Composita et
Serenissimo ac Eminentissimo Domino Domino
Rudolpho Joanni Caesar eo Principi et Archiduci Austria; S. R. E.
Tit. S. Petri in monte aureo Cardinali Archiepiscopo Olomucensi
prqfundissima cum veneratione dicata [sic]
a
Ludovico van Beethoven
On the same day he wrote to Peters in Leipsic to the effect
that his recent letters had not been definite and certain. He
wanted a specific statement that the amount which he (Beethoven)
had received as an advance was 360 florins. If Peters was willing
to take a quartet for that sum he would send him one as soon as
possible; if not, and he preferred to have the money, he would re-
turn it to him. "If you had done this at once you might have had
two quartets; but you can not ask me to be loser. If I wanted to
draw the strings tighter I could ask a larger price. I will send
nothing for examination." This, then, was Beethoven's ulti-
matum: Peters must pay 360 florins for the Quartet or receive
back the money advanced three years before. Peters asked for
the money and it was paid over to Steiner and Co., on his order on
December 7.
In the renting season of St. Michael (September 29 to October
12) Beethoven signed a lease for lodgings in the Schwarzspanier-
haus, Alservorstadt Glacis 200. Into this, which was the last
Intimacy with THE BbeUNING8 RENEWED 213
lodging occupied by Beethoven, be moved presumably <»n October
15. The bouse, which is fully described and pictured in Gerhard
von Breuning's book "Aus « 1cm Schwarzspanierhause," derived
its name From the fact thai it bad been buill by the Benedictines
of Spain. In it Beethoven occupied four rooms <>n the second
floor, besides a kitchen and servant's quarters. One of the mosl
important results of Beethoven's removal to these quarters was a
reestablishmenl of the intimate relations which bad existed for so
many years with the friend of his youth Stephan von Breuning,
a Councillor in the War Department of the Austrian Government,
who lived hard by. Though there had been no open rupture
between him and Beethoven an estrangement had existed from
the time when von Breuning had advised again-t Beethoven's
assumption of the guardianship over his nephew. They had met
occasionally ad interim, hut it was not until they became Dcighl
that the intimate friendship which had existed in earlier years was
restored. A beginning in this direction was made when, on a
visit to Vienna in August, Beethoven met the Breuning family in
the street. It was necessary that changes be made in the lo
ings and while waiting for them Beethoven became a frequent
visitor at the Breunings, dining with them frequently and some-
times sending them a mess of fish, of which be was very fond.
Madame von Breuning meanwhile looked after the fitting out of
his kitchen and saw to the engagement of his servants. Concern-
ing the relations which existed between Beethoven and ber tat hep's
family, Marie, a daughter of Stephan \ on Breuning, w rote many
years after:1
My mother once met Beethoven when on her way to the Kaiserh.td
on the Danube; he accompanied her for the rather long distance from the
Rothes Haus, where she Lived. She spent about an hour in the bath-
house (the hath being a warm one) ami on coming out was surprised to
find Beethoven waiting to accompany her home. She often said that
he was always gallant towards women and had paid court to her for a
while.
She related, too. that his animated gestures, his loud voice and his
indifference towards others surprised the people in the street, ami that
she was often ashamed because they stopped and took him for a mad man.
His laugh was particularly loud and ringing.
My mother often and repeatedly deplored the fad that she had
never heard him play — hut my father, in his unbounded tenderi;
always replied when she expressed a desire to hear him: "He doesn 1
like to do it, and I do not want to ask him because it might pain him not
to hear himself."
■In a memorandum f"r Thayer.
214 The Life of Ltjdwig van Beethoven
Beethoven repeatedly invited my mother to coffee, or, as the
Viennese say, zur Jause; but my mother almost always declined, as his
domestic arrangements did not appear altogether appetizing.
My mother often said to my father that Beethoven's habit of ex-
pectorating in the room, his neglected clothing and his extravagant
behavior were not particularly attractive. My father always replied:
"And yet he has a great deal of success, especially with women."
Beethoven often told my mother that he longed greatly for domestic
happiness and much regretted that he had never married.
Beethoven was fond of Stephan von Breuning's son Gerhard,
whom, because of his attachment to his father, he dubbed Hosen-
knopf (Trousers-button) and because of his lightness of foot Ariel.
He once had the boy play for him, criticized the position of his
hands and sent him dementi's Method as preferable to Czerny's
which the lad was using.
There can be no doubt that the renewed association with
von Breuning frequently turned his thoughts to his old home and
his boyhood friends in the Rhine country, and his delight must
have been keen when in this year, he received letters from Wegeler,
whom he had not seen since he left Vienna twenty-eight years
before, and his wife, who had been Eleonore von Breuning. They
were tender letters, full of information about their family, each
other, friends and relations — real home letters telling of births,
marriages, careers and deaths. One would think that they ought
to have been answered at once, but Beethoven did not find time
or occasion to write a reply until the next year, despite this
obvious challenge in Dr. von Wegeler's letter:
Why did you not avenge the honor of your mother when, in the
Encyclopaedia, and in France, you were set down as a love-child? The
Englishman who tried to defend you gave the filth a cuff, as we say in
Bonn, and let your mother carry you in her womb 30 years, since the
King of Prussia, your alleged father, died already in 1740 — an assertion
which was altogether wrong since Frederick II ascended the throne in
1740 and did not die till 1786. Only your inborn dread of having any-
thing but music of yours published is, probably, the cause of this culpable
indolence. If you wish it I will set the world right in this matter.
The great contributions which Beethoven made to music in
the year 1825, were the Quartets in A minor, Op. 132 and in B-flat
major, Op. 130, which were composed in the order here mentioned;
but the second, being published before its companion, received the
earlier opus number. The A minor Quartet was the second of the
three which Beethoven composed on invitation of Prince Galitzin,
the first being that in E-flat, Op. 127, the third that in B-flat. It
wTas taken up immediately on the completion of the E-flat Quartet.
The Last String Quartets 215
In March Beethoven had written to Neate that the first of the
three quartets which he thought of bringing with him to London
was written, that he was at work on the second and that it and the
third would be finished "soon." On the same day he wrote to
Schott and Sons: "The violin quartets are in hand; the second
is nearly finished." The sketches of the A minor as established
by Nottebohm) date hack to ls^4. The work was originally
to have I be customary four movements; labor on it was interrupted
by the illness of April and then the plan was changed to include the
"Song of Thanksgiving in the Lydian mode," the short march he-
fore the last movement, and the minuet. The work was finished
byAugusI at the latest. The passage in eighth-notes hi the second
part of the first movement is practically a quotation from one of
the German dances written for the Ridotto halls fully thirty
years before, with the bar-lines shifted so that the change of
harmony occurs on the up-beats of the measures. In a Con-
versation Book used in May or June, 18L25, Beethoven wrote
Dankcshimne cines Kranken an Gott bei seiner Genesung. Gefiihl
neuer Kraft und wiedererwachtes Gefiihl ("Hymn of Thanks-
giving to God of an Invalid on his Convalescence. Peeling of new
strength and reawakened feeling"). In the original score this
was changed to the reading: "Sacred Song of Thanksgiving <>f a
Convalescent to the Divinity, in the Lydian Mode. X. B. This
piece has always B instead of B-flat." As has already been
mentioned in the history of the Ninth Symphony, the principal
theme of the last movement was originally conceived for the finale
of that work. The B-flat Quartet was begun early in the year, as
the letters to Neate and Schott indicate. On August 29, Beet-
hoven wrote to his nephew that it would be wholly finished in ten
or twelve days. In November he himself writes in the Conver-
sation Book: "Title for the Quartet," and a strange hand add-:
Sleme Quatuor. Pour deux Violons, Mala et Violoncello compost
aux dSsirs de S. A. Monseigneur le Prince Nicolas Galitzin et didii
nn mime" to which Beethoven adds: "par L. v. B." The Quartet,
though more than half-promised to Schlesinger, who got the A
minor Quartet, was sold to Artaria, and in January, 1826, Holz
writes, "The Quartet will be printed at once; t hns t lie third Quartet
will appear before the first two." This was the case, which ac-
counts for the incorrect numbering of them. It bad its firsl
public performance in March, 1826. The Fugue in B-flat, Op.
133, originally formed the finale of the work but was put aside
after the first performance and the present finale, which was com-
posed in (Jneixendorf in 1826, was substituted.
216 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
After securing the A minor Quartet and an assurance that he
should also have that in B-flat (he had offered to deposit 80 ducats
with a Viennese banker against its completion and delivery and
Beethoven had accepted his offer), Schlesinger said that he
would purchase the first of the three Quartets from Schott and
Sons so as to have all three for his Complete Edition. Karl, in
reporting the fact to Beethoven, expressed his belief that the
Schotts would sell for fear that if they did not Schlesinger would
reprint the work in Paris without permission. The latter made a
strenuous effort to get the autograph score of the A minor, but
had perforce to content himself with a copy. Holz represented to
Beethoven that the autograph would be an asset for Karl in the
future, and Karl was of the same opinion; he supported Holz's
assertion with the argument that such Capitalien grew more valu-
able with age and that he was sure Schlesinger would get 30
ducats for the manuscript. Beethoven expressed indifference as to
which publisher got the works so long as he was promptly paid.
In urging haste upon Holz, who had undertaken to look after the
copying of the B-flat, he wrote:
It is immaterial which hellhound licks and gnaws my brains, since
it must needs be so, only see that the answer is not delayed too long.
The hellhound in L. can wait and meanwhile entertain himself with
Mephistopheles (the Editor of the Musik. L. Zeit.) in Auerbach's Cellar;
he will soon be plucked by the ears by Belzebub the chief of devils.
The Leipsic "hellhound" thus consigned to Belzebub was,
of course, Peters. It was about this time that Karl told his uncle
an anecdote to the effect that Cherubini, asked why he did not
compose a quartet, replied: "If Beethoven had never written a
quartet I would write quartets; as it is, I can not." After the
meetings at Schlesinger's room in the inn "Zum wilden Mann" the
Quartets in E-flat and A minor were played again at a concert in
which Schuppanzigh was prevented from taking part, and Holz
played the first violin. Beethoven grew merry at his expense and
wrote a canon in the Conversation Book to the words: "Holz
fiddles the quartets as if they were treading Kraut."
Two trifles which kept company with the Quartets in this
year were a Waltz in D and an Ecossaise in E-flat for pianoforte,
which were published in a collection of light music by C. F. Miiller.
There are several allusions to the oratorio commissioned by the
Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in the Conversation Books of
1825, in one of which Grillparzer is mentioned as a likely author
for another book; but so far as is known no work was done on
'The Victory of the Cross," though Bernard shortened the book.
Praise from the Bepraised 217
Before the end of t In* year the principal tln-me of the Quartet
in C-sharp minor, Op. 181, is noted, accompanied by the words
written by Beethoven: "Only the praise of one who has enjoyed
praise can give pleasure"; — it is, no doubt, a relic of some of the
composer's classic readings.1
lLaudari a tiro laudatc — Nievius. LcfttU sum laudari m<\ im/uit llcrtor, OvinOT .
N avium, aba te, pater, a laudate tiro — -Cicero ad fam. XV, 6; Cum tragicu* itie ayu .
ait nagnifieum eite laudari a laudato tiro, laudc diijuo, ait. — Seneca, Epist. 108, 16.
Chapter VIII
A Year of Sickness and Sorrow : 1826 — The Quartets in
B-Flat, C-Sharp Minor and F Major — Controversy with
Prince Galitzin — Dedication of the Ninth Symphony —
Life at Gneixendorf — Beethoven's Last Compositions.
THE year which witnessed the last of Beethoven's completed
labors, and saw what by general consent might be set down
as the greatest of his string quartets, that in C-sharp minor,
Op. 131, beheld also the culmination of the grief and pain caused
by the conduct of his nephew. The year 1826 was a year of awful
happenings and great achievements; a year of startling contra-
dictions, in which the most grievous blows which an inscrutable
Providence dealt the composer as if utterly to crush him to earth,
were met by a display of creative energy which was amazing
not only in its puissance but also in its exposition of transfigured
emotion and imagination. The history of the year can best be
followed if it be told in two sections, for which reason we have
chosen to group the incidents connected with the nephew in a
chapter by themselves and review first the artistic activities of the
composer. After the history of the year has been set forth there
will remain to be told only the story of the gathering of the gloom
which early in the next year shut down over his mortal eyes for-
ever. The figure which stands out in highest relief throughout
the year beside that of the composer is that of Holz, whose concern
for his welfare goes into the smallest detail of his unfortunate do-
mestic life and includes also the major part of the labors and re-
sponsibilities caused by the tragical outcome of the nephew's
waywardness — his attempt at self-destruction. Schindler appears
at intervals, but with jealous reserve, chary of advice, waiting to be
asked for his opinion and pettishly protesting that after it once
has been given it will not be acted upon. Stephan von Breuning
appears in all the nobility of his nature; and in the attitude and
acts of Brother Johann, though they have been severely faulted
and, we fear, maligned, there is evidence of something as near
[218]
A Request for the German Biule 219
affectionate sympathy and interesl as Beethoven's paradoxical
conduct and nature invited of him. Among the other persons
whom the Conversation Books disclose as his occasional associates
are Schuppanzigh, Kuffner, Grillparzer, Abbe Stadler and Mathias
Artaria, whose talk is chiefly about affairs in which they are con-
cerned, though Kuffner at one time entertains Beethoven with a
discourse on things ancient and modern which must have fa-'i-
nated the artist whose mind ever delighted to dwell on matters ol
large moment. Beethoven was troubled with a spell of sickness
which began near the end of January and lasted till into March.
Dr. Braunhofer was called and we read the familiar injunctions in
the Conversation Book. The composer has pains in the bowels,
gouty twinges, and finds locomotion difficult. He is advised to
abstain from wine for a few days and also from coffee, which he is
told is injurious because of its stimulating effect on the nerves.
The patient is advised to eat freely of soups, and small doses of
quinine are prescribed. There are postponed obligations of duty
— the oratorio, the opera, a Requiem — upon the composer which
occupy him somewhat, but his friends and advisers more. His
thoughts are not with such things but in the congenial region of
the Quartets; for the little community of stringed instruments is
become more than ever his colporteur, confidant, comforter and
oracle. Kuffner tells him through Holz that he has read Bernard's
oratorio book but cannot find in it even the semblence of an ora-
torio, much less half-good execution. Perhaps there is something
of personal equation in this judgment, for Kuffner is ready to
write not only one but even two oratorio texts if Beethoven will
but undertake their composition. He presents the plan of a
work to be called "The Four Elements," in which man is to be
brought into relationship with the imposing phenomena of nature,
but Beethoven has been inspired by a study of Handel's "Saul"
with a desire to undertake that subject and Kuffner submits
specimens of his poetical handiwork to him. He had become
interested in the ancient modes (as his Song of Thanksgiving in
the I.ydian mode in the A minor quartet had already witnessed)
and was now eager to read up on the ancient Hebrews. He Sends
JIolz to get him books on the subject and to a visitor, who to US is
a stranger (so far as the handwriting in the C. B, i> concerned),
he expresses a desire to get Luther's translation of the Bible.
He is also interested in religious questions, as a long talk with his
nephew shows. Kuffner intended in his treatment of the story
of Saul to make it a representation of the triumph of the nobler
impulses of man over untamed desire, and said that he would he
220 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
ready to deliver the book in six weeks. Holz shows Beethoven
some of the specimen sheets and points out a place in which Beet-
hoven might indulge in an excursion into antique art. "Here
you might introduce a chorus in the Lydian mode," he says.
He also explains that Kuffner intended to treat the chorus as an
effective agent in the action, for which purpose it was to be divided
into two sections, like the dramatic chorus of the Greek tragedians.
Kuffner was sufficiently encouraged to write the book and Holz
says that Beethoven finished the music of the first part "In
his head"; if so, it staid there, so far as the sketchbooks bear
testimony.
Grillparzer still hopes that the breath of musical life will be
breathed into "Melusine"; Duport, having secured the Court
Opera, asks for it, and Brother Johann and Karl urge that an opera
is the most remunerative enterprise to which he can now apply
himself. Schlesinger, in Berlin, had told Count von Briihl that
Beethoven was disposed to write an opera for the Royal Opera at
the Prussian capital and Briihl had written to the composer that he
would be glad to have an opera from him and expressed a desire
that he collaborate with Grillparzer in its making; but he did not
w^ant "Melusine," because of the resemblance between its sub-
ject and that of de la Motte-Fouque's "Undine." An adaptation
to operatic uses of Goethe's "Claudine von Villa Bella" was dis-
cussed, apparently with favor, but Kanne, who was designated to
take the adaptation in hand, was afraid to meddle with the great
poet's drama. So nothing came of the Berlin project or of
"Melusine," though Grillparzer talked it over again with Beet-
hoven and told Holz that though he was not inclined to attach too
great importance to it, he yet thought it would be hard to find an
opera text better adapted to its purpose than it, from a musical
and scenic point of view. To Schindler, Beethoven once held
out a prospect that "something would come" of the idea of music
for "Faust" which Rochlitz had implanted in Beethoven's mind;
but it shared the fate of opera and oratorio. His friends also
urged him to compose a Requiem mass and such a composition
belongs in the category with the oratorio as a work which he had
been paid to undertake. Among the ardent admirers of Beethoven
and most zealous patrons of the Schuppanzigh Quartets was Johann
Nepomuk Wolfmayer, a much respected cloth merchant. One
of the methods chosen by Wolfmayer to show his appreciation
of the composer was occasionally to have a new coat made for him
which he would bring to Beethoven's lodgings, place upon a chair
and then see to it that an old one disappeared from his wardrobe.
Works which were Never Written 221
We have already heard a similar story from Mayseder. It is
said that Wolfmayer sometimes had difficulty in getting the com-
poser's consent to the exchange, but always managed to do it.
Early in the second decade of the century Wolfmayer com-
missioned Beethoven to write a Requiem for him ami paid him
1,000 florins as an advance on the honorarium. Beethoven pro-
mised, hut never set to work: though IIolz says that he WBS firmly
resolved to do so and, in talking aboul it, said that he \va> better
satisfied with Cherubim's setting of the text of the Mass for the
Dead than with Mozart's. A Ixt'ijuiai/ , he said, should !><• a
sorrowful memorial of the dead and have nothing in it of tin-
noises of the last trump ami the day of judgment.
The sketchbooks hear witness, though not voluminously, to
two other works of magnitude which were in Beethoven's thoughts
in this year but never saw completion. These were ;i symphony
and a string quintet. In a book used towards the end of 1825,
containing sketches for the last movement of the Quartet in B-tlat,
there is a memorandum of a Presto in C minor, 3-4 time, and of a
short movement in A-flat, Andante, which Schindler marked as
belonging to "the tenth symphony." There are also some much
longer sketches for an overture on B-a-c-h, in the midst of which
Beethoven has written: 'This overture together with the new
symphony and we shall have a new concert (Akademie) in the
Karnthnerthor." Schindler published the sketches of the sym-
phony in Hirschbach's "Musikalisch-kritisches Repertorium"
of January, 1844, and started the story of an uncompleted tenth
symphony. Nottebohm, in his "Zweite Beethoveniana" (p. 12),
scouts the idea that Beethoven occupied himself seriously with the
composition of such a work. "It is not necessary," he says, "to
turn over many leaves of the sketchbooks to prove the untenahle-
Qess of the view that if Beethoven had written a Tenth Symphony
it would have been on the basis of these sketches. We see in them
only such momentary conceits as came to Beethoven by the thou-
sand and which were as much destined to be left undeveloped ;i^
the multitude of other abandoned sketches in the other books. I 0
be big with a symphony argues persevering application to it. Of
such application there can be no talk in this case. The sketches
in (pi est ion were never continued; there is not a vestige 01 them in
the books which follow. If Beethoven had written as many
symphonies as he began we should have at leasl titty." Nbtte-
bohm's argument does not dispose of the matter, though we shall
presently find occasion to think well of it. Lenz says that Ho]/
wrote to him that Beethoven had played "the whole of the Tenth
222 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony" for him on the pianoforte, that it was finished in all
of its movements in the sketches, but that nobody but Beethoven
could decipher them. Holz, however, made no such broad state-
ment to Otto Jahn, a much more conscientious reporter than
Lenz. To Jahn he said that there was an introduction in E-flat
major, a soft piece, and then a powerful Allegro in C minor, which
were complete in Beethoven's head and which he had played to
him (Holz) on the pianoforte. This is very different from an en-
tire symphony. But in the letter to Moscheles which Schindler
says Beethoven dictated to him on March 18, 1827, bearing a
message of thanks to the Philharmonic Society of London, Beet-
hoven says: "An entire sketched symphony lies in my desk, also
a new overture and other things"; and a few days later Schindler
writes to Moscheles: "Three days after receiving your letter he
was greatly excited and demanded the sketches of the Tenth
Symphony, concerning the plan of which he told me a great deal.
He has now definitely decided that it shall go to the Philharmonic
Society." The reader is familiar with Beethoven's habit of
speaking of works as finished though not a note of them had been
put on paper (as in the case of the additional movements for the
Mass in D, for instance), and if there were sketches for a finished
symphony in Beethoven's desk when he died, it is passing strange
that Schindler did not produce them when he started the world to
talking about its loss of a successor to the Ninth. What Notte-
bohm saw in the books deposited by Schindler in the Royal
Library in Berlin seems to justify what he said, at least. More-
over, Schindler says that the sketches for the Symphony dated
back to 1824, and the incorrectness of this statement can be shown
beyond all perad venture by Nottebohm's study of the sketchbooks.
Of the other works which play a part in the story of 1826, some-
thing will be said hereafter.
Opera, oratorio, the mass for the dead, symphony, beckoned
to him, but his affections were fixed in the higher and purer regions
of chamber music, the form which represents chaste ideals, lofty
imagination, profound learning; which exacts a mutual sympathy
between composer, performer and listener and binds them in
something like that angelic wedlock which Weber said to Planche
ought to unite librettist and composer. When the year 1826
opened, Beethoven was looking forward with no little eagerness to
the first performance of the Quartet in B-flat — his "Leibquartett"
it is once called in the Conversation Books. Schuppanzigh and
his fellows had taken it in hand. They found the concluding
fugue extremely troublesome, but the Cavatina entranced them at
Beethoven's Favorite Quartet 223
once; Schuppanzigh entered a record against any change in it.
The performance took place on March 2 1 . The second and fourth
movements had to be repeated, but the fugue proved a crux as,
no doubt, the players had expected it would. Some of Beethoven's
friends argued that it had not been understood and thai this ob-
jection would vanish with repeated hearings; others, plainly a
majority, asked that a new movement be written to take its place.
Johann van Beethoven told the composer that "the whole city"
was delighted with the work. Schindler says that the Danza
alia tedesca, one of the movements which were demanded a second
time, was originally intended for another <|iiartct, presumably
that in A minor. Lenz objects to the theory on critical grounds,
but Nottebohm points out that the first sketches appear in A
before the sketches for the B-flat Quartet and assigns them to the
A minor Quartet without qualification of any kind. Dr. Deiters
suggests that the movement was written for the A minor Quartet
and put aside when the Song of Thanksgiving presented itself to
Beethoven's mind. There is another reason for believing that
Nottebohm is right and Lenz, as he so frequently is, is wrong.
As has been mentioned, Beethoven recurred to one of Ins old
German dances, written for the Ridotto balls, in the first movement
of the A minor Quartet; what more likely than that, thinking over
the old German dance, he should have conceived the idea of a
Danza tedesca? Schuppanzigh's high opinion of the Cavatina
was shared bv many and also bv Beethoven himself. IIolz said
that it cost the composer tears in the writing and brought out the
confession that nothing that he had written had so moved him;
in fact, that merely to revive it afterwards in his thoughts and
feelings brought forth renewed tributes of tears.
The doubts about the effectiveness of the fugue felt by Beet-
hoven's friends found an echo in the opinions of the critic-.
Mathias Artaria, the publisher, who seems in this year to have
entered the circle of the composer's intimate associates, presented
the matter to him in a practicable light. He had purchased the
publishing rights of the Quartet and after the performance he went
to Beethoven with the suggestion that he write a Dew finale ami
that the fugue be published as an independent piece, for which he
would remunerate him separately. Beethoven listened to tin- pro-
tests unwillingly, but, "vowing he would ne'er consent . consented"
and requested the pianist Anton Halm, who had played in the B-
flat Trio at the concert, to make the pianoforte arrangements for
which there had already been inquiries at Artaria's shop. Halm
accepted the commission and made t he arrangement, with which
224 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
Beethoven was not satisfied; "You have divided the parts too
much between prim and second," he, remarked to Halm,1 referring
to a device which the arranger had adopted to avoid crossing of
hands — giving passages to the right hand which should logically
have been given to the left, the effect being the same to the ear
but not to the eye. Nevertheless, Halm presented a claim for 40
florins to Artaria for the work, and was paid. Beethoven then
made an arrangement and sent it to Artaria, also demanding a fee.
To this Artaria demurred and asked Beethoven for Halm's manu-
script. Beethoven sent it by a messenger (probably Holz) with
instructions to get his arrangement in return for it, but at the same
time told Artaria, that while he did not ask that Artaria publish
his work, he was under no obligations to give it to him; he might
have it for twelve ducats. Artaria reconciled himself to the matter
and paid Beethoven his fee on September 5. Schindler incorrectly
states that the arrangement which Artaria announced on March
10, 1827, as Op. 134 (the original score being advertised at the
same time as Op. 133), was Halm's.
Other performances of the Quartet were planned, but it does
not appear that any took place. Schuppanzigh was indisposed to
venture upon a repetition, but Bohm and Mayseder were eager to
play it. The latter with his companions gave quartet parties at
the house of Dembscher, an agent of the Austrian War Depart-
ment, and wanted to produce the Quartet there. But Dembscher
had neglected to subscribe for Schuppanzigh's concert and had
said that he would have it played at his house, since it was easy
for him to get manuscripts from Beethoven for that purpose. He
applied to Beethoven for the Quartet, but the latter refused to let
him have it, and Holz, as he related to Beethoven, told Dembscher
in the presence of other persons that Beethoven would not let him
have any more music because he had not attended Schuppanzigh's
concert. Dembscher stammered in confusion and begged Holz
to find some means to restore him to Beethoven's good graces.
Holz said that the first step should be to send Schuppanzigh 50
florins, the price of the subscription. Dembscher laughingly
asked, "Must it be? (Muss es sein?). When Holz related the
incident to Beethoven he too laughed and instantly wrote down a
canon on the words: "It must be! Yes, yes, yes, it must be. Out
with the purse!"2
1Halm's personal explanation to Mr. Thayer.
2The Editor has taken the liberty of transferring the music to the treble clef and to
interpret the note3 which are indistinct in the autograph in accordance with Dr. Deiters's
transcript.
Origin of "Es mi ss sein!"
225
Out of this joke in the late fall of the year grew the finale of the
last of the last five quartets, that in F major. Op. 135, to which
Beethoven gave the superscription: "The difficult resolution"
(Der schwergefassU Entschlus The story, almost universally
current and still repeated, thai the phrases: Muss es sein? I
muss .stiit, and Dcr schwergefoxste EnUctdtua had their origin in
^m
J r I JJ J «
p
i
"
muss
must
be!
Es muss ja
It must
I' el
a
^m
r r I r r J ■«
■
■
Es muss s.'in' y.\ , ja, ja, ja, i S muss
It must be! yes, yes, yes, yes, It must
be!
He- raus
Come down
mit dem Beu-tell
with the rhi - no!
He- raus! He-raus: Es muss sein!
Come down! Comedown! It must
^
' n r
m m
'
"'•'
'
a
Ja, ja, ja, ja, ja, ja, ja, ja, ja, ja, Es muss sein!
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, It must be!
a scene frequently repeated when Beethoven's housekeeper came
to him of a Saturday for the weekly house-money, was spread by
Schindler, who was familiar in a way with the Dembscher inci-
dent l>ut assigned it to the Quartet in E-flat. IIolz was an actor
in the scene and is the better witness, being confirmed, mor< over,
by the Conversation Book. Schindler probably took his clue
from a page in the Conversation Book used in December, 1826, in
which Beethoven writes the phrases "Must it be?" and "It must
he," and Schindler, after a conversation in which Schuppanzigh
takes part, concludes with: "It must be. The old woman is again
in need of her weekly money." The joke played a part in the
conversations with Beethoven for some time.
IIolz says that when once he remarked to Beethoven that the
one in B-flat was the greatest of his Quartets the composer re-
plied: "Each in its way. Art demands of us that we shall not
>taiid still. You will find a new manner of voice treatment part
writing) and, thank (Jod- there is less hid: of fancy than <
before." Afterward he declared the ('-sharp minor Quartet to be
hi> greatest. The first form of the fugue-theme in this work, as
has been noted, was written down in a Conversation Book in the
last days of December, 1825. The theme of the variations, in a
form afterwards altered, was also noted amid the records of con-
versations before the end of January, 1826. It is likely that a
goodly portion of the work was written within a month and ready
226 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
for the copyist, for Schuppanzigh once in January suggests that
something from the work in hand be tried. Whether or not it
was ever played in the lifetime of the composer can not be said
with certainty. Schindler says positively that it was not. It
was ready for the publisher in July and Schott and Sons, who
had bought it for 80 ducats payable in two installments, sent the
drafts early to accommodate Beethoven, who spoke of being on the
eve of a short journey — of which nothing is known save that he
did not make it. The score was turned over to Schott's agent
in Vienna on August 7. On the copy Beethoven had written
"Put together from pilferings from one thing and another" (Zu-
sammengestohlen aus Verschiedenem diesem und Jenem). This
alarmed the publishers, who wrote to Beethoven about it and in
reply received a letter stating: "You wrote me that the quartet
must be an original one. As a joke I wrote on the copy 'Put to-
gether, etc. . . .'; but it is brand new." It was published by
Schott and Sons very shortly after Beethoven's death in April,
1827, under the opus number 129. Beethoven originally intended
to dedicate it to Wolfmayer but out of gratitude to Baron von
Stutterheim, Lieutenant Fieldmarshal, who had made a place for
Nephew Karl in his regiment, placed his name upon the title-page.
With the Quartet in B-flat, Beethoven had completed the
three works of its kind which he had been commissioned to com-
pose by Prince Nicolas Galitzin. He had taken three years to
perform the task, but in the end the patience of his patron had
been nobly rewarded — rewarded, indeed, in a manner which
insured him as large a share of immortality as falls to the lot of a
man — and meanwhile he had been privileged to shine in the musi-
cal circles of St. Petersburg as one who stood peculiarly close to the
greatest of living composers. During the delay Prince Galitzin's
conduct was in the highest degree honorable. In his letters he was
most generous in his offers of assistance, practically giving Beet-
hoven carte blanche to draw on his bankers in case of need. He
organized a performance of the Missa solemnis (the first given of
the work or any portion of it), and presented his copy of the written
score to the Philharmonic Society of St. Petersburg. He was so
proud of his collection of Beethoven's music that he applied to
the composer himself to help him make it complete. Too eager to
wait for the publishers, he commissioned Beethoven to have
copies made of new works, like the Ninth Symphony and the
overture to "The Consecration of the House," at his expense.
He entertained the idea of repeating in St. Petersburg the con-
cert which Beethoven had given in Vienna, at which the Symphony
Prince Galitzix and His Quartets
tz /
had received its first performance. For a while be contemplated
a repetition of the Mass. Beethoven had dedicated the overture
to him and he had written that be would requite the act with
a gift of 9.5 ducats. All this before be received the Quartets.
Then a strange and unaccountable change came over his attitude
towards the composer. Beethoven sent the firs! Quartet to him
in Jauuarv, 1825: the second and third somel ime in February, 1826.
He had followed up his commission in 1823 with an order to his
bankers, Henikstein and Co. in Vienna, to pay Beethoven 50 ducats,
the fee agreed upon, for each Quartet. The money was paid over in
October, 1S^3, but with his express consent, at Beethoven's request,
was applied to the payment of his subscription for tin- Ma>>. If
there could be any doubt on this point it would be dissipated by the
letter in which Henikstein and Co., forwarded Beethos en's receipt.
This letter was written on October 15, 1823, and stated that the
sum had been paid eomme hotioraire de la mease que nous expedite
par Vorfrcmise de la haute chancellerie de FEtat. On December .">,
1824, let ns say six weeks or two months before he received the
first Quartet, he sent another .50 ducats, which it is fair to assume
was the fee for that work and took the place of the sum diverted
to the payment for the Mass. These facts must be carefully noted
and borne in mind, for the question of Galitzin's indebtedness to
Beethoven became the subject of a scandalous controversy a Long
timeafter the composer's death; it endured down to 1S.)S and might
be opened again were there a disposition in any quarter to do so.
For the present the story of the Quartets during Beethoven's life,
time may be pursued as it is disclosed by records in the Conver-
sation Books and so much of the correspondence as has been
preserved.
In February, ISSG, one of the Quartets, perhaps both of them.
had been sent to St. Petersburg by special courier. ("Every-
thing written by Beethoven ought to be sent to its destination by
special courier," is one of Schuppanzigh's magnificent remarks
when the question of sending the Quartet to the Prince is under
discussion.) The money did not come and Beethoven grew im-
patient and anxious. Karl tried to reassure him. The Prince
had written Je mis, he remarks in the Conversation Book, plainly
referring to a letter dated January 14, 1826, in which Prince
Galitzin had said: "\/c rais fuire rrmrttrr a M . StieglitZ (his banker)
la valeur de 76 ducats pour vous Hre remis pur M . Fries; 60 pour lr
quatuor et 25 pour Vouverture qui est magnifique et que je vous
remercie beaucoup de m' avoir didiie." Still the money did not
come. In the middle of May Holz reports to Beethoven that a
228 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
letter had been received from the courier, whose name was Lipscher.
He had called on Prince Galitzin, who had begged to be excused;
"he had not time — call another day." He had repeated the visit
five or six times, but each time was denied an audience on one pre-
text or another. Finally, he had bribed a domestic with five
florins and found his way to the Prince, who seemed greatly
embarrassed, fumbled amongst his scores for a time and then
asked him to come again before his departure and he would give
him the money. The courier had added that he considered it a
"Russian trick" but that he was not to be disposed of so easily.
Lipscher would be back in Vienna in four or five days, Holz added,
and advised Beethoven to await his coming before writing to him.
Schindler, a short time after, gives his views in a style character-
istic of his attitude toward Beethoven during the period of Holz's
factotumship: "The matter of the Prince Galitzin is getting criti-
cal and I wish you a happy outcome. If you had obeyed me he
would have had only one quartet and with that basta. You never
permitted yourself to be deceived by flattery as you have by this
princely braggart." Again : "Voila, the letter to Count Lebzeltern
(Russian Ambassador) and the banker Stieglitz. They can go
to-day as it is great postday. What more is there to be con-
sidered? Wait, and wait — and no results. Breuning is agreed.
If Prince Galitzin could act in such contradiction to his letters
nothing good is to be expected of him." At a later date there
came another letter from the courier. He had tried seven times to
see the Prince, but all in vain. Later (it was now July) he had
gone again; the Prince had been polite, but denied him admittance.
Still later in the same month Karl tells his uncle that he wants to
write to Stieglitz, the Prince's banker, upon whom Beethoven had
been told to draw in case he needed money. Karl does not use
general terms as to the sum involved, but specifically says "the 125
ducats." On August 2 Beethoven wrote to Stieglitz and Co., from
whom he received a letter dated August 13 saying that the Prince
was absent, but his attention should be directed to the matter.
Evidently the bankers kept their word, for on November 10-22,
Prince Galitzin wrote to Beethoven saying that he had received
the two Quartets but had been the victim of great losses and
other misfortunes; he was now obliged to go to the wars in Persia,
but before going would pay the "125 ducats" which he owed, thus
admitting the debt in specific terms. On January 10, 1827,
Beethoven, already on his deathbed, dictated a letter of inquiry
to Stieglitz and Co., and the bankers again answered promptly:
they were still waiting for an answer from the Prince. Five days
Did Galitzin Pat fob the (^i ibtets? 229
before his death Beethoven made his lasl appeal to Stieglitz and
Co., reviewing the recenl correspondence and Galitzin 's promise
and asking the hankn-s, if the money had been received, to for-
ward it to Arnstein and Eskeles, as he was greatly in need of it
because of his protracted sickness. Beethoven dictated theletter,
but signed it himself and endorsed I be draft : "To Prince < ralitzin,
concerning 125 ducats, March 21, 1827." He died on IVfarch 26.
Thus stands the record at. the time of Beethoven's death.
Prince Galitzin was back from the wars, but sent ao money. On
March 20, 1829, Hotschevar as guardian of Karl van Beethoven
appealed to the Imperial ( 'hancellary to ask the Embassy at St.
Petersburg to collect the debt of H,"> ducats from the Prince.
Galitzin demanded an explanation, but after repeated requests
from Karl agreed to pay •">() ducats in two installments of 20 and
30 ducats each. The sums were paid, the latter, as Karl's receipt
shows, on November 9, 1SS2. Karl continued to make representa-
tions to the Prince touching a balance of 75 ducats still due and on
June "2-14, 1835, Galitzin promised to pay the sum, nol as a
balance due on his business transactions with Beethoven, but a-
a memorial j)our honorer sa mi/noire, que m'esi dure. Even now
the money was not paid, but after a controversy had broken out
between Schindlcr and the Prince over the former's charge that
Beethoven had never been paid for the Quartets, Galitzin sent the
75 ducats, and Karl complaisantly acquiesced in the Prince's re-
quest and signed a receipt for the money, not as in payment of the
debt, but as a voluntary tribute to the dead composer.1
'It would scarcely be worth while to review the acrimonious controversy on
this subject. There were errors ami misunderstandings growing out of faulty memories
and imperfect records. Mr. Thayer made a painstaking study of the Bubjed and se-
cured all the available correspondence from Prince George Galitzin and from otlu-r
sources in lsc>l. Hi-, resume as >jiveii in drove's "Dictionary <>f Music ami Musicians"
(Art. "Galitzin") doubtless sets forth the fact of indebtedness and payment correctly.
He says: "These (the last two Quartets) were received by the Prince together ami were
acknowledged by him Nov. ii, 1H£6. He also received a .MS. copy of the Mass in I) and
printed copies of the Ninth Symphony and of the two overtures in C, the one Op. 12 I I
dedicated to him, the other (Op. 115) dedicated to Count Radsivill. Thus the whole
claim against him was — Quartets 150 ducats; Overture (<)p. 115), 25 ducats; Mass, 50
ducats; loss on exchange, 1 ducats; total 229 ducats, not including various other pie.
music sent. On the other hand he appears, notwithstanding all his promises, to have
paid, up to the time of Beethoven's death, only lot ducat- It should l>e said that in
1826, war and insurrection hail broken out in Russia, which occupied the Prince and
obliged him to live away from Petersburg, and also put him to embarrassing expenses
After the peace of Adrianople, (Sept. L4, 1829) when Beethoven had been dead some
years a correspondence was opened with him by Hotschevar. Karl van Beethoven a
guardian, which resulted in is:;* in a further payment of SO ducat-., making ■ total of
154. Karl still urges his claim for 75 more to make up the 150 ducats for the Quartets,
which Galitzin in 1885 promises to pay but never docs, [n 1852, roused by Schindlers
statement of the affair fed. I. pp. 162, 168), he writes to the OamrtU nutieau of July 21,
is.-,*, a letter stating correctly the sum paid but incorrectly laying it all to the account
of the Quartets. Other letters passed between him and Karl Beethoven, but they are
not essential to the elucidation of the transaction.'
230 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
Schott was ready with the Ninth Symphony in July, 1826,
but Beethoven asked him to delay the despatch of the printed score
to the King of Prussia, to whom it was dedicated, until he had had
an opportunity to send the monarch a manuscript copy, which,
he said, would have no value after the publication. The reward
which he was looking forward to in return was a decoration.
The Conversation Books have considerable to say about the ded-
ication, but if the London Philharmonic Society ever entered
Beethoven's mind in connection with it, the record has been lost.
He wanted an Order, and had he received one in time for the con-
cert, its insignia would, in great likelihood, have graced his breast
on that occasion. He had repeatedly expressed contempt for the
outward signs of royal condescension, but the medal sent by the
King of France had evidently caused a change of heart in this
regard. He was eager to see a description and illustration of the
medallion in the newspapers; and that he thought of hanging it
about his neck, appears from a remark to him made by Karl
before the concert, telling him that it was too heavy to wear and
would pull down his collar. Visitors called to see it and he per-
mitted his intimate friends to show it about, until Holz cautioned
To this the present editor adds a bit of history derived chiefly from Mr. Thayer's
papers. In the course of time Schindler's partly erroneous statement that the debt
which Galitzin owed Beethoven at the time of his death was all on account of the quartets
was magnifled into the statement made by Heinrich Dbring and Brendel that the Prince
had "cheated" the composer out of the fee for the Quartets. Prince Nicolas Galitzin had
withdrawn to his distant estates in Russia, but at his instigation the cudgels were taken
up in his behalf by his son Prince George, who, stirred into indignation by Doring's
biography in particular, sent that writer the following letter: "I can not and do not want
to know anything of the past, all the less since it will certainly not be expected of me to
contradict the proofs produced by him (his father). But as by the publication of your
article you have made the question for me one of the day, I, as a man of honor must do
my duty to put an end to these misunderstandings. I have deposited the sum of 125
ducats which you bring in question with Mr. Kaskel, banker in Dresden, for the heirs of
Beethoven, and from you, my dear Sir, I expect the necessary information in this matter,
since you must have acquainted yourself with the necessary facts while writing your
notice. You must admit that hereafter I reserve the right to treat this question as a
personal one! In case the family of Beethoven has died out there will be no other dis-
position of the money deposited with Banker Kaskel than to pay it over to a charity or
some other cause which may be directly associated with the name and works of the
famous artist. Dresden, July 15-3, 1858." Karl van Beethoven, sole heir of the composer,
had died three months previously, leaving a widow and children, who were his heirs.
Prince George's money seemed like a gift of Providence to the widow, who hastened, as
soon as she read the letter in a musical journal, to write to Holz as the friend of the dead
composer to collect the money for her and express her gratitude to Prince George.
Holz complied with part of her request in a letter full of obsequiousness in which he ac-
cused Schindler of scandalmongering and offered to provide the Prince with evidence of
that gentleman's rascality. But he did not collect the money, which lay still untouched
in the vaults of Kaskel in 1861, when Madame van Beethoven, having made a vain
application to Prince George, addressed a letter to Kaskel asking whether the money was
still deposited with him or had been withdrawn by Prince George. In the latter event she
stated that she wanted to contradict a statement circulating by the public press that the
heirs of Beethoven had received the gift. Kaskel referred her to Ad. Reichel, a musical
director in Dresden and a friend of the Prince, through whom, indeed, the deposit had
Dedication of the Ninth Symphony 23]
him to do so no more, as it was showing marks of damage from a
fall. In one conversation, Johann suggests thai the Symphony be
dedicated to the ( 'zar of Russia ami from a remark in one <>f Prince
Galitzin's letters telling him that, by a recent decree, all foreigners
who wished t<> dedicate works of art to the Czar would have to
obtain permission to do so from the Minister of Foreign Aifairs,
it would appear that Johann's suggestion, or approval, had also
received his sanction. Ferdinand Ries was also a candidate f«>r
the distinction (Beethoven had promised him the dedication in a
letter), his claim being put forward, without particular urgency, by
Franz Christian KirchhohVr, a hook keeper with whom Beethoven
was acquainted and through whom Ries carried on his correspon-
dence with the composer. On April 8, 1824, Karl wrote in a
Conversation Book: "As soon as the Symphony has been Bent to
England it must he copied again handsomely on vellum paper ami
sent with an inscription to the Kin«,r of France." On tin- same
day, apparently, Schindler asks: "Who has the preference in the
matter of the dedication of the Symphony — Ries or the King of
Prussia? — It ought to he offered as a proof of your gratitude, in
these words. — There could be no better opportunity than just
been made. On April 28, 1861, she wrote to Iteieln-1, reviewing the fact- in t h>- case and
stating her desire to apply the money, in case it was given to ber, to the musical education
of ber youngest daughter, Hermine van Beethoven, then s years of age. Kaskel also
wrote to Reichel, sending him Madame van Beethoven's letter and saying thai as be had
not heard anything from Prince Galitsin for several years be intended to turn the money
over to the Municipal Court of Dresden in order to spare himself all further correS]
dence in the matter. Kaskel wrote to the Prince on May 7. 1881, asking him to pre-
scribe a disposition of the money, for. if Kaskel carried out bis determination to send it to
the court, it would !>e frittered away. Be urged that the money be given to bfadame
van Beethoven. This revival <>f interest in the subject was evidently due to Mr.
Thayer's activity in behalf of the widow and her daughter. Mr. Thayer was in
London in 1860 and evidently took up the matter with the Prince. He makes do mention
of the subject in bis notice written for Grove's "Dictionary"; but among his letters
the present writer found the following letter, evidently written on the eve "f his de-
parture from England in February, 1861:
"Dear Mr. Thayer. Prince Galitsin has asked me to remit to you the enclosed
letters, praying you kindly to act for him in the affair, as you will soon be on the >p..t.
lie begs you, bowever, to bear in mind the necessity otf proving thai the money for these
Quartets has not been paid 1 1 fear an impossibility!); !>ut bowever vexatious this m
to | r Mad. v. B. everyone must defer to the obstacle to her baving the money: in the
awkward light in which it places the Prince's father. From what I can gather from his
conversation he will be most satisfied to have the money appropriated for the purpose you
suggested: the M. S. S. At all events Prince G. is quite content to leave the matter in
your hands. Wishing ymi a pleasant journey and speedy return, believe me. dear hfl
Thayer, Yours sincerly Natalia Macfarren."
The editor's iiforts to learn the ultimate disposition of the money deposited with
Kaskel have been in vain. Mr. Thayer's papers contain no hint of the steps which
may have been taken after Mrs. Macfarren s appeal to Prince George; the banking
house of Kaskel is pir ill of existence; Nephew Karl's daughter , Hermine. is dead.
For three years, from 1866 to [869, she was a student in the pianoforte and harmonium
classes of t he Conservatory at Vienna, and it seems likely t hit Mr. Thayer succeeded in
having the Dresden deposit applied to her education; but if so he I eft no memorandum ol
that fact amongst the papers which bavecome under t he editor's eyes.
232 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
now for this purpose." It is obvious that Schindler favors the
King of France, for a day or two later he writes: "Schwaebl sends
his compliments and is highly delighted that you are pleased with
the gift. As regards the you-know-what he wants you to write to
the Duke de la Chartre [d'Achats] yourself, but for the present
nothing about the dedication — leave the reference till later."
The advice is repeated and the subject concluded with: "Good,
then you will stick to France."
These facts belong chronologically to the history of 1824, but
they have been made pertinent by the discussion of the dedication
and presentation of the Ninth Symphony to the King of Prussia,
which took place in 1826. They are also valuable to correct a
misapprehension which has prevailed ever since the publication
of Hogarth's history of the London Philharmonic Society and was
no doubt current before then. Hogarth says that the directors
of the society resolved to offer Beethoven £50 for a manuscript
symphony on November 10, 1822, and adds, "the money was im-
mediately advanced." In a note to his translation of one of
Beethoven's letters (Kalischer-Shedlock, Vol. II, p. 448) Mr.
Shedlock calls attention to the fact that there is a document in the
British Museum, acknowledging receipt of £50 for a symphony
composed for the society, dated April 27, 1824. This document
proves the date on which Beethoven received the remuneration
for the Symphony to have been that indicated in the receipt be-
yond peradventure. On April 26 or 27 Karl writes, in the Con-
versation Book from which we have been quoting:
He [presumably Johann van Beethovenl is not at home at noon.
He will himself come soon after 7. He says you owe him 500 florins which
is squared by the payment for the Symphony. Moreover Ries begs you
to dedicate the Symphony to him. — Shares — You must not refuse
bluntly, but give him an evasive answer, until you have the shares. Is
the Symphony ready to be taken away? — Then you can go out and the
brother will come here. The Symphony must not be published for a
year. 1 Did you dedicate the overture to him? You might dedicate it to
him.
Johann (a short time afterward). — KirchhofTer was here and said
that ducats have depreciated in value and we ought to inform ourselves at
once. He wants me to bring him the two documents and the Symphony,
when he will at once hand over the two shares. I beg you therefore to
sign this now so that I can be with him at 10 o'clock. I will bring the
two shares at once. — The girl can carry the Symphony with me now. —
As regards the dedication of the Symphony it was only a question put
for Ries by KirchhofTer and must in no case be. He would have liked to
Under the agreement it was to be the exclusive property of the Philharmonic
Society for a year and a half.
A Royal Gift of Small Valt e 23S
see Ries [get it?] because he la going to leave London soon. — I told him
it could not well be in the case of this work, whereupon he Baid m> more.
In no event does he count on it longer.
When finally, in 1826, Beethoven decided thai the Symphony
.should be dedicated to the King of Prussia, he obtained permission
of Prince Batzfeld, the Prussian Ambassador, to do bo. Dr.
Spicker, the King's librarian, was in Vienna ;it the time and ar-
rangements were made to transmit a copy of the score to Berlin
through him. IIolz had a talk with him and he advised him con-
cerning the preparat ion of the presental ion copy and also discussed
the possibility of a decoration. Spicker told Hoi/ to have Beet-
hoven copy the title of the printed work on the title-page in his
natural and habitual handwriting without any attempt at beau-
tification. This would enhance the value of the score in the ey<
of the King and he would put it in his private library. To get the
order would be an easy matter, for the King was predisposed in
Beethoven's favor. Spicker also visited Beethoven, being pre-
sented by Haslinger, but, unfortunately, the pages of the hook
which must have recorded the conversation have not been pre-
served; or, if preserved, not been made known. Beethoven wrote
the title-page, t he score was handsomely hound by Steiuer and ( !o.
and placed in the hands of Dr. Spicker with the following letter:
Your Majesty:
It is a piece <>f great good fortune in my life that Your Majesty has
graciously allowed me to dedicate the present work to you.
Your Majesty is not only the father of your subjects hut also pro-
tector of the arts and sciences; how much more, therefore, must I rejoice
in your gracious permission since I am also so fort incite as to count my-
self a <it izen of Bonn and therefore one of your subjects.
I beg of Your Majesty graciously to accept this work as a slight
token of the high reverence which I give to all your virtues.
Your Majesty's
Most obedient servant
laid wig van Beethoven.
The King's acknowledgment was as follows:
In view of the recognized worth of your compositions it was very
agreeable for me to receive the new work which you have sent inc. I
thank you for sending it ami hand you the accompanying diamond ring
as a token of my sincere appreciation.
Berlin, November 25, 1826 Friedricn Wilhelm.
To the composer Ludwig van Beethoven.
Schindler says that when the case containing the King's gift
was opened it was found to contain, not a diamond ring as the
letter had described it . hut one set with a stone of a "reddish" hue
234 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
which the court jeweller to whom it was shown appraised at 300
florins, paper money. Beethoven was very indignant and was
with difficulty dissuaded from sending it back to the Prussian
Ambassador; eventually he sold it to the jeweler at the value
which he had set upon it. Whether or not the ring was the one
really sent from Berlin or one which had been substituted for it
(as was suspected in some quarters), has never been determined.
Despite the cordial relations between Beethoven and Haslin-
ger, which endured to the end of the composer's life, there was
continual friction between him and the Steiner firm, for which it
would seem that Holz was at this time responsible in a considerable
degree; and it may have been he who put the notion into Beetho-
ven's head that it would be a stroke of business to buy back all of
his manuscripts which Steiner had acquired but had not yet pub-
lished. Dissatisfaction with the policy of publishers, however,
was in Beethoven a confirmed mood ; we have heard him rail against
the men who wanted to withhold his works till he was dead, so as
to profit from the public curiosity which would follow. Beethoven
made the proposition in a jocular letter to Haslinger offering to
pay the same "shameful" price for all his unpublished manuscripts
which the firm had paid him. The transaction was not consum-
mated; if it had been there can be no doubt but that it would have
been highly advantageous to him, since both Schott and Artaria
were now eager to have his works.
Among Beethoven's intimate friends was Abbe Stadler, an
old man and an old-fashioned musician, the horizon of whose
aesthetic appreciation was marked by the death-date of his friend
Mozart. Castelli says that he used to call Beethoven's music
"pure nonsense"; certain it is that he used to leave the concert-
room whenever a composition by Beethoven was to be played.
Schuppanzigh offered as an excuse for him that he had a long way
home, and it does not appear that Beethoven ever took umbrage at
his conduct. Holz, telling Beethoven in February, 1825, that
as usual he had left the room when an overture by Beethoven
was about to be played, added: "He is too old. He always says
when Mozart is reached, 'More I cannot understand.'" But
once he staid and not only listened to a Beethoven piece but
praised it. It was the Trio for Strings, Op. 9, which had been
composed nearly a generation before! Holz becomes sarcastic:
"One might say A. B. C. D. (Abbe cedait)" Stadler now had
occasion to court Beethoven's favor, or at least to betray the fact
that even if he could not appreciate his music he yet had had a
vast respect for his genius and reputation. In 1825, Gottfried
A Defense of Mozart's "Requiem"
235
Weber had written an essay, which was published in the "Cacilia"
journal, attacking the authenticity of Mozart's "Requiem."
The article angered Beethoven, as is evidenced by his marginal
glosses on the copy of the journal which he read, now in the pos-
session of Dr. Prieger in Bonn. The glosses are two in number:
"Oh, you arch ass!" and "Double ass!" Such a disposition of an
attack on the artistic honor of his friend did not suffice Stadler.
He published a defence of Mozart ("Vertheidigung iter Echtheit
des Mozartschen Requiems") and sent a copy to Beethoven, who
acknowledged it thus:
On the 6th of Feby., 1826.
Respected and venerable Sir:
You have done a really good deed in securing justice for the manes
of Mozart by your truly exemplary and exhaustive essay, and lay and
profane, all who are musical or can in anywise be accounted so must give
you thanks.
It requires either nothing or much for one like Herr W. to bring
such a subject on the carpet.
When it is also considered that to the best of my knowledge such an
one has written a treatise on composition and yet tries to attribute such
passages as
~T ? *f f
to Mozart, and adds to it such passages as
*
&
*
A
* '
gnus De - 1
ca - ta mun-di
and
pec - ca
we are reminded by Herr W*s amazing knowledge of harmony and melody
of the old and dead Imperial Composers Sterkel (illegible), Kalk-
brenner (the father), Andre (nield der (jar Andere) etc.
Requiescai in pace. — I thank you in especial, my honored friend, for
the happiness which you have given me in sending me your essay. 1 have
always counted myself among the greatest admirers of Mozart and will
remain such till my last breath.
Reverend Sir, your blessing soon.1
The concluding supplication recalls an anecdote related by
Castclli in his memoirs: Beethoven and Abbe Stadler once met
lThia interesting letter is now owned by Dwight Newman of Cbi<
236
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
at Steiner's. About to depart, Beethoven kneeled before the
Abbe and said: "Reverend Sir, give me your blessing." Stadler,
not at all embarrassed, made the sign of the cross over the kneel-
ing man and, as if mumbling a prayer, said: "Hilft's nix, schadt's
nix" ("If it does no good, 'twill do no harm"). Beethoven there-
upon kissed his hand amid the laughter of the bystanders. Jahn
heard the same story from Fischoff.1
A remark in a Conversation Book of 1826 indicates that
Stadler had urged Beethoven to write a mass. Holz says: "If
Stadler tells you to write a mass it is certain that something will
be done for it. He knows best of anybody which way the wind
blows. — He has Dietrichstein and Eybler in his pocket. — You
are well cared for if Stadler favors it." The conversations of
Holz also provide a fleeting glimpse of Schubert in this year.
Holz tells Beethoven that he had seen the young composer with
either Artaria or Mosel (the allusion is vague) and that the two
were reading a Handel score together. "He (Schubert) was very
amiable and thanked me for the pleasure which Mylord's [Schup-
panzigh's] Quartets gave him; he was always present. — He has a
great gift for songs. — Do you know the 'Erlking'? He spoke very
mystically, always."
Friedrich Wieck, father of Clara Schumann, spent three
hours with Beethoven in May, having been presented by Andreas
Stein, the pianoforte maker. He told about the visit long after-
ward in a letter to his second wife which was reprinted in the
"Signale" No. 57, in December, 1873, from the "Dresdener
Nachrichten." Beethoven gave his guest wine (to which Wieck
!Though there is no authority for doing so it seems impossible not to associate the
following three-part canon, which may be found in the B. and H. Complete Edition, with
this amusing anecdote:
it
:h
T
i
i
^
Si-gnor Ab - bate!
(Si-gnor Ab - bate!
Jr %
io so - no,
I'm ail - ing,
io so - no,
I'm ail- ing,
10
I'm
so - no am- ma-
ail - ing, I am
sssa
m
mt
la -
ail -
to! San - to
ing! Ho - ly
^
Pa - dre vieni e
Fa - ther! has - ten,
%
da - te- mi
has -ten to
la be - ne - di - zi -
me. has - ten to me.
&
I
jr-r»
ppp
¥
«* — #■
o - ne, la be - ne-dl - zio-
has - ten, and give me thy bless
xs
- ne.
ing!
Hoi' Sie der Teu-fel, wennSienicht
Go 4 to'/ the dev- il, un-less you
J i JW> >
&
f3k
-F-^-£-P-
kom-men, hoi' Sie der Teu- fel, wenn Sie nicht kom-men,hol' Sie der Teu - fel!
has - ten, go to the dev- il, un-less youhas-ten, go to the dev - »1!)
Beethoven and Friedrich Wieck 23?
was not accustomed), improvised for him over an hour and talked
voluminously about
musical conditions in Leipsic — Rochlitz — Schicht — Gewandhaua — his
housekeeper — his many lodgings, none of which suited him — his prome-
nades— Hietzing — Schonbrunn — his brother — various stupid people in
Vienna — aristocracy — democracy — revolution — Napoleon — Mara —
Catalani — Malibran — Fodor — the excellent Italian singers Lablache,
Donzelli, Rubini and others, the perfection of Italian opera (German
opera could never be so perfect because of the language and because the
Germans did not learn to sing as beautifully as the Italians) — my views
on pianoforte playing — Archduke Rudolph — Fuchs in Vienna, at the
time a famous musical personality — my improved method of pianoforte
teaching, etc.
Wieck says the meeting was in Hietzing, and that Beethoven
played upon the pianoforte "presented to him by the city of
London" — three obvious mistakes, since Beethoven was not in
Hietzing in May, but in Vienna, and the Broadwood pianoforte,
which was not presented to him by the city of London but by
Thomas Broadwood, was in the hands of Graf for repairs in May.
After Karl's attempt to end his ill-spent life, with its crushing
effect upon the composer, the friends, Holz in particular, made
many efforts to divert Beethoven's mind from his disappointment
and grief. They accompanied him on brief excursions into the
country which he loved so passionately and which had been
closed to him, for the customary happy season, by his nephew's
act. Again did his brother offer him a haven at Gneixendorf in
August, only to receive the curt answer: "I will not come. Your
brother ? ? ????!!!! Ludwig." His nephew was lying in the
hospital. Pie could not leave him then nor did he go until it had
become necessary to find an asylum for Karl as well as a resting-
place for himself. His brother came to the city late in September;
it was necessarv that Karl should remain out of Vienna until he
could join a regiment of soldiery, and so Beethoven accepted
Johann's renewed invitation to make a sojourn at Gneixendorf.
Meanwhile he was far from idle. He had begun a new quartet,
in F major, and Schlesinger, pere, who had come from Berlin,
negotiated with him for its publication. He had the new finale
for the B-flat Quartet on his mind and, as will appear later, several
other works occupied him. With Schlesinger he talked about the
Complete Edition and some military marches which the King of
Prussia was to pay for, as they were to be written for the Royal
Band. The chief obstacle to Beethoven's acceptance of his bro-
ther's repeated invitations to visit him at Gneixendorf came from
238 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
the presence there of the brother's wife. Her scandalous conduct
had begotten an intense hatred in Beethoven's mind. Urged on
by his brother, Johann had once planned to put her away, but
there was an obstacle in the shape of a marriage contract, which
gave her half of his property, and though she was willing to sur-
render the contract at one time, she was not content to be turned
out upon the world with neither character nor means of subsis-
tence. Besides, Johann was loath to take the drastic methods
which alone were open to him. He was inclined, much to the
indignation of his brother, to be complaisant; he needed a house-
keeper and for that she would serve. "I go my way and let her go
hers," he said, and he told his brother when trying to persuade him
to spend his summers, perhaps eventually all his time, at Gneixen-
dorf , that he need pay no heed whatever to his sister-in-law. Much
of the ill-feeling was due to the fact that Beethoven wanted to
insure his brother's fortune for Karl. The nephew did eventually
become his sole heir and inherited 42,000 florins from him.
On September 28, Beethoven and his nephew left Vienna for
Gneixendorf, intending to stay a week. A night was passed at a
village en route, and Johann's estate was reached in the afternoon
of the next day — the 29th — but not too late for the composer to
walk through the fields with his brother to take a look at the pro-
perty. The next day the walk was extended to the vineyards on
the hill in the forenoon and to Imbach in the afternoon. There
Karl pointed out to his uncle some historical monuments: "This
is the cloister where Margarethe, Ottocar's wife, died; the scene
occurs in Grillparzer's piece." Thus, with other excursions the
next day, life at Gneixendorf began.
Gneixendorf is a little village on a high plateau of the Danube
Valley about an hour's walk from Krems. It is a mean hamlet,
with only one street and that narrow, rough and dirty. The
houses are low huts. Wasserhof, as the place is now called, the
Beethoven estate, lies opposite the village and is reached by a
wagon road which runs a large part of the way along the edge of a
ravine, which torrents have cut out of the clayey soil. The
plateau is almost treeless but covered with fields and vines. In
Beethoven's time there were two houses on the estate, both large
and handsome, each with its garden and surrounding wall. The
houses were separated from each other by a road. A generation
after Beethoven had been a visitor there the gardens were found
neglected and the trees which surrounded the house, a two-
1"The name is something like the breaking of an axletree," wrote Beethoven to
Haslinger in October.
Beethoven at Gneixendorf 239
storey structure strongly built of stone with a covering of mortar,
shut out a view of the surrounding country.1 Beethoven's rooms
were on the east side, and unless the trees interfered the compo-
ser had a magnificent view of the Danubian valley stretching to
the distant Styrian mountains. Johann van Beethoven's pos-
sessions compassed nearly 400 acres, most of which he leased to
tenants. A lover of hills and forests like Beethoven must have
found Wasserhof dreary and monotonous in the extreme, yet the
distant view of the Danube seems to have compensated him in a
measure, for it reminded him of the Rhine.
Gerhard von Breuning gives a distressful account of Beetho-
ven's reception and treatment at Gneixendorf. It is, indeed, too
distressful to be implicitly accepted as true, nor are all his accusa-
tions against Johann borne out by the evidence of the Conversation
Books and other indubitable facts. If the account in Breuning's
book "Aus dem Schwarzspanierhaus" were literally true, we
should have to picture to ourselves Beethoven, arrived at his
brother's place, being assigned rooms which were unfit for occu-
pation in the cold, wet November weather which ensued, denied
facilities for proper heating, having fire-wood stingily doled out to
him, compelled to eat miserable food and forced to be content with
too little even of that, and three days after his arrival informed that
he would be expected to pay for his board and lodging. One
would think while reading the account that Johann van Beetho-
ven, who had been offering hospitalities to his brother for years,
had done so only to make money out of him and had at last suc-
ceeded in his design by taking advantage of the overwhelming
sorrow which had come upon him.2 Beethoven is said to have
iThe description is based on that made by Thayer when he visited Gneixendorf in
1860.
2The romancing biographers who copy Schindler and Gerhard von Breuning in
their accusations that Johann van Beethoven was prompted only by the meanest motives
of self-interest in all his dealings with his great brother will have a difficult task to ex-
plain away the evidence to the contrary afforded by the Conversation Books. The
proposition that the two make a common home in Vienna had come from Ludwig and
been urged by him. After Johann had acquired the estate at Gneixendorf lie made
repeated efforts to persuade his brother to spend his summer vacation there. In isi;5
Beethoven wrote: "He always wants me to come to his peopli — non poasibile per me."
The obstacle was Johann's wife, who had becomeoneof "his people" because of the com-
poser's interference with Johann's private affairs at Linz. Urged on by Ludwig, Johann
had taken action against the woman and made himself master of his household. In a
Conversation Book of IHii may be read in Johann's hand: "My wife has surrendered her
marriage contract and entered into an obligation permitting me to drive her away
without notice at the first new acquaintance which she maki Beethoven seem- to
have asked, "Why do you not do it!" for Johann continues: "I cannot do that . I cannot
know but that some misfortune might befall me."' Then Karl takes the pencil: "Your
brother proposes that you spend the four months at his place. You would have I or .">
rooms, very beautiful, high and large. Everything is well arranged; you will find fowls,
oxen, cows, hares, etc. Moreover, as regards the wife, she IS looked upon as a housekeeper
240 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
made complaints in the nature of von Breuning's accusations in a
letter written from Gneixendorf to Stephan von Breuning, and also
to have given expression to his feelings at being obliged to submit
to the repulsive companionship of his brother's wife and step-
daughter. The letter is lost and was not printed by Breuning's
son in proof of the charges; but if it had been it would not be con-
clusive in the minds of dispassionate judges. Against it there
would lie the evidences of the brother's numerous acts of help-
fulness, the many instances of Beethoven's unreasonable suspicion
and unjust judgment and, above all, the testimony of the Con-
versation Books. As to the matter of an insufficient supply
of fire-wood, there is a remark of Karl's, made after a return to
Vienna is already in contemplation: "As regards expenses, wood
is so cheap that it is inconceivable that your brother should be at
any considerable cost, for you can heat a long time with a cord and
he is already overpaid." Long before when Johann had been
trying in vain to induce him to come to Gneixendorf for the sum-
mer he rebukes him for his unwillingness to accept his hospitality
gratis. Once during the sojourn he says explicitly: "You do not
need money here"; and at another time: "If you want to live with
us you can have everything for 40 florins Convention money a
month, which makes only 500 florins for a whole year," and again:
"You will need only half of your pension" and "I will charge noth-
ing for the first fortnight; I would do more if I were not so hard-
pressed with taxes." Beethoven had planned at the outset to
stay only a week, just long enough for the scar on Karl's head to
disappear sufficiently to make him presentable to his command-
ing officer. Instead, the visit lasted two months and Johann was
short of money. He had still two payments to make on the pur-
chase-money for the estate, and collections were not good.
Beethoven was sick when he went to Gneixendorf. He had
not recovered from his illness of the early months of the year when
Karl attempted to kill himself, and this was not calculated to im-
prove the physical or mental condition of so nervous and irritable
a being as he. On October 7, eight days after his arrival in
only and will not disturb you. The scenery is glorious and it will not cost you a penny.
There is a housekeeper; water containing iron, an individual bathroom, etc. If you
do not take it he will give up five rooms and announce the fact in the newspapers."
Beethoven, obviously, brings forward his objection to Johann's wife, for Karl writes:
"That matter has come to an end. You will scarcely see the woman. She looks after
the housekeeping and works. All the more since she is completely tamed. Besides, she
has promised to conduct herself properly." Other matters are discussed and then
Johann writes: "It looks to me as if you did not want to come because it will not cost
you anything. Who will look after our household affairs? Who will endure our
humors?" In another book Karl writes that Johann had often said that his brother
could have everything for nothing at Gneixendorf.
Anecdotes of a Rural Sojourn 241
Gneixendorf, he wrote a letter from a sickbed and Breuning, to
whom it was sent, who knew his physical condition well, remarked
that he was in danger of becoming seriously ill, possibly dropsical.
Nothing was more natural than that his letters should be full of
complaints, some of which might well be measurably founded on
fact without convicting his brother of inhumanity. He had
never been a comfortable or considerate guest or tenant at the
best, and his adaptability to circumstances was certainly not
promoted by the repugnance which he felt towards his sister-in-
law and his want of honest affection for his brother.
Concerning his life in Gneixendorf, a number of interesting
details were told in an article entitled "Beethoven in Gneixendorf,"
published in the "Deutsche Musikzeitung" in 1862, r some of which
are worth reciting again. One day Johann went to Langenfeld
and Beethoven and other people from Gneixendorf went with him.
The purpose was to visit a surgeon named Karrer, a friend of the
brother. The surgeon was absent on a sick-call, but his wife,
flattered by a visit from the landowner, entertained him lavishly.
Noticing a man who held himself aloof from the company, sitting
silently on the bench behind the stove, and taking him for one of
her guest's servants, she filled a little jug with native wine and
handed it to him with the remark: "He shall also have a drink."
When the surgeon returned home late at night and heard an
account of the incident he exclaimed: "My dear wife, what have
you done? The greatest composer of the century was in our
house to-day and you treated him with such disrespect!"
Johann had occasion to visit the syndic Sterz in Langenlois on
a matter of business. Beethoven accompanied him. The con-
ference lasted a considerable time, during all of which Beethoven
stood motionless at the door of the official's office. At the leave-
taking Sterz bowed often and low to the stranger, and after he was
gone asked his clerk, named Fux, an enthusiastic lover of music,
especially of Beethoven's; "Who do you think the man was who
stood by the door?" Fux replied: "Considering that you, Mr.
Syndic, treated him with such politeness, his may be an exceptional
case; otherwise I should take him for an imbecile (Trotfel)." The
consternation of the clerk may be imagined when told the name of
the man whom he had taken for an idiot.
Johann's wife had assigned Michael Krenn, son of one of her
husband's vinedressers, to look after Beethoven's wants. At
first the cook had to make up Beethoven's bed. One day, while
'Page 77 et seq. The article was based largely on information gathered by Mr.
Thayer at Gneixendorf in 18G0 and had been submitted to him for revision.
242 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
the woman was thus occupied, Beethoven sat at a table gesticulat-
ing with his hands, beating time with his feet, muttering and sing-
ing. The woman burst into a laugh, which Beethoven observed.
He drove her out of the room instanter. Krenn tried to follow her,
but Beethoven drew him back, gave him three 20-kreutzer pieces,
told him not to be afraid, and said that hereafter he should make
the bed and clean the floor every day. Krenn said that he was
told to come to the room early, but generally had to knock a long
time before Beethoven opened the door. It was Beethoven's
custom to get up at half-past 5 o'clock, seat himself at a table and
write while he beat time with hands and feet and sang. This
frequently stirred Krenn's risibles, and when he could no longer
restrain his laughter he used to leave the room. Gradually he
grew accustomed to it. The family breakfast was eaten at half-
past 7 o'clock, after which Beethoven hurried out into the open
air, rambled across the fields shouting and waving his arms,
sometimes walking very rapidly, sometimes very slowly and stop-
ping at times to write in a sort of pocketbook. This book he once
lost and said: "Michael, run about and hunt my writings; I must
have them again at any cost." Michael luckily found them. At
half-past 12 Beethoven would come home for dinner, after which
he went to his room until about 3 o'clock; then he roamed over the
fields until shortly before sunset, after which he never went out of
doors. Supper was at half-past 7, and after eating he went to his
room, wrote till 10 o'clock and then went to bed. Occasionally
Beethoven played the pianoforte, which did not stand in his room
but in the salon. Nobody was permitted to enter his rooms ex-
cept Michael, who had to put them in order while Beethoven was
out walking. In doing so he several times found money on the
floor, and when he carried it to its owner, Beethoven made him
show him where he had picked it up and then gave it to him.
This happened three or four times, after which no more money was
found. In the evening Michael had to sit with Beethoven and
write down answers to questions which he asked. Generally
Beethoven wanted to know what had been said about him at dinner
and supper.
One day the wife of the landowner sent Michael to Stein with
5 florins to buy wine and a fish; but Michael was careless and lost
the money. He came back to Gneixendorf in consternation. As
soon as Madame van Beethoven saw him she asked for the fish,
and when he told her of the loss she discharged him from her service.
When Beethoven came into dinner he asked at once for his servant
and the lady told him what had happened. Beethoven grew
Beethoven Scares a Yoke of Oxen 243
fearfully excited, gave her 5 florins, and angrily demanded that
Michael be called back at once. After that he never went to table
any more but had his dinner and supper brought to his rooms,
where Michael had to prepare breakfast for him. Even before
this occurrence Beethoven scarcely ever spoke to his sister-in-law
and seldom to his brother. Beethoven wanted to take Michael
with him to Vienna, but when a cook came to call for the com-
poser the plan was abandoned.
Two old peasants told the owner of Wasserhof in 1862 stories
which confirm Krenn's account of Beethoven's unusual behavior
in the fields. Because of his unaccountable actions thev at first
took him for a madman and kept out of his way. When they had
become accustomed to his singularities and learned that he was a
brother of the landlord they used to greet him politely; but he,
always lost in thought, seldom if ever returned their greetings.
One of these peasants, a young man at the time, had an advent ore
with Beethoven of a most comical nature. He was driving a pair
of young oxen, scarcely broken to the yoke, from the tile-kiln to-
ward the manor-house when he met Beethoven shouting and
waving his arms about in wild gesticulations. The peasant called
to him: A bissel stada! ("A little quieter") but he paid no attention
to the request. The oxen took fright, ran down a steep hill and
the peasant had great difficulty in bringing them to a stand, turning
them and getting them back on the road. Again Beethoven came
towards them, still shouting and gesticulating. The yokel
called to him a second time, but in vain; and now the oxen rushed
towards the house, where they were stopped by one of the men
employed there. When the driver came up and asked who tin-
fool was who had scared his oxen the man told him it was the
proprietor's brother. "A pretty brother, that he is!" was the
answering comment.
On October 7 Beethoven answered the letter which he had
received many months before from Wegeler. He wrote a long
letter in the cordial and intimate tone which is to be found only
in the correspondence with persons to whom he was bound by
ties of affectionate friendship, but made no reference to Karl. On
the subject of his paternity he wrote:
You write that I am written down somewhere as a natural son of the
deceased king of Prussia; this was mentioned to me long a<io. I have made
it a principle never to write anything about myself nor to reply to any-
thing written about me. For this reason I gladly leave it to you to make
known to the world the honesty of my parents, and my mother in par-
ticular.
244 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
He tells with pride of the gift from the King of France, of
other distinctions which he had received, and of King Frederick
William's desire to have the autograph of his new Symphony for
the Royal Library, and adds: "Something has been said to me in
this connection about the order of the Red Eagle, second class.1
What the outcome will be I do not know; I have never sought for
such marks of honor, but at my present age they would not be
unwelcome, for several reasons."
On October 13 he wrote a merry letter to Haslinger, whom he
addresses in music as "First of all Tobiasses," asking him to
deliver a quartet (the one in F major published as Op. 135) to
Schlesinger's agent and collect and forward the money, of which
he stands in need. On the same day he wrote to Schott and Sons
enclosing the metronome marks for the Ninth Symphony which
the Conversation Book shows had been dictated to Karl before
the departure from Vienna. That he was not as grievously
disappointed by his surroundings at Gneixendorf as might have
been expected is evidenced by the remark: "The scenes among
which I am sojourning remind me somewhat of the Rhine country
which I so greatly long to see again, having left them in my youth."
The Quartet in F was completed at Gneixendorf. Beethoven
sent it to Schlesinger's agent on October 30, and had probably
put the finishing touches on it about the time when he wrote to
Haslinger about its delivery a fortnight before. Schlesinger had
agreed to pay 80 ducats for it. It had been in hand four months
at least, for in July he told Holz that he intended to write another
quartet and when Holz asked, "In what key?" and was told, he
remarked, "But that will be the third in F. There is none in
D minor. It is singular that there is none among Haydn's in
A minor." If there were positive evidence in the "Muss es sein?"
incident, a still earlier date would have to be set for its origin, but
here we are left to conjecture. There was considerable merry-
making over the Dembscher joke, and it is at least probable that
the first sketches for the Quartet and the Canon were written about
the same time. The point which cannot be definitely determined
is whether or not the motif of the Canon was destined from the
first for the finale of the Quartet. It may have been in Beetho-
ven's mind for that purpose and the sudden inspiration on hearing
the story of Dembscher's query "Muss es sein?" may have gone
only to the words and the use of them with the music for the Canon.
That the Quartet was to be shorter than the others was known
before Beethoven left Vienna. Holz once says to Beethoven
JThird class is what is talked about in the Conversation Books.
Works Written at Gneixendorf 245
before the departure that Schlesinger had asked about it and that
he had replied that Beethoven was at work upon it, and added:
"You will not publish it if it is short. Even if it should have
only three movements it would still be a quartet by Beethoven, and
it would not cost so much to print it."1
The new finale for the Quartet in B-flat was also completed in
Gneixendorf, though it, too, had been worked out almost to a
conclusion in Vienna. It was delivered on November 2.5 to
Artaria, who gave him 15 ducats for it. Schuppanzigh gave it a
private performance in December and told Beethoven that the
company thought it kostlich and that Artaria was overjoyed when
he heard it. There were other compositions on which Beethoven
worked in Gneixendorf when he compelled laughter from the cook
and frightened the peasant's oxen. At Diabelli's request he had
said that he would write a quintet with flute. Sketches for a
quintet have been found, showing that the work was in a consider-
able state of forwardness, but in them there are no signs of a flute.
Holz told Jahn that the first movement of a quintet in C for
strings which Diabelli had bought for 100 ducats was finished in
the composer's head and the first page written out. In the cata-
logue of Beethoven's posthumous effects No. 173 was "Fragment
of a new Violin Quintet, of November, 1826, last work of the com-
poser," which was officially valued at 10 florins. It was bought by
Diabelli at the auction sale and published in pianoforte arrange-
ments, two and four hands, with the title: "Ludwig van Beetho-
ven's last Musical Thought, after the original manuscript of
November, 1826," and the remark: "Sketch of the Quintet which
the publishers, A. Diabelli and Co., commissioned Beethoven to
write and purchased from his relics with proprietary rights."
The published work is a short movement in C in two divisions,
having a broad theme of a festal character, Andante maestoso and
Polonaise rhythm. The autograph having disappeared it can not
now be said how much of the piece was actually written out by
Beethoven. Nottebohm shows ("Zweit. Beeth.," p. 7!) et seq.)
that the sketches for the quintet were written after Beethoven had
begun to make a fair copy of the last movement of the B-flat
Quartet. Lenz, in volume V of his work on Beethoven (p. 21!)),
tells a story derived from Holz to the effect that when Beethoven
sent him the last movement of the B-flat Quartet with injunctions
to collect 12 ducats from Artaria, he accompanied it with a Canon
'Holz told Jahn that Schlesinger had bought it for 80 ducats and sent S60 florins
in payment; whereupon Beethoven had said "If a Jew scuds circumcised ducat- he
shall have a circumcised Quartet. That's the reason it is so short."
246 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
on the words "Here is the work; get me the money" {Hier ist das
Werh, schafft mir das Geld). According to a report circulated in
Vienna in 1889, a copy of this Canon was purchased from Holz's
son for the Beethoven Collection in Heiligenstadt. The lines
and notes were described as having been written by Beethoven,
the words: Hier ist das Werh, sorgtfiir das Geld — 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
S, 9, 10, 11, 12 Duhaten, by Holz to Beethoven's dictation. The
story is not altogether convincing. The movement was completed
in Gneixendorf and Artaria received and paid for it in November.
He paid 15, not 12, ducats; and it is not patent how Beethoven
in Gneixendorf could dictate to Holz in Vienna. He did not
return to Vienna till December 2. There are references to
other works in the Conversation Books which are not clear.
In January Mathias Artaria writes: "I hear of six fugues. —
We will empty a bottle of champagne in their honor." Holz
asks: "Is it true that you sold a rondo to Dominik Artaria
which he has not yet received? It is said that you took it back
and have not returned it." — It is possible that the Rondo Caprice
which was published by Diabelli as Op. 129, the history of which
is a blank, is the work alluded to; but there is no evidence on
the subject.
Chapter IX
Karl van Beethoven — A Wayward Ward and an Unwise
Guardian — Beethoven and His Nephew — An Ill-advised
Foster-father and a Graceless, Profligate Nephew — Effect
on Beethoven's Character of the Guardianship— An Un-
successful Attempt at Self-destruction — Karl is Made a
Soldier.
WE are now to learn of the calamitous consequences of
Beethoven's effort to be a foster-father to the son of his
dead brother Kaspar. The tale is one that has been
fruitful of fiction in most of the writings which have dealt with the
life-history of the great composer; nor is the circumstance to be
wondered at. There is still some obscurity in the story, and if
there is anything in the melancholy lot of the great man, next to
his supreme affliction, calculated to challenge the pity of the world,
it is the manner in which his efforts to attach to himself the one
human being for whom he felt affection were requited. There is
no more pitiful picture in the history of great men than that pre-
sented by his devotion to the lad in whom, for a reason which
must have seemed to him more inscrutable than his own physical
calamity, he could not inspire a spark of love or a scintilla of
gratitude. It was an unwise devotion and an ill-directed effort,
but that does not alter the case. From the beginning, all of his
friends recognized Beethoven's unfitness for the office of guardian
of his nephew. He was incapacitated for it by his occupation,
his irregular mode of life, his lack of understanding of a child's
nature, his irresolute mind, his infirmities of temper, and the
wretchedness of his domestic surroundings due to his ignorance <>t*
and indifference to the things essential to the amenities and com-
forts of social life. He did not assume the guardianship in a
spirit of gentle obedience to a dying brother's request; lie \i>>-
lentlv wrested it unto himself alone in defiance of that brother's
last entreaties. There can be no doubt but that lie believed that
in doing so he was performing a pious duty toward his own flesh
and blood and acting for the good of the child and the welfare of
[247]
248 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
the community. He was proud of the boy's intellectual gifts,
which were out of the ordinary; he dreamed of seeing him great and
respected in the eyes of the world; he wanted loving companion-
ship now, and in his old age; he hungered for sympathy and for
help which would not keep him in bonds of obligation to men whose
disinterestedness he could not understand because of his suspicious
disposition; he desired to see by his side and in his kin an incar-
nation of that polite learning and that practical knowledge of
worldly affairs which had been denied to him. All his aims were
laudable, all his desires natural and praiseworthy; but he was the
last man in the world to know how to attain them. There can
be no doubt that his stubborn insistence upon making himself
the sole director of the welfare of his ward cost him the sym-
pathy, perhaps also the respect and regard, of many of those whose
counsel he was perforce compelled to seek. For a long time until
the final and woeful trial came it separated him from the oldest and
truest friend that he had in Vienna — Stephan von Breuning. It
tested the patience and tried the forbearance of those who helped
him in his mistaken zeal.
Moreover, it may be said without harshness or injustice to his
memory that its consequences to his own moral nature were most
deplorable. In a mind and heart prone to equity and tenderness
it developed a strange capacity for cruel injustice. Aided by his
native irresolution it twisted his judgment and turned his conduct
into paradox. To satisfy his own love for the boy he strove
fiercely to stifle a child's natural affection for its mother. He
thought that love for himself would grow out of hatred of the
woman, though the passion which he tried to evoke was abhorrent
to every instinct of nature. It matters not that the mother of Karl
was profligate and lewd. Once a glimmer of that fact dawned
upon him. It was while he was struggling to prevent all inter-
course between the widow and her child in the early years that he
was compelled to admit that to a child under all circumstances a
mother is a mother still; but he made the confession to extenuate
the conduct of the boy, not to justify the solicitude of the woman.
His memory of his own mother, the sweet, patient sufferer of
Bonn, was to him like a benison his whole life long. "Who was
happier than I when I could still speak the sweet word 'mother'
and have it heard," he wrote to Dr. Schade, who had helped him on
his sorrowful journey from Vienna to Bonn in 1787. But from
the time that his brother Kaspar died until he himself gave up the
ghost he was unswervingly occupied in preventing communication
between Kaspar's widow and her son. After more than twelve
Beethoven's Moral Nature Marred 249
years he found that what he had tried to eradicate in the child,
still lived in the youth. He had fought against nature and
failed; and the failure filled him with bitterness, added to his
hatred of the woman and his disappointment with the son. Such
intensity of malevolence, though it may have had its origin in the
profoundest conviction of virtuous purpose, could not fail to be
prejudicial to his own moral character. So, also, his solicitude for
his ward's material welfare, which extended to a time when he
should no longer be able to make provision for him, seems to have
warped his nature. It weakened his pride; distorted his moral
view; subjected him, not always unjustly, to accusation of dis-
honesty in his dealings with his patrons and publishers; made him
parsimonious, and at the last brought upon him the reproach of
having begged alms of his English friends, though possessed of
property which might easily and quickly have been converted into
money to supply his last needs more than generously.
To protect him against indictment for these moral flaws, many
of Beethoven's biographers thought, and still think, it necessary
or justifiable to veil the truth and magnify the transgressions of his
kindred and friends. His earliest apologists may have had other
reasons besides these for so doing; his present biographers have
none. By his own decree the world is entitled to know the truth.
Schindler was embittered against Holz; Holz against Schindler;
both against Johann van Beethoven, the brother; Beethoven him-
self taught his nephew to despise his uncle Johann as well as
Schindler; and all threes — Schindler, Holz and Johann — commis-
sioned to that end, reported their observations of the lad's short-
comings to his guardian. He accepted everything they said
against the boy as he did everything they said against, each other;
indeed, his suspicious nature made him prone to believe evil of
evervone near to him; and we do not know of a certainty that their
reports were always within the bounds of strict veracity. Alter
the tragedy they were unanimous in condemnation of the mis-
guided, wayward, wicked youth and in praise of Beethoven's
magnanimity and self-sacrifice; but the evidence of helpful ad-
vice, warning and admonition to the mariner who was sailing a
craft on a sea full of dangers to which nature had made him
blind is not plentiful. Holz was young. lie had scarcely fin-
ished sowing his own wild oats, and he seems to have been more
lenient in his judgment than his elders, though just as convinced
of the dangers into which the young man was running during the
fateful last two years; but the few practical suggestions which we
find him making do not seem to have been accepted. He was
250 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
himself, like everybody else, under suspicion in Beethoven's
mind.
Concerning the details of the always disgraceful and at the
end tragical conduct of Beethoven's nephew much obscurity is
left after the most painstaking study of the evidence to be found
in the contemporary documents which have been preserved; but
it is to these documents that appeal must be made if the truth is to
be learned, not to the generalizations of romancing biographers.
Twenty-nine letters written by Beethoven to the youth came into
the hands of Beethoven after the attempt at suicide and through
Schindler into the Royal Library at Berlin. However they may be
viewed, they are a pathetic monument. They are a deeply
affecting memorial of his almost idolatrous love for one wholly un-
worthy to receive it; but they also help measurably to explain why
Beethoven defeated his own benevolent intentions. In them the
paradoxes in his nature are piled one on top of the other. Alter-
nately they breathe tender affection, gentle admonition and vio-
lent accusation; pride in the lad's mental gifts, hope for his future,
and loathing of his conduct; proclamations of his own self-sacri-
ficing devotion set off against his ward's ingratitude; pleadings that
the boy love him and hate his mother; proud condemnation and
piteous prayers for forgiveness; petitions for the boy's reformation
and promises of betterment in his own conduct. They give out the
light in which the story must be told, though they contribute but
little to the record of concrete facts. They leave us to conjecture
and surmise as to many of the nephew's motives and actual doings.
It is from the pages of the Conversation Books of 1825 and 1826
that practically all of the attested truth concerning the happenings,
their causes and effects, must be learned. Letters and these records
of conversations are at the base of the following recital.1
Karl was taken from his studies at the Blochlinger Institute
in the fall of 1823 and matriculated at the University of Vienna,
where he pursued studies in philology from that time until the
summer of 1825. Though his gifts were unquestioned and his
attainments such as to make Beethoven eager to exploit them, he
was not an industrious student. He seems to have experienced a
desire to abandon the career which his uncle wished him to follow —
Beethoven's letters to his nephew are presented in the original in Vol. V of
Thayer's biography as completed by Dr. Deiters and revised by Dr. Riemann. Also
copious extracts from the Conversation Books. These books, in Thayer's transcript,
have been consulted anew by the present writer in his presentation of the case which he
believes to be in the spirit of Thayer, as he tried also to make the account of the legal
controversy over the guardianship. Nevertheless, the editor believes it only right to
assume full responsibility for his utterances. The letters may be found in translation
in Vol. II of Mr. Shedlock's edition of the Kalischer collection.
Study Becomes Irksome to Kahl 251
that of a professor of languages, no doubt — before he had sat
under the university lectures a year. His zeal for study soon
evaporated, he spent much time in idle amusements, neglected to
visit his uncle with the regularity expected from him, and boos
broached the subject of a change in his intended pursuits. A.s
early as 1824 he expressed a desire to enter the army. The
thought was little short of appalling to Beethoven, who was obliged,
however, at last to listen to arguments in favor of a mercantile
career. Karl pointed out that a bookkeeper earned a greal deal
more money than a professor, that trade was honorable, and thai
he intended to keep on with his study of the languages, especially
Greek, for his own pleasure and intellectual profit. Meanwhile
he had continued his attendance on the lectures at the university,
and it was not until towards the end of the Easter semester of 1825
that Beethoven consented to the change, entered him in the
Polytechnic Institute, and arranged to have the vice-direetor of the
Institute, Dr. Reisser, appointed co-guardian in place of Peters,
with whom he took counsel as he also did, in great likelihood, with
Stephan von Breuning. There were two great admirers of Be. t-
hoven's music in the Institute, Reisser and Dr. Ignaz von Sonn-
leithner, one of the teachers, and after Karl had been placed under
the supervision of a government official named Schlemmer, who
lived in the Alleegasse adjacent to the Karlskirche, with whom the
lad took lodgings, all seemed again to be well. He entered the
Institute about Easter, 18c2o, and, if his own statements are to be
accepted (Dr. Reisser, too, makes favorable reports of him), he
made a good beginning in his new studies. His Sundays and
holidays during the ensuing summer were spent with his uncle at
Baden, where he was kept at work, too assiduously perhaps, writ-
ing Beethoven's letters, and filling numerous other commissions.
But his zeal did not endure. He became negligent in his studies;
work became irksome and the pleasures of the city alluring. He
was drawn willingly into the maelstrom of Viennese life He
grew fond of billiards, dancing and the theatre; he kept low com-
pany. Of all this there can be no doubt. Beethoven kept him-
self informed as to his conduct through Holz, through his brother,
and sometimes went to Vienna himself to make inquiries. When
Karl comes to Baden, Beethoven charges him with his short-
comings and there are unseemly scenes between the two. At
first Karl seeks to be conciliatory, but it is only too plain that he is
not always frank and truthful in his replies The chronological
course of events as learned from the Conversation Books cannot
be set down with exactitude; nor is it necessary that it should.
252 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
A young rake's progress can easily be imagined, but some inci-
dents may be included in this narrative, as showing the changing
attitude of guardian and ward, uncle and nephew, toward each,
other, and some of the steps which led to the final catastrophe.
At an early date in this period Beethoven had become sus-
picious of the character of some of Karl's associates, particularly
of a lad of his own age named Niemetz, whose acquaintance, it was
said, he made at his mother's. Whether or not this is true cannot
be proved; but if Beethoven believed it that fact sufficed to con-
vince him of the young man's moral turpitude. Certain it is that
the mother knew Niemetz and thought as well of him as the uncle
thought ill, for one of her exclamations after the attempt at self-
destruction, reported to Beethoven, was, "What will good Nie-
metz say!" Beethoven forbade the association and a violent
quarrel ensued in Baden, where Karl introduced his friend to his
uncle. It seems likely that the encounter took place in a public
room and that Beethoven could not wait until he had reached the
privacy of his lodgings before expressing his dissatisfaction with
the young man; for his remarks to Karl as well as the latter's replies
are written in the book. Beethoven's denunciations stir up a
spirit of defiance in his ward; he finally declares flatly that Nie-
metz had cheered his unhappy hours at Blochlinger's and that
he would not now lie by saying that he would cease loving his
friend or admit that he had a bad character.
Beethoven learns that Karl goes to the theatre, has been seen
in the company of lewd women, frequents dancing places, plays
billiards and borrows money. Holz, who once suggests the ad-
visability of assuming the co-guardianship, thinks it might be a
good thing could he attach the young man to himself by becoming
his often companion. He invites him to a beerhouse to learn
his drinking habits and reports favorably upon them. He talks
with Karl about the theatre and advises him to go less to the
Josephstadt playhouse and oftener to the Burg, where classical
pieces are played; and learning that Karl attends the former
because it costs him nothing, ventures the statement that his uncle
will allow him money for the theatre if he will but go to the better
place. Beethoven's views on the subject are expressed in a letter:
"Let the theatre alone for the present." After the wicked deed,
Holz reminded Beethoven that Johann van Beethoven had said
that Karl knew every strumpet in Vienna and that investigation
had disclosed that he was right. Karl goes to dances; Beethoven
is so solicituous as to their character that he expressed a desire to
go to some of them with Holz so as to learn what they are like,
Beethoven Pleads with His Nephew ^o:\
and Holz dissuades him on the ground that he would be stared at
and it would cause public comment ; but he offers to take him to a
hall "of the reformed" in the Apollo Room, where he would In-
less observed. Beethoven fears that Karl's passion for billiards
will lead him astray, and Holz says he will sometime go with the
lad to see how well he plays and thus [earn whether or not he plays
much.1 Karl is now nearly 20 years old, but Beethoven does not,
or will not, know that he is no longer to be disciplined as a child.
He commands Schlemmer t hat he is not to be permitted to g< t
at night except on written permission signed by him. He exhaust a
Dr. Reisser's patience with his frequent calls to learn of I be young
man's habits and conduct. He takes upon himself the task of the
ancient pedagogue and waits for him upon the steps of the Institute
to accompany him home. His illness and melancholy, due t<> his
solitary life in Baden, increase and he is haunted by premonitions
of death. In a Conversation Book he once writes what seems t<»
be the title of an imaginary composition "On the Death of Beet-
hoven." On June 9, 1825, he writes to Karl: "You know how I
live here. To this is added the cold weather. This solit u< !<•
weakens me still more, for mv weakness reallv often borders on a
swoon. (), do not pain me more! The man with the scythe will
not give me much more time." In the same summer: "God will
set me free from them. Libera me domine tie illis etc." and "God
be with vou and me. It will soon be all over with your faithful
father." His loneliness oppresses him more and more as fears
for his nephew's fate and recognition of his own impotency to
avert it pursue him. "God has never deserted me. Somebody
will be found who will close my eyes," he writes on September 1 I.
Tenderness and reproach alternate in the letters written from
Baden in the summer of 1825. With the young man's habits of
extravagance he has no patience whatever. lie insists on a strict
accounting for every florin which he allows him and is enraged when
he hears that Karl has not forgotten his boyish trick of borrowing
from the servants. He contrasts his own habits of thrift with
the prodigence of his ward: "I should have got ten along t wo years
with the walking-coat. True, I have the bad habit of always weir-
ing an old coat at home, but Mr. Karl -O, what a shame! And why?
The money-bag Mr. L. v. B-n is lure only for this purpose."
The thought of laying down the guardianship occupies his
mind over and over again and his friends without exception urge
■It was Herbert Spencer who remarked t" a young man who had beaten him at
billiards that while to !><• able t<> play well was a praiseworthy accomplishment, -
playing as he had just wit aessed betokened an ill-apent lit".-.
254 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
him to do it; but he clings to the office, hoping against hope for his
nephew's reclamation. Crises of apprehension and foreboding
produce tender appeals and piteous expostulations like these:
If you find me violent, ascribe it to my great concern for yourself,
beset as you are by many dangers.
I hope at least to receive a letter from you to-morrow. Do not make
me fear. O, think of my sufferings ! By good right I ought to have no
cares of this kind; but what have I not experienced!
Reflect that I am sitting here and might easily fall ill.
God is my witness, I dreamed only of being rid of you and of this
miserable brother and the hideous family which he foisted upon me.
God hear my prayer for I can never trust you again. Unfortunately
your father — or rather, not your father.
In the beginning of October, 1825, Karl absented himself from
his lodgings for several days. Where he went and what he did is
a secret held by the dead; but repentance of some sort, or con-
sideration of the fact that he was dependent upon his uncle, seems
to have persuaded him to write to Beethoven and beg his forgive-
ness. On the 5th of the month Beethoven wrote from Baden:
Precious, dear son!
I have just received your letter. Already filled with anxiety I
had to-day determined to hurry to Vienna. God be thanked, it is not
necessary. Do but obey me and love and happiness of the soul paired
with human happiness will be at our side and you will consort an in-
tensive existence with the external, but it were better that the former
dominate the latter. — ilfait tropfroid — I am to see you on Saturday, then,
write whether you are coming in the morning or evening so that I may
hasten to meet you. — I embrace you and kiss you a thousand times not
my lost (prodigal) but my new-born son. I wrote to Schlemmer — do not
think harshly on that account — I am still so full of fear.
The letter has been mutilated and the remainder is unintelligi-
ble, all but a request in bad French for matches. But his im-
patience to see the returned prodigal was stronger than his purpose
to wait for him in Baden. He went to Vienna and evidently sent
the following letter from Karl's lodgings:
My precious son:
Go no further — Come but to my arms, not a harsh word shall you
hear. O God, do not rush to destruction. . . . You shall be received
lovingly as ever. What to consider, what to do in the future — this we
will talk over affectionately. On my word of honor no reproaches, since
they would in no case do good now. Henceforth you may expect from
me only the most loving care and help. Do but come. Come to the
faithful heart of your father.
Beethoven.
Volti sub.
The Nephew Resents Discipline \!55
Come home at once on getting this.
Si vous ne viendres pas rims me turn's suremeni lists la Icttrc et testis
a la maison chez inns, venes tie m'embrasser nitre pere ions vraimeni adonnS
soyes assures, que tout cela r ester d enire nous.
(On the margin): Only for God's sake come back borne to-day. It
might bring you, who knows what danger. Hurry, hurry!
In the summer of 1826, Beethoven's plans with reference to
the supervision of his nephew are divided between an aban-
donment of the guardianship and taking the young man back into
his own lodgings. The latter alternative at least did not meet
with Karl's approval, who pleads against it the great loss of time
in coming and going to the distant Institute; besides, he says, "it
is only one year more and then there will he no more separation."
With such feigned expressions of gentle feeling, with smiles ami
occasional cajolings, Karl had learned that he could at any time
bend "the old fool," as he once called him in a letter to Niemetz, to
his wishes. The fact is that Beethoven's attempts at discipline
had long ago become irksome to his nephew and his authority a
burden which it was pleasant to forget in the opportunities which
freedom brought. He absents himself more and more from Beet-
hoven's lodgings and spends less and less time at his own. The
"miserable brother" is told by Beethoven to find out why. and
reports the result of a talk which he had upon the subject with
Karl, who had replied, in effect: the reason he did not come oftener
was that he dreaded the noisy encounters which always followed
and the continual reminders of past transgressions. Also the tur-
bulent scenes between his uncle and the servants. Johann takes
occasion to tell his brother that he might win the young man to
him by a different mode of treatment. He is apprehensive of the
consequences of idleness and urges that as soon as Karl completes
his studies at the Institute, a place be found for him in either a local
or foreign business house. "In the latter case," he contiu
"place the guardianship in Bach's hands. You are as little
able as I to run after him always." Beethoven's concern is SO
great that he is willing to take counsel of Schindler, whom he had
so unsparingly and, we believe, unjustly denounced to his nephew.
Schindler is ready with advice, but first takes advantage of the
opportunity to air his grudge againsl Holz; "do not depend upon
him in this matter," he says in a recorded conversation. Karl's
requests for money excite his guardian's misgivings and he de-
mands to see the receipts for tuition fees and other expenditures.
The growing feeling between guardian and ward, and some ot its
causes, are reflected in the record of a conversation at Karl s
256 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
lodgings in 1826, when the crisis is rapidly approaching. It is
Karl who speaks, but the tenor of Beethoven's utterances is
easily to be surmised :
You consider it insolence if, after you have upbraided me for hours
undeservedly, this time at least, I cannot turn from my bitter feeling
of pain to jocularity. I am not so frivolous as you think. I can assure
you that since the attack on me in the presence of this fellow I have been
so depressed that the people in the house observed it. The receipt for
the 80 florins which were paid in May I now positively know, after a
search at home, I gave you; it must and no doubt will be found. If I
continue to work while you are here it is not in a spirit of insolence, but
because I believe that you will not be offended if I do not permit your
presence to keep me from my labors, which are now really piling up on me
— all the more since we see each other here, where there is time, enough to
talk over all needful things. You are mistaken, too, when you think
that I wait for your coming to become industrious. You also seem to
accept as my views what I repeat to you as the opinions of others as, for
instance, the word of Haslinger and the twaddle of Frau Passy. I know
very well what to think of such gossip, but did not consider it my duty to
inform you about it. I hope that what I have said will serve to convince
you of my real views and feelings and put an end to the strain which has
existed of late between us, though not on my side by any means.
This is not the speech of filial love and obedience, but neither
is it the language of a naughty child. There ought to be no doubt
but that such exhibitions of independence and resentment,
coupled with intimations of still greater independence of conduct,
frequently filled Beethoven with consternation and apprehension.
Once, to judge of a recorded remark by Holz, Karl seems to have
raised his hand in physical violence against the uncle. Holz
says: "I came in just as he took you by the breast. At the door,
as he was coming out." It is the only allusion to the incident
in the book and we know none of the particulars; but it and other
scenes of tumult and the utterances which they provoked must
have inspired the dreadful conflict of emotions which finds ex-
pression in a letter written at this time:
If for no other reason than that you obeyed me, at least, all is for-
given and forgotten; more to-day by word of mouth, very quietly — Do
not think of me otherwise than as governed wholly by thoughts for your
well-being, and from this point of view judge my acts. Do not take a
step which might make you unhappy and shorten my life. I did not get
asleep until 3 o'clock, for I coughed all night long. I embrace you
cordially and am convinced that you will soon cease longer to misjudge me;
it is thus that I also judge of your conduct yesterday. I expect you
surely to-day at 1 o'clock. Do not give me cause for further worry and
apprehension. Meanwhile farewell!
Your real and true Father.
Beethoven Grows Apprehensive 257
We shall be alone, for which reason I shall DOl permit II. to come —
the less since I do not wish anything about yesterday to !><• known.
Do come — Do not permit my poor heart (>> bleed longer.
A poor heart, indeed! One that knew not how to win the love
for which it hungered; and a mind "perplex'd in the extreme."
That love still went out to the unworthy mother in spite <>f en-
treaties, warnings, lamentations, threats. In May, lS\!<i, already
at Baden, Beethoven hears that Karl has again visited her; and on
the 22nd he writes:
Till now only suspicions, although I have received assurances from
one that there is again secret intercourse between you and your mother.
Am I again to experience the most abominable ingratitude?! No; if
the bond is broken, be it so. You will make yourself hated by all im-
partial persons who hear of this ingratitude. ... I ought not to mix into
these miserable affairs. If the pact oppresses you then in God's uame
— I leave you to Divine Providence. I have done my duty and am ready
to appear before the Supreme Judge. Do not fear to come to me to-
morrow. As yet I only suspect — God grant that nothing he true, for
your misfortune would truly be incalculable indifferently as the rascally
brother and possibly your — mother would take it.
Late in July, 1826, an intimation of some desperate purpose
formed and expressed by the nephew was carried to Beethoven.
The date is uncertain, but it was probably on Saturday, the 29th.
The intention may have been self-destruction, but it needed to be
no more than a purpose to go out into the world, beyond an irk-
some supervision, to fill Beethoven's soul with a terrible fear.
He called Holz and together they went to Schlemmer's house in the
Alleegasse. Schlemmer told all he knew in a few phrases which
must have seemed shrouded with a pall as they fell upon the page
of his book:
I learned to-day that your nephew intended to shoot himself before
next Sunday at the latest. As to the cause I learned only this much, that
it was by reason of his debts, — but not of a certainty; he admitted only
in part that they were the consequences of former sin^. I looked to see
if there were signs of preparations. I found a loaded pistol in a chesl
together with bullets and powder. I tell you this so that you may act
in the case as his father. The pistol is in my keeping. Be lenient with
him or he will despair.
Holz went at once to the Poly technic Institute and there found
Karl, who agreed to go back with him to Schlemmer's, but said thai
he must first go to a friend's house and get some papers. Holz
engaged Dr. Reisser in conversation while he united tor Karl to
return. "A pistol!" remarked Reisser, "the young comedy hero!'
But Karl had lied; he did not come back to the Institute and Holz
returned to Beethoven with his story:
258 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
He will not stay here. I could not detain him. He said he would
go to Schlemmer's, but wanted to get his papers from a friend while I
talked with Reisser. He would not be gone more than a quarter of an
hour.
Beethoven apparently rebukes him for letting his ward out
of his sight. Holz:
He would have run away from you just the same. If he has made
up his mind to injure himself no one can prevent him. He has till
September 3 to make up his examinations. . . . He said to me: "What
good will it do you to detain me? If I do not escape to-day I will at
another time."
Schlemmer reported the finding of another pistol. A new
suspicion seized upon the mind of Beethoven. For some reason,
though he may also have uttered it orally, he wrote it down in the
book: "He will drown himself." Probably he did not want the
bystanders to know his thoughts, and the fear was therefore
committed to the written page for the instruction of Holz. What
else was said at the time we do not know, for the book here shows
a mutilation; some pages are missing. Perhaps Schindler re-
moved them in later years to save the integrity of his account;
or they may have been torn out by Beethoven himself when, some
weeks later, Holz advised him to look through his books against
their possible demand for examination by the police magistrate;
they might contain references to affairs which he did not want to
bring into public discussion. The missing pages might have
helped us in the chronology of the story, but the main facts are
before us without them. It was resolved first to go to the house of
Niemetz, who it was thought might be privy to Karl's intentions,
and then if necessary, to call in the help of the police.
Meanwhile Karl, having given Holz the slip, went straight to a
pawnbroker and pledged his watch. With the money he bought
two pistols, powder and balls. He did not dare go to his lodgings
for the pistols which he had in readiness for the contemplated
deed, and the new ones were therefore necessary. For him the
circumstance proved fortunate. He drove out to Baden, and
spent the night in writing letters. One was to his uncle, and this
he enclosed in one to his friend Niemetz. The next morning, it
being a Sunday, he climbed up to the ruins of Rauhenstein, in the
lovely Helenenthal which his uncle loved so well, and there dis-
charged both pistols toward his left temple. He was a bungler
with firearms. The first bullet flew past harmlessly; the second
ripped up the flesh and grazed the bone, but did not penetrate the
A Bungling Attempt at Suicide l259
skull. Holz said afterwards that, had he taken with him the
pistols which he was obliged to leave at bis lodgings, be would have
been a dead man; their barrels were charged with powder and ball
to above the middle. A teamster cam.- upon him lying among
the ruins and, no doubt at his request, carried him to bis mother's
house in the city. There Beethoven found him, whether in a
search for him or because of intelligence brought by the teamster
is not clear. The uncle is anxious to learn the particulars of the
tragedy, but he receives a sullen answer; "It is done. Now. only
a surgeon who can hold his tongue. Smetana, if he Is here. Do
not plague me with reproaches and lamentations; it is past. Later
all matters may be adjusted." "When did it happen?" Beet-
hoven asks and the mother writes the answer: 'Tie has just come.
The teamster carried him down from a rock in Baden and has
just driven out to you. — I beg of you to tell the surgeon not to
make a report or they will take him away from here at once, and
we fear the worst. There is a bullet in his head on t lie left side."
Smetana was the physician who had treated Karl when he was
a boy at Giannatasio's school. Beethoven knew him as a friend.
To him he wrote:
A great misfortune has happened to Karl accidentally by his own
hand. I hope that he can yet be saved, especially by you if you come
quickly. Karl has a build in his head, how, you shall learn — only quick,
for God's sake, quick!
In order to save time it was necessary to take him to his mother's,
where he now is — the address follows.
Holz took this letter for delivery but before he left the place a
surgeon named Dogl had been called in. Smetana said that
Dogl was a capable practioner and that in order not to compromise
him he would not come unless Dogl desired to see him in consulta-
tion. Karl expressed himself as satisfied and the case was left for
the time being in Dogl's hands. Beethoven went home, but Hoi/.
remained some time longer. The matter had to be reported to the
police and Holz thought it best todothis himself, as he wanted to be
aide to inform Beethoven what the consequences of the young
man's act were likely to be in case of his recovery. He learned,
and so reported, that there would be a severe reprimand ami
thereafter police surveillance. He told Beethoven that, after
he had left him. Karl had said, "If he would only col show him-
self again!" and "If he would only quit his reproaches!" lb' had
also threatened to tear the bandage from the wound if another
word was spoken to him about his uncle.
260 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
On August 7th, the day being a Monday,1 the wounded
youth, who by his act was fallen into the hands of the law, was
removed from his mother's house to the general hospital by the
police authorities. The deed was committed on a Sunday, as
appears from parts of the conversations which took place between
Holz and Beethoven after the fact was known. Holz says: "He
left me yesterday, went straight into the city, bought the pistols
and drove to Baden"; and later: "He sold his watch on Saturday
and with the proceeds bought two new pistols." The obvious
conclusion would seem to be that Karl shot himself on Sunday,
August 6; but there is evidence pointing to an earlier date. The
police authorities were not informed until somewhat late in the
day. An investigation had to be made and formalities complied
with before the removal to the hospital could take place. Schlem-
mer, in reply to a question touching Karl's indebtedness while
Beethoven and Holz were probing for a cause, said that he had
been paid "for this month, but not for August," which indicates
that the inquiry was made in July. On September 11th, dis-
cussing the disposition to be made of the nephew when he should
leave the hospital and trying to persuade Beethoven to grant
Karl's request that he be permitted to visit his mother, Holz says:
"In my opinion one day will make no difference, inasmuch as she
was with him whole days after the shooting." There are, be-
sides, evidences that conversations were held for several days
during which he was in the care of his mother. It is therefore
probable that the nephew made the attempt upon his life on
Sunday, July 30. Schindler says "in August" without giving a
specific date. The evidence is not entirely conclusive; but if
Beethoven consented to leave the would-be suicide in the hands of
his mother for an entire week it was most likely because the police
authorities commanded it; he did not yield her a day after her
son came out of the hospital. At first, however, Beethoven's
spirit was broken by the awful blow and he may have been more
pliant than usual. Holz, reporting to Beethoven, tells of an inter-
view at the hospital when he met the woman at her son's bedside.
"If you have anything on your mind," she enjoined, "tell your
uncle now. You see, this is the time; he is weak, and now he will
surely do anything you want." Karl replied, sullenly: "I know
nothing." "How," Holz explains to Beethoven, "can any one
find out a single trace so long as he persists in remaining silent?"
'The date was obtained by Thayer from the records of the hospital on September
22, 1862. F. Helm, then Director of the hospital, certified to the facts of reception,
treatment and discharge, but stated that no history of the case could be found in the
records.
Reasons for the Deed 261
And he tells his friend of the lack of "mercy" in the wiping mother
for denouncing the conduct of the guardian of ber son !
No doubt the blow was a crushing one to Beethoven. On
the fateful Sunday, or the day after, he mel the wife of Stephan
von Breuning and told her the tragical story. "And is be dead?"
she inquired in tender solicitude. "No," was the answer, "it was a
glancing shot; he lives and there is bope thai be will be saved.
But the disgrace which he has brought upon me! And I loved
him so!" The occurrence was soon noised about the city and
much sympathy was expressed for Beethoven, as Holz took oc-
casion to inform him. Schindler says that the blow bowed the
proud figure of the composer and he soon looked like a man <>f
seventy. To add to his sufferings he was compelled to learn that
many persons placed part of the blame for the rash act upon him.
Karl was placed in the "men's three-florin" ward, which was under
the care of a Dr. Gassner. He had an assistant named Dr.
Seng, who told Gerhard von Breuning long after, how Beethoven
had come to visit his nephew and described him as a "dissolute
fellow" and "rascal," one "who did not deserve to be visited"
and had been "spoiled by kindness."
Strenuous efforts were made by Beethoven through Holz and
others to discover what direct cause had led the misguided young
man to attempt to end his life. The inquiries made of him at t be
hospital during the weeks spent there brought scarcely more in-
formation from his lips than the first question asked by his mother.
Schindler seems to have been persuaded that it was his failure to
pass his examinations at the Polytechnic Institute; but this theory
is not tenable. Aside from the fact that he had time till Septem-
ber 3 to make up his neglected studies, he never himself advanced
this as an excuse or explanation, but explicitly denied it. In the
hospital he told Holz that it would have been easy for him to
make himself fit to pass, but that, having made up his mind to
do away with himself long before, he had not thought it worth
while to continue his studies. "He said that he was tired «>f life,"
Holz reports to Beethoven, "because he saw in it something
different from what you wisely and righteously could approve."
He also phrased it thus: "Weariness of imprisonment." To the
examining police magistrate Karl said that his reason for shooting
himself was that Beethoven "tormented him too much." and
also "I grew wrorse because my uncle wanted me to be better."
To Beethoven's question if Karl had railed against him, Schlemmer
replied: "lb- did not rail, but he complained that he always had
trouble." Holz's explanation many years after to Otto Jahn was
262 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
that Beethoven was "rigorous to excess in his treatment and
would not allow him the slightest extravagance." The chief
cause, in greatest probability, was that he had hopelessly involved
himself in debts by a dissolute life. Schindler told Beethoven
that he not only played billiards but played with low persons,
coachmen and the like; and that he did not always play honestly.
There is a memorandum in a Conversation Book which discloses
that Beethoven received specific reports about his conduct, and
noted them for reference: "One night in the Prater. — 2 nights did
not sleep at home." Beethoven stinted him the matter of pocket-
money, and the scores of reckonings in the Conversation Books
show how close was the watch kept upon every kreutzer placed in
his hands. So he had recourse to borrowing and no doubt, though
the fact does not appear plainly in the books, he went into debt at
the places which he frequented for pleasure. When he shot him-
self he had paid his lodging bill for the month but owed his tutor.
A matter which gave Beethoven great concern was the discovery
that he had disposed of some of the composer's books at an an-
tiquary's. This was theft, a penal offence, and Beethoven seems
to have been in great trepidation lest the fact, and something
more dreadful still which he did not know, be discovered by the
magistrate charged with an examination into the case. Under
the Austrian code an attempt at suicide seems to have been an
offence against the Church and guilty persons were remanded in
the care of priests who imparted religious instruction until a pro-
fession of conversion could be recorded. In the case of Karl, this
medicine for the mind and soul was administered by a Redempto-
rist, and, the Liguorian penances being proverbially strict, Holz
inspired the hope in Beethoven that Karl's secret would be dis-
covered by the priest. "These Liguorians are like leeches," is one
of his remarks to the composer while Karl is lying at the hospital.
It is pathetic to note that Beethoven himself, willing as he was to
charge his nephew with prevarication, extravagance, deception
and frivolity, yet sought an explanation for the act outside of these
delinquencies. In his hand appears a note in a Conversation
Book: "Mental aberration and insanity; the heat, too — afflicted
with headaches since childhood."
Immediately after Karl's removal to the hospital Holz visited
him and made a long report to Beethoven, from which it appears
that there was no delay in considering plans for the future. In
fact, a prompt decision was necessary, for it was the penal aspect of
the case which had the greatest terrors for Beethoven. Holz
says: "Here you see ingratitude as clear as the sun! Why do
Planning a Military Life for Karl 263
you want further to restrain him? Once with the military, he will
be under the strictest discipline, ami if you want to do anything
more for him you need only make him a small allowance monthly.
A soldier at once. . . . Do you still doubt? This i- a marvellous
document." The lasl remark may have been called out, indeed,
it seems more than probable that it was, by the letter written by
the nephew on the eve of his attempt — a letter which has DCVer
been found. Holz also urges: "Resign the guardianship; this will
make an impression on him." Beethoven mus1 now Deeds listen
to upbraidings because of his lenient treatment of bis ward: "If
your good nature had not so often got the better of your tinnier
you would have driven him away long ago"; hut Beethoven still
hungers for the ingrate's love. He asks about his feelings towards
himself. Holz answers: "He said it was not hatred of you which
he felt, but something entirely different"; and then he puts the
question: "Did he mean fear?"
The day after the deed, Stephan von Breuning, himself un-
able to come, sent Gerhard to his friend with a message: his parents
wanted him to take his meals with them so as not to he alone.
Then Breuning comes, and now he will receive advice on the advisa-
bility of a military life from one fitted to give it, for von Breuning IS a
court councillor in the war department. "A military life will he tin-
best discipline for one who cannot endure freedom; and it will teach
him how to live on little," is one of Breuning's firsl utterano
Holz continues his visits to the hospital and his reports.
His help was now invaluable and he gave it unselfishly and un-
grudgingly, winning that measure of gratitude from Beethoven
which found expression in the letter empowering him to write his
biography. He tells Beethoven that Karl receives visits from
four physicians four times a day. That the magistrate is investi-
gating the case and will send a priest to give the patient religious
instruction, and that his release from the hands of the police
authorities must wait upon his "complete conversion"*; hut BO
long as there is danger of too much mental strain this instruction
will not be given. At ease in his mind touching the physical condi-
tion of his ward, Beethoven is kept in a state of anxiety about the
inquiry, which is so protracted as to excite hi- apprehension that
something awful may be disclosed. Ur wants to go himself to see
the "Minister" (of Police, evidently) and dreads the ordeal of
examination. "The court will not annoy you," Hoi/, tells him;
"the mother and Karl at the worst."
Dr. Bach joined Breuning, Schindler and Hoi/ in advising
Beethoven to resign the guardianship: hut while the other three
264 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
favored placing Karl in the army, Bach urged that he be sent off
at once to some business house in Trieste, Milan or Hamburg
without waiting for him to make up his studies and pass the ex-
amination which seems necessary to Beethoven. "Away with
him from Vienna!" is the general cry, but Beethoven hesitates;
he still thinks that he must keep his ward under his eye. In the
Conversation Book he writes: "I wanted only to accomplish his
good; if he is abandoned now, something might happen." Mean-
while von Breuning in pursuance of his plan consulted Baron von
Stutterheim and persuaded him to give the young man a cadet-
ship in his regiment, and on September 11 Breuning is able to
communicate the success of his efforts to Beethoven who, as soon
as he began to consider the military proposition at all, had thought
of his old friend, General von Ertmann, the husband of his
"Dorothea-Cacilia." But the project failed, and Breuning carried
the day for his plan and agreed to accept the guardianship which
had been laid down by Reisser. The Court Councillor goes at
matters in a practical way; he brings to Beethoven von Stutter-
heim's advice as to the allowance: he must not give more than 12
florins in silver a month, as that was all that the richest cadet in
the service received.
Karl was unwilling to see his uncle, and Beethoven knew it.
The latter wrote to his nephew, however, and the affectionate
tenor of the letters met with the disapproval of both Holz and
Schindler. Beethoven hoped with them to win back his nephew's
love, but his advisers told him they would do no good. He seems
to have thought it necessary to learn Karl's opinion before con-
senting to von Breuning's plan. He visited Karl at the hospital,
who, after asking his uncle to say as little as possible about that
which was past alteration, said that a military life was the one in
which he could be most satisfied and that he was entirely capable
of making a firm resolve and adhering to it. As a cadet, pro-
motion would be open to him. Beethoven, in planning to keep
the young man in Vienna, had suggested to his advisers that the
mother might be sent away — to Pressburg or Pesth. After it had
been fixed that Karl should enter the army as soon as possible after
his discharge from the hospital, the question arose as to what dis-
position should be made of him in the interim. Beethoven was
unalterably opposed to his being with his mother even for a day.
In an interview he brought the subject up and began to berate her
as usual; but Karl interrupted him:
I do not want to hear anything derogatory to her; it is not for me to
be her judge. If I were to spend the little time for which I shall be here
A Son Dei ends Bis Mother 265
with her it would be only a small return for all that she has suffered on my
account. Nothing can he said of a harmful influence on me even if it
should happen, if for no other reason than the brevity of the time I
no event shall I treat her with greater coldness than has been the i
heretofore . . . let be said v. hat will. ... He tells his uncle that his
mother will offer no objection to bis new calling. All the less, then:"
can I deny her wish to be with me now. as 1 -hall in all likelihood nol
here again soon. It is self-evidenl that this will not prevent you an':
from seeing each other as often as you wish.
Wry reluctantly Beethoven gave his consenl thai his nephew
should become ;i soldier, and he con tinned his solicitude for him, as
is disclosed by letters to Bolz and von Breuning. I (is first thought
was to send him to a military institute and have him graduated as
an officer. This proved impracticable. Now he lays down three
conditions a- to the cadetship: he must nol be treated as a culprit,
not be compelled to live so meanly as to preclude his advancement .
not be too much restricted as to food and drink. The plans for this
disposition were made. lie was to he presented to von Stutter-
heim as soon as he was discharged from the hospital, take the oath
of service the next day, and leave Vienna for [glau, where von
Stutterheim's regiment was stationed, within five or six days.
He was discharged as cured on September 25. Breuning. who
had assumed the guardianship, now found himself confronted by a
serious embarrassment. Where should the young man be sent
while tlu" preparations for his entry into the military service were
making? Karl did not want to go to his uncle's, m»r did VOH
Breuning want to send him there, and frankly tells Beethoven his
reason: "If he were here you would talk to him too much and
that would cause new irritation; for In- testified in the police court
that the reason why he had taken the step was because you
harassed him too much." Beethoven feared that the magistrate
might allow him to go to his mother''-, and to guard against this
lie wrote two letters to that official, a man kindly disposed toward
him, named ( xapka. In the first he wrote:
I earnestly beg of you, since my nephew will he well in a few
days, to direct that he he not permitted to leave the hospital with any-
body hut me and Mi-, v. Bolz. It must not possibly he allowed that he
he near bis mother, this utterly depraved person. Her bad ami wickedly
malicious character, the he lief that she often tempted Karl to lure money
from me, the probability that she divided sums with lam ami was also
in the confidence of Kail's dissolute companion, the notice which she
attracts with her illegitimate daughter, the likelib I that at his m — 's
he would make the acquaintance of women w ho are anything hut virt uous,
justify my solicitude and my request. Even the mere habit of being in
the company of such a perSOD cannot possibly lead ;i young man to \ irt ue.
266 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
In a second letter he suggests that the magistrate admonish
the young man and give him to understand that he will be under
police surveillance while he is with his uncle. Beethoven's brother
was again in Vienna. He had repeated his offer to give the com-
poser a temporary home and his nephew a harbor of refuge at
Gneixendorf; but haste was imperative, both on account of his
business affairs and Karl's status. In three days the business of
finishing the corrections in the manuscript copy of the Ninth
Symphony which was to be sent to the King of Prussia, placing
it in the hands of Haslinger, who was to have it bound, and writing
the letter to the King, was disposed of and on September 28 the
two brothers and their nephew set out for Gneixendorf.
Chapter X
The Last Days in Gneixendorf — A Brother's Warning -
Beethoven and his Kinspeople — The Fateful Journey to
Vienna — Siekness — Schindler's Disingenuousness —4 '< in-
duct of the Physicians — Death and Burial.
THE Conversation Books add nothing to the picturesque
side of the account of Beethoven's sojourn in Gneixendorf
as it has been drawn from other sources. They indicate
that there were some days of peace and tranquility, and that net
only Johann, but his wife and nephew also, were concerned with
making the composer comfortable and providing him with such
diversion as place and opportunity afforded. At the out-, t
Beethoven seems to have been in a conciliatory mood even
towards the woman whom he so heartily despised; and her will-
ingness to please him is obvious. She talks with him about
various things, praises Karl's musical skill, which the nephew
demonstrates by playing four-hand marches with his great uncle.
She discusses his food with him, and if he ever was suspicious of
the honesty in money matters of herself and her family, he hides
his distrust and permits her brother, the baker, to collect money
for him in Vienna, and the woman to go thither to fetch it.
There are frequent walks into the country round about and
drives to neighboring villages, and it would seem from 0
Karl's speeches that sometimes argument and warning were neces-
sary to dissuade Beethoven from undertaking promenades in
inclement weather. Characteristic of the suspicious nature which
his dreadful malady had developed in him to an abnormal degree,
and confirmatory also of Michael Krenn's remark that he was
always called upon to give an account of the conversations at
table, is the evidence that the wife, Karl and even a woman
boarder are questioned as to the goings-out and comings-in of
the inmates of the house. Before the departure from Gneixen-
dorf, Karl begins to chafe under his uncle's discipline. .Johann is
occupied with the affairs of the estate and Karl does errands for
[ 267 ]
268 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
him as well as his greater uncle in Krems, whither he is willing
to journey on foot as often as necessary, perhaps oftener, for
there are soldiers stationed at the village, there is a theatre,
English circus riders give an exhibition (to which Karl offers to
accompany the composer) and, what is perhaps more to the young
man's liking, there is a billiard-room. Of this fact, however, we
are informed later by a remark recorded in the Conversation
Books by Johann after the return to Vienna. The old suspicions
touching the reasons for Karl's absence from Wasserhof again
arise to plague Beethoven's mind, nor are they dissipated by
Madame van Beethoven's repeated assurances that he will return
soon. It is plain that the young man is taken to task, not only
for these absences, but also for what his uncle looked upon as
moody and defiant silences when suffering rebuke. Thus we read:
You ask me why I do not talk. Because I have enough. Yours is
the right to command; I must endure everything. ... I can give no
answer as to what you say; the best I can do is to hear and remain silent,
as is my duty.
At a later period, when Beethoven has apparently upbraided
the young man for his unwillingness to return to Vienna, Karl
retorts:
If you want to go, good; if not, good again. But I beg of you once
more not to torment me as you are doing; you might regret it, for I can
endure much, but not too much. You treated your brother in the same
way to-day without cause. You must remember that other people are
also human beings. — These everlastingly unjust reproaches! — Why do
you make such a disturbance? Will you let me go out a bit to-day? I
need recreation. I'll come again later. — I only want to go to my room. —
I am not going out, I want only to be alone for a little while. — Will you
not let me go to my room?
Karl was a young man of nearly twenty years; thriftless, no
doubt; indolent, no doubt; fond of his ease and addicted to idle
pleasures, no doubt — but still a man; and no matter how much he
ought to have been willing to sacrifice himself to make his uncle
happy, it is a question if there was any way in the world to that
sure and permanent result. He was not wise enough, nor self-
sacrificing enough, to do that which not a single one of the com-
poser's maturer friends, not even Stephan von Breuning, had
been able to do. Once in the Books he shows a disposition to
resort to the wheedling tactics which had been frequently suc-
cessful in earlier years, and urges as a reason for tarrying longer in
Gneixendorf that it will make possible their longer companion-
ship. He is pleading for a week's longer stay: Breuning had said
A Return to Vienna Precipitated 269
that he should not present himself to the Fieldmarshal until
no evidences of the recent "incident" were longer visible; in a
week more the scar would not he noticeable, nor would a stay be
necessary had he provided himself with pomade; then he remarks:
"The longer we are here the longer we shall be together; for when
we are in Vienna I shall, of course, have to go away soon." It
was after this speech that he made the remark already referred
to about the cheapness of fire-wood. Karl had plainly grown
more than content with his life in Gneixendorf and there is evi-
dence to show that Beethoven had begun to fear that he was
wavering in his determination to enter the army. Some drastic
measure or occurrence was necessary to change the native irreso-
lution of Beethoven's mind. Schindler, in his desire to paint all
the Beethovens, with the exception of the composer, with the
blackest pigments on his imaginative palette, does not scruple to
accuse Karl of undue intimacy with his aunt and offers this a- a
reason for the departure. To this no reference can be found in the
pages of the Conversation Books, unless it be a remark which
preceded Karl's outburst, last recorded. Here he tells his uncle
that all his "talk about intrigues needs no refutation." The
reference is vague and it is extremely unlikely that the intrigues
meant were those involved in the vile insinuation of Schindler, for
a reason which will be made apparent presently. The house at
Gneixendorf was not fitted for tenancy in winter; the weather was
growing boisterous; Madame van Beethoven had left the men to
their own devices and gone to her town-house. This, apparently,
was the state of affairs when Johann handed a letter to his brother
which could have no other result than to bring about a decision
to go back to Vienna at the earliest possible moment, and to carry
with him a heart full of bitterness which could only be intensified
by the sufferings which attended upon his journey. The letter
bears no date, but an allusion to the fact that von Breuning had
allowed Karl a fortnight for recuperation and he had already been
two months at Gneixendorf, is proof that it was written near the
end of November. That the brothers discussed it and cognate
matters while it was in their hands is evidenced by the fact that
it contains on its back the words in Johann's writing: "Let us
leave this until the day you go. — An old woman. — She has her share
and will get no more." The letter was as follows:
My dear Brother:
I can not possibly remain silent concerning the future fate of Karl.
He is abandoning all activity and. grows accustomed t«> this life, the
longer he lives as at present, the more difficult will it he to bring him back
270 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
to work. At his departure Breuning gave him a fortnight to recuperate
in, and now it is two months. You see from Breuning's letter that it is
his decided wish that Karl shall hasten to his calling; the longer he is here
the more unfortunate will it be for him, for the harder will it be for him to
get to work, and it may be that we shall suffer harm.
It is an infinite pity that this talented young man so wastes his
time; and on whom if not on us two will the blame be laid? for he is still
too young to direct his own course; for which reason it is your duty, if
you do not wish to be reproached by yourself and others hereafter, to put
him to work at his profession as soon as possible. Once he is occupied it
will be easy to do much for him now and in the future; but under present
conditions nothing can be done.
I see from his actions that he would like to remain with us, but if he
did so it would be all over with his future, and therefore this is impossible.
The longer we hesitate the more difficult will it be for him to go away; I
therefore adjure you — make up your mind, do not permit yourself to be
dissuaded by Karl. I think it ought to be by next Monday, for in no
event can you wait for me, inasmuch as I cannot go away from here with-
out money, and it will be a long time before I collect enough to enable me
to go to Vienna.
How Beethoven received this letter must be left to the
imagination. Its wisdom temporarily disarmed Schindler, who
forgot all of his frequently wicked charges against Johann long
enough to admit that the document proved that he was not utterly
without good qualities of character. He adds that he was in a
position to assert that Ludwig took his brother's suggestion with
bad grace and that before his departure from Gneixendorf there
was an exceedingly acrimonious quarrel between the brothers,
growing out of Ludwig's demand that Johann make a will in favor
of Karl, thus cutting off his wife. It is to this that the penciled
endorsement on the letter refers. This subject, Schindler says,
was the real cause of the estrangement between the brothers
during the last five or six years of Ludwig's life. The blame, he
adds, rested with Ludwig, who, "constantly at odds with him-
self and all the world, loved and hated without reason." Weeks
afterward, while he lay dying in Vienna, Beethoven's thoughts
were still occupied with the purpose of persuading his brother to
make a will in Karl's favor.1 A moment's reflection on a single
fact will serve to give the quietus to Schindler's insinuation as to
JHe did not live to see this wish fulfilled; but it was in the end. Therese van Beet-
hoven, Johann's wife, died on November 20, 1828, at Wasserhof; Johann died in Vienna
on January 12, 1848, and though one of Beethoven's sensation-mongering biographers
at one time printed the monstrous falsehood that he had married his wife's illegitimate
daughter in order to keep the family possessions in his hands, and at another that he had
invested his money so that he might use it up during his life and leave nothing to his
heirs, the fact is that Johann made Karl his sole heir and that under the will, after
paying the costs of probate and administration and a legacy to his housekeeper, over
42,000 florins passed into his nephew's hands.
The Fateful Journey from Gneixendorp 271
improper relationship between the young man of 10 and his aunt
of 40; at the time that Karl is pleading to stay in the country,
Johann is urging his brother to send him about his duty, and Beet-
hoven is halting in irresolution, the woman is in Vienna.
It must be assumed that the Monday referred to in Johann's
letter was Monday, November 27; but several days musl have
elapsed between this date and the time when Beethoven and
Karl set out on the fateful journey to Vienna. A determination
seems to have been reached when the Hook shows Johann as
saying: "If you arc to start on Monday the carriage must In-
ordered on Sunday." There is no recorded conversation touch-
ing the use of Johann's carriage, which, so far as anything is
known to the contrary, may have still been in Vienna, whither, it
is safe to assume, it had carried Johann's wife, and whither it was
to carry its owner as soon as he could make a satisfactory ad-
justment of his financial affairs. That means of conveyance
were discussed is proved by Johann's remark and also by a re-
port made by Karl to the composer: "There is no postchaise to
Vienna, but only to St. Polten. . . . From here there is no oppor-
tunity except by a stagecoach."
Exactly when and how the travellers set out it is not possible
to determine. Schindler says that owing to Johann's refusal to
let his brother use his closed carriage, Beethoven was obliged to
make the journey in an "open calash." This is his .statement in
the first edition of the biography, but in the third, top an unex-
plained reason, the "open calash" is the vehicle used from ( rneixen-
dorf to Krems only, a distance which was easily traversed <>n
foot inside of an hour. If Dr. Wawruch, Beethoven's attending
physician during the illness which ended in his death, is correct,
Beethoven told him that he had made the journey "in the devil's
most wretched vehicle, a milk-wagon." Later Dr. Wawruch
calls the vehicle in which he arrived in Vienna a "Leiterwagen,"
from which we might gather, which is utterly preposterous, that
it was a rack vehicle. Beethoven arrived in Vienna <>n Saturday,
December 2, and as there is a reference to only one night spent in
transit' (as there had been one on the journey from Vienna to
Gneixendorf), it is likely that he left Gneixendorf early in the
morning of Friday, December 1. 'That December," Bays Dr.
Wawruch, "was raw. wet and frosty; Beethoven's clothing any-
thing hut adapted to the unfriendly season of t he year, ami yet be
was urged on by an internal unrest and a gloomy foreboding of
misfortune. lb" was compelled to spend a night in a village
tavern where, besides wretched shelter, he found an unwarmed
272 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
room without winter shutters. Towards midnight he experienced
his first fever-chill, a dry hacking cough accompanied by violent
thirst and cutting pains in the sides. When seized with the fever
he drank a few measures of ice-cold water and longed, helplessly,
for the first rays of the morning light. Weak and ill, he permitted
himself to be lifted into the Leiterwagen and arrived, at last, weak,
exhausted and without strength, in Vienna." Wawruch derived
his information from Beethoven, possibly in part also from Karl,
the only witness from whom a succinct and absolutely correct
account was to have been expected; unhappily the tale, which Karl
must have been called upon to tell many times, was never re-
ported. The untrustworthiness of Schindler's statements about
the incidents of which he had no personal knowledge is emphasized
by obvious efforts made to falsify and emasculate the record in the
Conversation Books, concerning which it will soon become neces-
sary to speak.
It was Saturday, December 2nd, 1826, then, that Beethoven
arrived in Vienna from Gneixendorf and went to his lodgings in the
Schwarzpanierhaus. It does not appear that he considered him-
self seriously ill, for in a letter to Holz which must have been writ-
ten two, or more likely three, days later, he says merely that he is
"unpasslich," that is, indisposed. The letter was the second of its
kind, the first having been mislaid. In this letter he asked Holz
to come to him. It was written from dictation, but before append-
ing his signature Beethoven wrote, "Finally, I add to this 'We
all err, only each in a different way'," setting the quoted words to
music for a canon. This canon, of which an autograph copy on a
separate sheet of paper is preserved in the Royal Library at Ber-
lin, points to a possibility that some misunderstanding had arisen
between Beethoven and Holz just before the former started for
Gneixendorf. Inasmuch as Holz is at Beethoven's side at least
ten days before Schindler appears there, and gives his services to the
sick man until the end, though not to the extent that Schindler does
after his coming, the latter's efforts to create the impression that
Beethoven had sent Holz away from him is disingenuous, to say the
least. Holz's first act convicts Schindler of an error which can
scarcely be set down as an innocent one. The story involves one
of the slanders against Karl which has been repeated from Schind-
ler's day to this, although its refutation needed only a glance into
the Conversation Books of December, 1826. Schindler says that
he did not learn of Beethoven's condition until "several days"
after his return to Vienna. That he then hurried to him and
learned that neither Dr. Braunhofer nor Dr. Staudenheimer,
One of Schindleb's Slanders Refuted 278
though sent for by Beethoven, had answered the summons and
that Dr. Wawruch's coming was due to something only a little
better than an accident. Karl, though charged with the duty of
summoning a physician, had forgotten, or neglected, to 80 do, for
several days. His commission occurred to him while playing at
billiards, and he incidentally asked a marqueur r) in the
billiard-room to send a physician to his uncle. The marqueur,
not being well, could not do it at the time, but mentioned the
matter some time later to Dr. Wawruch at the hospital to which In-
had been taken. This story of unexampled heartlessness, bo
which Dr. Gerhard von Breuning also gave currency, Schindler
said he had heard from Dr. Wawruch; but it is branded as a shame-
less fabrication by Dr. Wawruch's published statement and the
evidence of the Conversation Book. Dr. Wawruch wrote a
history of Beethoven's illness entitled "Arztlicher Rilckblick
auf Ludwig van Beethoven's letzte Lebensepoche'' under date of
May 20, 1827, which was published by Aloys Fuchs in the
"Wiener Zeitschrift" of April 30, 1842. In this report Dr.
Wawruch savs, "I was not called in until the third day." This
third day would be December oth, and the date has twofold
confirmation in the Conversation Book. A fortnight after
Beethoven's return to Vienna there is an entry in Karl's hand-
writing of the physician's visits beginning with December 5th
and ending with December 14, which shows that within this period
Dr. Wawruch made daily visits and on one day came twice.
Schindler's name does not appear until some time after this entry,
and it is recorded in a manner which indicates plainly that it was
his first meeting with the sick man. As the book was folded and
renumbered by Schindler the page on which this entry appears
is made to look as if it preceded others which are filled with evi-
dences of Holz's helpfulness, but the records of the first call of the
physician are plain and undisputable. It was Holz who sent for
him and he did so on December 5, the day on which tin- first visit
is noted. Evidently Holz had hastened to Beethoven on receiv-
ing the letter asking him to come which Karl seems to have de-
livered to him on the 4th or 5th. What passed at the first meeting
does not appear, but this remark in the handwriting of Holz does:
I have had Professor Wawruch called for you; Vivenol is himself
sick. I do not know Wawruch personally, hut he is known here as one of
the most skillful physicians. — He is Bogn'er's doctor. — He is professor in
the hospital. — He will come after dinner.
Vivenot was a physician. In all probability Beethoven had
exhausted the list of physicians of his acquaintance Smetana, a
274 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
surgeon, may not have been considered and Malfatti could not be
at the time for reasons which Beethoven knew and was made
painfully to feel later), before Holz succeeded in securing the
attendance of Wawruch.1 According to the accepted story,
Braunhofer, who had been the last physician to treat Beethoven
before the misfortunes of the summer, had declined the call be-
cause of the too great distance between his house and Beethoven's,
and Staudenheimer, whom Braunhofer had displaced, promised to
come but did not. The latter, probably both, took part later in
the consultations. Wawruch was an amateur violoncello player
and an ardent admirer of Beethoven's music. When he comes to
his august patient, though he permits Karl to write the questions,
he takes the pencil himself to tell who he is: "One who greatly
reveres your name will do everything possible to give you speedy
relief — Prof. Wawruch." In his history of the case Wawruch
writes :
I found Beethoven afflicted with serious symptoms of inflammation
of the lungs. His face glowed, he spat blood, his respiration threatened
suffocation and a painful stitch in the side made lying on the back a
torment. A severe counter-treatment for inflammation soon brought the
desired relief; his constitution triumphed and by a lucky crisis he was freed
from apparent mortal danger, so that on the fifth day he was able, in a
sitting posture, to tell me, amid profound emotion, of the discomforts
which he had suffered. On the seventh day he felt considerably better,
so that he was able to get out of bed, walk about, read and write.
Dr. Gerhard von Breuning, who was concerned in proving that
Dr. Wawruch was a bungling practitioner, protests that Beet-
hoven was not suffering from inflammation of the lungs but from
inflammation of the peritoneum, which alone, he says, could have
brought on the dropsy of the belly from which it has thought
until recently Beethoven died. He based his opinion on the fact,
which, though only a boy of 13, he may have observed in the
sick-room, that the patient did not cough, had no difficulty in
breathing, and that afterwards his lungs were found to be sound.
» Wawruch was a native of Nemtschiitz in Moravia. At Olmiitz he was a student
of theology, but before consecration to the priesthood he came to Vienna as tutor and
there decided to abandon the church for medicine. In the course of time he became
assistant and also son-in-law to Professor Hildebrand, the director of the General Hospi-
tal. Thence he went to Prague as professor of general pathology and pharmacology
and, returning to Vienna, became professor of special pathology and medical clinics in
the surgical department of the Hospital. He died in 1842. He was accused of adhering
to old-fashioned theories in his practice and of having been antagonistic to the deter-
minations of pathological anatomy, and the criticisms of von Breuning and others have
pursued him through all the books devoted to Beethoven's life; yet the scientific de-
terminations of to-day offer justification of his diagnosis and treatment of Beethoven's
case so far as it is possible to judge at this late day.
Beethoven's Health in the Coi mkv 275
Wawruch, however, an experienced physician, is speaking of what
he observed on his first visit and is not likely to have erred in bo
obvious a matter as incipient lobar pneumonia, the general his-
tory of which as now understood agrees with the recorded account
of Beethoven's case, even in such details as the critical period
reached on the fifth day. The subsequent strength of the lui
is not inconsistent with the theory that in the first week Beethoven
weathered an attack of pneumonia.
There are few references to the state ol Beethoven's health
during the sojourn at Gneixendorf, but that he was ill when he
arrived there is indicated by an early remark by .Johann attri-
buting an improvement in the condition of his eyes to the g I
air "without rosewater." Johann wrote later that, when with
him, Beethoven ate little. When the food was not prepared to
his taste he ate soft-boiled eggs for dinner "and drank all the
more wine." He had frequent attacks of diarrhoea. His abdo-
men also became distended so that he wore a bandage for com-
fort. Wawruch had no knowledge of his patient's previous
medical history and was compelled to discover for himself what
his colleagues, to whom the sick man's call was first extended.
would have known from their earlier experiences with him.
Schindler attacks Wawruch on the ground that he had said that
Beethoven was addicted to the use of spirituous liquors. The
Conversation Books and other testimony plentifully indicate that
the great composer was fond of wine and that his physicians had
difficulty in enforcing abstinence upon him; but the only one w ho,
by indirection, accused Beethoven of drinking to excess, was
Schindler, whose statements on that point arc not free from the
suspicion that they were made only for the purpose of hitting
IIolz over Wawruch's shoulders.1
Wawruch's report continues:
But on the eighth day 1 was alarmed nol a little. At the morning
visit I found him greatly disturbed and jaundiced all over his body. A
frightful choleraic attack {Brechdurchfau} had threatened Ins life m the
preceding night. A violent rage, a great grief because ^f ingratitude and
undeserved humiliation, was the cause of the mighty explosion. Trem-
bling and shivering he hent double because of the pains which raged in
his liver and intestines, and his feet, thitherto moderately inflated, were
tremendously swollen, from this time on dropsy developed, the
segregation of urine became less, the liver showed plain indication of
hard nodules, there was an increase of jaundice. Gentle entreaties
iHols'a statement >>n tliii point has already been given in an earlier chapter. I i
Ottn Jahn Dr. Bertolini said: "Beethoven liked to drink ■ glaai ol wine, but be vraa never
a drinker or a gourmand."
276 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
from his friends quieted the threatening mental tempest, and the for-
giving man forgot all the humiliation which had been put upon him.
But the disease moved onward with gigantic strides. Already in the
third week there came incidents of nocturnal suffocation; the enormous
volume of collected water demanded speedy relief and I found myself
compelled to advise tapping in order to guard against the danger of
bursting.
After Dr. Wawruch had reached this decision, Dr. Stauden-
heimer was called in consultation and he confirmed the attending
physician's opinion as to the necessity of an operation. Beetho-
ven was told. "After a few moments of serious thought he gave
his consent." The servant Thekla, who had, apparently, come
from Gneixendorf (as her name appears in the Conversation Book
used there), in the midst of the preparations for the operation had
been found to be dishonest and dismissed. The composer's
brother had arrived in Vienna about December 10 and thereafter
is found constant in his attendance, a fact which it becomes neces-
sary to mention because of the obvious effort of Schindler to create
the impression that the burden of the care of Beethoven had been
assumed by him, von Breuning and the latter's son Gerhard.
Wawruch had retained Dr. Seibert, principal surgeon (Pri-
marwundarzt) at the hospital, to perform the operation. The
date was December 20 (not 18, as Schindler says). Those present
were Johann, Karl and Schindler. Beethoven's sense of humor
did not desert him. When, the incision having been made, Dr.
Seibert introduced the tube and the water spurted out, Beethoven
said: "Professor, you remind me of Moses striking the rock with
his staff."1 Wawruch writes in the Conversation Book:
Thank God, it is happily over! — Do you already feel relief? — If
you feel ill you must tell me. — Did the incision give you any pain? — From
to-day the sun will continue to ascend higher. — God save you! [This in
English.] Lukewarm almond milk. — Do you not now feel pain? Continue
to lie quietly on your side. — Five measures and a half. — I hope that you
will sleep more quietly to-night. . . . You bore yourself like a knight.
In the early days after Beethoven's return to Vienna there is
a continuation of the correspondence with Schott and Sons con-
cerning the publication of the works which they had purchased,
and before the end of December, probably in the third wreek, occurs
the incident of the disappointing gift from the King of Prussia
which makes its appearance in the record writh something like
a shout of "Good news!" from Schindler. Karl is busily occupied
'"Better from my belly than from my pen," is another remark credited to him by
Seyfried.
Multiplication and Bandel's Scores
in preparations for his military career and upon him, until the
arrival of Holz, appears to devolve the labor of writing and o!
carrying message-. The Conversation Book used by him on the
4th of December and the two following day. bears a pathetic proof
of Beethoven's helplessness in the matter of figures. A page or bo
is filled with examples in simple multiplication— tables, without
answers, of threes, Fours, sevens, etc. and the remark, "Then
backwards." Later Karl writes an explanation: "Multiplication
is a simplified form of addition, wherefore examples are performed
in the same manner. Each product Is sel under its proper place.
If it consists of two digits, the left, one is added to the product of
the next. Here a small illustration: 2348 multiplied by 2."
It was thus that the great genius approaching his 56th birthday
was employing his time while waiting in vain for the physicians
who would not or could not answer his summons!
One joyful event brightened the solitary gloom of the -i<k-
chamber in the middle of December. From Stumpff, of London.
Beethoven received the 40 volumes of Dr. Arnold'- edition of the
works of Handel which the donor had resolved to send Beethoven
on his visit in 1824. Gerhard von Breuning pictures the joy of
Beethoven at the reception of the gift, which he described as royal
compared with that of the King of Prussia. < )ne day t In- boy \\ as
asked to hand the big hooks from the pianoforte where t hey rested
to the bed. "I have lon<j wanted them." said the composer to his
faithful little friend, "for Handel is the greatest, tin- ablesl Com-
poser that ever lived. I can still learn from him." lie leaned
the books against the wall, turned over the pages, and ever and
anon paused to break out into new expressions of praise. Von
Breuning places these incidents in the middle of February, 1827,
but his memory was plainly at fault. Schindler says the books
arrived in December, and he is right, for Stumpff preserved the
receipt for them, a letter and Reichardt's 'Taschenbuch fur
Eteisende," which is dated "December if, 1826." The gift was
sent through the son of Stumpff's friend Streicher.
Stephan von Breuning had called on Beethoven shortly after
his arrival ami the work of making a soldier of Karl was begun at
once. It was expected that the preparations would occupy only
a few days, but they dragged themselves through tin- month of
December, owing partly, no doubt, to an illne-s which befell the
Councillor. There were formal calls to be made upon the Lieut.
Field Marshal and other officers, a physical examination to be
undergone it was most perfunctory . uniforms to be provided,
the oath of service to be taken, and his monthly allowance t<> be
278 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
fixed. All this was disposed of by the date of the first tapping,
and it was expected that he would set out to join his regiment at
Iglau before the Christmas holidays. There is no evidence of a
change in the attitude towards each other of uncle and nephew.
Some of Karl's entries in the Conversation Books betray a
testiness which is in marked contrast to Beethoven's obvious
solicitude for the young man's position and comfort in his regiment;
but the entries also indicate that illness had not sweetened the
disposition of the sufferer. His outbursts of rage are the subject
of warnings from physicians and friends. We have Schindler's
word for it that Beethoven became cheerful after the graceless
youth's departure for Iglau on January 2nd, and the testimony of
the Conversation Book that the old year closed upon a quarrel
between the two. Karl writes this greeting on New Year's day:
"I wish you a happy new year, and it grieves me that I should
have been compelled already in the first night to give cause for
displeasure. It might easily have been avoided, however, if you
had but given the order to have my meal taken to my room."
It is very possible that Beethoven's spirits grew lighter after
the departure of his nephew. The service which Karl gave his
uncle seems frequently to have been given grudgingly and no
doubt looked more ungracious than it may really have been, when
accompanied by protests that he would not be found failing in
duty and petulant requests that he be spared upbraidings and
torments. To satisfy the singular mixture of affectionate solici-
tude and suspicion which filled Beethoven's heart and mind
would perhaps have taxed the philosophy of a wiser as well as
gentler being than this young man, who, as Johann's wife told the
composer in Gneixendorf, had inherited the testy family temper.
When open quarrels were no longer possible, it is likely that a
greater contentment than had lodged there for a long time filled
Beethoven's soul. There is no record of the parting, and it is
safe to assume that it passed off without emotional demonstration
of any kind. But Beethoven's thoughts went swiftly towards his
self-assumed duty of providing for the young man's future. The
very next day he wrote the following letter to Dr. Bach:
Vienna, Wednesday January 3, 1827.
Before my death I declare my beloved nephew my sole and univer-
sal heir of all the property which I possess in which is included chiefly
seven bank shares and whatever money may be on hand. If the laws
prescribe a modification in this I beg of you as far as possible to turn it to
his advantage. I appoint you his curator and beg his guardian, Court
Councillor von Breuning, to take the place of a father to him. God
Providing for the Nephew's Fi n be 279
preserve you. A thousand thanks for the love and Friendship which you
have shown me.
(L. S.) Ludwig van Beethoven.
From Gerhard von Breuning's account of the last days of
Beethoven it would seem that this letter, though written on
January 3rd, and then addressed to bis legal adviser, was nol
signed until shortly before his death, and that at intervals in tin-
interim it was the subject of consultations between the composer,
Bach, Breuning, Schindler and Johann. Certain it is thai be-
fore dispatching the letter to Bach, Beethoven submitted it to
von Breuning for an opinion. Gerhard carried it to his father and
brought back an answer which may have postponed its formal
execution and delivery till twc days before Beethoven died.
Stephan von Breuning was not willing that Karl should enter
upon unrestricted possession of the property immediately upon
the death of his uncle. In his letter he pointed out that till now
Karl had shown himself frivolous and that there was no know ing
what turn his character might take as a result of the new life upon
which he had entered. He therefore advised that for the young
man's own good and future safety he be prohibited from disposing
of the capital of his inheritance, cither during his lifetime or for a
term of years after he had reached his majority, which under the
Austrian law then prevailing was the age of l2 4 years. He argued
that the income from the legacy would suffice for his maintenance for
the time being and that to restrict him in the disposition of tin-
capital would ensure him against the possible results of frivolous
conduct before he should ripen into a man of solid parts. He
recommended that Beethoven talk the matter over with Bach and
wanted then to consult with both of them, as he feared that even
a temporary restriction would not suffice to rot rain Karl from
making debts which in time would devour the inheritance when
he should enter upon it. How Beethoven received this advice we
shall learn later.
There is little t hat need be added to the story of the nephew.
He was with his regimenl at Iglau. Through Schindler, Beet-
hoven wrote him a letter. It is lost, but apparently it contained
an expression of dissatisfaction with Dr. Wawruch, for in the reply,
which has been preserved, Karl says: "Concerning yourself I am
rejoiced to know that you art- in good hands. I, too, had felt
some distrusl of the treatment of your former (or, perhaps, pre-
sent?) physician; I hope improvement will now follow." He
reports about his situation in the regiment, asks for money and
the flute part of tin- Pianoforte Concerto in B-flal (Op. 19 . which
280 The Life of Ltjdwig van Beethoven
one of the officers of the regiment wished to play, and adds in a
postscript: "Do not think that the little privations to which I am
now subjected have made me dissatisfied with my lot. On the
contrary, rest assured that I am living in contentment, and regret
only that I am separated so far from you. In time, however,
this will be different." But communications from the young man
are not many, and Schindler's rebukes and complaints in the Con-
versation Books about his undutifulness are probably only a
reflex of Beethoven's moods and utterances. One cause of dis-
satisfaction was the fact that a letter to Smart had been sent to
him for translation and was not promptly returned. But he
acknowledges the receipt of money towards the end of February,
and on March 4th he writes another letter, which has been pre-
served. He sends his thanks for a pair of boots, says the trans-
lation of the letter to Smart must have been received, and adds:
To-day a cadet returned to his batallion who had been in Vienna on
a furlough; and he reports having heard that you had been saved by an
ice and are feeling well. I hope the report is true, no matter what the
means may have been. . . Write me very soon about the state of your
health ... I kiss you. Your loving son Charles.
Here Karl van Beethoven practically disappears from this
history. He never saw his uncle in life again, nor even in death,
for he was not present at the funeral — as indeed in those days of
tardy communication and slow conveyance he could not be.
Notwithstanding that they do not make a complete record,
since the slate was also, and indeed largely, used by Beethoven's
visitors, and despite the fact that they have not been left intact,
but bear evidences of mutilation and falsification, the Conversation
Books furnish a more vivid and also a more pathetic picture of
Beethoven's sick-room than the writings of Schindler and Gerhard
von Breuning. Busy about the couch of the patient we see his
brother Johann and his nephew Karl, besides Schindler, Holz and
Stephan von Breuning. The visits of the last are interrupted by
illness and his official labors, but his son, the lad Gerhard, fre-
quently lends a gracious touch to the scene by his familiar mode of
address, his gossip about his father's domestic affairs and his
suggestions of intellectual pabulum for his august friend. He
is a daily message-bearer between the two households. Even at
a sacrifice of space it is necessary to recount a few incidents of
small intrinsic interest in order that some errors in history may
be rectified. Notwithstanding Schindler's obvious efforts to have
the contrary appear, Holz continues to be faithful in attendance,
though his visits are not so numerous as they were during the
Scenes in the Composer's Sick-room 281
weeks of Beethoven's great trial in the summer. The reason was
obvious and certainly not to his discredit, though Schindler
attempted to belittle it. Holz took unto himself a wife about the
time that Beethoven returned to Vienna. Thitherto In- had been
able to devote a large portion of the time not given to official duties
to his friend. Now, this was do longer possible; nor was it m ■•
sary after Dr. Wawruch had assumed care of the case. Beet-
hoven's brother also returned to Vienna and Schindler found his
way back to the composer's side within a fortnight. It is Holz,
however, who looks after the correction and publication of tin-
last compositions, and collects Ins annuity; and if it were neces-
sary, his apologists might find evidence of Beethoven's confidence
in his Friendship and integrity in the facl that there is no indica-
tion that he ever questioned Ins honesty in money matters, while
there is proof in Schindler's own handwriting that Beethoven
thought him capable of theft. It is pitiful that while Schindler is
sacrificing himself in almost menial labors, Beethoven fonts him
to a pained protestation that he had returned the balance of a
sum placed in his hands wherewith to make purchases. Schind-
ler himself records the fact of Beethoven's suspicion with sorrow.
A livelier sense of gratitude took possession of the sufferer later
and found expression in gifts of autograph scores of the Ninth
Symphony, for instance, now in the Royal Library1 at Berlin),
and a promise, which he was unable to fulfill, to take part in a
concert for Schindler's benefit.
Whether Schindler was always as scrupulously honest in his
attitude towards the public as he was in his dealings with Beet-
hoven may be doubted. Then- are mutilations, interlineations
and erasures in tin- Conversation Hooks which it is difficult to
believe were not made for the purpose of bolstering up mistaken
statements in his biography, which had already been published
when the documents passed out of his hands into t he possession of
the Royal Library. Here is a case in point: Schuppan/.igh has
'The Royal Library acquired the autograph manuscript* "f the instrumental
movements of the Symphony from Schindler. and the choral part from tin- Ae
Collection <>f Vienna when it was dispersed by sale in 1901. The autograph is not
intact, however, the coda of the Scherzo, consisting of f'>ur pages, having been given t<>
Moscheles by Schindler on September it. 1827. ftfoscheles in turn gave the relic t"
Henry Phillips, [n July, 1907, it was purchased at a public sale bj Ml I Speyer,
its owner at thepresenl writing. The autograph of the Finale, t"". had been mutilated,
a page containing the five measures immediately preceding the i ,6-4
timet with the words "Uber Sternen muss er wohnen," having been removed It «.i-
sold by an autograph dealer <>f Merlin to Charles Bdalherbe, of Paris, who on li i -* death
bequeathed it to the Conservatoire. As published, tin- Allegro non (onto contains eight
measures which Beethoven >li'l not write in the autograph, bu! an-, no doubt, an addi-
tion made by him in a revision. It would I"- a beautiful art <>( piety I able the
autograph score ami publish it in factimiU.
282 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
called and reported that one of Beethoven's quartets had been
enthusiastically received by the public at a performance on the
preceding Sunday (December 10, 1826). To what seems to
have been an oral comment, Beethovens adds the words and
music of the motto from the Quartet in F: "Muss es sein? Es
muss sein." This moves Schuppanzigh to say: "But does he" —
(Beethoven, of course, whom Schuppanzigh addresses in the
third person as usual) — "does he know that the dirty fellow has
become my enemy on that account?" Here we have an unmis-
takable allusion to the anecdote about Dembscher and the origin
of the Canon on the theme of the finale of the F major Quartet.
A few pages later Schindler is the writer and has just brought the
news of the arrival of the ring presented to Beethoven by the
King of Prussia. He had been asked to carry the ring to Beet-
hoven, but had been unwilling to accept it unless he could give
Beethoven's receipt for it in exchange. He adds the words "Es
muss sein" as if in answer to a question by Beethoven. Now
appear squeezed in between the music and the edge of the sheet
the words: "The Old Woman (Die Alte) is again in need of her
weekly allowance." The handwriting is plainly of a different
date and at the time of the conversation the "Old Woman" was
not in Beethoven's employ.1 It is not easy to acquit Schindler of
a sinister motive here nor to avoid the suspicion that it was his
hand which made an attempt to obliterate the entry on December
5, which proves that Holz sent for Dr. Wawruch on that date and
thus gives the lie to the infamous story about Karl and the billiard
marqueur. The evidences of Schindler's eagerness to encourage
Beethoven's detestation of his brother and his suspicion of his
nephew are too numerous to be overlooked, and some of them may
call for mention later.
An offer by Gerhard von Breuning to bring one of his school-
books containing pictures of classic antiquities is an evidence of
the lad's familiarity with Beethoven's literary tastes. It was
Brother Johann, however, who suggested the novels of Sir Walter
Scott for his entertainment, and the impression conveyed by the
story that after beginning "Kenilworth" Beethoven threw the
volume down with the angry remark: "To the devil with the scrib-
'Mr. Thayer, who has given expression in these pages to his belief that Schindler
was honest, in transcribing this page of the Conversation Book writes these words:
"It is to be noted, first, that the writing ('The Old Woman,' etc.) does not correspond
with the rest, and secondly, that Die Alte was no longer in Beethoven's service. It is evi-
dent on inspection and from the talk in these last books about Thekla and other ser-
vants that Schindler inserted these words long afterwards. The 'Es muss sein' can
only refer here to Beethoven's receipt for the ring." Whether or not Thayer suspected
what may have been Schindler's purpose in making the interlineation does not appear.
Dissatisfied with His PHYSIC!
bling! The fellow writes only for money," thai the composer
would have no more of the novelist, is rudely disturbed by evidence
that Beethoven read all of Scott's works which were to I"- found
in translation in the circulating library. Beethoven later him-
self calls for Ovid's "Metamorphoses"; and his interesl in inter-
national politics is so keen that he is oof content with an abstract
of Channing's great speech of December 12, 1826, but ezpn
desire to read a full report.
While Beethoven's friends are discussing with Dr. Wawruch
the necessity of a second tapping, and Karl is packing his 1".
for Iglau, the year 1826 ends. The Burgeon Seibert Beems to hi
advised a postponement of the operation. In a conversation on
January (i, 1827, Sehindler says to Beet hoven : "Then 1 1 r. Seibert
was really right in still postponing the second operation, for it
will probably make a third unnecessary." There are now Bigns of
Beethoven's dissatisfaction with the attending physician. Ger-
hard von Breuning has much to say on the point in his little hook,
and Sehindler joins in the criticism many years after Beethoven's
death; but in the Conversation Book- he appears more than once
as Wawruch's defender. From von Breuning we ham that while
at a later date Malfatti's coming was awaited with eagerness and
hailed with unfeigned gladness, Wawruch's visits were un-
graciously received, Beethoven sometimes turning bis face to the
wall and exclaiming "Oh! the ass!" when he heard hi- name
announced. But in the tir-t week of January, Sehindler i> ^till
concerned in keeping up the patient's faith in the skill of his
physician. In a Conversation Book he writes shortly after the
remark about the surgeon:
He understands his profession, that is notorious, and he is right in
following a safe course. — I have a u're^t deal of confidence in him. but I
can not speak from experience. — However, he is known as an able man
and is esteemed by his students. But as we are here concerned with a
itirum caput my advice from the beginning has been alwaj ! t.> take into
consultation a physician who is familiar with your constitution from
medical treatment; such an one generally adopts very different measures.
Evidently, Beethoven renews his expression of distrust.
Sehindler continues:
Yet it is Letter and more advisable not to lose confidence in the
physician, for after all he has done a great deal. It is ;1 very well km
fact that dropsy is very slow of cure.— Shall 1 come when the * is
here?
A few days later (January 8, says Sehindler, who was
present) the second operation took place. There were do
284 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
complications, the tapping was accomplished without difficulty and
Dr. Seibert reported that the water was clearer and the outflow
greater than the first time. Ten measures were drawn off. On
January 11 there was a consultation of physicians to which, be-
sides either Dr. Braunhofer or Staudenheimer, Dr. Malfatti had
been called. It had become an ardent wish of Beethoven's that
Malfatti undertake his case, but Malfatti had refused, pleading
professional ethics, but no doubt actuated by reasons of a more
personal character. Many years before, probably as early as
1813, he had been not only Beethoven's physician but also his
friend ; indeed, he was an uncle of the Therese Malfatti to whom
the composer once made an offer of marriage. He made, what it is
easy to imagine to have been, the experience of all the medical men
who undertook the care of the great man. Beethoven was ever
a disobedient and impatient patient. He became dissatisfied
with Dr. Malfatti's treatment and commented upon it and him in
such a manner as to cause a serious and lasting estrangement.
Ten years at least had elapsed between this incident and the time
when Beethoven's longing went out towards his one-time pro-
fessional friend. Schindler's story of the disappointments which
he suffered when first he tried to persuade Dr. Malfatti to take the
case in hand was printed in the "Frankfurter Konversations-
blatt" of July 14, 1842. It was a long time afterward, and we can
not withhold a suspicion that it is rather highly colored, but since
the coming of Malfatti was a matter of large moment to Beethoven
and the treatment which he recommended (strictly speaking, he
can not be said to have prescribed it, for Dr. Wawruch remained
in charge of the case to the end) has a large bearing upon Beet-
hoven's physical condition and its causes, it may be told here.
Schindler writes, in his communication to the Frankfort newspaper:
Never shall I forget the harsh words of that man which he commis-
sioned me to bear to the friend and teacher who lay mortally ill, when
after the second operation (January 8) I repeatedly carried to him the
urgent requests of Beethoven that he come to his help or he should die.
Dr. Wawruch did not know his constitution, was ruining him with too
much medicine. He had already been compelled to empty 75 bottles,
without counting various powders, he had no confidence in this physician,
etc. To all of these representations Malfatti answered me coldly and
drily: "Say to Beethoven that he, as a master of harmony, must know
that I must also live in harmony with my colleagues." Beethoven wept
bitter tears when I brought him this reply, which, hard as it was, I had to
do, so that he might no longer look for help to that quarter. . . . Though
Malfatti finally took pity on poor Beethoven and abolished Wawruch's
medicine bottles at once and prescribed an entirely different course of
treatment, despite the pleadings of the patient he refused to remain his
Reconciliation wuh Dr. Malfatti
ordinaritu and visit bim often. On the contrary, he came only at !
intervals and contented himself with occasional reports from mi
the sick man's condition. He w&a not willing even ad one of bis
assistants to Beethoven and consequently Dr. Wawruch remained his
daily visitor in spite of Beethoven's protests.
On January 19, after a second visit to I >r. Malfatti, Schindler
wrote to Beethoven saying that the Doctor would come to him and
begging him to seek a reconciliation, inasmuch as Malfatti -till
cherished resentmenl because of the treatment which be had
received a decade before al Beethoven's hands. Malfatti cai
a reconciliation was effected, and under the inspiration «>f the
changed treatment which Malfatti . itroduced Beethoven's spirits
rose luioyantly, his physical condition responded and the de-
spair which had begun to fill the sufferer gave way to a confident
hope of recovery. The treatment was simple, but the impro>
ment which it brought aboul was not lasting. Malfatti put away
t he drugs and decoctions and prescribed fro/en punch, and rubbing
the patient's abdomen with ice-cold water. Dr. Wawruch in his
history of the ease confirms Schindler's statement of the bene-
ficial results which were al first attained. tie says:
Then Dr. Malfatti. who thenceforth supported me with his advice,
and w ho, as a friend of Bee1 hoven of long years' standing underst I b s
predominant inclination for spirituous liquors, hit upon the notioi
administering frozen punch. I must confess that the treatment prodi
excellent effects for a few days at least. Beethoven felt himself bo re-
freshed by the ice with its alcoholic contents that already in the first i:
he slept quietly throughout the night and began to perspire profusely.
He grew cheerful and was full of witty conceits and even dreamed of being
able to complete the oratorio "Saul and David"1 which he had begun.
lint this joy, as was to have been foreseen, did not hist long. He bet an to
abuse the prescription and applied himself right bravely to the fi
punch. The spirits soon caused a violent pressure of t he l>l 1 upon the
brain, he grew soporous, breathed stertorously like an intoxicated |
son, began to wander, in his .speech, ami a few times inflammatory |
in the throat were paired with hoarseness and even aphony. He
became more unruly and when, because of the cooling of the bov
colic ami diarrhoea resulted, it was hiurh time to deprive him of this
precious refreshment.
Wawruch's remark here about Beethoven's predilection for
spirituous liquors formed the l.asis for Schindler's charge, which
'Schindler, impeaching I>r. Wawruch's accuracy here, den
worked on 1 1 » » - oratorio <>f '"Saul ami David" during !ii> last >!! I
directs attention t" the fact that Beethoven was conieasedlj deeply absorlH-d in II
Korea, which he had received only a short time before, and thai before the < nd of I '
ber Kieaewetter senl a request through ll"l/ f<>r a return "f the pianof
"Saul" as im longer uecessary, now that th me.
286 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
has already been discussed, that the physician had slandered
Beethoven and had tried to create the impression that he had
contracted dropsy by inordinate use of alcoholic drinks. The
account of the beneficial effect of Malfatti's coming, no less than
the treatment which he prescribed, is reasonable enough. Beet-
hoven no doubt, in the warm glow of a recovered friendship, gave
the physician a full measure of confidence and hailed in him much
more than the ordinary professional leech. It is also safe to
assume that Malfatti knew from the beginning that a cure was
impossible and strove at once for temporary relief, which in Beet-
hoven's case was the surest of means for cheering him up and
reanimating hope within him. By administering frozen punch he
stimulated the jaded organs more successfully than Wawruch had
succeeded in doing; at the same time he warned against excess in
its use and forbade the patient taking it in a liquid form. But
this was only at the beginning; when he saw the inevitable end
approaching he waived all injunctions as to quantity. Schindler
says:
The quantity of frozen punch permitted in the first weeks was not
more than one glass a day. Not until after the fourth operation
(February 27th), when it was seen that the case was hopeless, were all
restrictions removed. The noble patient, feeling the marked effects of a
doubled and even trebled allowance meanwhile, thought himself already
half saved and wanted to work on his tenth symphony, which he was
allowed to do to a small extent. From these days, so extraordinary in
the sight of the friends who surrounded him, the last lines are dated which
he wrote to me on March 17 — nine days before his death — the very last
page which the immortal master wrote with his own hands:
"Miracles! Miracles! Miracles! The highly learned gentlemen
are both defeated! Only through Malfatti's science shall I be saved.
It is necessary that you come to me for a moment this forenoon."
The reiteration of the word "miracles" is indicated by the
usual musical sign of repetition /. . There is no date in Beet-
hoven's handwriting, but Schindler has endorsed it: "Beethoven's
last lines to Schindler on March 17, 1827." The endorsement is of
a later date and marks another obvious error of memory. It is
not possible that Beethoven wrote the letter after he had him-
self abandoned all hope of recovery, as he had before the date
affixed by Schindler. Most obviously the pathetic document is an
outburst of jubilation on feeling the exhilaration consequent on
Malfatti's prescription, as mentioned in Dr. Wawruch's report.
Schindler says that the "learned gentlemen" referred to were
Wawruch and Seibert. Wawruch says that Beethoven abandoned
hope after the fourth tapping; Johann van Beethoven records
Treatment of the Patieni
that the physicians declared him losl on March 16. Schindler
in his biography describes a letter written in February as tin-
last letter actually written by the composer.
Gerhard von Breuning, prejudiced as he was againsl Dr.
Wawruch, was yet far from unqualified in his praise o! Malfatti.
He say-:
But the usually brilliant physician seems to bave been little inspired
in the presence <>f Beethoven. The frozen punch which he prescribed to
restore the tone of the digestive organs, excessively weakened by W
ruch's overload of medicaments, had, indeed, tin- desired restorative
effect; hut it was too transient. On the other hand a Borl at-bath
preserihed a few days after the second' operation was bo obviously in-
jurious to the patient, filled with longing and hope, that it had to be aban-
doned at once. Jugs filled with hot water were arranged in a bath-tub
and covered thickly with hirch leaves on u hich t he pal lent waa seated, all
of his body hut the head being covered with a sheet. Malfatti hoped for
a beneficient action upon the skin and to put the organs into a produc-
tive perspiration. Hut the very opposite effect resulted. The body of
the patient, which Had Keen emptied of its water by the scarcely com-
pie led tapping, attracted the moisture developed by the bath like a block
of salt; it swelled visibly in the apparatus and in a few days compelled the
introduction anew of the tube into the still unhealed puncture.
The story of this sweat-hath needs to be told, if f<>r no other
reason than because it is the basis of another of tin- romances
still current, which were retailed for the single purpose <>f pre-
senting Beethoven as a sufferer from the niggardliness of Johann.
On January 25 f the date is fixed by a remark of Johann 's in the
Conversation Book) Schindler brought word to Beethoven that the
mother of the singer hraulein Scheduler had sent for him that
morning to tell him about two remedies which had proved effica-
cious in the case of her father, who had also been afflicted with
dropsy. One of these was Juniperberry tea, the other a vapor
bath from a decoction, the ingredients of which wen- a head of
cabbage, two handfuls of caraway seeds ami three handfuls <>f
hayseed (Heublumen). These remedies had been prescribed by
the physician of I he late King of Bavaria and had worked a cure i:i
the case of Madame Scheduler's father when he was 70 years old.
Dr. Malfatti seems to have been told of these remedies and to have
preserihed the bath, which, it is said in the Conversation Hook-, he
recognized at once as a cure used by Dr. Sarz, t he Royal Phj sician
ment ioned. Within a day or two Schindler notes in the hook, t hat
he had asked Johann for BOme hay ami the latter had replied that
his hay was not good enough for the purpose; hut the next day.
1 1 > r . von Breuning — fi«>til.l have Mid "third
288 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
on seeing the hay, which had been procured from another source,
Johann had said that he had plenty of that sort and that his was
dryer. Unwilling, apparently, to admit that Johann might have
been honest in his belief that the hay from his stable was not fit
for medicinal purposes, Schindler writes for Beethoven's perusal:
"Is it not abominable that he is unwilling even to give hay for a
single bath!" Yet this monster of inhumanity, unwilling to
sacrifice even a wisp of hay for a dying brother, was at the time in
daily attendance upon that brother and had taken upon himself
a great deal of the onerous and disagreeable labor of the sick-room !
Among Beethoven's visitors in February, near the end of the
month, when Beethoven was at an extremity of his suffering, was
the singer Demoiselle Schechner, who almost forced her way to the
bedside to tell him of her great admiration for his music, of her
successes in "Fidelio," and that it was through singing his "Ade-
laide" that she had won her way to the operatic stage. Under
date of February there also came to the composer a cheery letter
from his old playmate Wegeler, calling to his mind some of his
early flames — Jeanette Honrath and Fraulein Westerholt — and
playfully outlining a plan by which the old friends might enjoy
a reunion: he would send, he said, one of his patients to Carlsbad
and go there with him as soon as Beethoven should arrange also
to go there for his convalescence. Then, after a three weeks' trip
through South Germany, there should be a final visit to the home
of their childhood. And, as before, Eleonore sends a postscript
emphasizing the pleasures of the reunion. Beethoven answered
the letter on February 17, and told his old friend how he had
tried to send him a letter and portrait through Stephan von
Breuning on December 10, but the plan had miscarried. Now the
matter was to be entrusted to the Schotts.
Zmeskall, faithful to the old friendship, a bound prisoner to
his room through gout, sends greetings and inquiries through
Schindler. From his sick-bed Beethoven answers him, not in the
jocular spirit which marked his voluminous notes of old, but in
terms which breathe sincerity and real' friendship :
A thousand thanks for your sympathy. I do not despair. The
most painful feature is the cessation of all activity. No evil without its
good side. May heaven but grant you amelioration of your painful
existence. Perhaps health is coming to both of us and we shall meet again
in friendly intimacy.
Though Beethoven had received the Handel scores in Decem-
ber, he does not seem to have had an opportunity to enjoy
Stumpff's gift thoroughly until he turned to them for intellectual
Comfort Received from England
refreshment on his l>ed of pain. He had signed the receipl for
them in December, but it was not until bis thoughts turned to his
English friends in the hope of pecuniary relief that he wrofc
letter to Stumpff under date of February s.1
How great a joy the sending of the works of Handel (,f which \
made me a present — for me a royal present!— this my pen cannot de-
scribe. An article about it was even printed by the newspaper, which 1
enclose. Unfortunately I have been down with the dropsy Bince the
3rd of December. You can imagine in what a situation this places me!
I live generally only from the proceeds of my brain, to make provision of
all things for myself and my Carl. Unhappily for a month and a half
I have not been able to write a note. My salary suffices only to pay my
semi-annual rent, after which there remains only a few hundred tloriiis.
Reflect now that it cannot yet be determined when my illness will end,
I again be able to sail through the air on Pegasus under full sail. 1 doctor,
surgeon, everything must be paid.
I recall right well that several years ago the Philharmonic Society
wanted to give a concert for my benefit. It would be fortunate for me
if they would come to this determination now. It mighl save me from
all the needs which confront me. On this account I am writing to Mr.
S. [Smart] and if you, my dear friend, can do anything toward this end
I beg of you to cooperate with Mr. S. Moscheles w ill also be written to
about it and if all my friends unite I believe that something can be done
for me in this matter.
Concerning the Handel works for II. Imperial Highness Archduke
Rudolph, I cannot as yet say anything with certainty. Hut I will write
to him in a few days and remind him of it.
While thanking you again for your glorious gift , I beg of you to com-
mand me if I can be of service to you here in any way, I shall do it with
all my heart. I again place my condition as I have described it close to
your benevolent heart and while wishing you all things good and beauti-
ful, I commend myself to you.
Stumptf had already been informed of Beethoven's illness by
Streicher. It is evident that he went at once to Smart and Mo-
scheles, and knowledge of Beethoven's condition and request was
communicated to the directors of the Philharmonic Society forth-
with. Beethoven, meanwhile, had written to both Smart and
Moscheles, enclosing the letter of the former in the letter to the
latter; but the quick and sympathetic action of I lie Society was no
doubt due primarily to the initiative <»f Stumpff, for the letters
could by no means have reached London when the directors
held a meeting on February 28. Mr. Dance presided, and those
'Thayer procured a copy <>f tl>i- letter in London along with the other Stumpfl
papers already mentioned. Only a fragment of tin- letter baa been printed hitherto in
the collections <>f Beethoven'a letters an. I that, in great probability, from tl><- draft
preserved by Schindler. The newspaper article referred t.> «^ print.-. I m the "Mode-
zeitung."
290 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
present, as recorded in the Society's minutes, were F. Cramer,
Horsley, Moralt, Dragonetti, Neate, Dizi, Beale, T. Cooke, Sir G.
Smart, Welsh, Latour, Spagnoletti, Calkin, J. B. Cramer, Cipriani
Potter and Watts. The minutes continue:
It was moved by Mr. Neate, and seconded by Mr. Latour :
"That this Society do lend the sum of One Hundred Pounds to its
own members to be sent through the hands of Mr. Moscheles to some
confidential friend of Beethoven, to be applied to his comforts and neces-
sities during his illness."
Carried unanimously.
Both Stumpff and Moscheles wrote the good news to Beetho-
ven the next day. Moscheles's letter appears in his translation,
or rather paraphrase, of Schindler's biography. In it he said:
The Philharmonic Society resolved to express their good will and
lively sympathy by requesting your acceptance of 100 pounds sterling
(1,000 florins) to provide the necessary comforts and conveniences dur-
ing your illness. This money will be paid to your order by Mr. Rau, of
the house of Eskeles, either in separate sums or all at once as you desire.
He added an expression of the Philharmonic Society's willing-
ness to aid him further whenever he should inform it of his need
of assistance. Beethoven's impatience was so great that, having
found Smart's address among his papers, he wrote him a second
letter on March 6th, being able now to mention the fact of the
fourth tapping on February 27th and to utter the apprehension
that the operation might have to be repeated — perhaps more than
once. On March 14th he was still without the answer of his
English friends and he wrote again to Moscheles telling him of the
two letters sent to Smart, urging action and concluding with
Whither is this to lead, and what is to become of me if this continues
for a while longer? Verily, a hard lot has befallen me! But I yield to
the will of fate and only pray God so to order it in his Divine Will that
so long as I must endure this death in life I may be protected against
want. This will give me strength to endure my lot, hard and terrible
as it may be, with submission to the will of the Most High. . . . Hummel
is here and has already visited me a few times.
Schindler says that the appeal to London, which had been
suggested by Beethoven, had been discussed with the composer
by himself and Breuning, who agreed in questioning the advisa-
bility of the step which, they said, would make a bad impression
if it became known. They reminded Beethoven of his bank-shares,
but he protested vigorously against their being touched; he had
set them apart as a legacy for his nephew which must not be
encroached upon. The letters to Smart and Moscheles are men-
tioned several times in the Conversation Books, but there is no
Monet from the London Philhabmonk
record of a protest by Schindler or Braining, Inasmuch, how-
ever, as much of the com ersation with Beethoven was at this time
carried on with the help of a slate, it is \ ery likely thai Schin.ll'
statemenl is correct. At any rate it serves to a quietus to the
fantastic notion of the romancers thai Beethoven had forgotten
that he had the shares. Nol only were they talked about by his
friends, bu1 they were the Bubjed of discussion in the correspon-
dence and congratulations between Beethoven, Bach and Brai-
ning on the subjecl of the will.
The last letters to Smarl and Moscheles were Bcarcely di>-
patched before advices were received from London. Beetho
dictated the following acknowledgment which Schindler, though
he held the pen, did not reproduce in full in his biography:
Vienna, March 18, 1827.
My d<ar good Moscheles:
I can not describe to you in words with what feelings 1 read your
letter of March 1. The generosity with which the Philharmonic Society
anticipated my petition has touched me in the innermost depth of my
soul. I beg you, therefore, my dear Moscheles, to be the agency t hrougn
which I transmit my sincerest thanks for the particular sympathy and
help, to the Philharmonic Society.
I found myself const rained to collect at once the entire sum of 1,000
florins ('. M. being in the unpleasant position of raising money which
would have brought new embarrassments.
Concerning the concert which the Philharmonic Society has re-
solved to give, I beg the Society not to abandon this noble purpose, and to
deduct the 1,000 florins already >ent to me from the proceeds of the con-
cert. And if tin- Society is disposed graciously to Bend me the balan< I
pledge myself to return my heartiest thanks to the Society by binding
myself to compose for it either a new .symphony, which lies already
sketched in my desk, a new overture or whatever else the Society shall
w ish.
May heaven very soon restore me again to health, and I will pro
to the generous Englishmen how- greatly I appreciate their interest in my
sad fate. Their noble act will never be forgotten by me and I shall
follow this with especial thanks to Sir Smart and Mr. Stumpff.
Schindler relates that Beethoven on March 24, whispered to
him, '"write to Smart and Stumpff," and that he would ha\ «• done
so on the morrow had Beethoven been able to sign his name.
In a translation of the letter to Moscheles printed in a pamphlet
published by the Philharmonic Society in 1871, it concluded as
follows:
'"Documents, Letters etc., relating »■> tin- Bust "f Ludwig v»n I'
•■■(1 to the Philharmonic Society <>f London, by Prau Fanny Linsbam i P
Translated and Arranged for the Society by Doyne C. Bell. London PuMi-ihcd for
Philharmonic Society by Lamborn Cock and Co., OS N w Bond : u 1871
292
The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
Farewell! with the kindest remembrances and highest esteem
From your friend
Ludwig van Beethoven.
Kindest regards to your wife. I have to thank you and the Philharmonic
Society for a new friend in Mr. Rau. I enclose for the Philharmonic
Society a metronomic list of the movements of my ninth Symphony.
Allegro ma non troppo. .. . 88= J
Molto vivace 116 = J
Presto 116 = J
Adagio primo 60 = J
Andante moderato 63 = J
Finale presto 96 = J
Allegro ma non tanto 88 = J
Allegro assai 80 = J
Alia marcia 84 = J
Andante maestoso .... 72 = J
Adagio divoto 60 = J
Allegro energico 84 = J
Allegro ma non tanto. 120= J
Prestissimo 132 = J
Maestoso 60 = J
The history of the Philharmonic Society's benefaction may
properly be completed at this point. The money, as is to be seen
from Beethoven's acknowledgment, was collected by the com-
poser at once. Herr Rau, of the banking-house of Eskeles to
whom it had been entrusted, called upon Beethoven immediately
on receiving advices from London. It was on March 15, and
two days later he enclosed Beethoven's receipt (dated March 16)
in a letter to Moscheles which the latter transmitted to Mr. W.
Watts, Secretary of the Philharmonic Society. Rau wrote:
I have with the greatest surprise heard from you, who reside in
London, that the universally admired Beethoven is so dangerously ill
and in want of pecuniary assistance, while we, here at Vienna, are totally
ignorant of it. I went to him immediately after having read your letter
to ascertain his state, and to announce to him the approaching relief.
This made a deep impression upon him, and called forth true expressions
of gratitude. What a satisfactory sight would it have been for those who
so generously relieved him to witness such a touching scene! I found
poor Beethoven in a sad way, more like a skeleton than a living being.
He is suffering from dropsy, and has already been tapped four times;
he is under the care of our clever physician Malfatti, who unfortunately
gives little hope of his recovery.
How long he may remain in his present state, or if he can at all be
saved, can not yet be ascertained. The joyous sensation at the sudden
relief from London has, however, had a wonderful effect upon him; it
made one of the wounds (which since the last operation had healed)
suddenly burst open during the night, and all the water which had
gathered since a fortnight ran out freely. When I came to see him on the
following day he was in remarkably good spirits and felt himself much
relieved. I hastened to Malfatti to inform him of this alteration and he
considers the event as very consolatory. He will contrive to keep the
wound open for some time and thus leave a channel for the water which
gathers continually. Beethoven is fully satisfied with his attendants, who
consist of a cook and housemaid. His friend and ours, Mr. Schindler,
Moscheles Reports ro London
dines with him every day and thus proves bia sincere attachment t.. him.
S. also manages his correspondence and superintends his ex] \
will find enclosed a receipt from Beethoven forth.- 1,000 florins or 100
pounds). When J proposed to him t<. take half ..f the sum at |
and to leave tin- rest with Baron Eskeles, where he might have it safely
deposited, he acknowledged to me openly that he considered *
as a relief senl hini from heaven; and that 500 florins would I
for his present want. I therefore gave him. according to hi. *rish,
whole sum at once. Beethoven will Boon address a letter to the Phil-
harmonic Society by which he means to express his gratitude I I ope
you will again accepl my services whenever they can I"- of any use to
Beethoven. 1 am, etc.
In a letter, dated March 24, Schindlex wrote t<» Moschel
I much regret that you did not express more decidedly in your letter
the wish that he should draw the 100 pounds by installments, and I
agreed with Ran to recommend this course, hut he (Beethoven preferred
acting on the last part of your letter, (are and anxiety seemed at i
to vanish when he had received the money, and In- said to me quite
happily, "Now we can again look forward to Borne comfortable days "
We had only '540 florins, \\ . \Y. remaining and we had been obliged to In-
very economical for some time in our housekeeping .... Hi- delight
on receiving this gift from the Philharmonic Society resembled that of a
child. A letter from that worthy man Stumpff arrived hen- two days
before yours and all this affected Beethoven very much. Numberless
times during the day he exclaimed. "May God reward theina thousand-
fold."
On March 28 Ran wrote again to Moscheles:
Beethoven is no more; he died on the 26th inst. at five o'clock in the
afternoon, in the most dreadful agonies of pain. He was, a- I mentioned
to you in my last letter, according to his own statement, without any
relief, without any money, consequently in tin- most painful circumstai
but on taking an inventory of his property after his death, at which I
present, we found in an old half-mouldy chest, Beven Austrian hank hills
which amount to about 1,000 pounds. Whether Beethoven concealed
these purposely, for he was very mistrusting, and hoped for a speedy
recovery, or whether In- was himself ignorant of his possession, remains
a riddle. We found the whole of tin- l no pounds which the Philharmonic
Society sent him, and I reclaimed t hem according to yoUT former order-. :
but was compelled to deposit them with the magistrate until a further
communication from that Society arrives. I could, of course, not per-
mit the expenses of the burial to he paid out of this money without the
'Schindler bad accompanied Beethoven's application (•■ Mom h< '• - for rdief with
a personal letter in which he advised thai the Philharmonic Society, i iould
accede to lii- request, explain to Beethoven that the amount would be sent 1
ble person in Vienna fr.>m whom it might be drawn by degn K^nd '" '""' r' 'i>iir<--
ments; and that this precautionary step was taken "because, as thi > well lei
his relations who ur.- with him do not ad quite uprightly towards him" — a t
course, at ttu- composer's brother whom !><• so cordially bated; the nepbea
Vienna.
294 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
consent of the Society. Beethoven's nephew now succeeds to all his
property. I hope to hear from you soon and explicitly what I am to do,
and you may rest perfectly assured of my promptness and exactitude.
Moscheles, "by return post," as he assures Mr. Watts, asked
Rau to send the £100 back to the Philharmonic Society "accord-
ing to the conditions under which the money was sent." A
correspondence ensured between Moscheles and Hotschevar, who
was appointed guardian of the nephew after Breuning's death
(on June 4, 1827), which ended in Moscheles' (as he himself says)
laying before the Philharmonic Society the case of young Beet-
hoven (then under age) and soliciting them "not to reclaim the
£100, but, in honor of the great deceased, to allow the small patri-
mony to remain untouched." Meanwhile it appears from a
letter from Schindler to Smart dated March 31, 1 that Schindler
and Breuning applied a portion of the sum to the payment of the
funeral expenses; "otherwise," says the letter, "we could not have
had him decently buried without selling one of the seven bank-
shares which constitute his entire estate." The sum thus ex-
pended is shown to have been 650 florins C. M. by the inventory
preserved by Fischoff.
There are evidences outside of the importunate letters to
London that Beethoven had frequent spells of melancholy during
the period between the crises of his disease, which culminated in
the third operation on February 2,2 and the fourth. Some of
them were, no doubt, due to forebodings touching the outcome of
his illness; some to the anxiety which his financial condition gave
him (more imaginary than real in view of the easily convertible
bank-shares), and some presumably to disappointment and
chagrin at the conduct of his nephew, who had not answered his
letter to Iglau. Breuning explained that the negligence might
be due to Karl's time and attention being engrossed by the car-
nival gayeties at the military post, and warned Beethoven that to
give way to melancholy was to stand in the way of recovery.
We learn this from the Conversation Books, which also give
glimpses of friendly visits calculated to divert the sick man's
mind and keep him in touch with the affairs of the city, theatre
and the world at large. Dolezalek, Schuppanzigh, and appar-
ently Linke also, came in a group; Beethoven showed them
the Handel scores and the conversation ran out into a discussion
of international politics. Moritz Lichnowsky made a call and
'Among Mr. Thayer's papers.
2The third operation was performed on February 2, not January 28, as Schindler
says.
Friends Abot \i> the Death-bed 295
entertained him with the gossip of the theatres. Gleichenstein
made several visits, and once brought with him his wife and BOD.
The Countess w as a sister of Therese Malfat ti. to whom Beethoven
had once made an offer of marriage, and was disappointed when
Beethoven did not recognize her. About the middle of February
Diabelli gave Beethoven a print-picture of Haydn's birthpls
which lie had published; Beethoven showed it to bis little friend
Gerhard von Breuning ami Baid: "Look, 1 got this to-day.
this little house, and in it so <:reat a man was born!"
On February 25 Holz i> called by letter to look after the
collection of Beethoven's annuity. Hi> visits nave been in-
frequent, hut evidently there are some things which Beethoven
either cannot or will not entrust to anybody else. Schindler is
ceaselessly and tirelessly busy with Beethoven's affairs, but bis
statement that Breuning and he were the only persons who w.-n-
much with the composer during his illness, except the lad. < ■ «r-
hard von Breuning, must be taken with some grains of allowance.
On 123 pages of the Conversation Books, covering the months "f
January and February, ltt-27 (the evidence of which can not be
gainsaid, since the hooks were long in the hand- of Schindler to do
with as he willed), there are forty-eight entries by Johann van
Beethoven, forty-six by Gerhard von Breuning and thirty by
Breuning the elder. Schindler's entries number 108. Other
writers in the Books are Bernhard 1 . Holz 7 . Bach 2), Pirin-
ger (6), Haslinger (11), Schikh (1), Dole/.alek t . Sehuppan-
zigh (6), Moritz Lichnowsky (1), Gleichenstein l . Jekel l ,
Marie Schindler, Anton's sister (1) and Wolfmayer 1 1).
Sometime in February — it was probably at the time when
Beethoven's mind was so fixedly bent on obtaining help from
London — Schindler was either ill or suffering from an accident
which kept him for a brief space from Beethoven's bedside.
The composer sent him a gift— a repast, evidently and a letter of
sympathy so disjointed in phrase a> to give pitiful confirmation «>f
Schindler's statemenl that it was the last letter which Beethoven
wrote with his own hand, and that at tin- time he could no
longer think connectedly. It ran:
Concerning your accident, since it has happened, as won as
each other I can send to you somebody without inconvenience u
this— here is something— Moscheles, Cramer— without your having
received a letter -There will be a new occasion to write on,- Wednesday
and lav mv athiirs to his heart, if you are qoI well by that time one of my
—can take it to the post against a receipt. VaU tifape. there u no i
of my assuring you of my sympathy in your accident do take the meal
from* me, it is given with all my heart— Heaven be with you.
296 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
More pathetic than even this letter is the picture of the
sufferer in his sick-room at the time of the fourth operation
(February 9,1). So wretched are his surroundings that it is
scarcely impossible to avoid the conviction that not poverty
alone but ignorance and carelessness were contributary to the
woeful lack of ordinary sick-room conveniences. Gerhard von
Breuning says that after the operation the fluid which was drained
from the patient's body flowed half-way across the floor to the
middle of the room; and in the C. B. there is a mention of saturated
bedclothing and the physician suggests that oilcloth be procured
and spread over the couch. Beethoven now gave up hope. Dr.
Wawruch says: "No words of comfort could brace him up, and
when I promised him alleviation of his sufferings with the coming
of the vitalizing weather of Spring he answered with a smile:
'My day's work is finished. If there were a physician could help
me his name should be called Wonderful.' This pathetic
allusion to Handel's 'Messiah* touched me so deeply that I had
to confess its correctness to myself with profound emotion." The
incident so sympathetically described bears evidence of veracity
on its face; Handel's scores were always in Beethoven's mind
during the last weeks of his life.
Among Beethoven's visitors in February was Wolfmayer,
whose coming must have called up a sense of a long-standing
obligation and purpose in the composer's mind.1 On February
22nd he dictated a letter to the Schotts asking that the Quartet in
C-sharp minor be dedicated to "my friend Johann Nepomuk
Wolfmayer." The letter then proceeds:
Now, however, I come with a very important request. — My doctor
orders me to drink very good old Rhinewine. To get a thing of that
kind unadulterated is not possible at any price. If, therefore, I were to
receive a few small bottles I would show my gratitude to you in the Cse-
cilia. I think something would be done for me at the customs so that
the transport would not cost too much. As soon as my strength allows
you shall receive the metronomic marks for the Mass, for I am just in the
period when the fourth operation is about to be performed. The sooner,
therefore, that I receive the Rhinewine, or Moselle, the more beneficial it
may be to me in my present condition; and I beg of you most heartily
to do me this favor for which I shall be under an obligation of gratitude
to you.
On March 1st he repeated his request:
I am under the necessity of becoming burdensome to you again,
inasmuch as I am sending you a packet for the Royal Government
'Wolfmayer had commissioned him years before to write a "Requiem," and paid
him for it.
Wine and Deu< \. rea pob the Si pfebeb
Councillor Wegeler at Coblenz, which you will have the Irindne&t
transmit from Nfayence to Coblenz. You know without more ado that
I am too unselfish to ask you to .1.. all these thm_'> gratuitously.
I repeal my former rr<|w.->t, that, namely, concerning old white
Rhinewine or Moselle. It is Infinitely difficult to gel any here which i-
genuine and unadulterated, even at tin- highesl price \ few da
on February 27, I had my fourth operation, ami yet 1 am unable to I
forward to my complete recovery ami restoration. Pity your d<
friend
Bee! en.
On March 8 tin- Schotts answered that they had forwarded a
case of twelve bottles of Rildesheimei Berg o! t he vintage i ' 1 B06,
via Frankfort, hut in order that he mighl the sooner receive a
slight refreshment, they had sent t hat day f OUT bottles of the Same
wine, two pure and two mixed with herbs, tobeused as a medicine
which had been prescribed for his disease. The prescription had
come, they said, from a friend who had cured many persons (1f
dropsy with it. Before the wine reached Vienna, on March 10,
Beethoven wrote again to the Schotts:
According to my letter the Quartet was to he dedicated to one m 1
name I have already sent to you. Since then there has been an occur-
rence which has led me to make a change in this. It must he dedicated
to Lieut. -Fieldmarshal von Stutterheiin to whom I am deeply indebted.
If you have already engraved the first dedication I beg of you. by every-
thing in this world, to change it and I will gladly pay the cost. Do not
accept this as an empty promise; I attach so much importance to it that
I am ready to make any compensation for it. 1 enclose the title. \-
regards the shipment to my friend, the Royal Prussian Government
Councillor v. Wegeler in Coblenz, I am glad to he able t<» relieve
wholly. Another opportunity has offered itself. My health, which
will not he restored for a long time, pleads for the wines which I have
asked for and which will certainly bring me refreshment, Strength ami
health.
There are evidences thai the wine was received on March 24.
On March 29 the Schotts, under the impression that Beethoven
was still alive, wrote him again. Baron Pasqualati, in \\ hose house
lie had lived for a long time, an old friend, joined his m-w friends,
the publishers, in an efforl to contribute to his physical comfort
and well-being. There are several little letter- in which Beetbxn en
acknowledges the receipt of Contributions from his cellar and
larder. One of these, mosl likely the first, has been endorsed by
a strange hand as having been sent or received on March 6. It
reads:
Hearty thanks for your health-gift; a* SOOD U I have found out
which of the wine, i, the' mOSl Suitable I will let you know, hut I -hall
298 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
abuse your kindness as little as possible. I am rejoicing in the expecta-
tion of the compotes and will appeal to you often for them. Even this
costs me an exertion. Sapienta pauca — Your grateful friend
Beethoven.
And a little while afterwards he writes:
I beg you again to-day for a cherry compote, but without lemons,
entirely simple; also I should be glad to have a light pudding, almost a
suggestion of a gruel — my good cook is not yet adept in food for the
sick. I am allowed to drink champagne, but for the time being I beg
you to send a champagne glass with it. Now as regards the wine: At
first Malfatti wanted only Moselle; but he asserted that there was none
genuine to be obtained here; he therefore himself gave me several bottles
of Krumpholz-Kirchner and claims that this is the best for my health,
since no Moselle is to be had. Pardon me for being a burden and
ascribe it to my helpless condition.
And again:
How shall I thank you enough for the glorious champagne? How
greatly has it refreshed me and will continue to do so! I need nothing
to-day and thank you for everything — whatever conclusions you may
draw in regard to the wines I beg of you to note that I would gladly
recompense you to the extent of my ability. — I can write no more to-day.
Heaven bless you for everything and for your affectionate sympathy.
Still another:
Many thanks for the food of yesterday, which will also serve for
to-day. — I am allowed to eat game; the doctor thinks that Krametsvogel
(Fieldfares) are good and wholesome for me. This for your information,
but it need not be to-day. Pardon my senseless writing — Weary of night
vigils — I embrace and reverence you.
And finally this, presumably last, letter:
My thanks for the food sent yesterday. A sick man longs for such
things like a child and therefore I beg you to-day for the peach compote.
As regards other food I must get the advice of the physicians. Con-
cerning the wine they consider the Grinzinger beneficial but prefer old
Krumpholz Kirchener over all others. — I hope this statement will not
cause you to misunderstand me.
Others who sent him gifts of wine were Streicher and Breu-
ning, and, as we see from one of the letters, Malfatti himself. There
is considerable talk in the C. B. about wine. His days were num-
bered— why should any comfort be denied him?
Concerning the last few days of his life the Conversation
Books provide absolutely no information. There is no record of
the visit of Schubert to the bedside of the dying man, but the ac-
count given by Schindler is probably correct in the main. On
The Reputed Visit by Schi bert 299
page 136 of the second volume of bis biography of Beethoven,
Schindler says:
As only a few of Fran/. Schubert's compositions were known to him
and obsequious persons had always been busily , | j,, throwing
suspicion on his talent, I took advantage of the favorable moment to
place before him .several of the greater songs, Buch as "Die iunge N ne,"
"Die Biirgschaft," "Der Taucher," "Elysium" and the Ossianic
acquaintance with which gave the master great pleasure; bo much, in-
deed, that he spoke his judgment in these words: "Truly, the divine
spark lives in Schubert," and so forth. At the time, however, only a
small number of Schubert's works had appeared in print.
Here no date is fixed for the incidenl and a little suspicion
was cast upon the story because of the fad thai only "Die iunge
Nonne" of all the songs mentioned had been published at the time
of Beethoven's death. Schindler helped himself measurably out
of the dilemma by saying in an article published in the "Theater-
zeitung" of May 3, 1831, that many of the songs which he laid
before Beethoven were in manuscript. He contradicts his state-
ment made in the biography, however, by saying: "What would
the great master have said had he seen, for instance the < Issianic
songs, 'Die Biirgschaft,' 'Elysium,' 'Der Taucher' and other
great ones which have only recently been published?" As usual,
Schindler becomes more explicit when he comes to explain one of
bis utterances. Now he says:
As the illness to which Beethoven finally succumbed after four
months of suffering from the beginning made his ordinary mental
activity impossible, a diversion had to be thought of which would tit
his mind and inclinations. And so it came about that I placed before him
a collection of Schubert's songs, about 60 in number, among them many
which were then still in manuscript . This was done not only t<> provide
him with a pleasant entertainment, but also to give him an opportunity
to get acquainted with Schubert in his essence in order to get from him ■
favorable opinion of Schubert 's talent, which had been impugned, a> had
that of others by some of the exalted ones. The great master, w ho before
then had not known five songs of Schubert's, was amazed at their num-
ber and refused to believe thai up to that time (February, ls-T he had
already composed over 500 of them. Hut if he was astonished at the
number he was filled with the highest admiral ion as soon as he discovered
their contents. For several days he could not separate himself from tl i
and every day he spent hours wiili [phigenia's monologue, " 1 1 e Grenzen
der Menschheit," "Die Allmacht," "Die junge Nonne." "Viola," the
"Mtillerlieder," and other-. With joyous enthusiasm he cried out
repeatedly: "Truly, a divine spark dwells in Schubert; if I had had this
poem I would have Bet it to music"; this in the . ase of tin- majority of
poems whose material contents and original treatment by Schubert he
could not praise sufficiently. Nor could he understand how & hubert ha. I
300 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
time to "take in hand such long poems, many of which contained ten
others," as he expressed it. . . . What would the master have said had he
seen, for instance, the Ossianic songs, "Die Biirgschaft," "Elysium,"
"Der Taucher" and other great ones which have only recently been
published? In short, the respect which Beethoven acquired for Schubert's
talent was so great that he now wanted to see his operas and pianoforte
pieces; but his illness had now become so severe that he could no longer
gratify this wish. But he often spoke of Schubert and predicted of him
that he "would make a great sensation in the world," and often regretted
that he had not learned to know him earlier.
It is likely that the remark, "Truly, the divine spark dwells
in Schubert," as Schindler quoted it in his biography, came more
than once from Beethoven's lips. Luib heard Hiittenbrenner say
that one day Beethoven said of Schubert, "He has the divine
spark !" Schindler's article in the "Theaterzeitung" was a defense
of the opinion which he had expressed that Schubert was a greater
song-composer than Beethoven, and for this reason it may be
assumed that it was a little high-pitched in expression. Beet-
hoven knew a little about Schubert, but not much, as appears from
a remark quoted from Holz in one of the Conversation Books of
1826. It may have been Schindler's ambition to appear as having
stood sponsor for Schubert before Beethoven which led him to
ignore Holz's remark concerning Schubert's unique genius as
a writer of songs, his interest in Handel and his patronage of
Schuppanzigh's quartet parties. Beethoven and Schubert had
met. Anselm Hiittenbrenner wrote to Luib:1
But this I know positively, that about eight days before Beethoven's
death Prof. Schindler, Schubert and I visited the sick man, Schindler
announced us two and asked Beethoven whom he would see first. He
said: "Let Schubert come first."
It is characteristic of Schindler that he makes no mention of
this incident. Another incident recorded by Gerhard von Breu-
ning deserves to be told here. When Beethoven's friends called
they usually reported to Beethoven about the performances of his
works. One day Gerhard von Breuning found that a visitor had
written in the Conversation Book: "Your Quartet which Schup-
panzigh played yesterday did not please." Beethoven was asleep
when Gerhard came and when he awoke the lad pointed to the
entry. Beethoven remarked, laconically: "It will please them
some day," adding that he wrote only as he thought best and
would not permit himself to be deceived by the judgment of the
day, saying at the end : "I know that I am an artist."
better among Mr. Thayer's papers.
Ferdinand Hiller's Last Visit
::ul
In a letter which Schindler wrote to Moscheles, forwarding
Beethoven's, he said: "Hummel and his wife are here; he came in
haste to see Beethoven once again alive, fori! is generally reported
in Germany thai he is on his deathbed. It was a most touching
sight last Thursday to see these two frienda meet again." The
letter was written on March 14 and the "last Thursday" was
March 8th. We have an account of this meeting in Ferdinand
Killer's "Aua dem Tonleben unserer Zeit."1 Hiller was then
fifteen years old and had conic to the Austrian Capital with
Hummel, who was his teacher. Hummel had heard in Weimar
that Beethoven was hopelessly ill and had reached Vienna on
March 6; two days later he visited his dying friend. Hiller w ril
Through a spacious anteroom in which high cabinets were piled
with thick, tied-up parcels of music we reached— how my heart beat
Beethoven's living-room, and were not a little astonished to find the
master sitting in apparent comfort at the window. He wore a long, gray
sleeping-robe, open at the time, and high boots reaching to his knees.
Emaciated by long and severe illness he seemed to me, when he arosi
tall stature; he was unshaven, his thick, half-gray hair fell in disorder
over his temples. The expression of his features heightened when he
caught sight of Hummel, and he seemed to be extraordinarily glad to
meet him. The two men embraced eaeli other most cordially. Hummel
introduced me. Beethoven showed himself extremely kind and I was
permitted to sit opposite him at the window. It is known that conver-
sation with Beethoven was carried on in part in Writing; he spoke, but
those with whom he conversed had to write their questions ana answers.
For this purpose thick sheets of ordinary writing-paper in quarto form
and lead-pencils always lay near him. How painful it must have been
for the animated, easily impatient man to be obliged to wait for every
answer, to make a pause in every moment of conversation, during which,
as it were, thought was condemned to come to a standstill! II. ■ always
followed the hand of the writer with hungry eyes and comprehended w hat
was written at a glance instead of reading it. The liveliness <>f the con-
versation naturally interfered with the continual writing of the visitor.
I can scarcely blame myself, much as I regret it , for not taking down more
extended notes than I did; indeed, I rejoice that a lad of fifteen years who
found himself in a great city for the first time, w as Belf-possessed enough
to regard any details. I can vouch with the best conscience f<»r the per-
fect accuracy of all that I am able to repeat.
The conversation at first turned, as is usual, on domestic affair^.
the journey and sojourn, my relat ions with Hummel and matters of that
kind. Beethoven asked about Goethe's health with extraordinary
solicitude and we were able to make the best of reports, since Only a few-
days before the great poet had written in my album. Concerning
own state, poor Beethoven complained much. "Here I have been lying
for four months,'* he cried out, "one must ;it last lose patience!' Other
things in Vienna did not seem to be to his liking ami he Bpoke with the
lNeue Polge, 1871, p. 189 >: ft .
302 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
utmost severity of "the present taste in art," and "the dilettantism which
is ruining everything." Nor did he spare the government, up to the most
exalted regions. "Write a volume of penitential hymns and dedicate it
to the Empress," he remarked with a gloomy smile to Hummel, who,
however, made no use of the well-meant advice. Hummel, who was a
practical man, took advantage of Beethoven's condition to ask his atten-
tion to a matter which occupied a long time. It was about the theft of
one of Hummel's concertos, which had been printed illicitly before it had
been brought out by the lawful publisher. Hummel wanted to appeal
to the Bundestag against this wretched business, and to this end desired
to have Beethoven's signature, which seemed to him of great value. He
sat down to explain the matter in writing and meanwhile I was permitted
to carry on the conversation with Beethoven. I did my best, and the
master continued to give free rein to his moody and passionate utterances
in the most confidential manner. In part they referred to his nephew,
whom he had loved greatly, who, as is known, caused him much trouble
and at that time, because of a few trifles (thus Beethoven at least seemed
to consider them), had gotten into trouble with the officials. "Little
thieves are hanged, but big ones are allowed to go free!" he exclaimed
ill-humoredly. He asked about my studies and, encouraging me, said:
"Art must be propagated ceaselessly," and when I spoke of the exclusive
interest in Italian opera which then prevailed in Vienna, he gave utter-
ance to the memorable words: "It is said vox populi, vox dei. I never
believed it."
On March 13 Hummel took me with him a second time to Beet-
hoven. We found his condition to be materially worse. He lay in bed,
seemed to suffer great pains, and at intervals groaned deeply despite the
fact that he spoke much and animatedly. Now he seemed to take it much
to heart that he had not married. Already at our first visit he had joked
about it with Hummel, whose wife he had known as a young and beauti-
ful maiden. "You are a lucky man," he said to him now smilingly,
"you have a wife who takes care of you, who is in love with you — but poor
me!" and he sighed heavily. He also begged of Hummel to bring his
wife to see him, she not having been able to persuade herself to see in
his present state the man whom she had known at the zenith of his powers.
A short time before he had received a present of a picture of the house in
which Haydn was born. He kept it close at hand and showed it to us.
"It gave me a childish pleasure," he said, "the cradle of so great a man!"
Then he appealed to Hummel in behalf of Schindler, of whom so much
was spoken afterwards. "He is a good man," he said, "who has taken a
great deal of trouble on my account. He is to give a concert soon at
which I promised my cooperation. But now nothing is likely to come of
that. Now I should like to have you do me the favor of playing. We
must always help poor artists." As a matter of course, Hummel con-
sented. The concert took place — ten days after Beethoven's death — in
the Josephstadt-Theater. Hummel improvised in an obviously exalted
mood on the Allegretto of the A major Symphony; the public knew why
he participated and the performance and its reception formed a truly
inspiring incident.
Shortly after our second visit the report spread throughout Vienna
that the Philharmonic Society of London had sent Beethoven £100 in
The Signing of the Will
order to ease his sick-bed. It was added that this surprise had mad<
great an impression on the great poor man that it dad also brought physical
relief. When we stood again at his bedside, on the 20th, we could educe
from his utterances how greatly be bad been rejoiced by tins altruism;
but he was very weak and spoke only in faint and disconnected phn
"I shall, no doubt, soon he going above," he whispered after our first
greeting. Similar remarks recurred frequently. In the intervals,
however, he spoke of projects and hopes which were destined not to be
realized. Speaking of the noble conduct of the Philharmonic Society
and in praise of the English people, he expressed the intention. .
as matters were better with him, to undertake the journey to London.
"] will compose a grand overture for them and a grand Symphony.*'
Then, too, he would visit Madame Hui imel (she had come along with
her husband) and go to I do not know how many places. It did nol
occur to us to write anything for him. His eyes, which were still lively
when we saw him last, dropped and closed to-day and it was difficult from
time to time for him to raise himself. It was no longer possible to de-
ceive one's self — the worst was to be feared.
Hopeless was the picture presented by the extraordinary man when
we sought him again on March 23rd. It was to !>«' the last time. He
lay, weak and miserable, sighing deeply at intervals. Not a word fell
from his lips; sweat stood upon his forehead. IIi> handkerchief nol
being conveniently at hand, Hummel's wife took her fine cambric hand-
kerchief and dried his face several times. Never shall I forget the grate-
ful glance with which his broken eye looked upon her. ( hi March
while we were with a merry company in the art-loving house of Heir
von Liebenberg (who had formerly been a pupil of Bummel's), we were
surprised by a severe storm between five and .si\ o'clock. A thick Bnow-
flurry was accompanied by lond peals of thunder a in 1 flashes of lightning,
which lighted up the room. A few hours later guests arrived with the
intelligence that Ludwig van Beethoven was no more; — he had died at
4:45 o'clock.
The consultations between Beethoven and his legal advisers,
Bach, Breuning and others, concerning the proper disposition <>t'
his estate by will, which had begun soon after Karl's depart nre for
Iglau, had not been brought to u conclusion when it became ap-
parent to all that it was high time that the document formally be
executed. Dr. Bach does not seem to have been consulted at this
crisis; haste was necessary, and on March 28 von Breuning made
a draft of a will which, free from unnecessary verbiage, set forth the
wishes of the testator in three lines of writing. Beethoven had
protested against the proposition of his friends that provision
be made that Karl should not be able to dissipate the capital
or surrender any portion of i1 to his mother. To this en. I a trust
was to be created and be was to have the income during life, the
reversion being to his legitimate heirs. With this Beethoven at
length declared himself satisfied; but when Breuning placed the
draft before the dying man, who had yielded unwillingly, he copied
304 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
it laboriously but substituted the word "natural" for "legitimate."
Schindler says the copying was a labor, and when Beethoven
finished it and appended his signature he said: "There; now I'll
write no more." Breuning called his attention to the fact that
controversy would ensue from his change in the text, but Beet-
thoven insisted that the words meant the same thing and there
should be no change. "This," says Schindler, "was his last con-
tradiction." Hiller's description of the last visit of Hummel,
pictures the condition of the dying man on this day, and Schind-
ler's statement that it was laborious for Beethoven to copy even
the few words of the will is pathetically verified by the orthography
of the document which, verb, et lit., is as follows:
Mein Neffe Karl Soil alleiniger Erbe seyn, das Kapital meines
Nachlasses soil jedoch Seinen natiirlichen oder testamentarischen
Erben zufallen.
Wien am 23 Marz 1827.
Ludwig van Beethoven mp.
According to Gerhard von Breuning, signatures were neces-
sary to several documents — the will, the transfer of the guardian-
ship of the nephew to von Breuning and the letter of January 3,
which also made a testamentary disposition of Beethoven's
property. These signatures were all obtained with great diffi-
culty. The younger von Breuning places the date on March 24th.
After von Breuning, Schindler and the dying man's brother had
indicated to Beethoven, who lay in a half-stupor, that his sig-
nature was required they raised him as much as possible and
pushed pillows under him for support. Then the documents, one
after the other, were laid before him and von Breuning put the
inked pen in his hand. "The dying man, who ordinarily wrote
boldly in a lapidary style, repeatedly signed his immortal name,
laboriously, with trembling hand, for the last time; still legibly,
indeed, but each time forgetting one of the middle letters — once
an h, another time an e."
On the day which saw the signing of the will, Beethoven made
an utterance, eminently characteristic of him, but which, because
of an interpretation which it has received, has caused no small
amount of comment. The date is fixed as March 23rd by
Schindler's letter to Moscheles of March 24th in which he says:
'Yesterday he said to me and Breuning,'Plaudite, amici, comcedia
finita est'." Though the phrase does not seem to be a literal
quotation from any author known to have been familiar to Beet-
hoven, it is obviously a paraphrase of something which he had
read. According to Schindler and Gerhard von Breuning the
"Comcedla 1-'imi v Est."
words were uttered in a tone of sarcastic humor. Schindler and
Dr. Wawruch though the latter was not presenl ing
that he made the speech after receiving the viaticum, and it is
tin's circumstance, coupled with the deduction thai the dying
man referred to the sacred function just performed, which greatly
disturbed the minds of some of his devout admirers. It needed
not have done so; the phrase is almost a literary commonplace and
its significance has never been in <iuoti.ui.1
When Beethoven's friends saw the end approaching, they
were naturally desirous that he receive the spiritual comfort
which the offices of the Roman < !a1 holic church offer to the dying
and it was equally natural that Beethoven, brought up as a child
of the church though careless of his duties toward it, should,
the last, be ready to accept them. Johann van Beethoven relates
that a few days after the 16th of March, when the physicians
gave him up for lost, he had begged his brot her to make his peace
with God, to which request he acceded "with the greatest readi-
ness. " Confirmation of this is found in Dr. Wawruch's report.
Wawruch, it will be remembered, had, at the beginning of his
studies, intended to enter the priesthood. At the crisis described
bv Johann he saws he called Beethoven's attention to hi^ impend-
ing dissolution "so that he might do his duty a> a citi/.en and to
religion." He continues:
With the greatest delicacy I wrote the words of admonition on ■
sheet of paper .... Beethoven read the writing with unexampled com-
'"Rabelais being very sick. Cardinal >lu Bella; sent his page to bin t.. |
account of his condition; his answer was, 'Toll my Lord in what circumsl
findest me; I am going to leap into the dark. He ifl dp in the cockloft, bid bin •
where he is. As for thee, thou'lt always be 8 fool: lei down the curtain, tie
done.' . . . An author (Thov. His.de Jean Clopinel) who styles Rabelais i ■
excellent learning, writer, that he being importuned by some t,> tiga a will wberebj l
had made him bestow on them legacies that exceeded ma ability, he. to 1..- no man
turl>ed, complied at last with their desires; hut when they came to Ml l>i"i « ii
6hould find a fund answerable to what he gave: 'as for that.' r.-j .1 i.-.l he. |yoa DOll
like the spaniel, look about andaearch*; then, adds that author, having aaid, 'Di
curtain, the farce is over,' he died. LikewiM a monk I' deSl Romuald. JtsJ /
not Only tells us that he ended his life with that jest, hut that be left ■ pap I up
wherein were found three articles as his last will: ' 1 owe much, I have nothing I
rest to the poor.' The last story or that before it must undoubtedly b
haps both are ao a* well aa the measage by the page; though Fregius
C'jc.tom. I) relates also that Rabelais said when he wis aj ing, l>r aw the
Hut if he said so, many great men have said much the same Thus August
rita minium Commode psrSffitSSl) near his death, asked his friends whether he bad DOl
very well acted the farce of life:- \nd Demonax, on,- of the best philosophy > be
saw that he could not. by reason of his great age, live any longer, without being *
to others, m wdl as to himself, said to those who were near bim what the heraJd u*
sav when the public games were ended, 'You maj withdraw, the show is over,
refusing to eat. kept his usual gaiety to the tut, and set bimi I
Fmm Peter Motteuz't Lift qf Rabelau prefaced to the English tranetatio* madr by Al-
and Sir Thomas I'rquhart.
306 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
posure, slowly and thoughtfully, his countenance like that of one trans-
figured; cordially and solemnly he held out his hand to me and said:
"Have the priest called." Then he lay quietly lost in thought and
amiably indicated by a nod his "I shall soon see you again." Soon
thereafter Beethoven performed his devotions with a pious resignation
which looked confidently into eternity and turned to the friends around
him with the words, "Plaudite, amici, finita est comoedia!"
Wawruch was not present at the time when the words were
spoken. Schindler's account, in a letter to the "Cacilia" dated
April 12, 1827, and printed in that journal in May, is as follows:
On the day before (the 23rd) there remained with us only one ar-
dent wish — to reconcile him with heaven and to show the world at the
same time that he had ended his life a true Christian. The Professor in
Ordinary [Wawruch] therefore wrote and begged him in the name of all
his friends to receive the holy sacrament; to which he replied quietly
and firmly (gefasst), "I wish it." The physician went away and left us
to care for it.
Schindler describes the administration of the sacrament, which
Beethoven received with edification, and adds that now for the
first time he seemed to believe that he was about to die; for
"scarcely had the priest left the room before he said to me and
young von Breuning, 'Plaudite, amici, comoedia finita est. Did
I not always say that it would end thus?" {"Habe ich nicht
immer gesagt, dass es so kommen wird?") Here there is agreement
with Wawruch, but, to Gerhard von Breuning, Schindler said that
Beethoven made the remark at the conclusion of a long consul-
tation after the physicians had gone away; and this is confirmed
by Gerhard von Breuning. In 1860 Anselm Hiittenbrenner
wrote : !
It is not true, as has been reported, that I begged Beethoven to
receive the sacrament for the dying; but I did bring it about at the
request of the wife of the music-publisher Tobias Haslinger, now de-
ceased, that Beethoven was asked in the gentlest manner by Herr
Johann Baptist Jenger and Madame van Beethoven, wife of the land-
owner, to strengthen himself by receiving holy communion. It is a
pure invention that Beethoven spoke the words "Plaudite, amici!
Comoedia finita est!" to me, for I was not present when the rite was ad-
ministered in the forenoon of March 24, 1827. And surely Beethoven
did not make to others an utterance so completely at variance with his
sturdy character. But on the day of her brother-in-law's death Frau v.
Beethoven told me that after receiving the viaticum he said to the
priest, "I thank you, ghostly sir ! You have brought me comfort !"
'In a letter to Mr. Thayer which was found among Hilttenbrenner's posthumous
papers and printed in the "Gratzer Tagespost" of October 23rd, 1868.
Incidents of the Final Struggle '7
Hiittenbrenner is confirmed l>y Johann van Beethoven, \
wrote in his brief review of hi- brother's last illness that when the
priest was leaving the room Beethoven said to him, "I thank
you for this last service."
Beethoven received the viaticum in the presence of Schindler,
von Breuning, Jenger and the wife of bis brother Johann. After
the priest had taken his departure be reminded bis friends of the
necessity of sending a document ceding the proprietary rights of
the C-sharp minor Quartet to the Schotts. It was drawn up and
his signature to it, the last which be w rote, was attested by Schind-
ler and Breuning. He also spoke of a letter of thanks to the
Philharmonic Society of London and in suggesting its tenor,
comprehended the whole English people with a fervent "God
bless them!" About one o'clock the special shipment of wine
and wine mixed with herbs came from Mayence, and Schindler
placed the bottles upon the table near the h<d. Beethoven
looked at them and murmured, "Pity, pity — too late!" 1 1>- spoke
no more. A little of the wine was administered t<> him in spoon-
fuls at intervals, as long as he could swallow it. Towards evening
he lost consciousness and the death-struggle began. It lasted
two days. "From towards the evening of the 24th to his la»t
breath he was almost continually in delirio," wrote Schindler t«»
Moscheles. We have a description from Gerhard von Breuning:1
During the next day and the day following the strong man lay
completely unconscious, in the process of dissolution, breathing bo rter-
torously that the rattle could he heard al a distance. His powerful
frame, his unweakened lungs, fought like giants with approaching death.
The spectacle was a fearful one. Although it was known that the ;
man suffered no more it was yet appalling to observe that the noble
being, now irredeemably a prey to the powersof dissolution, was beyond
all mental communication. It was expected as early as the 25th that
he would pass away in the following night; yet we found him still alive
on the 20th — breathing, if that was possible, more stertorously than on
the day hefore.
The only witnesses of Beethoven's death \\ ere his sister-in-law
and Anselm Hiittenbrenner. From the latter we have a descrip-
tion of the last scene.1
When I entered Beethoven's bedroom on March 26, 1841 at ah
S o'clock in the afternoon, I found there Court Councillor Breuning, bis
'"Aus dem Scli war^-pani. rli:ui-.-.*" p. 108.
JMr. Thayer visit. -.1 Hiittenbrenner in Grata in Jane, is<;" H
Hiittenbrenner told aim i- reprinted in "Music and Bfannen in t; I
by Henry Edward Krehbiel (New York, 1898). The account in the bod] ..f t;
that contained in ;i letter t>. Mr. Thayer.
308 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
son, Frau van Beethoven, wife of Johann van Beethoven, landowner and
apothecary of Lenz, and my friend Joseph Teltscher, portrait painter.
I think that Prof. Schindler was also present.
Gerhard von Breuning says that Beethoven's brother was in
the room, and also the housekeeper Sali; Schindler adds a nurse
from Dr. Wawruch's clinic. No doubt all were present at one
moment or another; they came and went as occasion or duty
called. Huttenbrenner says that Teltscher began drawing the
face of the dying man, which grated on Breuning's feelings and
he made a remonstrance, whereupon the painter left the room.
Then Breuning and Schindler went away to choose a spot for the
grave. Huttenbrenner continues:
Frau van Beethoven and I only were in the death-chamber during
the last moments of Beethoven's life. After Beethoven had lain un-
conscious, the death-rattle in his throat from 3 o'clock in the after-
noon till after 5, there came a flash of lightning accompanied by a violent
clap of thunder, which garishly illuminated the death-chamber. (Snow
lay before Beethoven's dwelling.) After this unexpected phenomenon of
nature, which startled me greatly, Beethoven opened his eyes, lifted his
right hand and looked up for several seconds with his fist clenched and a
very serious, threatening expression as if he wanted to say: "Inimical
powers, I defy you! Away with you! God is with me!" It also seemed
as if, like a brave commander, he wished to call out to his wavering
troops: "Courage, soldiers! Forward! Trust in me! Victory is as-
sured!"1. When he let the raised hand sink to the bed, his eyes closed
half-way. My right hand was under his head, my left rested on his
breast. Not another breath, not a heartbeat more! The genius of the
great master of tones fled from this world of delusion into the realm of
truth! — I pressed down the half-open eyelids of the dead man, kissed
them, then his forehead, mouth and hands. — At my request Frau van
Beethoven cut a lock of hair from his head and handed it to me as a
sacred souvenir of Beethoven's last hour. Thereupon I hurried, deeply
moved, into the city, carried the intelligence of Beethoven's death to
Herr Tobias Haslinger, and after a few hours returned to my home in
Styria.
It remained for modern science to give the right name to the
disease which caused the death of the greatest of all tone-poets.
Dropsy, said the world for three-quarters of a century. But
dropsy is not a disease; it is only a symptom, a condition due to
disease. To Dr. Theodor von Frimmel belongs the credit of hav-
ing made it clear that the fatal malady was cirrhosis of the liver, of
'The transcript in Mr. Thayer's note-book of Hiittenbrenner's oral recital is more
sententious and dramatic: "At this startling, awful, peal of thunder, the dying man sud-
denly raised his head from Hiittenbrenner's arm, stretched out his own right arm
majestically — 'like a general giving orders to an army'. This was but for an instant;
the arm sunk back; he fell back; Beethoven was dead."
The Cause of Beethoven's Death
which ascites, or hydrops abdominalis, was a consequence. !>•
hoven had suffered from disorders <»f the liver years before. In
1821, as has been noted, he suffered an attack of jaundice 1
bis medical history of the case, l>r. Wawruch stated that the
cause of the disease was to be found in an "antiquated" ailment of
liver as well a> defects in the abdominal organs. When he ob-
served the firsl aggravation of the disease he recorded thai "the
liver plainly showed traces of hard knot >, the jaundice increased.*'
In lii> report of the autopsy, Dr. Wagner said: " I be liv< r seemed
to have shrunk to one hall its normal size, to have a leatfa
hardness, a greenish-blue color, and its lumpy surface, a^ well ^
its substance, was intern oven with knots the Bize of a bean. All
the blood-vessels were narrow, with thickened walls and empt
The treatment prescribed by Dr. Wawruch and adopted empiri-
cally at the suggestion of friends was designed, not to go to the
seat of the difficulty l>nt to relieve the dropsical condition of the
abdominal cavity, -medicaments, decoctions, the unfortunate
sweat-bath, all were intended to produce liquid evacuations fr
the bowels, increase the .secretion of urine and induce perspira-
tion; the final resort was to paracentesis.1
When Breuning and Schindler lefl the dying man in the care
of Hiittenbrenner and Fran van Beethoven, they went to the
cemetery of the little village of Wfihring, and selected a place f,>r
Beethoven's grave in the vicinity of the burial plot of the \ ering
family, to which Breuning's firsl wife had belonged. Their return
was retarded by the .storm. When they reentered the sick-room
they were greeted with the words: "It is finished!" The imme-
diate activities of the friends were now directed to preparations
for the funeral, the preservation of the physical likeness of the
k'reat composer and, so far as was necessary, the safeguardin
his possessions. In respect of the latter Gerhard von Breuning
tells of a painful incident which happened on the day after Beet-
hovens death.
Breuning, Schindler, Johann van Beethoven and Hols were
met in the lodgings to gather up the dead man'- papers, particu-
larly to look for the seven bank-shares w hich the \\ ill bad gh en to
the nephew. In spite of strenuous search they were aol found
and Johann let fall an insinuation that the search was a sham.
This angered von Breuning and he left the bouse in a state ol
iTh.' revised .-'liti<>n of Grove'i "Dictionary of Music snd M
"Th.- cold bad developed into sn inflammation <-f the lungs, snd on ll
vened " l>r Wawruch iraa unquestionably correct in bis
to the inflammation ol the lungs but slso in regard to the dii
310 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
vexation and excitement. He returned to the lodgings in the
afternoon and the search was resumed. Then Holz pulled out a
protruding nail in a cabinet, whereupon a drawer fell out and in it
were the certificates. In later years Holz explained to Otto
Jahn: "Beethoven kept his bank-shares in a secret drawer, the
existence of which was known only to Holz. While Beethoven
lay dying his brother in vain tried to find out where it was." On
a copy of this memorandum,1 Schindler wrote: "First of all after
the death, Johann van Beethoven searched for the shares, and not
finding them cried out: 'Breuning and Schindler must produce
them!' Holz was requested to come by Breuning and asked if he
did not know where they were concealed. He knew the secret
drawer in an old cabinet in which they were preserved. Even
this simple incident has given rise to contradictory stories.
Schindler, in his biography, says the place of concealment was a
secret drawer in a Kassette; Breuning, "in a secret compartment of
a writing-desk." In 1863, Schindler explained to Gerhard von
Breuning that the article of furniture was an ordinary clothes-
press. With the certificates were found the letter to the "Im-
mortal Beloved" and the portrait of the Countess von Brunswick.2
On March 27th, an autopsy was performed by Dr. Johann
Wagner in the presence of Dr. Wawruch. Its significant dis-
closures have already been printed here. In order to facilitate
an examination of the organs of hearing the temporal bones were
sawed out and carried away. Joseph Danhauser, a young painter
'Preserved amongst Thayer's papers.
2The attested inventory of the sale of Beethoven's effects, which, preserved by
Fischoff, passed through the hands of Otto Jahn into those of Mr. Thayer, showed that
his estate amounted to 9,885 florins, 13 kreutzer, silver, and 600 florins, paper (Vienna
standard). The market value of the bank-shares, including an unpaid coupon attached
to each, was 1,063 florins on the day of Beethoven's death. In the item of cash is
included the £100 received from the London Philharmonic Society, which, as has been
stated, was found intact. The official summary was set forth as follows:
Cash 1215 fl. (C. M.) 600 fl. (W. W.)
Bank-shares 7441 fl.
Debts receivable (annuity) . . 144 fl. 33 k.
Jewels and silverware 314 fl. 30 k.
Clothing 37 fl.
Furniture and household
goods 156 fl.
Instruments 78 fl.
Music and manuscripts 480 fl. 30 k.
Books 18 fl. 20 k.
9885 fl. 13 k. 600 fl. (W. W.)
According to a statement by Aloys Fuchs to Jahn the sum realized from the sale
of the musical compositions, autographic and otherwise, sketch-books, etc., was 1063
florins. In view of the difference in purchasing power of money in 1827 and 1913 it may
be said that Beethoven's estate amounted to the equivalent of £3,000, or about $15,000.
Imposing Funeral Ceremonies 311
who chanced to l>«- in Vienna, received permission from Breuning
to make a plaster cast <>t' the dead man's face. This he ili.l
March 28th, but the casl has little value as a portrait, inasmuch
as it was made after tin* autopsy, which bad greatly disfigun
features. On the same day (not "immediately after death," as
lias incorrectly been stated) Danhauser made a drawn the
bead of Beethoven, which be reproduced by lithographic p:
This picture bears the inscription: "Beethoven, March 28, drawn
at his death-bed, L827," and to the left, "Danhauser." This
drawing, too, was made after the autopsy. For a l>u>t which be
modeled, the artist made use of th ■ cast taken by Klein in L81£.
Danhauser never came in contact with Beethoven ali
The funeral took place at 3 o'clock in the afternoon of March
29th. It was one of the most imposing functions of its kind <
witnc>>cd in Vienna.1 Breuning and Schindler had made the
arrangements. Cards of invitation were given oul at Hasling<
music-shop. Hours before the appointed time a multitude
assembled in front of the Schwarzspanierhaus, and the ma-> grew
moment by moment. Into the square in front of the house, it is
said, -20,000 persons were crowded. All the notable representa-
tives <>f art were present. The schools were closed. For t he pre-
servation of order, Breuning bad asked the help of the military.
In its report "Der Sammler" said:
The crowd was so great that after the roomy ct.iirt of Beethoven's
residence could no longer hold it the gates bad to he closed until the
procession moved. The coffin containing the corpse of t: t com-
poser had been placed on view in the court. After the clergy we\
to perforin their sacred office, the guests, who had he.-ii invited to
attend these solemn functions -musicians, singers, poets,
clad in complete mourning, with draped torches and white ros* ned
to bands of crape on their sleeves, encircled the bier and the chorist
sang the Miserere1 composed by the deceased. Solemnly, sublimely
pious tones of the glorious composition floated upwards through the silent
air. The scene was imposing. The coffin, with its richly embr i
pall, the clergy, the distinguished men who were giving the last <s, ..rt to
their colleague, and the multitude round about all this made a stupen-
dous picture.
On tin* conclusion of the cant id.-, the coffin was raised
from the bier and the do,,r of the curt was opened. The singi
iSee "Aus dem Schwaraapanierhause," p.US; Killer's "Aus d m I
p. 171 ,• "Der Sammler," April 14, 1827; Seyfried** "B I ren-St
dix. ]>- 50 ' •"'/■
:Tli-- M - - Bung in the <-<'urt • • r tli.- Schwarssp
i plius Una me, were arrangement* for male choruj made b) S*) fi
Trombones composed by Beethoven in Una in 181? tl tbc
All Souls' Daj . They may be found in Seyfried'i "Studi<
o
12 The Life of Ludwig van Beethoven
lifted the coffin to their shoulders and carried it to the Trinity
Church of the Minorites in the Alserstrasse. It was difficult to
order the procession because of the surging multitude. Johann
van Beethoven, von Breuning and his son and Schindler, found
their places with difficulty. Eight chapelmasters — Eybler, Weigl,
Hummel, Seyfried, Kreutzer, Gyrowetz, Wiirfel and Gansbacher —
carried the edges of the pall. At the sides walked the torch-
bearers, among them Schubert, Castelli, Bernard, Bohm, Czerny,
Grillparzer, Haslinger, Holz, Linke, Mayseder, Piringer, Schup-
panzigh, Streicher, Steiner and Wolfmayer. In the procession
were also Mosel and the pupils of Drechsler. While passing the
Rothes Haus the sounds of the funeral march from Beethoven's
Sonata, Op. 26, were heard. The cortege moved through the
crowded streets to the parish church in the Alserstrasse, where the
service for the dead was concluded with the Libera nos Domine in
16 parts a cappella, composed by Seyfried, sung by the choristers.
The account of the "Sammler" continues: "The coffin was
now placed in the hearse drawn by four horses, and taken to the
cemetery at Wahring. There, too, a multitude had assembled to
do the last honors to the dead man. ..." The rules of the
cemetery prohibiting all public speaking within its precincts, the
actor Anschtitz delivered a funeral oration written by Grillparzer
over the coffin at the cemetery gate. After the coffin had been
lowered into the grave, Haslinger handed three laurel wreaths to
Hummel, who placed them upon the coffin. A poem by Castelli
had been distributed at the house of mourning, and one by Baron
von Schlechta at the cemetery; but there was no more speaking
or singing at the burial.
Mozart's "Requiem" was sung at the Church of the Augus-
tinians, Lablache taking part, on April 3rd, and Cherubini's at
the Karlskirche two days later. The grave in the cemetery at
Wahring was marked by a simple pyramid bearing the one word
BEETHOVEN
It fell into neglect, and on October 13th, 1863, the Gesellschaft der
Musikfreunde of Vienna caused the body to be exhumed and re-
buried. On June 21st, 1888, the remains of Beethoven and Schu-
bert were removed to the Central Cemetery in Vienna, where they
now repose side by side.
FINIS.
INDEX
£AGE
General Index 315
Index to Compositions 344
(a) Works for Orchestra Alone 344
(b) Instrumental Solos with Orchestra 345
(c) Choral Works and Pieces for Soli and Chorus 345
(d) Instrumental Duos, Trios, Quartets, etc. 346
(e) Sonatas, etc., for Pianoforte and Other Instruments
obbligato 347
(f ) For Pianoforte Alone 348
(g) Songs with Pianoforte Accompaniment 349
General Index
Abaco, Giuseppe dall' : "Componimento
per Musica," I, 14.
Abdul Aziz, Sultan of Turkey: I, 139.
Abercrombie, General : Not commemorated
in the " Eroica," II, 25.
"Abyssian Prince" : Sobriquet of Bridge-
tower, II, 11.
Achats, Due des : III, 101, 232.
Adamberger, Antonie : Studies "Egmont"
music with B., II, 171.
Adams, Mrs. Mehetabel : Provides funds
for Thayer's research.-, I, x.
Addison, John : Partner of J. B. Cramer:
II, 318.
Addison, Joseph : Quoted, I, 3*:?.
"Adelheit von Veltheim" : Opera by Neefe,
I, 37.
Adler, Guido : I, 75.
Adlersburg, Carl, Edler von : Affidavit
against Malzel, II. *7.">, 289.
"Aerndtetanz, Der" : Opera by Hill- r, I,
3*.
"Agnes Bernauer" : II. 61.
Albrechtsberger : Gives instruction to B.,
I, 155 et seq.; "Anweisung /ur Composi-
tion," 155, 190; II, 880.
"Alceste" : Opera by (duck, I. 86
"Alchymist, Der" : Opera by Schuster, I,
81, 107, 108.
Aldrich, Richard : Dedication; II. 333.
Alexander, Czar of Russia : Dedication of
Sonatas for Pianoforte and Violin, I,
II, 20, 305; III. 4'.), 86.
"Alexander" : Opera-texl (by Schikane-
der?), II, to.
"Alexander's Feast" : Oratorio by Handel,
III, IK*.
'Alfred the Great" : Suggested to 1?
Subject for an opera. III, lis
Allegre, d' : French Commander, I. <;
"Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung" :
Criticisms on lis. works, I, 303, 306, 307;
taken to t.^k l.y B . I. 282, *s7
Indkx tO I lOMPOBlTIOH
Alstiidter, Count : Music-lover in Bonn,
I, 38.
Altmann, NY. : "Kin rergessenes Streich-
quartett von IV". I. 349.
"Amant jaloux, L' " : Opera l.y (.r.'tr;. . I.
31, 107.
Ambroggio : III, 77.
Amenda, Karl P. :1, 21 l
trip to [Uly with !'• - •
receives Quartet in P from l<
Ictt-T from B 197; I I
" \mi de la M.iison. L' " : 0
1. 31. 66.
"Aniitie ■ I'Kpreinc, I ' : 0
O retry. I. 81.
"Amore artJgtano, i ' " : 0
niann. I. 16.
" \niur marinaro, L* " : 0
I, *
"Amor's Cm kk.isten" : i
I.
"Amour filial, 1'" : Opera •»ux#
II, 37.
"Analgilda" : Open, I. 1 I
Andante and Andantino : B utTrr-
ence be! ween, II.* i>'>.
Andre : Opera, "Der Antiquit imm-
ler," I.
Andre. Joseph : I.
Anfossi : Opera, "II Geloao in < i men to,"
I. :*; "L'Avaro inamorato, 1. 108.
Anschutz, tctor : Delivers funeral oi
for It . III. 312
"Antiquit&ten-Sainmler, Der'- : 1 1
An. Ire. I. 32.
Antoine, d' : < Operas, " I •
( resets, " I. ';i . " 1 > i - M . Irhrn ii I
thale" ("Maid of the 0 I. 32; "1
gut, All.-s gut," I. I
Anton, Archduke : 1 1
in D, II. 160
Anton, Prime <>f SaiOUJ : III '":. Ill
Antwerp : Beethoven I in, I.
t*
"Apotheke, Die'' : Opera
36
"Apotheosis in the Temple of Jupiter
\mmon" : 1 >r.u: 111.11s
Appleby, Samuel : I. *ls. Ofl B
sk> Quart* ts, II. 3
\pp> m \ . ( iount r Asks B. '1.
187, n i
"Arhore dl Diana. I ' " : I I r« ' ■ M u
I. 107
"Argene, Reglna dl Granata" : Oppra l.y
Ken h .. I. ;i"
"Ariadne aul Naioa*' i N' :r«m« by
Bends, I. 19, 107. i"s
[316 '
316
General Index
"Ariodante" : Opera by Mehul, II, 23.
"Arlequino fortunato" : Pantomime, I,
26.
"Armida" : Opera by Salieri, I, 86.
Arndtetanz. See Aerndtetanz.
Arneth, von, archeologist : II, 171.
Arnim, Bettina von (Brentano) : I, 197;
said to have been in love with B., 318;
II, her association with B. and Goethe,
178 et seq.; controversy over her letters,
179 et seq.; letters to Goethe, 180, 190;
letter to Piickler-Muskau, 180; "Ilius
Pamphilius," 184; makes B's acquaintance,
185; letter from B., 186, 190; her ad-
miration reported to B. by Goethe, 198;
with her husband at Teplitz, 222, 223; de-
scribes arrival of B. and Goethe, 226, 282.
Arnold, Samuel J. : II, 310.
Arrangements : B's opinion on, I, 349, 350.
Artaria and Co., Publishers : I, 202, 203;
charged with unauthorized publication of
a quintet, 293 et seq., 355; original pur-
chasers of Heiligenstadt Will, 351; the
Mass in D, III, 65.
Attwood, Thomas : II, 12.
Aubert, F. S. A. : Opera "Esther," I, 14.
Auernhammer, Mme. : II, 2.
Auersperg, Prima donna : I, 172.
Augarten Concerts : I, 238; II, 2, 42,
Austria : Invaded by Napoleon, I, 149; court
of, not invited to subscribe to the Mass
in D, III, 103; musical culture of the no-
bility in, I, 166; dance-music of, II, 122.
Autographs : B's indifference to his, I, 141.
"Avaro inamorato" : Opera by Anfossi,
I, 108.
Averdonk, Johanna Helena, Court singer :
I, 24; pupil of Johann van B., 49; sings at
B's first concert. 59, 67; Severin, author
of text of Funeral Cantata, I, 131.
"Axur" : Opera by Salieri, I, 109, 163.
Ayrton, G. : II, 370.
"Azalia" : Opera by Johann Kiichler, I, 32.
"Bacchus" : Opera-book by Rudolph von
Berger, II, 314.
"Bacco, Diane ed il Reno" : Serenata, I, 26.
Bach, C. P. E. : I, 13, 35; "Versuch, etc.,"
70, 159; "The Israelites in the Wilderness,"
II, 388.
Bach, Dr. Johann B. : II, 377; III, 24, 30,
115; advises Schindler to write biography
of B., 198; instructed by B. to make
Nephew Karl his heir, 278.
Bach, Johann Sebastian : I, 13, 35; "Well-
Tempered Clavichord," 69, 143; B. on the
publication of his works, 281, 286; B. sub-
scribes for destitute daughter of, 287;
publication project, 303, 304; relief for the
daughter, 308; B. offers to publish a com-
position for her benefit, 308; II, 355; "Art
of Fugue," III, 123; "Not a brook but
an ocean," 203.
B-a-c-h : Overtures on, III, 123, 147.
Baden : B. gives concert for benefit of suf-
ferers from conflagration, II, 225.
Baillot, Pierre : Visits B., II, 55.
Barbaja, Manager of operas : I, 320; III, 77
wants an opera from B., 119.
"Barbiere di Siviglia, II" : Opera by
Paisiello, I, 108; opera by Rossini, III, 77.
Baroni : Opera "La Moda," I, 27.
Bates, Joah : Bridgetower turns music for,
II, 12.
"Bathmendi" : Opera by Liechtenstein, I,
304.
Bathyany, Count : I, 168.
Batka, Johann : I, 342.
Battle music : Popularity of, II, 252.
Bauer, Harold : I, xviii, 140.
Bauerle, Adolph : II, 359.
"Baum der Diana, Der" (UArbore di
Diana) : Opera by Martini, I, 107.
Baumeister : Letters to, 218,
Baumgarten, Major : III, 42.
Bavaria, King of : Dedication of Choral
Fantasia, II, 207, 209; declines to sub-
scribe for Mass in D, III, 99.
Bechstein : "Natural History of Birds";
B. asks for, II, 148.
Beethoven, ancestry of the family in Bel-
gium : I, 42, 43, 44; William (great-great-
grandfather of the composer), 42; Henry
Adelard (great-grandfather), 42; Louis,
Louis Jacob, 42; Beethoven families in
Bonn before the arrival of the composer's
grandfather (Cornelius, Cornelius (2nd),
Michael), 44; branch of the family in Ma-
lines, 44.
Beethoven Association of New York : Pro-
motes publication of this work, I, xviii, 140.
Beethoven-Haus Verein, in Bonn : I, xii,
xvii, 52; custodian of portrait of B's
mother, 51; B's quartet of instruments,
277; of the portrait of Countess Brunswick,
318.
Beethoven, Johann, father of the com-
poser : Petitions for appointment as Court
Musician, I, 11; appointed, 13; is promised
salary, 17; petitions for salary, 18; salary
increased, 22; petitions for allowance of
grain, 25; date of birth, 45; displeases his
father by marrying, 47; education of, 47;
enters Electoral chapel, 48; teaches music,
48; addicted to drink, 49; appearance of.
49; marries, 49; lodgings and neighbors in
Bonn, 51, 75; alleged portrait of, 51; chil-
dren of, 51; falsifies the age of the composer,
55; describes his domestic conditions, 55;
death of his mother, 56; birth of a daughter,
67; domestic misfortunes, 72; length of
court service, 73; status in chapel of Max
Franz, 83; treatment of the composer, 85;
birth of a daughter, 88; her death, 97;
death of his wife, 93; petitions for advance
on salary, 93; helped by Franz Ries, 95;
rescued from police by the composer, 104;
part of salary assigned to the composer,
General Index
317
104; embezzles money of his ion, I i I
dissipation, 148; news of bis death re-
ceived l>y the composer, lis; his wife.
Maria hfagdalena Keverich, widow Laym,
4'J; appearance and character of, ."<"; the
composer's love for her, 60; alleged portrait
of, 51; death mourned by the composer,
!)s!; r<-.c «r. 1 uf her death, OS.
Beethoven, Johann Nikolaus, brother
of the composer : Vol. I. Birth of. ;.?; ap-
prenticed to an apothecary, \<H; 100, 101,
265; looks for bank shares after composer's
death, 826; comes into possession of Heili-
genstadt Will, :>."> l ; his name omitted from
tin- document, 852; defended by tin- author.
'.\:>1 clseq.; described by Frau Karth, 358
Vol. II. Demands return of loan from the
composer, lit; purchases apothecary Bhop
in Linz, 115; proiits from dealing with the
French army, 115; visited by the composer,
iJ3(); the composer interferes with his
domestic affairs, 230 ei teq.; defeats his
brother by marrying his housekeeper, 282.
— Vol. III. Buys estate near Gneixen-
dorf, 19; cuts a ridiculous figure in Vienna,
6G; takes his brother's compositions as
security for loan. C(>; defense of his actions
by the author, <>s; seeks reconciliation with
his brother, and offers home in Gneixen-
dorf, 60; letter, li; charged with dishonest
conduct by his brother, 111, 112; his wife's
misconduct, 132; 184; completes trans-
action with Schott and Sons for his brother,
lso; \\. warns a visitor againsl him, \^t.
offers B. a home in the country, *
dones his wife's licentiousne the
cause of B's hatred of his wife, 288; takes
action against his wife, 280; persuades
B. to go to Gneixendorf, 266; liis wife
accused of improper intimacy with her
nephew, 260; date of his wife's death, 270;
makes Nephew Karl his Bole heir. s!70; in
constant attendance on I?, during his lasl
illness, 276; wrongly accused by Schindler
of inhuman niggardliness, tfs7.
Beethoven, Karl Kaspar, brother of the
compose! : Vol. I. Birth. .")?•, int. tided for
musical profession, 108; I'M; official c.m-.-r
of, ^(;.»; composes music, *!(><>; letters to
publishers. 285, 848, :5.".7; charged with
surreptitious Bale of B's works, 850; the
Heili^enstadt Will, :!■"'■!; defended from
charge of wrongdoing, 35? . appear-
ance of, 858; Ries's charge of misconduct,
861.— Vol. II. Accused by Simrock, l I;
marriage of, 65; end of business relations
with the composer, 1 18; illness of, * H ; ap-
points the composer and his widow guard-
ians of his son, 241; his illness compels B. to
postpone his trip to England, ^"> I . '■'• l 3; d
of. 320, 821 ; will of, 820, : 32 I ; appoints Lud-
wig guardian of his son, 820; von Breuning
warns B. againsl him, :m; admonishes
widow and brother to mutual forbearam
hll Wife. 1
marries l
.
nnder will, m\
B ires her r
rt grants her permi
mpelled to
her
son. 400; her t-
— Vol 111 I: 67; B
iliatory attitod
17 1
for her son, b<
Of him, car.- f..r his •
irdianthip ai d h ■ uu-
■ ler l.i \>\\ ro VAM B
Beethoven, Karl,
I, disposes of pi< lure • I '
Brunswick, 885.— Vol. II II
dares wish t hat mot]
guardians, * u ; sent to G
st it lite, 882; sure,
t\ es inheritance from j 1 1
• . instructed in music I I
placed in care of a prii «l t M
encouraged to revile I
mi-s.-,| from the priest's i
away from bis unci,
court . 407; returned to G
410 \ ol. III. Returns to I, - i
studies under private tut |
from the institute, 88; M
his heir. 1 1">. 182; B's pride in
ments, 185; philological student nt uni-
versity, 1 7 l ; em our iged in d
ness b) H . 172; i ^ luroo
uncle, 184; runs a N i y f- 1 s *, ,
t ransls I IS B.,
I; date of his death I
ness, 250 ei , . B
•i.~> l. I :'
Institute, 250, 251; evil
and amusements, *
ountability, 258; disci pi
some, v...; upbraid
i USpicion of •.
•i'<7 : prepares to kill him •
himself, ^"'s i '
on B., 260, 261 ; reasons f
261; his future di
friends. 262, K
inquiry . It '■ Karl defi
life at Gneixendorf,
improper intimacy «
made -oh- heir of his !
■
in last illni
a military career, *
of his departure I \
mole heir by Bs will. i~
inherit in..- under B'i for
1 or further ■!
318
General Index
test for his possession, etc., see foregoing
and sub-title Guardianship under Beet-
hoven, Ludwig van.) His widow visited
by Thayer, I, xi; 192; possessor of Mahler
portrait, II, 16; asks for money deposited
as forfeit by Prince George Galitzin, III,
230; her daughter, Hermine, 231.
Beethoven, Louis (Ludwig) van, grand-
father of the composer : As Court Musician
at Bonn, receives increase of salary, I, 10,
14; appointed Chapelmaster, 17; petitions
for salary for his son, 18; demands obedi-
ence from his musicians, 21; Joseph Dem-
mer appointed to his place as Court Musi-
cian, 22; Lucchesi succeeds him as Chapel-
master, 23; parentage and baptism, 42;
leaves home in Antwerp and becomes
church singer in Louvain, 43; appointed
singing-master at St. Peter's, 43; becomes
Court Musician at Bonn, 43; marries, 45;
his children, 45; services in Electoral
Chapel, 45, 46; success as opera-singer, 46;
last appearance, 47; death of, 47; an in-
ebriate wife, 47; displeased at son's mar-
riage, 47, 50; death of widow, 56; length of
court service, 73; composer asks for his
portrait, 301; B's affectionate remembrance
of him, III, 184.
Beethoven, Ludwig van, the composer :
Birth of, date and place, I, xvii, 51, 53;
controversy about house in which he was
born, 51, 55, 56; disputed dates, 53; record
of baptism, 53; his mistaken belief, I, 54;
II, 177; age of, falsified by his father, 55;
reputed son of the King of Prussia, III,
214, 243.
Annuity and Shares of Bank Stock : An-
nuity granted by noble friends, I, 298, 299;
II, 137 et seq.; disappointed by subscribers,
170; Kinsky fails to meet obligation, 172;
B. collects from Kinsky at Teplitz, 205;
reduction by depreciation of currency, 211
et seq.; payments by Archduke Rudolph,
217, 219; B. collects from Kinsky's heirs,
222; non-payment by Kinsky and Lobko-
witz, 242 et seq.; Kinsky and Rudolph
agree to pay in notes of redemption, 242;
B. blames Rudolph for getting him into
the contract, 250, 266; controversy with
Kinsky's heirs, 259, 288, 289; settlement,
306; sums received by B. from the sub-
scribers till his death, 306; honorable con-
duct of Kinsky and Lobkowitz, and B's
aspersions on their character, 308; B.
seeks advice as to his right to leave Austria
under the contract, 366; last collection of
the annuity, III, 295; bank stock owned
by B. at time of death, I, 326; II, 379; B.
objects to its use for his benefit, III, 114,
290; discovered after his death, 309.
Character, traits of, and illustrative acts :
Vol. I, 83, 179; fondness for punning, 183;
disposition as teacher, 120, 121, 201, 314;
forgets his riding-horse, 200, 221; relations
with musicians in Vienna, 240, 241 ; study of
his character, 245 et seq.; exaggerations of
biographers, 245; extremes in his moral
nature and temperament, 246; conse-
quences of defective education, 246; ignor-
ance of the value of money, 247; lack of
independence in judgment, 247; high ideals,
247; pride, 248; sometime ungenerous
treatment of friends, 248, 298; wish to be
relieved of financial cares, 249; attitude
towards transcriptions, 250; towards criti-
cism, 250; susceptibility to flattery, 251;
love of nature, 251; attractive to young
people, 251; indifference to games of chance,
252; love of poetry, 254; his letter-writing,
255; manner of composing, 258 et seq.; care-
lessness about dates, 281, 331, 344; recom-
mends virtue to his brothers, 353; may
have used his brothers as screen, 363.
Vol. II. Displeased because not placed
at prince's table, 32; suspicious nature,
62, 63; carelessness about dates, 66; pride
leads him to leave Prince Lichnowsky in
anger, 68, 69; takes umbrage at being asked
to play for French officers, 68, 69; Dr.
Bertolini on his dilatoriness and lack of
etiquette, 80; protests against holding im-
proper relations with mairied women, 85;
his opinion of his predecessors, 89; violence
of temper, throws a dish of food in a waiter's
face, 91; feelings toward his relations, 91;
indifference to his own manuscripts, 92;
uncouth and awkward, 92; ignorance of
monetary matters, 92; peculiarities de-
scribed by Seyfried, 93 et seq.; dislike of
being disturbed at work, 93; fondness for
punning, 95; his handwriting, 95; de-
nounces his friends as "princely rabble,"
105, 127; hatred of French, 117; longing
for opera-texts, 118; disingenuous treat-
ment of friends, 123; hypochondria, 126;
orchestra refuses to play under him, 128;
violent gesticulations when conducting, 128;
his suspicious nature, 130; withholds help
from Ries, 140; affectionate concern for
Breuning, 155; domestic tribulations, 155;
love of poetry, 147; influences which created
his moods, 163 et seq.; normally cheerful,
163; a new infatuation makes him attentive
to dress, 173; his only animal pet, 174;
refuses to accept commission on sale of a
pianoforte, 174; conviviality, 175; "electri-
cal by nature," 182, 189; how music came
to him, 188; love of nature, 193; Goethe's
description of him, 224; self-esteem, 226;
finds fault with his friends, 237; longing
for domesticity, 240; unthrifty habits, 244;
rails at Archduke Rudolph for getting him
an annuity, 250; whimsical designations
for his friends, 280; absent-mindedness,
287; Weissenbach's description of him,
294; condemns popular virtuosi, 298; his
puns, 214, 286; aspersions on the character
of Princes Kinsky and Lobkowitz, 307;
General [ndex
manner of composing, 316; allows himself
to ignore rules >>f composition, :>£»;; rails st
the Emperor of Austria, S44; restive under
restraint, 300; desire to be truthfully de-
scribed, 361; favors German terminoli
30'4; some of bis moral reflections,
lack of decision. :t7!>: admiration for F.n-li-h
system of government, 381; contempt for
Vieni IS 1; queries about housekeeping,
387; unfitness to l>e guardian of his nephew,
392; blames Archduke for bis financial
trouh Hi. takes pay for an oratorio
which he does not compose, S98; explains
that he is not of noble l>irth. mi; his con-
tempt for tin- plebs, 409.
Vol. III. Domestic matters recorded
in an almanac, 14; neglects food in frensy
of composition, 15; forgets to eal at a
restaurant, 17; dealings with publishers,
39, 44, 51 et aeq.; 62, 65 see "M isa in D"
and "Stmphont in I) minhu" in Index
of Compositions); arrested as a tramp, M.
his puns, ti:>; attitude toward Archduke
Rudolph, 70; compares Goethe and Klop_-
gtock, 75; his views on progress in music,
To! an unruly patient, 85; dilatoriness in
delivery of Mass in I). !t l ei eeq.i nicknames
for Schindler, 106; manner of composing,
\iC>\ indifference to dress, 126: accuses
Schindler of being an evil character, 183;
USes house-shutters for memoranda, 133;
rails against his brother's w ife and daughter,
134; contradictory conduct concerning
titles of honor, 163; drives his friends away
from him after the first performance of the
Ninth Symphony, 167; leaves country lodg-
ing because people are inquisitive, 176;
abuses Ins landlord, 177; rebukes publisher
for complaining that he had not received
a work which he had bought, 180; attempts
a joke at Baslinger's expense, 190; enraged
by a copyist, 191; denounces one publisher
to another. 191; a poor arithmetician, 194,
£77; his drinking habits, 195 ei eeq.; jests
on the name Holz, 196; forgets that he lias
paid a bill, 211; loud voice and laugh, 213;
reluctance to play in private, 213; dis-
agreeable manners, £H; his publisher a
"hell-hound," £10; asks for Luther's
Bible, 219; accepts money for a Requiem
which he does not compose, 220; proud of
a medal Bent by the King of Prance, 230;
ignores promise to dedicate the Ninth
Symphony to flies, 231; sells ring sent by
the King of Prussia because it was not a
diamond. 233; hatred of his sister-in-law
because of her lewdness, 238; looked upon
by a law-clerk as an imbecile, 241; treated
as a menial by a stranger, 241; refuses to
dine with his brother's family. £l:t; gestic-
ulations while composing frighten
ox-team, £^!; welcomes royal distinctions,
•ill, prone to believe evil of everylx
£pj; becomes apprehensive of death, -
drinking habits, 175 .
with pilfering a petty sum .
want- to r» ad a full report i
by < hanni mrka ■
goini
I Ins p]
that I.
will eventually be r : »u-
dite, amici, comcrd ;
I
l irst public I
tir-'
plays at I
paosigh'a, 191, 200, t
at Burgtheater,
267, 282; a I -• l U
nducting, 1 17. n:. \ .
>unt of hi- manner, II
Wild's description, II. 268 III. u.
concert of 1808, II. 127; I lilun
concert in 1809, 1 1. 1 i'». \:t. 1
lufferers by fire at
cert- of 181
soldier-. £.'»7; repetition, *'•! .
of hi- orchestra, 268, 2< I
299, -; prop*
1819, III. 22; opening of
Theat re. B 1 . breaks doi
"Fidelio, rts of 1824
' .-•■•/. I
319, 320; pn lerved in the R I
in Merlin. S77; given to Schindler, III. II;
tlnir number and kind. 11. I
upon them. 12, x7. 89; alt
Schindler, III. 273, 281.
Deafness I ' in of, I. 218, I
. H's strange ■
de-ire to conceal it. I
• B's reflections in the II
Will, 3521! Bies's S
■unt. 1 1. B. 1
of bombardment, '
trumpet-. 233; III. l>r. S
scribes for t he i
by Pater W< >--. II. 96; III
by dissonant ■ . III.
Education as I I L
lessons from his f
child at the pianoforte,
School, 59;
knowledgi of 1 I
lessons from Van ■ : i
. studies under I
lessons on violin and '
ing wit I v-
lir-t efforts at
story of pri\ . Lai
counterpoint ai
I
from I
K
training in
320
General Index
to Haydn, 116; proposed as pupil of Haydn,
123; extent of his obligations to Max Franz,
Elector, 124; his appreciation of Neefe as
teacher, 124; lessons from Haydn, 150 et
seq.; his disparagement of Haydn as teacher,
152, 158; rupture with Haydn, 155, 189;
lessons from Schenk, 152 et seq.; Fux's
"Gradus," 153; lessons from Salieri, 154;
from Albrechtsberger, 155, 156 et seq.;
violin instruction from Schuppanzigh, 156;
Seyfried's "Studien, etc.," 159; Fux, 159;
Turk, 159; C. P. E. Bach, 159; Kirnberger,
159; Salieri, 160; refuses to attend lectures
on Kant, 182; Plato's supposed influence,
213, 214; effect on his character of defective
training, 246; imperfections in letters, 255;
studies made for Archduke Rudolph, II,
147, 150, 151; self-improvement by reading,
166.
Guardianship of his Nephew : Karl Kas-
par van Beethoven declares his wish that
his brother and widow be joint guardians
of his son Karl, II, 241; B. appointed
guardian, 320; the widow appointed co-
guardian, 321; court appointment, 320;
B. has himself made sole guardian, 321;
takes his ward to live with him, 341 et seq.;
asks Kanka to collect inheritance for the
lad, 353; defective training of Karl, 361;
widow compelled to bear a share in the
expense of education, 368; 362 et seq.;
widow tries to get possession of her son, 400
et seq.; not being of noble birth B. is re-
ferred to plebeian court, 401, 404; testi-
mony before the court of the nobility, 403
et seq. — Vol. III. Widow renews petition
to have her son sent to Imperial Konvikt-
schule, 2; B. suspended from the guardian-
ship, 2; plans to send Nephew to Landshut
University, 4, 5; Tuscher appointed guard-
ian, 5; B. appeals to Archduke Rudolph
for a passport to Landshut, 6; the plan
frustrated, 6; Giannatasio refuses to re-
admit Karl, 6; he is sent to Blochlinger's
Institute, 7; Tuscher surrenders guardian-
ship, and B. desires to resume it, 7; is
refused, 8; the mother reappointed, with
Nussbbck as co-guardian, over B's protest,
8, 10; B. appeals to the Landrecht, 10, 26;
Councillor Peters suggested as co-guardian,
10; Blochlinger takes charge of the ward,
14; facts and merits of the case, 28 et seq.;
B. makes personal appeal to the court, 29;
Dr. Bach a judicious adviser, 30; the
court appoints B. and Peters co-guardians,
31; widow makes vain appeal to the Em-
peror, 31; cost of B's victory, 31; his joy,
32; Karl runs away from the Institute, 33;
effect of B's administration of the trust on
himself and his ward, 247 et seq.; Dr. Reisser
appointed in place of Peters, 251; Breuning
persuades B. to resign and takes his place,
264; Hotschevar becomes guardian after
the death of B. and Breuning, 292.
Illness, death and burial : I, 123, 198, 201,
281, 298, 300, 302.— II, 27, 116, 123, 158,
190, 199, 202, 223, 227, 246, 366, 367,
378, 395,— III, 39, 70, 71, 72, 129, 133,
170, 199, 207, 219, 240, 241, 271 et seq.;
medical attendance summoned, 273; sur-
gical operations, 276, 283, 294, 296; frozen
punch prescribed, 286; sweat baths, 287;
cheering news from old friends, 288; B.
asks aid from the London Philharmonic
Society, 289, 290; the Society votes gift of
100 pounds, 290; visitors at bedside of sick
man, 280 286, 289, 294, 295; B. abandons
hope, 296; gifts of wines and delicacies,
287 et seq.; Hummel at the death-bed, 301;
signing the will, 303 et seq.; "Plaudite,
amici, comoedia finita est," 304 et seq.; B.
receives extreme unction, 305; the death-
struggle, 307; death caused by cirrhosis of
the liver, 308; revelations of the autopsv,
309, 310; property left by B., 310; funeral,
312; performances of masses for the dead
by Mozart and Cherubini, 312; pall and
torch-bearers, 312; burial at Wahring,
312; exhumation of the body and reburial,
312.
Improvisation : B's skill at an early age,
I, 63; discomfits a singer by his harmon-
ization, 87, 119, 152, 182, 188; Czerny's
account, 196; at the Singakademie in Ber-
lin, 197, 217; on "Ah, vous dirai-je, Ma-
man," 217, 266.— Vol. II, 15; on theme
from a quartet by Pleyel, 44, 90, 375; III,
208.
Letters : To Amenda, I, 297; Arnim, Bet-
tina von, II, 190, 196; Artaria and Co., Ill,
65; Dr. Bach, III, 115, 278; Baumeister, II,
218; Beethoven, Johann van, I, 192, 352;
III, 69, 72, 134; Beethoven, Karl Kaspar
van, I, 352; Beethoven, Karl van, III, 254;
Dr. Bertolini, II, 87; Bernard, II, 398;
III, 171; Beyer, II, 259; Bigot, II, 84;
Birchall, II, 319, 325, 336, 346, 350;
Brauchle, II, 317; Breitkopf and Hartel, I,
286, 294, 349, 368, 369; II, 66, 67, 136,
142, 148, 192, 198, 200, 204, 206, 214, 226;
Brentano, III, 46, 47; Breuning, Leo-
nore von, I, 177, 179; Breuning, Stephan
von, II, 33; Broadwood, Thomas, II, 390;
Brunswick, Count, II, 105, 202, 219, 266;
Brunswick, Countess Therese, II, 203;
Cherubini, III, 100; Collin, von, II, 149;
Czerny, Carl, I, 316; II, 338, 374; Erdbdy,
Countess, II, 144; Ertmann, Baroness, II,
365; Esterhazy, Prince, II, 107; Frank,
Mme. dc, I, 283; Giannatasio del Rio,
II, 332, 349; Gleichenstein, Count, II,
114, 140, 141, 155, 174, 175; Goethe, II,
197; III, 98; Haslinger, III, 44; Hoff-
meister and Kiihnel, I, 271, 281, 286, 299,
366, 370; II, 16; Holz, III, 216; Hummel, I,
240; II, 267; Kanka, II, 353; King of Eng-
land, III, 113; Kinsky, Princess, II, 243;
Kbnneritz, von, III, 97; Kotzebue, II,
I i : m.kal Index
213; Kuhlau, III, 204; Lichnov nut
Moritz, II. 262; 111, L58; London Musi-
cians, II, 274; Mi .. \lezander, 1 1
Mahler, II. l<',; Malfatti, Thereae, II.
IT'i Matthisson, I. 202; Mow belea, III.
291; Mosel, von, II. 886; N Charles,
II. 889, 852, S67; Oppersdorff, Count,
II, 1 <' P< ters, Councillor, II. 854; Peters,
C. F., Ill, 58, 60, 61, 64; Hies, Ferdinand,
II. 27, S
412, 118; III. 111. 128; Rudolph, Arch-
duke, II. !:»:». 225, '. 266, 286; II I.
l. ''. l'). 20, 34, 91, 94; Schaden, l>r . 1.
92; Schenck, 154; Schindler, III. 102, I
158,286, 295; Schlesinger, 111,54; Schott
ami Son.. 111,296, *:)7; Schreyvogel, II.
804; Schuppansigh, III. 158; Sebald,
Amalie, II. 22s; Simrock, I. 183; II. 21;
III. 14,56; Smart, Sir George, II. SI i. 851;
Smetana, Dr., III. 259; Stadler, Abbe, III.
Steiner, II. .nil; III. 88; Mrm-hrr,
lette, II. :;:>!; Stumpff, III. 289; The-
atre Directors in Vienna, II. 98; Thomson,
George, II. 17, 71. 157, 208, 219, 245, 808;
III, Ki; Tiedge, II, 206; Treitschke, II.
269, 27:5, 277. 281, 284; Tschiska, III. I;
Varena, II. 246, 217. 249; Wegeler, F. <■ .
I, 177. 17'.): Zelter, III. 18; Zmeskall, I.
281,855; II. 88, 111, 155, 17:.. 2ns. 217,
245, 217, 248, 262, 271, 880, 849, 851; III,
2ss.
Lodgings (in Vienna) : Alsergaase, with
Prince Lichnowsky, I. l 18, 269; Barten-
stein Bouse, II. 271. 286; Gartnerstrasse,
[1,362, 367,368; Giorgi, II. 868; Bamberger
Bouse, I. ■';">■">: Johannesgasse, III. 184;
Josef stadter Glacis, III, 21; Kothgaase, III.
97; Kreuzgasse (Ogylisches Baus . I. 269;
Krtlgergasse, III, 111; Pasqualati's Bouse,
on the Molkerbastei, II. 81, 44, 1 1 I. 196,
219; Petersplatz, 1,256; II. 12; Rothes Baus,
II, 271, 286; Sailerstatte, II. 815, 861;
Schwarcspanierhaus, III. 212. 27i. 811;
in tli.- Theater-an-der-Wien, II. 12, 2.:
41; Tief en Graben, I. 269, 288;Ungarstraase,
III, IK), 17n; Walfi* bgasse, II. 1 15, i
I-: the countrj : Baden, II. 18, 102,
106, 107, 145, 211. 249, 251, 815; III
7". : l. 188, 184, 187, 177, 200; DObling,
11. 1 1. 81; Gneixendorf, III. 287, 288, 289,
211, 267, 271; Heiligenstadt, I. 849, 851;
II. H)7. 1 10, 119, 12D. 369; Betsendorf, I.
288, 289; II. 15, 17. : i < ; T . III. 85, \-iJ-.
i 59; Landstrasse, 1 1 1. 86, :>:>. 7:!; Modling,
II, 380, :'■'>''•; III. <:. 1 1. 17. 85, 18; Nuss-
dorf, II. 869; Oberddbling, III. I
Penzing, IN. 176; Unterdobling, I. -
III. 89, 47.
London Philharmonic , v. it.-
buys overtures for. II. 888; the Society's
disappointment, 884; its membership roll,
884; 15. ntlVr^ to write new work-, for, 852,
invites B. to visil London, 870,878,379,
380, 395, H 3; HI. Bogarth's history of.
1 1"
ii" 149. n
■1 f • >r 1
rt of t
irith II
I
rms, 1. i
1
do influem •• in 1 I
the "Immorl d H I
i !
' I .
•rck," "Prelinf
"Rolland,"
lisi'h'T,'" ■' I'ri in rii.-l. " i
San-GaUi," "Hale, i
Therese Brnnswii '-.. I
terviewed, 840; m • ■ '
lena Willmann, I.
M If.nti. I. II. s-;. i
I ■ - iv
Guia i.ir.li. I, 144. 2fl
B it, M. B4; U ! II.
I; Bettin i '. II I
G .11
love," II,
marriagi !
Willmann, I. 24
• ■ I
H, 178 ! her rejection ■ I
ill. 1 l^. 200,
disappointed love. :>12; rt-put.
bbini, III, i
Opera Pt
of < !ompositionj U
when li>- I", .in.
longing f«T a text, II. 118, :
Kotaebue for ■ book, 11 i
plots repugnant to him. III. i*i\;
considered: "M
151, 15 I; "Bradai I II,
1 19; intended i ^
von Bnse, [I, 204; "A
kaneder • . II. 19, i0; G M
Bine," III. 11s
"Return of Ul II.
von It,
"Romului H
beth" no! I III. 1
i 1 17; S
Voltaire's ti III.
"Dragomira.' 111. 118, If
I
vantini I !:
p:il: HI;
Schindler ••
playing with 1 ! !
322
General Index
with Willibald Koch and Zenser, 64;
assumes Neefe's duties as organist, 69;
assistant to Neefe, 71; appointed assistant
organist in the Electoral Chapel, 74; recom-
mended for Court Organistship, 83, 105;
his playing, 110.
Personal Appearance and Portraits : I,
76, 146, 147; "Ugly and half crazy," 243;
described by Baillot, II, 55; described by
Weissenbach, II, 294; described bv Julius
Benedict, III, 139, 125.— Dress, I, 147,
322; a new wardrobe for a new infatuation,
II, 173; changes new coat for old one for
dinner, II, 186; negligent appearance, 88,
287. — Portraits: Silhouette by Neesen, I,
122; paintings by Mahler, II, 15, 16; Frim-
mel's discussion of B's portraits, II, 15;
miniature by Hornemann, II, 33; Klein's
mask and Danhauser's bust, II, 221;
Latronne's crayon drawing engraved bv
Hofel, II, 287; painting by Heckel, II, 338;
painting by August von Klober, II, 399;
lithograph by Diirck, III, 42; painting by
Ferdinand Schimon, III, 21, 41; portrait
by Joseph Stieler, III, 41; death-mask and
drawing by Danhauser, III, 310; crayon
drawing by Decker, imitated bv Kriehuber,
III, 176.
Pianoforte Study and Playing (see
"Education") : Studies pianoforte with
his father, I, 58; skill as a boy described
by Neefe, 69, 111; plays for Abbe Sterkel,
114; duties as pianist to the Elector, 135;
Bach's fugues, 175; skill in sight-reading,
180; his playing compared with Wblffl's,
215; described by Tomaschek, 217; Cheru-
bim's comments on, 220; Spohr's criticism,
II, 269; last public appearance as pianist,
270; his playing of "The Well-Tempered
Clavichord," II, 355; advice to Czerny as
to instruction of his nephew, II, 374.
Religion : Character of B's religious be-
lief, II, 167 etseq.; transcription of Egyptian
texts preserved by him, 168; prayers in his
note-books, 169, 249; an expression of faith,
187; admonishes his nephew to pray, 407;
views on church music, 414, 415; attitude
towards the Catholic Church, II, 168, III,
91; the Mass in D, III, 91; receives the
rites for the dying, 305 et seq.
Sketchbooks : Gelinek finds the cause of
B's faults in them, I, 257; Nottebohm's
analvsis, I, 257 et seq.; 364; Kafka's, I,
205/206, 209, 210; Sketches in the British
Museum, I, 205, 206, 209, 210, 261; Petter
Collection, I, 274, 290; II, 118, 129, 151,
209, 296; Grassnick Collection, I, 275; II,
160; Kessler's, I, 289, 368, 371; Lands-
berger's, II, 73; Meinert Collection, II,
150, 161; the "Fidelio" sketches, II, 285;
Mendelssohn Collection, II, 310.
'Beiden Savoyarden, Die" ("Les deux
petits Savoyards") : Opera bv Dalayrac, I,
109.
Belderbusch, Kaspar Anton : Prime Min-
ister of Elector Max Friedrich I, 14, 15;
assumes paternity of Elector's illegitimate
children, 16; death of, 33; secures Neefe's
appointment as Court Organist, 36; a
musical amateur, 37; 118; Countess Belder-
busch, a clavier player, I, 37.
Belgium : Beethoven families residing in, in
the 17th century, I, 42.
Bell, Doyne C. : "Documents, Letters, etc.,
relating to the Bust of Ludwig van Beetho-
ven presented to the Philharmonic Society
of London by Fanny Linzbauer," III, 291.
Bellamy, Mr., English singer : II, 310.
Belzer, Frau von, Musical amateur in
Bonn : I, 38.
Benda, George : His opera "Ariadne auf
Naxos," I, 29, 107, 108; "Romeo and
Juliet," I, 31, 107, 108; conductor of Seyd-
ler's company, 30.
Benedict, Sir Julius : III, 137; his visit to
B., 138 et seq.
Berger, Rudolph von : His opera-book
"Bacchus," II, 314.
Berlin : B. visits, I, 192, 195; faults pub'ic
for not applauding, 197; II, 226; plays for
the Singakademie, I, 197; the Singaka-
demie and the Mass in D, III, 104, 180.
Bernadotte, General J. B. : His association
with the "Eroica," I, 212 et seq.; King of
Sweden, III, 139.
Bernard, Joseph Carl : II, 332, 359, 398;
III, 24, 30, 171; his "Libussa," 173; "Der
Sieg des Kreuzes," 172 et seq.
"Bernardsberg, Der." (See "Elise.")
Bertinotti, Mme. : II, 75.
Bertolini, Dr. : On B's susceptibility to
women, I, 318; on the origin of the "Eroi-
ca," II, 25; on B's dilatoriness, 76, 87;
"Un lieto brindisi," II, 280, 305, 322;
rupture of friendship with B., 341, 369.
"Betulia liberata" : III, 143.
Betz : "II Riso d'Apolline," I, 26.
Beyer, Dr. : Letter to, II, 259.
Bigot, Librarian of Count Rasoumowskv :
11,73, 125, 146; his wife, Marie, 11,84, 146.
Bihler, J. N. : III, 156.
Biographers of B. : Early, III, 197 et seq.
"Biographische Notizen." (See" Wegeler,
F. G." and "Ries, Ferdinand.")
Birchall, Robert, English publisher : II,
319, 324, 325; difficulty in getting a
receipt from B., 355, et seq., 345, 350, 346,
359; death of, 351; and the overtures
bought by the Philharmonic Society, 337.
Birkenstock, Joseph Melchior : II, 178;
Antonie, II, 179.
Blahetka, Leopoldine : III, 50, 138, 157.
Bland, Mrs., English singer : II, 310.
"Blendwerk, Das" ("La fausse Mag;e") :
Opera bv Gretrv, I, 107.
Blochlinger, Joseph Karl : III, 7, 23.
(See Guardianship under "Beethoven,
Lcdwig van," and "Beethoven, Karl.")
General Index
Boer, S. M. de : Viaita I! , III.
Bohemian Nobility : Musical culture of
the, I. 168
Bohm, \ iolinisl : Plays the Quartet < >i>. 1 -':.
III. 102, L9S; torchbearer at B's funeral,
III. 812.
Bohm's Theatrical Company : I. s>;
Bolla, Slgnora :B. plays al her concert, I. 101.
Bonaparte, Jerome : I. 100; II. 122; in>
B. t<> his court, lit. I ■ •
Bonaparte, Louis, King of Holland : II.
245, 247.
Bonaparte. Napoleon : Threaten* invasion
of Vienna, I. 100, 200; the "Eroica," * I '•;
II, '21; B's r>iiiari^ : "1 would conquer him!"
117; neglects opportunity to bear the
"Eroica," 140; marches on Moscow, 221;
holds court at Dresden, 221; effect ol his
downfall, 295; and Cherubini, 1 1 1. W>6.
Bonn, City of : Festival in 1888, I. xvii;
selected as Electoral residence, .'>; l"--i
by Marlborough, 6; restored to arch-
bishopric of Cologne, <•: improved by
Elector Clemens August, 7; the Comedy
How-.-. 30; professional and amateur mu-
- .us in Bs time. 81; appearance of the
city, 88 (t seq,; Beethovens in before the
arrival of the composer's grandfather, 14;
music in Max Franz's reign, ss; theatrical
companies, 112; B's friends, 117, 125, 1^'i;
B. leaves the city forever, 125; B's com-
positions in, [29 et seq.; Beethoven Festival
of 1S45, II, 177.
Boosey, Music publisher in London : III,
III, 128; makes contract with B. through
Hie.. 128.
Born, Baroness : III. 12.
Boston Handel and Haydn Society : Com-
missions I' to write an oratorio. III.
Botticelli. Singer : III 168.
Bonillv. J. V : His opera-texts, II. 36.
Bowater. Mrs. : I. 111. 1 15; III. 10.
"Bradamante" : Opera-book by Collin,
II. 10.
Brahms, Johannes : Confirms authenticity
of Bonn cantatas, I. 181; comment on the
compositions of royal personages, III. 20.
Brauchle : Tutor of ( lounl Erdttdy's children,
I. 320; II. 317.
Braun, Baron : I. l<;s; invites the Rom-
bergs to give a concert, 100, 244, 200,
330; engages RJes at B's solicitation,
engages Cherubini to compose operas, II.
dismisses Schikaneder, 23, 34,
withdraw- "Fidelio," '>•'!; ends his man
ment of the Theater-an-der-Wien, 78
Buroness, I. 225, 244; dedication of the
Horn So S90.
Bran nh of er. !)r. : Dedication of the " Mx
lied." III. 50, 100; .anon for. 200; 210,
declines call to H . 272, 271.
Breimann : 1 1. 1 25.
Breltkopf and rlartel : Acquire publication
rights of this biography, I. xv; employ I>r
1: inn to i
I, i ...
II. ; 12, i ;-
B. offers t
|
Brent. mo. \ntoin.- : I
Brentano, ( Siemens 1 1
Brellt.mo, I h/.ilietll
ri *. \ \
Brentano, I rani : 1 1
money from, III.
I. i', i. i
Brentano, Maxlmillanc ; 1 1
Brentano, Sophl
Breunlng, nod : i .
timacy irith B .
Breunlng, < Ihriatoph von I. ~. ■. .
( Ihriatoph , I, 19
Breunlng, I leonore Briglttc «'>n : w
Frans < ierhard W< I l >. 1 1 9,1
lines on B's birtl
hi. all. um. 125, I -
Breunlng, 1 mmanuel Joseph roe
Breunlng, Georg Joseph ron : i
Breunlng, Dr. < ierhard : \ \
I. \i 96, 99, 100
Karl. II. '
B., Ill, 66 !'• !:iin an ;i
III. 214; on B's last dl:
medical treatment of |:
Breunlng, Johann I orem von I
Breunlng, Johann Phlllpp ron i l
Breunlng, I orera I em ron : I.
108; reporl s to Romberg 1 1
lines in his album, 201, !
Breunlng, Madame ron : I
as teacher for ber i bildrcn, l
over B . 100, 188, 1 1 >,
dedication of the
of the Violin I rto, 1 1.
Breunlng, Marie ron : 1 1 1
Breunlng, Stephen \><n : I
with B . 118, 101, I'- \
288, 301; B. oi
the Teutonic < '
B in Vienna, I
ton ard him, "l l II
• rian \\ ,ir dep 1'
with B., 2
re<
the second perforn
letter concern
cern for
155; di
war: I '■
III. 2 i. 107;
I
B
nd the love-l
Bridgetowi ■ Augustus P
\ it : I, 1 8( 1 1.
no) K
;
K
B
324
General Index
Bridi, Joseph Anton : II, 391.
British Museum : Sketches in I, 205, 206,
209. 210, 261.
Broadwood, Thomas : Presents pianoforte
to B.t II, 390 et seq.; Ill, 201, 237.
Browne, Count : I, 199; B. calls him his
"first Maecenas." 222, 244; II, 20.— Count-
ess, I, 200, 209. 227, 244.
Briihl, Count : III, 153.
Brunswick, Count Franz : I, 322; the
Rasoumowsky quartets, II, 104; letters
from B., 105, 124, 202, 219, 245, 266;
ruined by theatrical management, 154;
dedication of Fantasia Op. 77, 195; III,
24, 170; offers summer sojourn in Hungary
to B., 179.
Brunswick, Count Geza : I, 340, 341.
Brunswick, Countess Marie : I, 340.
Brunswick, Countess Therese : I, xvi,
279; her relations with B., 317, 322. 335 et
seq.; sends her portrait to B., 335; B's mes-
sage to her brother, "Kiss your sister
Therese." II, 105, 161, 173; dedication
of the Sonata Op. 78, 195; portrait of, 202;
letter to, 203, 239.
Bryant, William Cullen : Quoted I, 252.
Buda-Pesth : National Museum of, gets B's
Broadwood pianoforte, II, 392.
"Buona Figliuola, La" : Opera by Piccini,
I, 25, 32.
Burbure, Leon : Supplies information con-
cerning the Belgian Beethovens, I, 42.
Bureau d'Arts et Industrie : Established,
II, 35.
Burney, Dr. Charles : "Present State, etc.,"
quoted, I, 174.
Cache, Singer at first performance of "Fi-
delio"; II, 51.
Cacilien-Verein of Frankfort : Subscription
to the Mass in D, III, 104, 106, 110, 180.
"Calamita di Cuori, La" : Opera by Ga-
luppi, I, 26.
Caldara : Opera "Gioas, Re di Giuda,"
I, 184.
Campbell, Thomas : "The Battle of the
Baltic," II, 203.
Capponi, Marchese : I, 341.
Carlyle, Thomas : II, 360.
Carpani : Italian text for Haydn's "Cre-
ation," II, 116; introduces Rossini to B.t
360.
Carriere, Moriz : Dubious of the genuine-
ness of B's letters to Bettina von Arnim,
II, 185.
Cassel : B. invited to become chapelmaster
at, II, 122, 124, 135 et seq.; 141.
Cassentini, Dancer : I, 285.
Castelli : On failure of the Concerto in E-
flat, II, 215; torchbearer and poet at B's
funeral, III, 312.
Castlereagh, Viscount : II, 291.
Catalani : II, 310.
Catalogue, Classified, of B's works : II, 38.
Catherine II, Empress of Russia : II, 81.
Champein : I, 86.
Channing : B. asks for full report of speech
on his death-bed, III, 283.
Chantavoine, Jean : I, 211, 228, 337.
Chappell, Music publisher in London : II, 413.
Charles XIV (Bernadotte), King of Sweden :
III, 130.
Cherubini, Luigi : On B's playing, I, 220,
324; engaged to compose operas for Vienna,
II, 3, 47; B's respect for, 48; opinion of
"Fidelio," 63, 64, 202; "Les deux Journees,"
II, 3; 36; III, 139; "Lodoiska," II, 3;
"Elise," 3; "Medea," 3; "Faniska," 110;
asked by B to urge subscription to Mass
on King of France, III, 100, 126; on B. and
Mozart, 205; Schlesinger on, 206; on B's
quartets, 276; his "Requiem" sung at B's
funeral, 312.
Cherubini, Madame : On B's social con-
duct, I, 121
Chorley, Henry F. : Receives and publishes
B's letter to Bettina von Arnim, II, 182,
184, 316.
Churchill, John, Earl of Marlborough : I, 6.
Church Music : B's views on, III, 203.
Cibbini, Antonia : B's offer of marriage to,
III, 205, 207,
Cimarosa, Domenico : "LTtaliana in Lon-
dra," I, 32; "II Matrimonio segreto," 164.
Clam-Gallas, Count Christian : I, 194.
Clari, Countess Josephine di : I, 194.
Clemens August, Elector of Cologne : I,
1; his extravagance, 7; succeeds to the
Electorship, 7; career of, 7; life in Rome, 8;
Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, 7,
98; opens strong-box of the Order, 8; falls
ill while dancing and dies, 7, 8; entry into
Bonn, 9; his music-chapel, 9; appoints
Van den Eeden Court Organist, 10; in-
creases salary of B's grandfather, 10; mu-
sic in his reign, 14; his theatre, 30; appoints
B's grandfather Court Musician, 43.
Clement, Franz, Violinist : II, 2; conductor,
42; B's Violin Concerto, 76; succeeds
Haring as conductor in Vienna, 112; pro-
duces "Mount of Olives," 156, 209, and the
Ninth Symphony, III, 157 et seq.
Clementi, Muzio : I, 33; encounter between
him and B., II, 23, 38, 75; contract with B.
for compositions, 102; tardy payment of
debt, 131, 158; B. on his pianoforte studies,
375; B. sends them to Gerhard von Breu-
ning, III, 214.
Collard, F. W., Partner of Clementi : II,
102, 103.
Collin, von : "Coriolan," II, 101, 102;
"Bradamante," II, 119; "Macbeth," II,
119, 151; "Jerusalem Delivered," II, 119,
151; Letter to, II, 149; asked to write a
drama for Pesth, 88, 201.
Cologne : Electors of in the 18th century, I,
1 et seq. Archbishop Engelbert, 3; civil
income of Electorate, 7.
General Index
"Colonic Die" ("L'lsoJa d'Amore") :Op<
by Saccbini, I. ins.
Complete Editions of B's Works planned :
II, is, 38, 192; II] ■ LOO, I
Archduke Rudolph's Collection, II. -
Congress of Vienna : II, i
Consecutive Fifths : B's dictum on II.
"Contadina in Corte, La" : Opera bj
Sacchini, I. 26
Conti : I, 282; II. t.
"Convivo, II" : Opera by Cimarosa, I. 107.
"Corsar aus Liebe" : Opera by Weigl, I.
268; II. i.
Courts of Furope : Invited to Bubacribe to
the Ma-- ill D. III. 03 ft .>,</.
Court Composers : Their duties in the 18th
century, I, 18.
Court Theatres of Vienna : B. asks appoint-
ment as composer for. II. 08.
Cramer, F., Violinist : I. 186; II. 12.
Cramer, John Baptist : 1, 186; sketch "f,
218, i\^\ makes B's acquaintance, t\^\
bis admiration for B„ 210; on B's playing,
210; II, 318; B's opinion of him as pianist,
881.
"Creation, The," Baydn's oratorio : I.
*t:i. 266, 282, i^\. *s.->; II, s;». 116, 120;
receives the tir-t metronomic mark-, ii:s.
Cressner, George, English Ambassador at
Bonn : I. 65.
Cromwell : I. viii; II. :?G0.
Czapka : Magistrate to whom B. appeals,
III, 265.
Czartoryski, Prince : 1. 271.
Czernin, Count : 1. 17^.
Czerny, Carl : I. 85; anecdote about B. and
Gelinek, 152; on B's extempore playing,
106; use of high registers of pianoforte,
•i->:\; *::»'•■. pupil of It.. 814; duet playing
with Hies, 314; testimonial from B., 315;
memory of, 315; rebuked by B. for chang-
ing his music, :ni;; letters, 816, 322; on
the reception of the "Eroica," II.
on the Rasoumowsky Quartets, 75; on B's
playing and teaching, 00; on B's character,
91; on tlir theme of tin- Credo in tie- Mass
in <', iu?; on tie- tir-t performance of the
Choral Fantasia, ISO, 215, -1 i: rebuked
by B. for changing bis music, '■'>'■'•': letter,
:i:(s; B's advice a- to instruction of Nephew
Karl, :(7t; inaccuracies as biographer,
visits H. HI. 203; torchbearer at B's
funeral, 312.
Czernv, Wen/el : I, i
Czeruensky. Oboist : 1. * ■"'•».
Dalayrac : Operas "Nina." I. 107, l"s. "I
deux petits Savoyards," 100.
Danhauser : Makes bust of 1'.. 11. 121;
death-mask, III. 810.
Dardanelli, Singer : III. 77. 169
Decker : Makes crayon drawing <>f H . III.
176.
Degen, Aeronaut : III. 62.
Deiters, Dr. Hermann, i
1 i
wril
gcler. 1 ' '
II.
107; B 111
De la Borde : < • - . i \
Deler [ellcr, Dcllrr?
i i '
DetnbsM lu-r : 111. 1 ■
I .
Demmer I
"Fid II
Demmer, Joseph r
of B Ifatber. I I I
Denmark, King ol :
M LSI 1». 111. i I
Deaaidea i 0 I
Reue \ 'or der I
Boi I ■ - I : • I
I >• -scripti\e M usic : B : i. II. l
•| teeerteur, Le" : 0 I
31, M.
Deaaauer, Joseph : Bu
"Eroi< . 11.24.
"Deux Journees, I ei" i 1 1
l.ini. II. ::. HI.
Dei enne ■ " Battle of G
Dej m. ( Soonteaf laabelle : I ;.' II
Deym, Counteea Toanphlne i I i
12; II. 20
Diabelli, Anton : II. 314; III.
with 15.. 107; variation- on hi- waits,
commission
188.
Dickens, Mrs., Ens II.
"Die beiden < laliphen" : 0
beer, II. 107.
"Die Mullerin" : Opera bj D
100
Dii-ti i« hatetB, I "inn : : B B
appointed Imperial ' M 1 1 1.
1 15; sends B. texts foe
Dittersdorf : 0
k.T." I. 108, 100; "11
[00; "Das roths K
176, 18 ■-
Dobbeler, AbM I lemens
1 1 to 1 nd. 1. !
Dobbler'a Dramatfc I ompanj : i
"Dr. Murner" : O
"Doktor und Ipotneker" i 0
Dill idorf, I. i"s. i
Dole&alek, Johann i manuel : I
the Choral 1 II. 1 m
Donaldson, i '" '■
"Don <.i"\.mm" : 0 '•' I
91, 107, 163, 103 II • I HI
"Donne iwnprs Donne, I i
i i
Dont. Jacob : II
Dont, Joseph ^ alentlne : II
326
General Index
Donzelli, Singer, III : 169.
"Dorfbarbier, Der" : Opera by Hiller, I, 36.
"Dorfdeputirten, Die" : Opera by Schu-
bauer, I, 109.
Dousmoulin. (See Touchemoulin.)
"Dragomira" : Drama by Grillparzer, III,
118, 120, 122.
Dragonetti, Domenico : Makes B's
acquaintance, I, 218; skill on double-
bass, 218; II, 124; Trio in Fifth Symphony,
126, 256; recitatives in Ninth Symphony,
III, 207.
Drama, German : Cultivated in the time of
Max Friedrich, I, 28 et seq
Drechsler, Chapelmaster : III, 131; pall-
bearer at B's funeral, 312.
Dresden : B's intended visit to, I, 192.
Drewer, Ferdinand, Violinist : I, 23, 24.
Drieberg, Baron F. J. : "Les Ruines de
Babilone," II, 202.
Drosdick, Baroness : II, 86.
Duncker, Friedrich : "Leonore Prohaska,"
II, 298.
Duni : Opera, "Die Jager und das Wald-
madchen," I, 29.
Duport : Director of the Karnthnerthor
Theatre, and the Ninth Symphonv, III,
157.
Duport, Pierre, Violoncellist : I, 195, 205.
Diirck, F. : His lithograph of Stieler's por-
trait, III, 42.
Duschek, Madame : I, 194, 226.
Diisseldorf : Electoral archives at, I, 5.
Dutillier : Operas, "Nanerina e Pandolfo,"
I, 165; "Trionfo d'Amore," 165.
Eberl, Anton : I, 172; II, 2.
Ecclesiastical States of Germany : Former,
I, 1, 15.
Edwards, F. G. : His sketch of Bridgetower's
career, II, 11.
Egyptian Text : Preserved by B., II, 168.
"Ehrenpforte, Die" : Drama bv Treitschke,
II, 317.
"Eifersucht auf der Probe" : Opera by
Anfossi, I, 32.
"Eifersuchtige Liebhaber, Der" ("L'A-
mant jaloux") : Opera by Gretry, I, 31,
107.
"Eigensinn und Launen der Liebe" :
Opera by Deler (?), I, 31.
"Einspriiche, Die" : Opera by Neefe, I, 36.
Electoral Chapels : Appointments in, I, 9.
Electors of Cologne : I, 1 et seq.
Ella, John : II, 12; III, 32.
Embel, F. X. : III, 142.
"Ende gut, Alles gut" : Opera by d'Antoine,
I, 109.
Engelbert, Archbishop of Cologne : I, 3.
England : B's plan to visit, II, 142; his
admiration for the English people and
government, III, 36, 76, 181, 303; court of,
not invited to subscribe to Mass in D,
104, 112. (See "Prince Regent.")
English plays produced at Max Friedrich's
court, I, 29, 30, 31.
"Entfiihrung aus dem Serail" : Opera by
Mozart, I, 32, 107, 109.
Eppinger, Heinrich, Amateur violinist : I,
235, 274, 306; II, 2.
Eppinger, Dr. Joseph : II, 335.
Erard, Sebastien : Presents pianoforte to
B., II, 21.
Erdody, Count : I, 172; continued friendship
for B., II, 82, 215, 271.
Erdody, Countess Marie : Said by Schindler
to have been one of B's loves, I, 324; sketch
II, 82, 124; dedication of Trios Op. 70,
132; proposes plan to keep B. in Vienna,
136, 141; letter of apology from B., 144,
162, 315, 319; B's letter of condolence of
death of her child, 339; dedication of Op.
102, 357; HI, 21; dedication, 23.
Erk and Bohme : "Deutscher Liederhort,"
I, 278.
"Erlkonig" : Song by Schubert, I, 230; III,
236.
Ernst, Violinist : Purchaser of the Heiligen-
stadt Will, I, 351; and B's last quartets,
III, 139.
"Ernst und Lucinda" ("Eraste et Lu-
cinde") : Opera by Gretry, I, 31.
Ertmann, Baroness Dorothea : Pupil of
B., I, 322; II, 2, 83, 215; B. consoles her
grief by playing the pianoforte, 356; dedica-
tion of Sonata Op. 101, 356, 365.
Esterhazy, Count Franz : I, 170.
Esterhazy, Prince Franz Anton : I, 172;
Princess, I, 172.
Esterhazy, Count Johann Nepomuk : I,
170.
Esterhazy, Prince Nicholas : I, 169; II,
98; commissions B. to write a mass, 100;
letters from B., 107; criticism of the Mass
in C, 108, 116.
Esterhazy, Count Niklas : II, 98, 225.
Esterhazy, Prince Paul Anton : I, 166, 171,
189; invited to subscribe to the Mass in
D, III, 103.
Esterhazy, Princess : Dedication of the
Marches Op. 45, I, 351; II, 40, 108.
"Esther" : Opera by S. F. A. Auber, I, 14.
"Euryanthe" : Opera bv Weber, III, 139,
1 40.
"Evenements imprevus, Les" : Opera by
Gretrv, I, 32.
Ewer and Co. : III, 13.
Eybler, Joseph : I, 165; B's respect for him,
242; pallbearer at B's funeral, III, 312.
Facius, the Brothers : Amateurs in Bonn, I,
38.
Falsification of B's age : I, 55, 70, 71.
"Falstaff, ossia le Tre Burli" : Opera by
Salieri, I, 227.
"Faniska" : Opera by Cherubini, II, 110.
"Fassbinder, Der" : Opera by Oudinet, I,
29.
( rENERAL I MH.X
"Fausse Magie, La" : Opera l>v Greuy,
I, KIT.
"Faust," Goethe's : II, 110; III. 7".. 220
"Felix, ou 1'Enfant trouve" : Opera by
Idonaigny, I. 82, in;).
Felsburg, Count Stainer von : II. S88; III.
156.
"Fermiers, Les trois" : Opera by Deaaidea,
I, in?.
Fidelissimo Papaijeno : Nickname for
Schindler, III. 102.
"Fiesco" : Drama by Schiller, III. Ill
"Filosofo di Campagna" Opera by
Galuppi, I. 25.
Finanz-Patent , Austrian : It-, effect on B's
annuity, II, i\ 1 et (Off.
"Finta Giardiniera, La" : Opera I>v
Paisiello, I. Ms.
Fischer, Cacilie : I, xviii. 57, 58,
Fischer, Gottfried : I, wii. 48, 17. 50, 51,
Gl, 66.
Fischer Manuscript : I. wii, I:!, 17. 50, 51,
01. 60
Fischer : Opera, "Swetard'i ZaubergHrteL"
II. 40.
Fodor. Sink*' t : III, HI.
Fontaine, Mortier de : II, 7:?.
Forkel, J. N. : Biography <>f Bach, I.
"History of Music in Examples," II. ^l.
Forray, Baron Andreas von : II, ^'».
Forster, Emanuel Aloys : I. M-i. influences
B's chamber music, ^7.!; his son'd lesi
from B . II, 31. 125, 315, 380.
Forti, Singer : II. *s<i.
Fouche, Mary de : I. 186.
Fouque, Baron de la Motte : II. 330.
"Four Elements, The" : Oratorio planned
by Kuffner. III, 210.
Fox, Mrs. Jabez : Acquires Thayer's post-
humous papers, I. riv; her copy ol Mahler's
portrait of IV. II. 16.
"Fra due Litiganti" : Opera by Sarti. I,
86, 109.
France, King of : Subscribes f'>r Mass in 1)
and strikes medal, III. !»:>. 105, 280.
Frank, Dr. : Treats B., [,800
Frank, Joseph : I. 248.
Frank, Madame. (See Gbbaboi
Frankfort : Cacilien-Verein in. HI. l"i. 106,
III. 180.
Franz i Francis), Emperor of Austria :1, 21 I;
III. 206.
Franzensbrunn : II, 228.
"Frascatana, La" : Opera by Paisiello, I.
107
Frederick II, King of Prussia : I. 185; re-
puted father of H . III. *i i.
Frederick III, <>f Prussia, German Emperor :
marries Princess Victoria <>f England; >
Wedding Song, III. 18.
Frederick William III, Kini;<>f Prussia : I.
104, 185, 205.
"Freischutz, Der" : Opera by Weber, III.
Hi. 185.
l roudenberft, Kirl Gottfried : B .
111. 202
l round, Philip : \ i
••Iiruiuis, h.ifi aul dei Pi tie*
a I'Epi 0 G !
Frtedelberg : I
\ oik una «ir I
Frtedlowakj »etti«t : I
Pries. ( ...tint M..nt/ : I 172
Violin -
nds f'.r ;
Frimmel : "Beetho 1 I
Beethoven • V\
Bagal
■ - II. 15
Itzleri Prldxerl, Prizer
seidenen Schuhe, I
l"r\ . \\ illi.tm Hi ii r % . II,
Fuchs. Aloys : I, 104, 271 ' H
and Haydn, *- II
Will, .'^.")l ; solo lingi r i ! 1 1. *"•-.
868
Pucni : "Battle of I
flutes, II. I
Fugger. Count, ss : |
.1. iseph ( Hemens, I .
Fugues : B's opinion on II. 2C
Furateuberg,, Cardinal : I
in. 'lit «.f t be Electorate, 5; pol
tudes, ■"•. 1 1
Fuss, Johann : 0 "Romulus and B
mua," II. 804.
Fux, Joseph : "Gradui ad P . I.
158, l
Galltzln, Prince Georfe ! in
C.ilit/in. Prime Nicolas Boril I III
dedication, 81; the last Qu ui
asked t.. appeal t.> < !aar •'
102; controversy over payment
Quartets, 226
(,. til. -libera, Conn' Wenael Robert I
M irries < 'ountess ( iuieeinr.li. 1
associated trith I'
poser, II. i^ HI.
Gallenbera, Count
Guicciardi, !. 840
Galuppi : ' ►pera.i "II 1
I. 25; "I i Cal unit I di I
\ manii ridicoli," 21
Ganabacher : On \ ■-■'.
pallbearer el B's funei J, III
Gardiner, w 1111am :"Il ly. H
I. 181 . on the I
nfel i li< -." HI •
f..r an ..v.-rtur. •
( i.ir/i.i, 1 ran. BtCO '•
<<;
( ;.issniann I I ' Die 1
Handwerkera' I \ • .1
81,
( i. issuer : II:- ; ' ".
111. 106
328
General Index
Gaveaux : "Leonore, ou 1' Amour conjugal,"
II, 35, 36; "L'Amour filial," 37; "Le petit
Matelot," 36.
Gazanello : Pupil of B's father, I, 49.
"Geitzigen in der Falle, Die" : Opera by
Schuster, I, 108.
Gelinek, Abbe Joseph : Recommends B. to
Schenk, I, 152; his hatred of B., 152;
Czerny's anecdote, 152; on B's sketch-
books, 257.
"Gelosie villane, Le" : Opera by Sarti, I, 32.
"Geloso in Cimento, II" : Opera by An-
fossi, I, 32.
Genney, Countess von : II, 367.
George IV, King of England (see Prince
Regent) : II, 11; B's address to, III,
112, 113.
Gerardi, Christine von, Amateur singer :
I, 243; marries Joseph Frank, 243, 282;
letter to, 283; II, 3.
Gesellschaft der bildenden Kunstler" :
I, 182, 202,
Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde : I, 136,
203, 225, 230, 315; II, 15; commissions B.
to write an oratorio, 325, 330, 397; III, 15,
172 et seq.; 175, 216; elects B. Hon. Mem.,
175, 212.
"Giafar" : Opera-book projected for B., II,
205.
Giannatasio, Cajetan del Rio : B's Nephew
in his care, 331 et seq.; letters, 332, 349;
B. authorizes him to punish his ward, 373,
338, 392, 402, 410; a wedding hymn, III,
13.
Giannatasio, Fanny : On Archduke Ru-
dolph as B's pupil, II, 80: her diary, 341,
361, 403; III. 2, 50.
"Gioas, Re di Giuda" : Oratorio by Caldara,
I, 184.
Girando, M. F. de : I, 346.
Glaser, Franz : III, 81.
GJeichenstein, Count Ignaz von : I, 333;
becomes clerk in the War Department of
Austria, II, 14, 89, 104; letters from B.,
114, 132, 140, 155, 174, 175, 136, 138;
dedication of Sonata Op. 69, 141, 162, 305;
III, 295.
Gleimer, Claire von : III, 84.
Gloggl, Franz : B's visit to Linz, II, 230,
256.
Gluck : Operas "Die Pilgrimme von Mekka,"
I, 32, 108; "Alceste," I, 86; "Orfeo," 86;
"Iphigenia in Tauris," 315; II, 119.
Gneixendorf : Johann v. B. buys estate near,
III, 19. (See Lodgings and Johann van
BEETnOVEN.)
"God save the King" (see Index to Com-
positions) : II, 252, 310; Karl translates
stanza for B., Ill, 209.
Goethe : B's admiration for his poetry, I,
254; II, 147.— Vol. II: "Faust," 119;
"Egmont," 153 (see Compositions); "Is-
rael in der Wiiste," 167; "West-Ostliches
Divan," 167; "Wilhelm Meister," 176;
letter from Bettina von Arnim, 178; letter
to Bettina, 186, 189; asks for songs com-
posed by B., 189; letter from Bettina, 190
B's admiration, 194; letter from B., 197
letter to B., 197; at Teplitz, 222 et seq
goes with B. on a pleasure trip, 227; at
Karlsbad, 222, 224; describes B., 224; re-
buked by B. for his deference to royalty,
224, 226, 227; the meeting at Teplitz, 226.
— Vol. III. B's account to Rochlitz of his
meeting, 75; "Faust" music, 75, 220; asked
by B. to get subscription of Grand Duke
of Weimar, 98, 104; his taste in music, 99.
Gossec : I, 86.
"Gott erhalte unsern Kaiser" : I, 200;
III, 84.
Gottwaldt, Chamber Music Director at
Bonn : II, 11, 12.
"Graf Armand." (See Les deux Journees.)
Grahame, Scottish poet : His tribute to B.,
II, 290.
Grassalkowitz, Prince : I, 168.
Grassnick Sketchbook : I, 275; II, 160.
Gratz : B. sends music for Ursulines, II, 214,
246 et seq.; Musik-Verein at, elects B. Hon.
Mem., Ill, 72.
Graun : His "Tod Jesu," II, 89; B's judg-
ment on a fugue, 89.
"Great Mogul" : Haydn's designation of
B., I, 248.
Greiner, Michael, Tenor : III, 81.
Gretry : Operas "Silvain," I, 86; "L'Amant
jaloux," 31, 107; "L'Ami dela Maison," 31,
86; "L'Amitie a l'Epreuve," 31; "Lucille,"
31, 86; "Mariage des Samnites," 31;
"Eraste et Lucinde," 31; "Zemire et Azor,"
32, 86; "Les Evenements imprevus," 32;
"Le Magnifique," 86; "L'Amant jaloux,"
"La fausse Magie," 107; "Richard, Coeur
de Lion," 226, 305.
Griesinger : "Biographische Notizen iiber
Joseph Haydn," I, 249; III, 73, 76.
Grillparzer : I, 270; on B's dress, 322; III,
117; "Dragomira," 118, 122; "Ottokar,"
121; "Melusine," 118 et seq.; 135, 220;
torchbearer at B's funeral, 312; writes fun-
eral oration, 312; mother of the poet, I, 270.
Grimm, the brothers : II, 181.
Grosheim, Dr. G. L. : I, 292.
Grossmann, Mme. : I, 73.
Grossmann and Helmuth : I, 35, 36, 63,
69.
"Grotta di Trofonio, La" : Opera by
Salieri, I, 107.
Grove, Sir George : I, x, xii, xiii, xv, 336;
II, 122.
Guatelli, Bey and Pasha : I, 140.
Gudenau, Baron von : I, 88.
Guglielmo : Opera "Robert und Callista,"
I, 31, 109.
Guicciardi, Countess Giulietta : I, 243,
244; dedication of the Sonata in C-sharp
minor, 292, 322, 370; relations with B.,
319 et seq.; marries Count Gallenberg, 320;
General Index
pupil of B., Sii. hm portrait, S85, Ml; the
Rondo in 6, 870; Vol. II: 17. 106.
"Loyk An.uu.s." under "B., I. i
"Gunther von Schwarzburg" : Opera by
Holsbauer, I. 81, Bfl
"Gute Nachricht" : Drama by Treitschke,
II. 268, 870, 877, 817.
Gyrowetz : Respected by B., I. 841; on the
Basoumowsky Quartets, II. 75; pall*
bearer at B's funeral, III. :d^.
Habich, Dancing-master : I. 188.
Hagen, J. A. Freiherr vun : I. 80; "Wir
baben Ilm wieder," 81.
Habn, Christine Elizabeth : Wife of
Burger, II. 141.
Haitzinger, Singer : III. 83.
Hale, Philip : On the "Immortal Beloved,"
I, 846.
Halm, Anton, Pianist : II. W>, :iss; arranges
Pugue in B-tlut. III. 883.
"Hammerklavier" : II. 864.
Hammer-Purgstall : Book of an oratorio,
II, 1 18; influence on B., 167.
Handel : I, 18; duel with Matthison, 78;
86; "Judas Maccabeus," 80S, 805. — Vol. II.
Commemoration of. 12; "Messiah," 12,810,
'Mi: B's admiration for. 80; "Acis and
Galatea," 200, 171; "TSmotheus," 216;
"Samson," :?.">!»; " Bel-ha/zar," 858.— Vol.
III, It. on "Messiah," 135; "Alexander's
Feast," \si: B's estimate, 182; on lii- trum-
pets, 208; "Saul." 218; gift of bis scores to
B., *77. tlss, 288, 204, 286.
Handel and Haydn Society of Boston :
Commissions 15. to write an oratorio. III. ^ 7 .
Hanslick, Dr. Eduard : Makes known t h<-
(li-.-ov.-ry .if the Bonn cantatas, I. L80; "Ge-
schichte des Concertwesens in Wien," i-i'-i.
Hardenburg, von, Prussian Chancellor : II.
802.
Hiiring, Banker and amatmr musician : I,
286; II. 112.
Harrach, Count : I. 17^.
Hiirtel, G. C. : B. sends a letter of <on-
dolence, II. 200.
Hartl, Joseph. Director of Court Theatrt -
II. H7: resignation, 201.
Haslinger, Tobias, Music publisher : II.
■£'<.); "Ideal einer Schlacht," 278; Canon
on, III. 48, 44, 187, 168; B. attempt- ■
joke on him, 180; torchbearer at B's fun-
eral. 812.
Hatzfeld, Countess : I. 16, 87, 188.
Hatzfeld, Prince: [11,04.
Hauschka : "Gotl erhalte unsern Kaiser,"
I. 200.
"Hausfreund, Der" ("L'Ami de la Mai-
ion" I : I >i"'r;l by Greirj . I. 81.
Hausmann : Music lover in Merlin. I. \ii.
Haussler'sche Cesellschaft : Theatre in
Bonn, 1. 112.
Haveckaa, Erneat : I. 12.
Hawthorne : His uote-1 lea, I. 261.
Haydn. Joseph | Vol. 1 B
1 In. a" I
I I lfl I;
pupil, 1 '- ' ak>- I!
to London, 185; B
gives B
ment <>f aim ■
I ■ • e-een t!,. •
musi< . 171 ■■ I 171; I
ment on the I
of the - t, 186;
concert, 188; writ*
• lotto Boom, i
II run. 200 ! W - .
"I : I
ringer's biograpbj 140: 1
on B's "Prometheu < \ II-
to ha "• •• been Bridj II;
the Salomon i
Anna Milder, '<
Marie B
performed at birth
"Kitorno <li Tobia," Ml
for Thomson, 210, til
"In tempore b< Ui," 1
place ihown t.> B. on
Heckermanii, Panny : III. Bl
"Heilige Grab, Das" : I
II. i.
Heiligenstadt Will : I. II.
164.
Helm, Johann. Th. : Ii
"Heinrich und I.vda"
I. 81,
Heller, Perdlnand i l
Hellmeaberger, Georg : Oi roll
portrait of Count.-- BrUJ
Hellmesherger. Joseph : '
ment of a Violin I in 1
Henneherg. J. B. : ' ha] -m-
poser, I. 164; II. i
Hennes : Sees B. IS
fort.-. I. 58
Hetisel. Panny : On the overturn
\ I. Ii
lie., si, r. Carl Piiedrlcb : Ml • Bfl
Herbal : Born-player, 1. I
Herder : II. 167, lfl
"Hermann roil M.iufen"
\ >gler, II. i
"Hennann von Unna"
II. \
Herzofl), Man and ^ I f B: II. 1
Heaa-Dlller, Baronaaa I
Hcssc-t .issel : 1
[be for the Maat D. Ill
Heeee-Dannatadi I
in D. Ml. 87, I
"Hleronymua Inlckar"
dorf. I.
Ililh-r. Perdlnand : i > ■ - i: mt
of In- mi rting with B^ IIL 7*
of Humnu l'a riait 1 B
ifq.
330
General Index
Hiller, J. A. : Operas "Die Jagd," I, 32; "Der
Arndetanz," 32; "Dorfbarbier," 36; "Wo-
chentliche Nachrichten," 35.
Himmel, F. H. : Intercourse with B. in
Berlin, I, 196.
Hofdemel, Mme. : B. refuses to play for her
because of a scandal, I, 254.
Hofel, Blasius : Engraves Latronne's crayon
portrait of B., II, 287; his story of B's arrest
as a tramp, III, 42.
Hoffmann, E. T. A : On the C minor Sym-
phony, I, 307; II, 186; the canon on the
name, III, 34.
Hoffmann, Joachim : III, 35.
Hoffmann, Vincenz : III, 35.
Hoffmeister, Franz Anton : I, 271; letter,
271. (See Hoffmeister and Kuhnel.)
Hoffmeister and Kuhnel : Origin of firm,
I, 271; letters, 281, 286, 294, 366, 370;
III, 57; publish the works of Bach, I. 303.
"Hofschmied, Der" : Opera by Philidor,
I, 29.
Hogarth, George : "The Philharmonic So-
ciety of London," III, 110.
Hohenlohe, Princess Marie : II, 392.
Holland : Visited by B. as child, I, 66; B.
made Member of the Royal Institute of,
II, 147; III, 163.
Holz, Carl : I, 269, 276; and the bank stock,
326. — Vol. Ill: Becomes B's factotum,
194 et seq.; B's jests on his name, 196;
authorized by B. to write his biography,
197; insinuations against Schindler, 198;
letter from B., 216; B. on his playing, 216;
seeks to divert B., 237; reports on conduct
of Karl, 253; early in attendance on B.
at last illness, 273; marries, 281 ; collects last
annuity payment, 295; torchbearer at the
funeral, 312.
Holzbauer : Opera "Giinther von Schwarz-
burg," I, 31, 86.
Homer : Admiration felt for by B., I, 147.
Honig : Singer in "Fidelio," II, 278.
Honrath, Jeannetted' : 1, 120, 122; III, 288.
Horsalka, Johann : III, 15, 42.
Hotschevar, Jacob : I, 351; II, 401, 405;
guardian of B's nephew, III, 292.
Hradezky, Horn-player : I, 239.
Huber, Franz Xaver : I, 289; II, 7.
Hummel, Elizabeth : On B's admiration
for women, II, 181.
Hummel, Johann Nepomuk : Mozart's
pupil, I, 91; sketch of 240; letters from B.,
240, 274, 267; his falling-out with B., II,
108 et seq.; his wife a sister of Rockel, 142;
in performance of "Wellington's Victory,"
262; begins Pf. score of "Fidelio," 283;
canon for his album, 338; III, 290; at B's
death-bed, 301; improvises at concert, 302;
pallbearer at funeral, 312.
Hungary : Visited by B. in 1809, II, 154.
Hiittenbrenner, Anselm : Visited by
Thayer I, x; report of Salieri's remarks on
"Fidelio," II, 64, 355; overture to Schiller's
"Robbers," 355; his account of B's death,
III, 300, 306, 307 et seq.
Hiittenbrenner, Joseph : III, 79, 166.
"Idomeneus" : Opera by Mozart, II, 101.
Iken, Dr. Karl : A programme for the
Seventh Symphony, III, 37.
Imitative Music : II, 120.
"Immortal Beloved, The" : I, xvi. (See
Love Affairs, etc.)
"Improvvisata (L') o sia la Galanteria di-
sturbata" : Opera by Lucchesi, I, 27.
"Incognito, L' " : Opera by Sarti, I, 86.
"Inganno scoperto, L' " : Opera by Luc-
chesi, I, 27, 47.
Instruments owned by B. : I, 276.
"Iphigenia in Tauris" : Opera by Gluck,
I, 315; II, 119.
"Isola d'Amore, L' " : Opera by Sacchini,
I, 108.
"Israel in the Wilderness" : Oratorio by
by C. P. E. Bach, II. 388.
"Italiana in Londra, L' " : Opera by Cima-
rosa, I, 32.
Italy : B. projects journey to, II, 202.
Jacobs, Jacob : I, 42.
Jadin : "Battle of Austerlitz," II, 252.
"Jagd, Die" : Opera by Hiller, I, 31.
"Jager und das Waldmadchen, Der" :
Opera by Duni, I, 29.
Jahn, Otto : Visited by Thayer, I, xi, 63,
85; his account of B's visit to Mozart, 90,
153, 171, 329; on Countess Guicciardi's
marriage, 321; interview with the Countess,
322; examines love-letter, 328; his edition
of "Fidelio," II, 45, 285; note on the com-
positions sold to Clementi, 104; his opinion
on Schindler as biographer, 376.
Jeitteles, Alois : "An die feme Geliebte,"
II, 243.
Joachim, Joseph : I, xii.
Joseph Clemens, Elector of Cologne : I, 1,
3 et seq.; his favorites, 3; consecrated by
Fenelon, 3, 6; a unique composer, 4; his
music-chapel, 5; sides with Louis IV in
war, 5; restored to Electoral dignity, 6;
death of, 7.
Joseph I, Emperor of Germany : I, 6.
Joseph II, Emperor of Germany : I, 107;
death of, 130; interest in German opera, 163.
Josephstadt Theatre : Opening of, II, 81.
"Judah" : Oratorio by Gardiner, III, 40.
"Judas Maccabaeus" : Oratorio by Handel,
I, 202, 205.
"Julie" : Opera by Desaides, I, 29, 107.
Junker, Carl Ludwig : Describes B's Pf.
playing, I, 114.
Kafka, J. N. : His sketchbook, I, 205, 206,
209, 210, 261, 362.
Kaiser, Fraulein, Singer : III, 81.
Kalischer, Dr. A. C. : I, 235; his collection
of B's letters, 255, 278, 293; and the "Im-
mortal Beloved," 336, 337.
General Index
331
Kanka, Councillor : I, 194, I
Kanka, Jeannctte : 1. 19
Kanka, Dr. Johann : Effects ■ 'mi[>r.ir:.
with Kinsky's heirs, II. 288, 19 I
Kanne, Friedrich August : 11. 158; III.
117, 17(i.
Kant, I m ma nu el : B. refuses to hear lecturer
on, I. 182; II. 166, 2] I. 167; 111, 25.
Karajan, Prof. : 1. \i :.; II. 309
Karl, Duke of Lorraine, Archduke "f Aus-
tria : I. 77. 288; II. 12.
Karlsbad : B's visit to. II.
Karth, Frau : 1. 7:.. 108, 117. 119; descrip.
tion <>f B's brothers, S58.
Kastner, Emil : 1 1 i ^ estimate <>f B's letters.
I, 255.
KaufmanniscluT Vereln <>l Vienna : Eh
1?. Bon. Mem., III. 21.
"Kaufmann von Smyrna, Der" : ( hpera by
Juste, I. 82.
Kayser, Joseph, [nstrument maker : I, in.
kees. von, Courl Councillor : 1, 166, 170.
Keglevich, Countess "Kabette" : I. 209,
■£-i~, tl~>; >;iid t" have been one >>f B's I
318; dedication to her, 318.
Keglevich de Busin, Count Karl : I. tl.~>.
"Kein Dienst bleibt unbelohnt" : Opera,
I, 108.
Kericb, Abraham, Helens (Mme, von
Breuning), and Stephen : I, its, 99, Ml.
Kessler : Sketchbook, I. 289, 368, 371.
Kewerich, Heinrich. Electoral > ""k : I,
49; his widowed daughter marries the
father <>f B., 1. 49.
kiesewetter, R. (;. : I. «0.
Kilitzky, Fraulein : II. 129.
Kinsky, Prince Ferdinand : 1, 170, 172;
II, 113; subscribes in the Annuity Con-
tract, 139, 146; hi- payments, IT". 17^.
i20.3, 213, 222; ;iL.'n-<-s to pay in notes "f
redemption, 242; reduction <>f obligation
by th«- Finanz- Patent, *\-i; B. begins legal
proceedings againsl bis h<-ir>, 259, 288;
settlement, 806; sum paid annually under
the contract, 306.
Kinsky, Princess : Dedication o( Op.
7."). [I, in.",; letter from B., -i i 3.
Kinsky. Prince Joseph : I, 170.
Kirnbersier : I, 159.
Klein, Prof. : Makes mask "f B's face, II.
221; III. .ill.
Kllngemann : Bis drama "Moses," II. -'''7.
Kloher, August von : Paints B's p-Tt r;ii t ,
11. 399.
Klopstock : B's admiration for his poetry,
I. 254; HI. 75.
Kilos Theatrical Troupe: I. 105.
Kneisel, Dr. C. M. l I. ■">■"..
Kobler Family : I. 285.
Koch, Barbara "Babette") : I. 117. lis.
17s.
Koch, Friar Willibald : Gives organ lessons
t., I'. . I. 64.
Kttchel : Collection of B's letters, II. 248
k.i. Ewara : "Battle I Pi .■ 1 1. I
"KOnlg Axur" : n I
"Kdnlg % • . 1 1 \ enedig" "II B 1
( >|..r.i II' I
Konneritz, ron i I Mass in D, 111.
97, I
Kopfermann, Albeti : I, i
Kdrner, Theodor i < ta rail
1 ocerto, II. 212
Koschak, Marls : I, 118
Kdster-Schlegel, - - III
Kotzebuc : i l » - i
I I . I IDt Of II:
Leibkul n hi r Peters III" I; "H
Athen," 161, 201; B. aslu hii
I It, 219
KoSeluch, I sopold : 1. 172 I - the
Bidotto, 188; on the I ■ I *7 1 .
II. dn, ^7 1 ; and Thoi
B's "Miserabilis," 2]
Thomson, *'»".
Kraft, Anion : 1. 170 II,
B, 11.
Kraslnsky, Rochus i 1 1
krehbiel. II. I.. : I odertaki
of Thayer's biographj .1.
original manusi nipt, t iii . i omm u
with Thayer and I liters, •» ii
dun-, x\ ■; on t he < !-sharp
292; "The Pianoforte and
defen f Thayer's hypothesis
the "'I m mortal Beh 17. ■ »n the i
letter, 9 16 et tea.; "M
in the Classical Period." II. 11; III.
mi the overtures to "Fidelio," II. 59.
Kreissle. Beinrlcfa v<m : 1 1 1
Krenn, Michael : III. 241, H
Krenn, Mum.- Director : 1 1
Kretscnmer : "Deutsche ^ - I
Kreutzer, Conradln : III. 166
at B's funeral,
kreutzer. Rudolph : II. 9, *1
Kriehuber : Imitates Deck
III. 176.
Krupp : Court Councillor, on D
I 61.
Kuchler, Johann : 0
KudUch, Joseph : I itor "f i
III. 1.
Kuenberg, Countess i I.
Kuffner, Christian : Bis texl of tl '
II. 129, 1 • «n
oratorio, III. 219
Kuhlau, Friedrich : \ isil I B., Ill
KUnstler-Pensions-InstlCul : I ^n
Kurxbeck, M me. , A | : II. 2
Kyd, Major-GenersJ Meander : •
missions B. to write i
I ablacbe. Singer III, 77, L21, SI
1 albacb : Philharmoni - ' - ,!
II D Mi .111.1 k
l stands : 111.77
332
General Index
La Mara (Marie Lipsius) : I, 292, 336; letter
from Thayer on the "Immortal Beloved,"
I, 339; her book, 339; "Classisches und
Itomantisches aus der Tonwelt," 338; II,
203.
Landsberger : Sketches, II, 73.
Landshut University : III, 4.
Languider, Karoline : On B's love-affairs,
I, 341.
Latilla : Opera "La Pastorella al Soglio,"
I, 26.
Latronne : Makes crayon portrait of B., II,
287.
Laym, Maria Magdalena (or Leym) : B's
mother. (See Beethoven, Johann van.)
Lebewohl and Adieu : Differentiated by B.,
II, 207.
Ledermeyer, Editor in Vienna : II, 359.
Leipsic : B's intended visit to, I, 192, 198.
"Leipsic Oxen" : B's term for critics, I,
282, 304.
Lentner, Mme., Court singer : I, 18, 19.
Lenz : Critical catalogue of B's works, I,
272; on the Rasoumowsky Quartets, II, 75.
"Leonora" : Opera by Paer, II, 35, 37.
"Leonore Prohaska" : Drama by Duncker,
II, 298.
"Leonore, ou l'Amour conjugal" : Opera
by Gaveaux, II, 35, 36.
Leopold I, Emperor of Germany : I, 5, 6.
Leopold II, Emperor of Germany : I, 163,
164.
Levin, Rahel : II, 204.
"Libussa" : Opera-book by Bernard, III,
173.
Lichnowsky, Prince Carl : Takes B. into
his lodgings, I, 148, 168, 170; Trios Op. 1
first played at his house, 175; commands
servant to give B. precedence over him,
182, 190; probable visit to Prague with B.,
193, 244; gives B. quartet of instruments,
276, 286; settles annuity on B., 298, 299,
II, 9; visited by B. in Silesia, 66; abrupt
departure of B., 68, 104, 123, 146; visited
by B. in Silesia, 208; undisturbed friend-
ship for B., 215; with B. at Teplitz, 222;
unwillingness to disturb B. when at work,
254; death of, 271.
Lichnowsky, Princess Christine : II, 124,
271.
Lichnowsky, Countess Henrietta : I, 244;
de dication, 370.
Lichnowsky, Princess Maria Christine :
I, 170; dedication to, 290.
Lichnowsky, Count Moritz : I, 213, 235;
dedication to, 369; story of Bonaparte and
the "Eroica," II, 24; letters from B., 262,
290; marriage with an opera-singer, 291;
III, 24; on Johann van B., 67; B's musical
jest, 115; agrees to guarantee Grillparzer's
opera, 121, 158, 294.
"Liebe unter den Handwerkern"
("L'Amore artigiano") : Opera by Gass-
mann, I, 31.
Liebich, Carl : General Manager of Bo-
hemian Theatres, II, 110.
Liechtenstein, Baron Carl August : I, 286,
304; "Bathmendi," 304; "Die steinerne
Braut," 305; II, 2.
Liechtenstein, Prince Johann Joseph : I,
171, 244.
Liechtenstein, Princess : I, 244; dedication
to, 291.
"Lilla" : Opera by Martini, I, 108, 109.
Lincoln, Abraham, President of the U. S. :
appoints Thayer Consul, I, x.
Lind : B's tailor, II, 164.
Lind-Goldschmid, Jenny : Once owner of
the Heiligenstadt Will, I, 351.
Lindner, Andreas, Dancing-master : I, 147.
Linke, Violoncellist : I, 174, 316; II, 124, 125,
316, 319, 337; III, 294, 312.
Linz : B's visit to his brother at I, 229.
Lipsius. (See La Mara.)
"Listige Bauernmadchen, Das" (La finta
Giardiniera") : Opera by Paisiello, I, 108.
Liszt, Franz : Gets B's Broadwood Pf., II,
392; is presented to B., Ill, 124; the alleged
kiss, 124.
Lobkowitz, Prince : I, 168; amateur violin-
ist, 169; his orchestra, 239; dedication of
quartets, 276, 290; II, B's epithet, "Lobko-
witzian ass," 51, 98; suggests engagement
of B. at Court Theatres, 99; dedication
of "Eroica," 77, 110, 113; subscribes to
annuity contract, 139, 146; dedication of
"Harp" Quartet, 160; dedication of Fifth
Symphony, 162; the Annuity Fund, 170,
172; dedication of Quartet, Op. 74, 195;
assumes direction of Court Theatres, 201;
reduction of his obligation under Annuity
Contract, 212; suspends payment, 213;
ruined by theatrical management, 250; the
annuity obligation, 289; settlement of, 306;
B's aspersions on his character, 307; can-
tata on his birthday, 354.
"Lodoi'ska" : Opera by Cherubini, II, 3.
Lodron, Count : II, 98.
Loewe, Ludwig : Actor for whom B. acts
as love messenger, II, 205.
London Musicians : B's appeal to, II, 273.
Longfellow, Henry W. : II, 193.
Lonsdale, Charles : Partner of Robert
Birchall, II, 319, 346, 350, 351.
Lonsdale, Robert : II, 319.
Louis XVIII, King of France : Subscribes for
the Mass in D and strikes medal in B's
honor, III, 100.
Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia : Am-
ateur musician complimented bv B., I,
196; and the "Eroica," II, 26, 32, 302.
Lower Rhenish Festival : III, 188.
Lucchesi, Andrea : Appointed successor to
B's grandfather, 1, 22 ; "I" I nga nno scoperto,"
27, 47; "Le Donne sempre donne," 26; "II
Natale di Giove," 26; "LTmprovvisata,"
27; sketch of, 34, 71, 73, 74, 82.
"Lucille" : Opera by Gretry, I, 31, 86.
( . eneral Index
■
"Liignerin aus I.iehe" : Opera bj Salieri,
I. 82.
Luib, Ferdinand i I. K
Lwoff, Etuasiau Privy Coancillor : II. 75
"Macbeth" : Opera-book by Collin, 11, n I,
HI, 158; another, 111. 117.
Macco, Alexander i 11. 1 3, i .' i
Macfarrsn, Natalie i III. ESI
"Mack-hen im Eichthale" M I of the
Oaka") : Opera by d'Antoine, 1.
"Madchen ron Fraacatl, Daa" : Opera by
PaiaieUo, 1. in?.
"Magnifiqus, I.e" : Opera by Gretry, I.
B6.
Mahler, \\ illibrord Joseph, Painter: Viaited
by Thayer, 1. \i. 146; 11. painta portrait
(pf B., 1"'. 805; anecdote about "Fidelio,"
51; invited by B., 198.
"Maid of the Oaka" : Opera by d'Antoine,
1. 32.
Malfatti, Dr. : II, 86, 141; sends B. to I
lit '. 102, 280; insulted by B . 845,
III. at B's last illness, *? i, 288; estrange-
ment ami reconciliation, i!M, *s.",; his
treatment <>f B., 286, 287, *'.>*.
Malfatti, Therese : I, xvi, tf'.ii; alleged j>r<>-
posal of marriage to by B., 888, 886; II.
141; sketch of, II, 86, i0(3; letter t<>, 176,
2 to
Malherbe, Charles : I, 189,
Malines : Van Beethoven families living in,
I. 41
Malzel, Johann Nepomuk : Career >>f, II,
282 it teq.i makes ear-trumpet f"r 15.. i
invents metronome, 288; tin- canoi his
oame, 284 ■' n , ; lends M. money, 245;
conceives "Wellington's Victory," 251
et teq.i his mechanical trumpeter, 251, i'<~.
261; hi-, panharmonicon, *">l; contem-
plates accompanying It. to England, 251,
255; projects concert for production of
"Wellington's Victory," *•"><'>; B's oote "f
thanks to, 258; quarrels with B., it ■
proc lings, ^71 et teq.i American career
and death of, 276, :5si.
Mandycswski, Euaebiua \ I. •z\*k 228
"Marchess Tulipano, II" i Opera bj P
siello, I. ins.
Marconi, Singer : II, 129.
Maria Ludovlca, Empress : III. 142.
Maria Theresia : I. 77. Bl; dedication of
Septet, *7s, 288; sings part in an opera by
Eteicha, 810.
"Mariage des Samnltes, I.e" : Opera by
Gretry, I. 31.
Marie Antoinette : I. 78.
Marinelli, Manager "f theatre in Vienna I.
164.
Marlborough, F.arl of : I. 6.
Marschner, Helnrlcfa : Visits B., II.
Marshall, Julian : I. 1 W.
Martini : I. s7; " krbore di Diana. L*," 1"7;
"Lilln." 108. 109.
'•lot I ima
Mars, A. B.:Onl -
disputes genuineness <
i Arnim. 1 i
M. in. m. 1 OWSlI : I 1
lll-r..- . . 1. \; pr..\ ..;. , f .
-■ bes, \
MasrJaux, Johann Gottli< .r in
"Matsriallsn tor Contrapunkt" : 11. 147,
150.
"Matsriallsn fur Gsnsralbass" : II, i it.
150.
"Mstrlmonlo aegrsto, I!'" 0
( 'imurosu, I .
Matihisou : HU duel ii I
Matthlaaon. i |
( !ompositioi
M.ittioli, Cajetano, i of : I. 84. 82
Maurer, B. J., < ourt violi I. 24,
81, 62, •
Max 1 ran/., Elector ' • I 16;
■hares his mistress with his Pni
16; his dance-room,
on music al bis i ourl , 82; the I
his reign, B6; i arei r, 77
by Swinburne and M
education, Bl; his appreciation "f
si ; music in Bonn during bi
knights Count Waldatein, l"^. plaru
national theatre, 105 . Ill;
pa! ronage <>f B., 1 1<;. limit
Ui: tlccs before Pren< h troops, 12
t'rain ami salary iu> rease to H . l ;
Vienna, 17:», Bees to Frankfort, r I
charged <>f all obligations, i I
Vienna, *'">7; Archduke Karl to
■I; tttOT as ( i rami M ist.-r of I
Order, *s7: in retirement it He!
288.
\l.i\ Friedrich, Elector of < I. I;
ascends throne, 11; career, 14; In* P
Minister, 1 k; his popularil
by Henry Swinburne, l'i; m
i 6 appoint - B igi mdfather < I
17; promises composer's fath
17; grants an in. rease, 19, M
Lucchesi successor t.i B - .
• a performed at bis ■ t>url I
birthday celebration, *•'•; plays al
theatre, 17, 28, 29; I
of his death, 88; ded
hood Sonatas, 1 1
Electoral Theatre, 78; ts B. A
ant < 'ourt 0 '• " l
effect <'f his death on B., 7<
education, so
Maximilian I matiiu I. I
!. 7
Maximilian H.inriih. I
I
Maximilian JoSSph, I
.m <>f the < 'boral l
Mas encs, krehbiab LS
334
General Index
Mayseder, Joseph : I, 274; II, 41, 125, 216;
E-flat Sonata Quartet, II, 193; torchbearer
at B's funeral. Ill, 312.
"Medea" : Opera by Cherubini. II, 3.
Medina, Maria : Wife of Vigano. dancer I,
283, 284.
Mehul : Opera "Ariodante," II. 23.
Meier, Sebastian : Mozart's brother-in-law,
II, 4, 50; letter to. about "Fidelio." 61. 209.
Meinert : Sketchbook, II. 150. 161.
Meisl, Carl : Changes "Ruins of Athens" to
"Consecration of the House," III, 79;
drama, 82.
Meissner, Prof. A. G. : Oratorio text, II, 19.
Melichar, Ilka : I, 342.
"Melusine" : Opera-book by Grillparzer,
III, US etseq.; 135, 220.
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Felix : Descrip-
tion of Dorothea Ertmann, II, 83.
Mendelssohn, Paul : I, xii; owner of
sketches for "Fidelio," II, 45.
Merz, Julius : Publishes B's letter to Bettina
von Arnim, II, 182, 185.
"Messiah" : Handel's oratorio, II, 310,
312; III, 135, 182, 296.
Metastasio : "Olimpiade," I, 204; "Betulia
liberata," III, 143.
Metronome (see Malzel) : II, 382; marks
for the Ninth Symphony, III, 244.
Meyer, Court Councillor von : Amateur,
I, 172.
Meyerbeer, Giacomo : II, 39, 256; beats
drum at performance of "Wellington's
Victory," 258; B's opinion of, 297; "Die
beiden Caliphen," 297.
Mickley, Joseph J. : II, 385.
Mihl (or Muhle) : Opera "Milton und El-
mire," I, 31.
Milder-Hauptmann, Anna : II, 49; and
"Fidelio," 64; quarrels with B., 129, 263,
278, 284, 329.
Milton, John : II, 169.
"Milton und Elmire" : Opera by Mihl, 31.
"Moda, La" : Opera by Baroni, I, 27.
"Molinara, La" : Opera by Paisiello, I, 187.
Molitor : Amateur in Vienna, II, 2.
Mollo, Publisher : His publication of a
Quintet, controversy, I, 294.
Molt, Theodore : Visitor to B. from Que-
bec, III, 211.
Mombelli, Singer : I, 188.
Monsigny : Operas "Le Deserteur," I, 31;
"Felix, ou l'Enfant trouve," 32, 109; "Rose
et Colas," 29, 86.
Moor, The : Haydn's nickname for !>., I, 146.
Moravian nobility : Their musical culture,
I, 168.
Morris, Jack : Brings score of "Mount of
Olives" to London, II, 309.
"Morte d'Abel, La" : Opera, I, 14.
Moscheles, Ignaz : His English paraphrase
of Schindler's biography, I, ix; visited by
Thayer, xi, 241; on the first performance
of the Choral Fantasia, II, 130; composes
marches for Malzel's panharmonicon, 351;
tells of the composition of "Wellington's
Victory," 253; his account of the perform-
ance, 358; on the Trio, Op. 97, 270; makes
Pf. score of "Fidelio," 281, 282; first meet-
ing with B., 282; "Fidelio," 303; B's opinion
of as a pianist, 381; III, 289, 290, 291. 293.
Mosel, Ignaz von : II, 358, 386; at B's fun-
eral, III, 312.
Moser : Violinist in Vienna, II, 8.
Mozart : Education derived from his father,
I, 85; B's visit to 89, 90; his morning con-
certs in Vienna, 166; relations with Mme.
Hofdemel, 254, 305; B's admiration for
the Concerto in C minor, 219; B's apprecia-
tion, II, 89; III, 42; Cherubini's estimate
of his genius, 205; B. defends authenticity
of his "Requiem," III, 233; the "Requiem"
played at B's funeral, 312; his operas
"Die Entfiihrung aus dem Serail," I, 32,
107, 109; "Don Giovanni," I, 91. 107, 163,
193, 204; II, 204; III, 42; "Le Nozze di Fi-
garo," I, 82, 108, 163, 193; "II Re Pastore,"
I, 81; "Die Zauberfiote," I, 164, 226, 304;
II, 22; III, 36; "La Clemenza di Tito,"
I, 194; II, 110; "Idomeneus," II, 101.
Miiller, Adolph : And B's orchestration of
the funeral march from the Sonata in E-
flat, Op. 26, II, 295.
Miiller, Chancellor : II, 180.
Miiller, Louise : Singer at first performance
of "Fidelio," II, 49.
Miiller, Wenzel, Chapelmaster : I, 164.
Miiller, W. Christian : His account of B.,
III, 36.
Mylich : I, 210, 231.
"Nach Frankreichs unheilvollem Sturz":
Cantata text left uncomposed, II, 292.
Nagel, W. : "Beethoven und seine Klavier-
sonaten," I, 293.
Nagele : Projects publication of Bach's works,
I, 304; publishes sonata with interpolated
measures, 367; "Repertoire des Claveci-
nistes," II, 20, 38.
"Nanerina e Pandolfo" : Opera by Du-
tillier, I, 165.
Napier, William : Publishes Haydn's ar-
rangements of Scottish songs, II, 70.
Naples : A call thither for B., II, 194; King
of, and the Mass in D, III, 90.
Napoleon. (See Bonaparte.)
Natorp, Mme. (See Sessi.)
Naumann, Chapelmaster : II, 19.
Neate, Charles : English pianist, visited by
Thayer, I, xi; B's story on origin of his
deafness, 263; II, introduced to 1?., 315;
buys overtures for the London Philhar-
monic Society, 333; defends himself against
B's charges, 349; unable to help B. in
London. 337; letters from B., 339, 351,
352, 367; III, enjoined "For God's sake
buy nothing of B.," 52; seeks publisher for
B.'in London, 73, 183, 186.
General Imh.x
N'eefe, C. G. : Appoint isor t>. \
den Beden as < !ourt < trganist, I I joins
Dramatic < ... at Bonn, SO; music f"r court
festival, SI; opera "Heinrich und Lyda,"
81, 86; "Die Apotheke." 81; "Sopho-
nisba," in Bonn
S3; career of 84; "Amor's Guckkaaten,"
86; "Die I sprUche." 86; "Zemire and
A instrumental compositional
" Vdelheit von Veltheim." :17; ode, 87J
tea bi - B., 61, 62, 67 et sag.; leaves bis
* 1 » * t i . — . as org mist to the boy H . 60;
"Materialien fur Contrapunkl bis
duties a- Court Organist, 71, 78; dis-
missed, 7:'.; with Klos' troupe, 1""'; B's
appreciation ol bim as teacher, 88, HI,
1 12; his daugh(
Nelson, I ord : Not commemorated in the
"Eroica," II. 25.
Niemetz : 1>. — lute companion <>f !'•
nephew, III. -i~<t. 255, 258.
Nlkelsberg, Carl \ikl Bdler von •. I, -m-,
dedication "f Concerto in B-flat, I. 290.
"Nina" : Opera by Dalayrac, I. 107, Ms.
"Nobilita delusa, I a" : Opera, I, *<">.
Nohl, Ltldwlg : 1, 292; on B. ami Count
Guiodardi, 821; on Therese Malfatti, 388,
I; mi tin- letter to Bettina von Arnim,
II. is.".: "Eine stille Liebe bu Beethoven,"
862; "Beethoven, Liszt und Wagner,"
III. 124.
Nottebohm : "Zweite Beethoveniana," I.
71. 76, 261; "Beethoven's Studien," I. 156,
216; "Beethoveniana," I. 156. 261; "Kin
Skizzenbuch von Beethoven," ^"»^. 804;
on B's studies with Albrechtsberger and
Haydn, 151, 158; on the text ol the Choral
Fantasia, II. 133; on the date of the P< tter
sketchl k, II. 151; on the canon on HutT-
mann, III.
Novello, Ewer and Co. : I. \iii; III. 1
\m\ ello, \ incent : II. 12.
"\ozze, Le" : Opera by Galuppi, I, 28
"Nozze di Figaro, Le : Opera l>\ Mo /art,
I. B2, ins. [6 I, 193.
"Nozze disturbata, Le*1 : Ballet by Vigano,
I, iss. 193.
NussbSck, Leopold : Guardian "f B*a
nephew, III. B.
Nussdorf. See Lodgings.)
"Oberon" : Opera by Wranitzky, I. 165.
Obreskow : Russian official, III. mi. 102.
Odelga : III. mi. [02.
Odescalchi, Prime \ I. 209, 244.
Odescalchl, Pritu-t-ss : I, -a:.. .1. dication t.>.
290; taught by B., 'Mt\ dedication to,
869.
"Ode to Joy" : Schiller's, I 132, 875; II. 162,
*!>.-.. H l; III. l 15, 1 16, i is ,1 mo.
"Odyssey" : Homer's, I. 252
"Olimplade" : Opera by Sacchini, I.
Ollva, Franz : Ili^ relations with B., II.
1H5; dedication i". 161; delivers B's letter
B., <:.'". Hi. t ■
n
Operas perform*
I. 25, 26, I
Oppersdorff, < ounl : I
B-l , 1 1 , 68. 1 0 1 . 1 22
"Orfeo" • Opera I I . I
Osslan : B j
( iiiiliimi : "Dcr 1 I
Ovid : His "M
B. on II I. 21
Pachler«Koschak, Mme. : r
for, II, 282; III. I W
I'. n ln.r. Die dr.-i" : ' ' \ ■
I. 1
Paer, Ferdinand : i
and t hit in the I I
"Achilles." 290 D II.
*; "Leonora," 1 1.
Paislello : < '!•• "•. I. wi "Ls
Frascatana," In;, -II [1
"II Re I • odoi "La 1
niera," 108 "La llolinara." 187; II
M i r. hese Tulip ino," 108; II. I
Palestrlna : Preferred over all
B.. III. 2
Palffy, Count Ferdinand : II, I I
K r • ' nst B., l"". l >
tion "f < !ourt I
"Fidelio" fur the Congress nf Vien
and the ' ol 181 I.
Symphonj , III. 157
"Paradise Lost" \ II,
Parke : "Musical Memoi «," II. \ i.
Parma, Duchess of : \ i
Grand l>uk.' of TUS4 uiv I
the Mass in 1». III. 101.
Pasqualatl, Baron Johann fl
Karl \ an B's declar
.ship nf Ins - II. H\ ;
linst M ..!••! . -d 8 B ; the "I
in memory ..f his «if--. 28 HI
Sei Lodgini
"Pastorella al Softlto, I s" lOpa I
Paul, < tar of l: II. BI
i'a> it. Hleronj mus, 1 1. 26
Perger, A. von : 1 1
I. 21 1
Perftolesl : "La Serva P I
Perkins, Chariest . :"H M
and Haydn 1 1 1 v ~
Persian I i itr.it or.-
Pesslak, Mme. i II 52; III
Pest h : n \ • ; itre
■t<n). opening «.f. *'s
Peters, I I ■ Publisher : v-
Mass in I ' and other woi ,1
. ||
works sent by P . 65; ad >-nt
■ I bim, l
336
General Index
buke and ultimatum, 212; B. calls him a
"hell-hound," 216.
Peters : Tutor to Prince Lobkowitz and
co-guardian of B's nephew, II, 326, 354;
III, 10, 24, 32.
"Petit Matelot, Le" : Opera by Gaveaux,
II. 36.
Petter Collection : Sketches by B., I, 274,
290; II. 118, 151, 209.
Pfeiffer, Tobias : Gives music lessons to B.,
I, 62. 63.
Philharmonic Society of London. (See
under B., Ludwig van.)
Philidor : "Der Hofschmied," I, 29; his
operas at Bonn, 86.
Pianoforte : Presented to B. by Erard, II,
21.
Pianoforte : Presented to B. by Broadwood,
II, 390 et stq.; Ill, 214. 237.
Piccini : Operas "La buona Figluola." I, 25,
26, 32; "Le Aventure di Rodolfo." 26; "La
Schiava," 32.
Pictures and Music : II. 249. 262.
Pilat, Joseph : II. 359.
"Pilgrimme von Mecca, Die" : Opera by
Gluck. I. 32. 108.
Pinterics, Captain : II, 235, 327; III, 32.
Piringer : III, 62. 137, 157; torchbeaier at
B's funeral, 312.
Plato : His inBuence on B.. I. 213.
Pleyel, Ignatz : His quartets, II. 44; his
arrangements of Scottish songs, 70, 260.
Plittersdorf, Mme. : II. 179.
Plutarch : I, 252, 300.
Polledro : Joins B. in concert for sufferers
at Baden, II, 225.
Popularity of B's Works : II. 38.
Portenschlag, Viennese editor : II, 359.
"Prachtige, Der" ("Le Magnifique") :
Opera by Gretry, I. 86.
Prague : B. plays in. I, 192; music in, 193:
B. gives concert in, 217: production of
"Fidelio" in, II, 110; visit of B. in 1812.
222.
Preisinger, Bass singer : III, 164.
Prelinger, Editor of a collection of B's
letters : I, 336.
Prichnowsky, Prince : II, 8.
Prieger, Dr. E. : I. 88; owner of fragment
of Wind Quintet. 206, 211- publishes fac-
simile of Sonata Op. 26, 291; reprint of
original "Fidelio/* II. 45, 58.
Prince Regent of England : B. sends him
"Wellington's Victory," II. 310. 311. 318.
336, 339; III, 112. 208.
Probst, H. A., Publisher • B offers him the
Ninth Symphony and Mass in D, III. 178.
Programme Music : II, 119; the Sonata
Op. 90, 292; B. objects to programme of
the Seventh Symphony. III. 37.
Pronay, Baron von : II. 367.
Prussia, Kings of : Frederick William sub-
scribes to Mass in D, III, 94; offers
decoration instead of money, 94, 105;
dedication of the Ninth Symphony to„
230, 233. 234; sends B. a ring 133, 276,
282; Frederick II reputed to be the father
of B., III,*243.
Piickler-Muskau : Bettina von Arnim's
letter to. II. 186. 188, 223.
Punto, Giovanni (Johannes Stich), Horn-
player : I. 239, 267, 277.
Pyne, English singer : II, 310.
Quartet of Instruments : Presented to B.„
I, 354.
"Queen of Night" : B's nickname for his
sister-in-law, II, 332, 341, 393.
Rabelais : His last words and B's, III, 305.
Raday, Count : Ruined by theatrical
management, II, 154.
Radicati, Felix : II, 75.
Radichi, Singer : II, 265.
Radziwill, Prince Anton : II, 302; his
"Faust" music, 302; subscribes for the
Mass in D, III, 94, 104, 106.
Ramm, Friedrich, Oboist : I, 207; II, 33, 34.
"Raoul, Sire de Croqui" : Ballet by
Vignano, I, 283.
"Raptus" : Mme. Breuning's expression
for B's occasional state, I, 118, 120, 301;
II, 182, 189.
Rasoumowsky, Count Andreas : Appeals
to B. for lessons in composition, I, 273;
the Quartets composed for him, II, 65, 68,
74,81, 104, 110, 124; forms the Rasoumow-
sky Quartet, II, 125; sketch of him, 81;
dedication of the Fifth Symphony, 162;
lasting friendship with B., 215; his Quar-
tet, 250; regal entertainments at the Con-
gress of Vienna, 300; destruction of his
palace, 301; the Quartet, 316.
Rau, Viennese banker : Reports receipt of
Philharmonic Society's gift to B., Ill, 292;
reports B's death to Moscheles, 293.
Raysbeck, Mme. : One of the favorites of
Elector Joseph Clemens, I. 3, 4.
Redoutensaal : Dances for, I. 188. 289.
Reeve, Dr. Henry : Criticism on "Fidelio,"
II, 52.
Reicha, Anton : I. 105; career of 106. 117;
comes to Vienna. 288, 300; opera "Ubaldi,"
310. 355; II. 55.
Reicha, Joseph : I, 82, 84, 105; career of,
100. 111.
Reichardt, Johann Friedrich : Chapel-
master in Berlin. I, 196; on Countess
Erdodv, II, 82; on Streicher's pianofortes,
87. 124; account of B's concert, 129; and
B's call to Jerome Bonaparte's court. 141;
value of his letters, 165.
Reichardt, Karl August : Visits B., Ill,
203.
Reiss, Anton : Father-in-law of Karl v. B .
II, 65
Reiss, Theresa (Johanna) : Wife of Karl
Kaspar v. B , II, 65.
( ! en era l Index
Reissie, C. L. : His poems, II. 147; • !••-
im ed by I? . l 18; "Bltimchen der
Einsamkeit," I published, I
Rellst.ib. Ludwlg : \ isits 1? . Ill, BOO
"Reue \<>r der riuit. We" : Opera by
Desaides, I
Rhine : Inundation, I. 75; journey on, ol the
I rtoral < bapel, I 12
"Richard Coeur de lion" : Opera by
(.retry, I, 220, S05.
Rlemann, Dr. Hmio : Complete! r>-% i -<i< >n
«>f the German edition of this biography,
I. w; on the authenticity <>f the Jena"
Symphony. 211; upholds chai iin>t
B - brothers, 500; asserts thai B. wanted
tn marry Tberese Malfatti, :>:>''.; his theory
ncermng the love-letter, II. *
Riee, Ami. i Maria, Court singer at Bonn :
1. is. i!>. 23
Ries, Ferdinand : Vol. I. "Biographische
N itixen," etc., be, \i. !••». :<]:<. :'>l". .
B*s manuscripts, 141; on !>■> studies with
Haydn, \~>t; on B's teachers, 101; on the
tir-t performance of tin Trios <>p 1, 175;
B's riding-horse. 200; Quintel Op, 10, 207;
Quintet Op. 29, 208, 812; his career, 812
et .<' | . B's kindness toward, 813; instruc-
tion from B., rill; arrangements <>f B's
works, 'l')^: origin oi the Marches for four
bands, 850; <>n B's deafness, .\'>i. <■!
of mi-, onduct against Karl Kaspar v. B.,
881; B's interest in him, .'ft;.!; B. aids him
to employment, 386 — Vol. II. Bis account
of fir-t performani e of "The Mount of
Olives," ?: Ins account of the first meeting
between B. and Clementi. 23; on the origin
of the "Eroica," tfV; an alleged false entry
in the "Eroica," •£'>: plays at a sentimental
scene fur B.. •*'.); letters from B.. *7. *s. 29.
884, 888, 340, 871. 395. 112, US; plays the
the C minor concerto, :!i», s^; significant
hiatus in his bonk, 41; 15. greets him with
lathered face. 48; not permitted to hear a
reading of "Fidelio," is-, conscripted, 19;
on B's disregard of etiquette, S(|. 124;
Orchestra refuses to plav fur B., 1^; the
Concertos in C minor and <!. 181; on B's
call to Cassel, 1 10, 810, 324, 325; invites
B. tn London, 870; relations with IV.
872.— Vol. III. B's "Nothing for Ries." 19,
110, ill; makes contrad fur B. with
Boosey, 128; B. promises a dedication to
his wife. 128; removes to Godesberg, ls^.
189. See Stmphokj in D Minob.)
Ries, Franz Anton : 1, 11, 24, 25; aids father
of the composer, 98, '■'■">; gives violin lesi
to !'■ . !'!». 105, 1 17. 1 l!t; collects salary fur
B., 1 19; Beeks to obtain pension fur K . 1 18
Ries, Johann, Court Trumpeter at Bonn
I. 11. 18, 51, B7.
Righini, \ incenzo : "Venni amore," I. in.
138
Risbeck, Kasp.ir : Description "f the Rhen-
ish States, I, 1.).
"Riso d' tpotline, II" : 0 • .
l u
"Rltorno dl Tobta" : I
II. 1 M
"Robert and Calltera" i 0
.1
Rock el, 1 llzabeth : ' I
II. 181,
Km k.-l, J. \ : Cat I i
"Pideli M B's 1U
on B's desire : i ».
letter, 128; , 142. on
the ri". ision of "Fidelia ' in 1 - 1 1. f
Roda, ( .v Uio ile i B's skel
Q i. t::.
Rode, Pierre i B
II. 285, t
Rolland, Rum. line : I
Romberg, Andreas ; 1.
III, IM
Romberg, Bernhard : I l
111, 1 17. 121, 199. 20
mowsky c^u irtet, II. 75; III
"Romeo and Juliet" i ■
I. 81, 107, 108 I I II.
\:i Considered by l< . 111. l i:
"Romulus and Remua" : I .tun
PUSS, II I'-
ll. 804, 181.
"Roecben and * lolat" B
( (pera l>\ Monsign . I
Roaner, l ella : D . iter ol N *fe, 1
Rot he : Singer in "Fidelio." 1 1
"Rot bkappeben, I >.i> " i 1 1
<l..rf. I. 109, 170,
Rovantinl, Frani I q in-
struction to B., I. 84
Royal I ihr.ir> B rim \
memorabili i, I. \: . icndi <
Books to Thaj it. si; owns B
viols, 271 gets H * postbui
from Schiodler. Ill 11
Rublnl : III 77
Ruilolf , \ iolinisl in i I
Rudolph. Archduke
dedication of ( !o» erto in G. 184 I
70. i |g; subscription I
tract, 189; th< S
lies with H . l r 151
uf B-flat Cow
trai L 170 172. 212. i\ ». 217. Hi I. B
« . iri.-s of i • i. bing h»i
I goo, to 148. 2 I i U
tells Goethe ol disciplining
Calls his .lut v "... r\ ito 14
to quit p
irksome to B.. 881 I bj M witn
misfortune! as \
bishop "f "in. \\i. d
101, Hi III
19, d to h
I . adsbut, 6; I i, 19. 2
to comp * l ■ dedi
•i :. 15; enthroned ••»* ArcbbUb . ti.
338
General Index
dedication of Op. Ill, 50; Variations on
air by Rossini. 77. 82. 91. 94; asked to
urge subscription to Mass on Grand Duke
of Tuscany and King of Saxony. 95, 96; B.
rails against him. 112; urges B. to compose
Bernard s oratorio, 175; dedication of the
Mass in D. 212.
"Ruines de Babilone" : II. 202.
"Rule, Britannia1' II. 252. (See Vari-
ations, in Index of Compositions.)
Ruschowitz. Constanze : I, 99.
Ruskin, John : On the imagination. III. 25
Russia. Empress of : II. 805; Czar sub-
scribes for the Mass in D. 111. 102. 105;
dedication of the Ninth Symphony con-
sidered. 231.
Russian Melodies : In the Rasoumowsky
Quartets, II, 74; in "Ruins of Athens."
162.
Rust, Wilhelm : Description of B., II, 117;
on B. and the French, 146.
Rzwuska, Countess : II. 111.
Saal, Singers : I, 266.
Sacchini : His operas at Bonn, I. 86; "La
Contadina in Corte," 26; "L'OIimpiade,"
32; "L'IsoIa d'Amore." 108.
Saint-Foix, Georges : I, 139.
Salieri : "Armida," I, 86; "La Grotta di Tro-
fonio," 107; "Konig Axur in Ormus," 109,
163; "Falstaff," 227; gives B. lessons in
composition, 154, 160, Violin Sonata dedi-
cated to him, 163, 214; respected by B.,
241; II, 2; "The pupil B. was here," 64;
accused of enmity by B., 136; conducts
percussion instruments in "Wellington's
Victory," 262.
Salm-Reifferscheid, Count : I, 73, 74.
Salomon, Jacobina : Court musician at
Bonn, I, 20.
Salomon, Johann Peter t I. 19, 20. 51. 186;
II. 317. 319. 324. 325. 359; recants bis
opinion of the Fifth Symphony. 279.
Salomon, Philip ; 1. 20; career in London.
20. 23. 110, 299.
Salzburg : Occupied by Bernadotte. II, 51.
Samaroff, Olga . 1. 140
"Samnitische Vermahlungsfeier, Die"
(*Le Manage des Samnites") : Opera by
Gretrv, I, 31.
"Samori" ; Opera by Vogler. II. 23
"Samson" : Oratorio by Handel. II. 359.
Santerrini : Alleged teacher of B , I, 62.
"Sargino" : Opera, II. 61.
Sarti : Operas "Fra due Litiganti." 1. 86.
109; •L'lncognito." 86; "La Gelosie vil-
lane," 109.
Satzenhofen, Countess and Abbess : Mis-
tress of Elector Max Friedrieh, 1, 16.
Sauerma, Countess : 111, 41.
"Saul" : Oratorio by Handel, III. 219,
285.
Saxony, King of : Subscribes for the Mass
in D. III. 94, 96, 99, 105.
Schaden, Dr. : Lends money to B., I, 92;
letters to, 92. 95, 96.
Schall, Captain : Amateur musician in
Bonn. I, 87.
Schebek, Edmund : II, 8.
Schechner, Fraulein, Singer : III, 287, 288.
Scheidl, Cesarius : Musical prodigy, I, 91.
Schenck, Joseph : Gives lessons to B.. I,
152, 154.
Schickh, Johann : II. 359.
Schikaneder. Emanuel : His theatre, I.
164; engages B. and Vogler to compose
operas, II, 4 5; an opera-text for B., 19;
sells interest in Theater an der Wien 22, 34
Schiller : "Ode to Joy. " I, 132; 11. 152. 295,
414; III. 145. 146, 148 et seq ; B's appreci-
ation of. 11, 147. 153; popularity of his
plays, 153; "Die Sendung Moses." 167;
"Die Fliisse," 196. "Fiesco," 117.
Schimon, Ferdinand : Paints B's portrait,
III, 21; B's preference for it, 41.
Schindler, Anton, B's biographer : I, ix, xi;
sells memorabilia to Berlin, x; visited by
Thayer, x; on B's studies with Haydn, 151;
on Bernadotte and the "Eroica," 213; on
B's relations with the musicians in Vienna,
241; in error about B's want of familiarity
with the orchestra, 239; on B's sojourn in
Hetzendorf, 289; on Hoff meister's edition of
Bach, 303; his theory about B's love, 318
et seq.; conversation with B. about Countess
Guicciardi, 320; defects as an investigator,
323;— II, On B's religion, 168; division of
B's work into periods, 171; the canon on
Malzel and the Allegretto of the Eighth
Symphony, 234; makes B's acquaintance,
270; his account of the quarrel with Malzel
disputed, 270 et seq.; growth of familiarity
with B.. 327; wrong as to B's relations with
Ries. 372; trustworthiness as a biographer,
376; beginning of an intimacy with B , 378;
in error as to the story of B's noble birth,
410; — III Sells B's papers to the Royal
Library, II; praised by Horzalka. 42; on
Johann v B . 67; his story about Schubert
and B.. 79: gets B s papers, 93; "L'Ami de
Beethoven." 93; his nickname. 106; B.
call? him a scoundrel, 128. 133. 158; on B's
drinking habits, 196; his biography of B ,
197 et seq.; false tale of Nephew Karl's
negligence. 272; falsihcation of the Con-
versation Books, 273, 281; charged by B.
with theft of a petty sum, 281; gets auto-
graph of Ninth Symphony, 281; accuses
Johann v. B. of niggardliness, 278, 293;
B. sends him a meal from his sick-bed, 295.
Schlegel : One of his texts proposed for an
opera, III, 117.
Schleiermacher : His translation of Plato,
I, 213.
Schlesinger, Musician : II, 125.
Schlesinger, Publisher in Berlin : III, 54;
denounced by B., 55; accepts Mass in D,
55, 190; B's treatment of, 190.
General I.mh.x
Schlesintjer, Moritz, Publisher in Pari
Visits B .III. 20 I, ini, 206
Schldsser, I c.uis : Visit* 1'. III. 125; fend
the Mass in 1>. 97
"Schni.uis. Der" "II Convive : Opera by
( !imar< isa, I. 1 "7.
Schmidgea : 1 1 . 1
Schmidt. Dr. Johann : I 878,
Schmidt, ! eopold : Publishes B's letter to
Simrock, II. 1
Schmith, Antoinette : III. 14.
Schnaps, I rati : B's housekeeper, III. 131.
Schneider, Friedrich : Visits I'. III. is
Schneider, Johann : Plays E-flal < oncerto,
II. 160.
Schneller, Julius Pranz Borglas : II. 88.
Schoberlechner, Pranz : 111. ISO.
SchOnauer, Dr. : 1 1. 820, 821, 881,
Schonbrunn, Garden <>f : I. -*ss-
"Schdne Schuaterin, Die" : Opera by
(Jmlauf, I. I"1-. 1 it. 165. *"i
Schott and Sons, Publishers : The Mass in
I). III. 177. 17s. is'.t; Quartet in
F.-flat. 17s; Ninth Symphony, 178; B.
asks f,,r a L'ift of wine, 290 l '
Schreiber, \ " i • ■! i - 1 of Schuppanzigh Quartet :
II. 41.
Schreyvogel, von : II. 804.
Schreyvogel and Rizzl : Publish catalogue
01 B's worl s, II. 88.
Schroeder-Devrient, Mme. : III, 88, B4,
Schubauer : Opera "Die Dorfdeputirten,"
I. 109.
Schubert. Franz : His "ErlkJSnig," I. 280;
II. :;^7. 855; III. his meeting with B.,
1 .,'.. 9 Rochlitz to look at »., 7 k; his
variations on Diabelli's waits, 128; B. and
his songs, 298 et aeq.; B'a remark "A divine
spark dwells in S ." 800, 801; at H's death-
bed, 298 ei aeq.; torchbearer at B's funeral,
812; Ins grave beside B'a, 812.
Schultz, Edward : \ isil to B . Ill, 184.
Schulze, Mme., Singer : M. 880.
Schumann, Robert : Publishes letters of B.,
II. 188.
Schuppanzigh, Ignaz : Gives lessons on
violin to I'- . I. 156; his Quartet, 170,
tq.; conducts Augarten Concerts, 288,
274; suggests gift of viols to B., i 7 < '. ; author
of a theme in the Quintet Op. 29, 296;
variations for two violins, 806, 816.— II,
2; 1 icher of Mayaeder, 41; his quartet
concerts, 11; Augarten Concerts, 12, 172;
B'a joke "'i his marriage, 106, 125, 150,
167; goes to Russia, 527, 887 ill, *\. 75,
126; and the last Quartets, 139, 1 56, 157,
is;: fails in F.-ilat Quartet, 193, 294, 81 i.
Schuster : Operas "Der rUchymiat," I. 81,
1117, 108; "Die Geitsigen in der Palle," 108;
•Dr. Murner," 108
Schwachhofer, Mme., Court Singer : Dis-
ciplined by B's grandfather, I. 20.
Schwarzenberg, Prince .1 168 172
ded
iwarzendorf M 1
Scott, sir Walter : I. 232; I]
III.
"Seasons, The" : 1 1:1
17 1; II. |20
Sebald, Imallc : r 1
II. 205 !
in her all. inn. i
Sebald, Augusts : II,
Sedlaiek, Ji-.m 1 111
"Seldenen s buhe," Me 1 1
Izeri, I. I
"Serva Padrona, 1 •*' i •
lesi, I. 108
s. ssi. Mme.,
Seume i B -in" at:
1 iharp minor Sonata, ] li
Visits his LT.l'. .-. II. I
"Seven 1 .1st Words"
I. 21 1.
Seyfried, len.i/ ton i
in 'I boroughbaas/' I. 1 S9, 215. 249 111 17.
152, 183; on B
character of 1 1 1
and the C minor I
rehearsals of "Fideiio," "■ 1
to conduct the op
of B., fl rst (>--rf
of the Choral Pantasi 1. ISO, I
ing for four horns, is.",; imisi,- f,,r " M
858, 888; III. 151
composes music for B's funeral and is ;
bearer, 812.
Seyler's Dramatic < !o. : I
Shakespeare : Etc ommendrd bi B., II
Shedlock, J. s. : 1
II. 102; III. 18
Sibonl, Tenor : II. 215, 21
"Silvaln" : M . A comedy 1 I '
26, s''>.
Simonel I i. T< nor of Elei tot 1 1:1,
1 Is!.
Simonl, Singer in Vienn ■ I 1
Simrock, Nicolaua, < irl 11 - •
1 . tf 1 . ."> 1 . 1 05 ; I '■ -
publisher, 183 M iss ixD
183; II, 81; B. offers h II
105; the Mass in C. H
B. in Vienna, [II,
tea.
56.
Sin. 1. I onis. Violinist I. I"
Sln&akademle, in Berlin : B pla ifor.l
II. 205; invited to suhs.ril.i- f..r ■
in D. III. 104, 180
Sinsendorf Zinzendorf? . Prince : I. 172
Smart, sir George : Visited bv 1
\i. 1 1 1. 208; 1 1. 309; produ • - M ■ I
London, sn». sil. I •
visits B. in Vienna, III. I
340
General Index
Smetana, Dr. : Performs surgical operation
on Nephew Karl, II, 341; prescribes for
B's deafness, 85; informed by 6. of nephew's
attempt at suicide, 259, 274.
Smith, John, of Glasgow : III, 16.
Sobieski, John : I, 7.
"Soliman II" : Opera by Sussmayr, I, 227.
Soltikoff, Count : II, 75.
Sonneck, O. G. : I, xviii.
Sonnenfels, Joseph Noble de : Dedication
of Sonata Op. 28, I, 293.
Sonnleithner, Christoph von : II, 34.
Sonnleithner, Ignaz von : III, 251.
Sonnleithner, Joseph von : On Zmeskall,
I, 230; Secretary of Court Theatres, II, 23;
his career, 34.
Sontag, Henrietta : III, 77, 139, 153, 162,
164.
"Sophonisba" : Opera by Neefe, I, 31.
Spain : B's desire to travel in, II, 142.
Spaun, Baron : I, 338.
Spazier : I, 305; II, 1.
Spencer, Herbert : On billiard-playing, III,
253.
Speyer, E. : II, 216.
"Spiegel von Arkadien" : Opera by SUss-
mayer, II, 49.
Spina : Gets B's Broadwood Pf., II, 392.
Spohr, Ludwig : His accounts of B's con-
ducting, II, 128, 257; his opinion of Rode,
235; his intercourse with B., 236; on B's
music and playing, 269; B's opinion on his
music, III, 203.
Spontini : Opera "La Vestale," II, 36, 202,
296; III, 139; B's opinion of his music, 203.
Sporchil, Johann : Submits opera-text to
B., Ill, 118.
Stadler, Abbe : I, 376; statement as to Trio
of Seventh Symphony, II, 216; anecdote,
234; canon. 236.
Starcke, Friedrich : The Bagatelles, III, 48.
Staudenheimer, Dr., B's physician : Sends
him to Karlsbad, II, 223; III, 39, 199,
273, 276.
Stauffen, Franz, Youthful pianist : II, 327.
Steibelt, Daniel : Comes to Vienna, I, 268;
encounter with B., 268; composes battle
music, II, 252.
Stein, Pianoforte maker : I, 88, 91, 92.
Stein, Friedrich, Pianist : II, 117; and Con-
certos in C minor and G, 131.
Stein, Dr. Fritz : Publishes the "Jena" Sym-
phony, I, 211.
Stein, Nanette. (See Streicher, Nanette.)
Stein, Matthiius : II, 87.
Steiner, Sigmund Anton (and Steiner and
Co.) : II, 279, 364; III, lends B. money,
21; canon, "Hoi' euch der Teufel," 23;
letter, 38; duns B. for money, 38, 58, 59,
71, 114, 184; friction with B„ 234; torch-
bearer at B's funeral, 312.
"Steinerne Braut, Die" : Opera by Liech-
tenstein, I, 30.5.
Sterkel, Abbe : I, 113.
Stich, Johann Wenzel. (See Punto.)
Stieler, Joseph : Paints B's portrait, III,
41.
Storck : I, 336.
Streicher, Andreas : I, 91, 92; collects funds
for Bach's daughter, 308; II, 391; III, 180;
torchbearer at B's funeral, 312.
Streicher, pianofortes : II, 87.
Streicher, Nanette : II, 87; puts B's house
in order, 244; letter from B., 394.
Stummer, Fraulein, Singer : Marries Count
Lichnowsky, II, 291.
Stumpf, Pianoforte tuner of London : II, 391.
Stumpff, Johann : His visit to B., Ill, 181
et seq.; gives Handel's scores to B., 1S2,
277, 289, 290, 291.
Sturm, Christian : "Beobachtungen iiber
die Werke Gottes, etc.," I, 252; II, 55, 165.
Stutterheim, Baron von : Gives Nephew of
B. cadetship, III, 264; dedication, 297.
Sulkowsky, Prince : I, 20.
Sumner, Charles : Recommends Thayer for
consulship, I, x.
"Sundfluth, Die" : Oratorio, II, 156.
Siissmayer, F. X. : I, 165, 188; "Soliman
II.," 327; II, 2; "Spiegel von Arkadien," 49.
Sweden, King of : Subscription for the Mass
in D, III, 102.
Sweden, Royal Academy of : Elects B. Hon.
Mem., 130, 163.
"Swetard's Zaubergurtel" : Opera by
Fischer, II, 49.
Swieten, Gottfried Freiherr von : I, 171;
bids B. bring his night-cap, 175, 205;
dedication of First Symphony, 228, 290.
Swift, Dean : I, 4.
Swinburne, Henry : Description of Bonn
and its Electors, I, 16, 78.
"Tage der Gefahr, Die." (See Les deux
JOURNEES.)
"Tantum ergo sacramentum" : III, 116.
"Tartarische Gesetz, Das" : Opera by
d'Antoine, I, 31.
Taxis, Mme. de : I, 16.
Tayber, Anton : III, 115.
Teimer, brothers : I, 206.
Telemann : I, 13; his fluency in composi-
tion, 85.
Tenger, Mariam : "Beethoven's unsterb-
liche Geliebte," I, 338.
Teplitz : B's visit to, II, 202, 204 et seq.;
meeting-place of political magnates, 221;
B's second visit in 1812, 222.
Teutonic Order : Clemens August elected
Grand Master of, I, 7; opens the strong
box, 8; Duke Karl of Lorraine Grand
Master, 77, 98; Count Waldstein admitted
to membership, 101, 111; Stephan von
Breuning receives appointment in 198;
Archduke Karl elected coadjutor to Grand
Master, 288; B. advises Breuning to enter
the service, 303.
Teyber : II, 3.
I I M.KAL I.NDl.X
341
Thalberg, Sigismund : II - ■ count of I
performance of tin- Ninth Symphony, III,
106.
Thayer, Alexander Whet-lock : Vidsaitll
of hia biography of M. 1. vii <t sss/.; the
"Chron< logisi b< i Veraeichniss," \\. ~\
■ <\\ of his life an<l labors, i\
connected with the "New York Tribune,"
ix; second visit t<> Europe, \. re©
funds f'ir resean h w..rk. \; visits all survi-
ving friends >>f H , x; emp U. S
Legation in Vienna, x; appointed Consul
at Trieste, x; his purposes, xi: why tli«- a
m u published in German, xii; writes I
on the Exodus of the Jews, xiii; also
Bacon and Shakespeare, xiii; his discoTeries
!, \iv; labor unremunerated, xiv,
death of, riv; publication of this work de-
layed by the world War, xviii; promoted
by the Beethoven Association of New \ .>rk,
xviii; his work on the Conversation Hook,
III, 12; defence of Jobann v. B., 68; on th.-
mission from the Handel and Haydn
iety of Boston, 88; visits Sir I
Smart. 208 it ■
Thomas-San-Galli. Dr. Wolfgang : Hil
book on H's love-affairs, I. 837; II.
Thomson. George, Publisher of National
Songs : 11,17 ei teq.; 69, 156, 269, 368, 115;
III. 16.
Thun. Princess Christiane : I. 181, *!■'>.
Thun, Countess Elizabeth : II. Bl.
Thun. Countess : I, 244; dedication of I'f.
arrangement of "Prometheus," I. 290
Thun. Count Franz Joseph von : I. 1 s l .
Tiedge : B'a association with him at Teplitz,
II, 204, 206, *08.
Tiller, Theresia : Sells apothecary shop to
Johann v. B., II. 115.
"Timotheus" : Oratorio by Handel, II. *H',.
"Tod Jesu" : Oratorio by drawn. II.
Tomaschek : Describes B's i'f. playing, I.
•i\~. i".?: "ii "Wellington's Victory,' II.
. meeting with I'... 297.
Tomasini. I.uigi, Singer : II. 2.
Touchemoulin : Courl Chapdmaster in
Bonn, I. it. Mi.
Trautmannsdorf, Prince : I. 17^.
"Tre Amanti ridicoli, I i" : I tpera, I. ^7.
Treitschke, Georg 1'riedrich : II. :;."•. re-
vises texl of "Fidelio," *'ii; "Gute Nach-
richt," 268, *7o. 802, ::17: letters, *7:(. <77.
281, 284; "Romulus an. I Bemus," :'•";.
881; "Die Ehrenpforten," 817.
Trlbolet, Mme. : I. 200, 242
"Tribune, The New York" : Thayer on its
editorial statF. I. i\; W. II Pry, tin.
critic, 858; III.
"Trionfo d'Amore" : Opera by Dntillier, I.
166
"Trofonio's Zaubergiirtel" ("Gl otta di
Trofonio" : Opera by Salieri, I. 107
Trucheee-Waldburg, Count : II. ui
Tschiska. Dr. : III. 3.
1 urkluim, Anton ron I I 181 III
Tum any, < rrand Duke of
th-- M .'III..;:
Tom bear, Matthias . . .a of
the -ill .
I I") : I ill
Umlauf, Ignai -in."
I. 108, 1'
which B
"I idd H ■ 111. I
I niliTm.mil. Police D III, 182
I ngher, ( Proline : III. -
162, 164, i
"i nterbrochenc Opforfeat, i>.is"
by Winter, I, 121
"^ -1" . I !.
Van dm i eden, Hetnrich : I. 6; ■
I i i
increased, 10, i
' i. 0 I; .!
\ anhall, Joaeph, i
Varona, Rltter ron : I!
rini.sii- f..r I frsulines at G .
letters t->, II. gig,
Varnhagen von i dm : n •
sojourn at Teplil a, II, 204 I
Wring. Dr. : I reats B I
•\ eatale, l a" : I • ■ 5 I ,11
. HI. i
•\ .st. is I tiier" : I I
Victoria, Prinoaaa of i ngland : w
hymn on h.-r i
Prussia, III
Vienna : B's first visit to, 1
journey, Wi;r
126; arrival in the I ity, lis.
music in. at the tin
irch mua
mm
theal res, 173 B's | titiun in S 17 1
1 1. M .- in 180
pubbc cone erl i, 42; t I -
:>i. administration of the <
98; B. appoint.
98; apprecial n of I
1 16; arrival ..f !
attitude t..w.ir.| It . l i
spied by the 1
dwellings, i '>'■ l "■ r 1
direction of the
Lobkon P - '■
Citisen of the
th.-ir treatment of B III. S
of Met M 21;
ite denounced I
VlganO, Sah Hon- : B« • • "I
I
• I ; . Sii Cl K
thi
'•\ ill.m.-II.i dl ipiritO, 1 a'
\ lottl : II. 16.
342
General Index
Vivenot, Dr. : Summoned to B. at last sick-
ness, III, 273.
Vogl, Johann Michael : I, 230.
Vogler, Abbe Georg Joseph : In Bonn, I,
123; engaged to compose operas in Vienna,
II, 2, 4; "Hermann von Staufen" and
"Hermann von Unna," 4, 12; his extempore
plaving, 15; his opera "Samori," 23.
Volbach : I, 337.
Volta, Violinist : II, 125.
Von der Recke, Countess : II, 204, 208,
222.
Waldstein, Count Emanuel Philip : I, 101,
Waldstein, Count Ferdinand Gabriel :
B's first meeting with, I, 93 et seq.; 101,
102; knighted by Max Franz, 102; absolved
from his vow of celibacy and marries, 103;
his aid to B., 103, 117; the book of the
"Ritter-Ballet," 108, 122; inscription in
B's album, 126; The "Ritter-Ballet," 133;
family connections of, 174, 244; second
marriage of, II, 111, 146; III, 24. (See
Sonata Op. 53.)
Walkowski : II, 305.
Walter : I, 355.
Wartensee, Xaver Schneider von : II, 381.
Wasielewski : I, 208.
Wawruch, Dr. : In attendance on B. at his
last illness, III, 273 et seq.; B's dissatisfac-
tion with him, 283; report on B's illness
and death, 275 et seq.
Weber, Carl Maria von : I, 112; his first
visit to Vienna, II, 23; interest in Amalie
Sebald, 205; produces "Fidelio" in Dresden,
III, 129; visits B., 136 et seq.; "Der Frei-
schutz," 131, 135, 137; "Euryanthe," 131,
137, 139, 140.
Weber, Dionysius : II, 282.
Weber, Franz Anton von : I, 112.
Weber, Gottfried : Publishes letters by B.,
II, 183, 384; attacks authenticity of Mo-
zart's "Requiem," 235.
Weber, Max Maria von : III, 138.
Weber, W. : Sells publishing rights in
Thayer's biography to Breitkopf and
Hartel, I, xv.
Wedding Song : Arranged for the wedding
of Princess Victoria of England and
Frederick III of Prussia, HI, 13.
Wegeler, F. G. : His "Biographische Noti-
zen," I, ix, xi, 79, 89, 94, et seq.; 99, 117;
comes to Vienna, 179; his account of B's
status there, 180; letters from B., 181,
182; on B. as a lover, 182, 186; said to
have recommended B. as teacher to the
Breuning family, 100; on Count Wald-
stein, 102; on B's susceptibility to women,
122; letters from B., 299, 301; error in date
of an important letter, 308. — II, B. asks
him to get the certificate of his baptism,
177; publication of B's letters, 183.— Ill,
197, 214, 288, 297.
Wegeler, Karl : I, 96, 102, 181.
Weigl, Joseph, Chapelmaster and composer :
I, 163; "L'Amore marinaro," 225; respected
by B., 241; "Corsar aus Liebe," 268; the
same, II, 2; "Die Schweizerfamilie," 2;
"Vesta's Feuer," 49, 279; pallbearer at
B's funeral, III, 312.
Weimar, Grand Duke of : The Mass in D,
III, 98; B. contemplates a visit to, II, 198.
Weinkopf : Singer in first performance of
"Fidelio," II, 50.
Weinmuller, Bass singer : II, 267, 285, 286.
Weiss, Franz, Viola player : I, 170, 274; II,
125, 337.
Weiss, Dr. Leopold : II, 303.
Weiss, Pater : Attempts to cure B's deaf-
ness, II, 96; III, 85.
Weissenbach, Dr. Alois : His "Reise zum
Congress," I, 263; description of B., II,
293; his dramas, 293, "Der glorreiche
Augenblick," 294.
Weissenthurm, Mme. : I, 133.
Werner, Zacharias : III, 44.
Wesley, Samuel : II, 12.
Westerholt, Count Friedrich Rudolph
Anton : And his family, I, 121, 137.
Westerholt, Fraulein : I, 120, 121, 122.
Westphalia. (See Bonaparte, Jerome, and
Cassel.)
Wheeler, U. S. Consul : Interviews Julius
Merz concerning the Bettina-B. letters,
II, 184. 185.
Wieck, Friedrich : Visits B., Ill, 236.
Wild, Singer : II, 305, 338.
Willcox, E. S. : I, xiii.
Willmann, Magdalena : I, 200, 235; career
of, 242; receives proposal of marriage from
B., 242; marriage and death of, 243, 282,
330, 337.
Willmann, Max : I, 242.
Wimpfen, Countess : III, 110.
Winneberger : Chapelmaster at Wallen-
stein, I, 114.
Winter : Opera "Das unterbrochene Opfer-
fest," I, 227.
Winter, Karl : Judge of the Austrian Court
of Appeals, III, 29.
Wolanek, Copyist : Excites B's ire, III, 191.
Wolf : Opera "Das Rosenfest," I, 32.
Wolffl, Joseph, Pianist : I, 214; his playing
compared with B's, 215; dedicates Sonata
to B., 217.
Wolfmayer, Johann Nepomuk : Substi-
tutes new coat for B's old, III, 230; pays
B. for a Requiem which is never com-
posed, 220, 296; torchbearer at B's funeral,
312.
Wranitzky, Anton : II, 125.
Wranitzky, Paul : I, 165; "Oberon," 165;
"Das Waldmadchen," 210.
Wiirfel, Chapelmaster : Pallbearer at B's
funeral. III, 312.
Wiirth and Fellner : Organize concerts in
Vienna, II, 42.
Wyzewa, Theodore : I, 139.
G EN ERAL I \ 1 > 1 . \
Yellowhammer : Song of, in the "Partoral"
Symphony, II, 120, 1 21
Zambona : Gives B. leaaona in Latin, 1.
"Zauberfldte, Die" : »>|„r.i bj Mozart, I.
164, 226, S04.
Zeithammer, Dr. Ottokar : The Lobko-
\n it /. cantata, 1 1. S3 I
"Zelmlra" : Opera bj Roarini, III. 10,
Zelter, Karl Friedrich ; \ — iation with
B .111. 16, 18, 104, 1 1"
"Zemlre ef Azor" : Opera by Gretry, 1. 3*.
m;
"Zemlre und A/or" -. <>;,,r.i by Neefe, I.
Zenaer : Reputed to bave taught organ to
B., I, 84.
/u lis . ( >unt Stephen : II.
ZlngareUJ : 0 B I Juliet. 1 1.
/.it terbarth : B
theatrt II
/i/uis. I >[ Jiih.mil : 1 1
Zmeakall von DomanoTecx, Nicola ua : I.
1 04, i '
', -r-.fr..
17V. 208, 817, <v'.. 246, t: 111,
(48 II. 118, 141 •
minor, 193,
I r III. 24
Zu< . ilmagllo : i
Zulehner, Carl 1 1 . •> rc|
bj n . II. 1-.
Index to Compositions
(a) WORKS FOR ORCHESTRA ALONE
Symphonies:
No. 1, C major, Op. 21 — Date of composi-
tion, I, 227, 266, 267, 272, 277, 282, 286, 290;
II, 6, 39, 42; arranged as Pf. Quintet, I, 228.
No. 2, D major, Op. 36—1, 140, 354, 364,
365, 371; II, 6, 39, 42, 73, 112, 113; arranged
as Pf. Trio, II, 40; arranged as Quintet, II,
113.
No. 3, E-flat major, Op. 55 ("Eroica")—
I, 212; II, 14, 20, 24 et seq.; 33, 40; first public
performances of, 42 et seq.; 66, 67; publica-
tion of, 77, 112, 116, 149, 369; III, 50; ar-
ranged for Pf. Quartet, II, 113.
No. 4, B-flat major, Op. 60— II, 68, 73, 76,
101, 112, 116, 122, 123, 162, 166, 371.
No. 5, C minor, Op. 67—1, 307; II, 73, 76,
107, 109, 113, 123, 126, 127, 129, 132, 141, 162,
166, 186; correction of error in Scherzo of, 192;
216, 250, 334, 348, 369, 379; III, 50.
No. 6, F major, Op. 68 ("Pastoral")— I,
349, 354; II, 73, 110, 119, 120; country mu-
sicians parodied in Scherzo, 121, 122; 127,
131, 141, 162, 166, 209, 316; III, 14, 50.
No. 7, A major, Op. 92—11, 151, 152, 166,
216; melody of the Trio, 216; 237, 257; Alle-
gretto repeated at the first performance, 258;
267, 299, 311, 312, 313, 318, 319, 324, 325,
334, 337, 339, 340, 347, 348, 350, 352, 353,
356, 357, 367; III, 14, 37, 50, 144, 302.
No. 8, F major, Op. 93—11, 152, 166, 232;
the Allegretto and the canon on Malzel, 234
et seq.; 237, 240, 267, 268, 311, 312, 313, 318,
357, 388; III, 144.
No. 9, D minor, Op. 125 (with vocal solos
and chorus) — I, xi; trombone parts, II, 7;
73, 90, 133, 152, 378, 411, 414; III, 15, 22,
87, 95; and the Philharmonic Society of Lon-
don, 110 (see "London Philharmonic Society"
under Beethoven, Ludwig v.); 128, 132;
composition, first performance, repetition,
144 et seq.; origin of the theme of the Scherzo,
145; B.'s doubts concerning the finale, 152,
153; address to B. by his friends, 153 et seq.;
a conspiracy to further the performance,
158, 159; trouble about orchestra leader,
157, 160; the solo singers, 162, 164; rehearsals,
163; programme of the concert, 164; incidents
of the first performance, 165 et seq.; financial
failure and B.'s disappointment, 167; B. up-
braids his friends and dines alone, 167; the
second performance, 168 et seq.; 170; offer
of score to Schott, 177; offer to Probst, 178;
performed at Aix-la-Chapelle, 188; Smart
gets tempi from B., 208, 209; the recitatives,
209, 226; dedication, 231 et seq.; metronome
marks, 244, 292; the autograph manuscript,
266.
"Wellington's Victory, or The Battle of
Victoria," Op. 91—11, 251 et seq.; 262 et seq.;
259, 267, 268, 271, 272, 283, 290, 299, 309,
310, 311, 312, 313, 318, 319, 324, 325, 335,
339, 340, 353, 356; III, 113, 208, 211.
"Jena"— I, 211.
Sketches for uncompleted symphonies —
A "Tenth," II, 414; III, 221 et seq.; in B
minor, II, 310, 328; in C minor, I, 210.
Overtures, Ballets, Marches, Dances, etc.:
Overture, "Coriolan," Op. 62—11, 101, 102,
105. 112, 117, 124, 127, 133, 172, 209, 216,
268, 284.
Overture in C, Op. 124, "Consecration of
the House." (See Weihe des Hauses, under
(c) Choral Works, etc.)
Overture to "Fidelio." (See "Fidelio.")
Overtures, "Leonore," Nos. 1, 2 and 3.
(See "Fidelio.")
Overture in C, Op. 115—11, 292, 296, 302,
303, 311, 312, 313, 316, 327, 334, 335, 413;
III, 50.
Overture to "Kbnig Stephan" ("King
Stephen"), Op. 117—11, 208, 209, 213, 214,
218, 246, 313, 316, 334, 413; III. 57, 70, 72.
"Ritter-Ballet"— I, 108, 111, 117, 133, 142.
Ballet, "Die Geschopfe des Prometheus"
("The Men of Prometheus"), Op. 43—1, 280;
history of, 283 et seq.; 290, 304, 364, 370; II,
5, 39, 52, 102, 112, 216, 356; III, 14.
Dances for the Ridotto Room — I, 18S,
192, 202, 210, 211, 289.
Contradances and "Landrische" — I, 289,
364,365.
Ecossaises (Twelve) for Strings with Wind
ad lib.— II, 113.
Ecossaise for Military Band — II, 194.
"Gratulatory Minuet"— III, 64, 80, 82, 89.
Polonaise for Military Band — II, 194.
Waltzes for Strings with Wind ad lib. — II,
113.
Waltzes, for a Country Band — III, 22.
[344]
Index ro C< >mp< >m i h
Military March, in D II. .;•.'; ill. 141
Military Marches, i„ F — II. 160, 102,
III, <;i, in.
Funeral March f.,r "Leonore Prohaska,"
arranged from the Sonata Op. 20—11 i
299; 111. 812.
Bondino f . »r Wind-instruments— I, 184.
Triumphal March, for Kuffner'i "Tar-
j».j;i'" — II. 245, 250, 259; III.
Bquale fur Three Trombones II. *■: .
arranged for voices and sung at B.'a funeral
III. 811.
(b) INSTRUMENTAL SOLOS WITH
ORCHESTRA
Concertos, etc.:
Allegro con l>riu. for Violin, in < '. completed
by Beflmesberger — I, ISO.
For Violin, in 1) major, < >p. (51 — II. 7<;. 103,
104, 112, 184, 102, 100; arranged for Piano-
forte— 1,850; II, 103, in;. 1 12, L84.
For Pianoforte, in E-flat I Youthful) —I, 75.
For Pianoforte, in D major (Youthful)— I,
is*;.
For Pianoforte, in C, No. 1. Op. 15—1, 1 17
177. 1S.5, *17. Hi, Hi. iU, i7i, 287, 289;
II, 89, 90.
For Pianoforte, B-flat major. \o. i, (),,.
19—1, 13<J. 144, 177. 1st. 185, lss, 208, 217,
222, m, 225, 228, 272, 275, 286, 287, 290,
299; II. 3<j; III, jo, *7!>. (See Bondo is
B-FLAT.)
For Pianoforte, in (' minor. No. .{, Op.
37—1, *7<>, i!77. 3G4; II. 0. 7. 30, 32, 37, 89,
ii. 131.
For Pianoforte, in G major. No. \. Op.
58—11, 56, (it;, t;7. lis, 73, 74, 101, 110. 131.
131.
For Pianofort.-, in B-ftal major. No. 5,
<>p. 78—11, 133. 117. 149, 150, 159, 100,
192, 199. i»'K 215, 210.
For Pianoforte, Violin ami Violoncello,
Op. 56 — II, 40, 50, 78, 80, US, 117.
Bomance for Violin, in (!, Op. l'> -II, 20,
25, 20; III. 59.
Roman,' for Violin, in F. Op. 50—1, 140;
II. ■£:,. 20, 55; III. 59.
Bondo for Pianoforte, in B-flat, completed
by Cserny — I, an.
Sketches for Pianoforte Concerto in D —
II. 3*v
(c) CHORAL WORKS AND PI I <:i S
FOR SOLI AND CHORl S
rYbschiedsgesang, f or Men's Void • [1,803.
"AM, perfidol spergiuro," Scena for 9
prano ami Orchestra, <>p. 65 I. 148, sf< >«;.
209; II. <:. ."."i. L29.
Birthday < !antata for Archduke Ru.lolph —
in, 25.
Bundeslied, for Soprano and Orch. -III.
64, ill.
< 'an tat a on the Death of Creesener Youth*
I. 65
Deatli N .II I
f 1 ill
1. l '•". l '.l
"< brisl Op. 88—
i. u m i.n.i
204, 210. 240, t n- in
189, 208
" ^-'1"^'"• LtttaU I
[ 1 , 294 tt
"Egmont," incidental mu-..
' ii for. II,
I first performai e of, 171 i ;
197, I I • 114, 116, 224
Eli for f . - \
composed in m-niorv of |<
Op. 1 is II. 288, SOS; III.
"Es i>t vollbracht," Chonti for " Die 1
pforten" -II. 817.
i ii ik i for r
chestra, < >p. so I. 20 : u. g .. i n
*<•</.; 131. ] | ;. i ;.;. i,-,o. i,.,;. |M
ion of. i i ill. it:
"Fidelio," Opera, Op. ~t [.14 I
1 1. 19, 20.35.
it mo/.; fir- 1 perform
cisms, 52, tir-t revision of.
tion and revision, ~>l ,: •
"Fidelio" an. I "1 \ | <
60. 110, 111. 27S 271) I
account of the withdraw d of
advice asked and rejected. 04; Milder 11
mann and the k'r.-.it tcena, I
opinion. 63, <;i. offered to Bet
score offered to Breitkopf and H
sketches for, 73, 1"". in Pr igue, I
in 1814. 268 • 268, 273 H
lication i> "I.- mor ,"285 I • I "
MoscheJes pir.it.-.!. . i
licher," 285; 286. 293, i 1 1.
.sis. 818, 880, 850, 851, - I . III.
"■i ' i . ■ : 1 17; in Dres len, 1 1 l
202, I
"< rermania, srie itehsl 1 1
II. 209, 277, 12, SOS,
"Idr weisen Grttnder," Chorus— II. rfss,
I •'
I .nor.- Pi for —
II. 298, 303.
I ib auf den Dick
sigh I. I
M % in C >'■ IL 107
108, 112, 1 r. l 12; r> rf I
208; ii :. i 18, 110; III.
M in D i ' '. Ii
MM I. -.11 18, 411 11 t. 111. )'.. i\,
■
7 1.
• I pnlili
t.. Diabelli, l I
Qtional mi:
346
Index to Compositions
performance, 164 etseq.; 169, 174; publication
of, 177 et seq.; offered to Probst, 178; sold to
S.chott, 177, 180; dedication, 212, 226;
metronomic marks for, 296.
Sketches for a Mass in C-sharp minor —
III, 63, 116, 117, 141.
"Meeresstille und gliickliche Fahrt," Can-
tata, Op. 112—11, 300, 310, 327, 328.
"Mit Madeln sich vertragen," Song with
Orchestra. (See Songs.)
"Mount of Olives, The." (See "Christus
AM OlBERG.")
"Opferlied," for Soprano, Chorus and Or-
chestra, Op. 121b— I, 203, 275, 364; III, 64.
"Praise of Music, The" and "Preis der
Tonkunst." (See "Der glorreiche Augen-
blick.")
"Primo Amore," Song with Orch. — III, 58.
"Priifung des Kiissens." (See Songs.)
"Rasch tritt der Tod," Chorus of Monks
from Schiller's "William Tell"— II, 365, 368,
388.
"Ruinen von Athen" ("The Ruins of
Athens"), incidental music for, Op. 113 —
II, 161, 201, 207, 208, 209, 213, 214, 216, 246,
249, 262, 264, 278, 311, 313, 316, 334; III, 57,
70, 71, 79, 80; B.'s "Little opera." 118; 189.
Airs from "Die schbne Schusterin" — I, 204,
224.
"Tremate, empj, tremate," Terzetto with
Orch., Op. 116—1, 365; II, 6, 267, 302, 313;
III, 169.
Un lieto Brindisi, for four Voices and
Pf.— II, 280, 302.
"Weihe des Hauses, Die," incidental
music for; Overture, Op. 124—11, 26; III. 57,
79, 80, 81, 89, 111, 146, 162, 165, 226; "Wo
sich die Pulse," Chorus, III, 72, 80.
Canons and Rounds : "Alles Gute, alles
Schbne," III, 25; "Ars longa" (for Hummel),
II, 338; "Airs longa" (for Smart), III, 211;
"Bester Graf," III, 115; "Das Schone zu dem
Guten," III, 140, 202; "Doktor, sperrt das
Thor," III. 200; "Edel sei der Mensch," III,
110, 126; "Freu' dich des Lebens," III, 211;
"Gedenkt heutean Baden," III, 90; "Gehabt
euch wohl," III, 90; "Glaube und hoffe," III,
23; "Gliick fehl Dir," II, 363; "Gliick zum
neuen Jahre," II, 328, 356; III. 21, 22;
"Grossen Dank," III, 131; "Hier ist das
Werk," III. 246; "Hoi' euch der Teufel,"
III, 22; Hoffmann, sei ja kein Hofmann,"
111, 35, 190; "Kiihl, nicht lau," III, 204;
"Kurz ist der Schmerz" (for Naue), II, 259;
"Kurz ist der Schmerz" (for Spohr), II, 303;
4'Lerne schweigen. O Freund." II. 328. 333,
389; "Muss es sein?", III. 224, 244; "O To-
bias," III. 43, 90; "Rede, rede," II. 328,
333; "Sankt PetniB war ein Pels." Ill, 32;
"Schwenke dich," III, 182, 190; "Signor Ab-
bate," III, 236; "Ta, ta, ta, lieber Miilzcl."
II. 234 et seq.; "Te solo adoro," III. 143;
"Tugend is kein leerer Name," III, 90.
(d) INSTRUMENTAL DUOS, TRIOS,
QUARTETS, etc.
"Duet mit zwei Augenglasern," for Viola
and Violoncello — I, 205.
Duo for Clarinet and Bassoon — I, 205.
Duo, Arrangement of Trio Op. 3 for Pf.
and Violoncello, Op. 64—11, 113.
Duo for two Flutes — I, 134.
Polonaise from Serenade in D, arranged
for two Violins — II, 113; the same arranged
for Violin and Guitar — II, 113.
Trios (Three) for Pf ., Violin and Violoncello
in E-flat, G, and C minor, Op. 1— I, 130, 132,
137, 144, 145, 160, 175, 180, 185, 186, 208, 271;
II, 326, 374, 388; III, 23, 40.
Trio for Violin, Viola and Violoncello, in
E-flat, Op. 3—1, 134, 135, 145, 180, 187, 200,
204, 206, 22L
Trio in D (Serenade) for Violin, Viola and
Violoncello, Op. 8— I, 202, 208; II, 113.
Trios (Three) for Violin, Viola and Violon-
cello, in G major, D major and C minor, Op.
9—1, 209, 221. 225, 271; II, 77.
The same, arranged for Pf. and Strings by
Ries— I, 350; II, 77.
Trio for Pf ., Clarinet (or Violin) and Violon-
cello, in B-flat major, Op. 11 — I, 225, 244.
Trio (Serenade) for Flute, Violin and Viola,
in D major. Op. 25—1, 207, 208, 364; II, 20.
Trio for Pf ., Clarinet (or Violin) and Violon-
cello, in E-flat, Op. 38 (arrangement of the
Septet, Op. 20)— I, 350; II, 55.
Trio for Pf., Violin and Violoncello, in E-
flat, Op. 63 (arrangement of the Quintet,
Op. 4, which see).
Trios (Two) for Pf., Violin and Violoncello,
in D major and E-flat, Op. 70—11, 131, 132,
141, 162; III, 207.
Trio for two Violins and Viola, in C, Op.
29 (arrangement of the Trio for two Oboes
and English Horn)— I, 206; II, 77.
Trio for two Oboes and English Horn, in
C, Op. 87—1, 206; II, 77; III, 59.
Trio for Pf., Violin and Violoncello, in B-
flat, Op. 97—11, 199, 209, 219, 269, 270, 311,
312, 313, 318, 319, 325, 338, 340, 347, 350,
351, 352, 353, 357, 367; III. 136. 223.
Trios for Pf., Violin and Violoncello, ar-
ranged from the String Quartets, Op. 18 — II,
77.
Trio arranged from the Second Sym-
phony— II, 40.
Trio for Pf., Violin and Violoncello, in E-
flat (Op. posth.)— I, 136.
Trio in one Movement, for Pf., Violin and
Violoncello (for Maximiliane Brentano) — II,
221. 237; III, 136.
Trio, Adagio, Variations (on "Ich bin der
Schneider Kakadu") and Rondo, for Pf.,
Violin and Violoncello, Op. 121a— III, 136.
Trio for Pf., Violin and Violoncello, in D
(attributed to Mozart: K. 52a) — I, 139.
Trio for Pf., Flute and Bassoon— I, 137.
Index in i < '< >mp< »si i h
6
Trio (Variations on "La <i darem" f->r
two Oboea and English Horn 1. 202, 20<
III. 64.
Quartets 5ii for Strings, in 1. •■. 1>. '
minor, A and B-flat, <>|,. is l. tt:. U
t 15, 872 W see/.; £77. 878, 180, 180, I '7;
II. 77. B9.
Quarteta Three in P, E minor, and C, I
59 ("Raaoumowskj "J 11.
32, 87, LOS, 104, 105, I
Quartet for Strings, in K-tl.it. «>|.. 71
("Harp" — II. 155. 158, 160, I •
Quartet for Stringa, in P minor. Op. 0
II. 172, 188, 185, 218, 51 1, 912, 21
840, 851, 857, o<;i. HI.
Quartet r>r Stringa, in B-flat, <>p 121
III. 1 m. 177. ls.'J ,t sag.; 187, 182 9k ."-</.;
201, 21 t sf tag.
Quartet for Strings, in B-flat, Op I Ml
III, 205, 214 d teq.i 221, 288 at sag.; 285,237,
245.
Quartet for Strings, in C-aherp minor,
Op. 181 -III. 218, 225, 286, 287, 807.
Quartet for Strings, in A minor, < >i> 1^2 —
III. 205, 208, 214 4 $eq.; 218, 228.
Quartet for Strings, Grand Pugue ori-
ginally Final.- of Op. ISO) -III, 215,
Quartet for Strings, in I-' major, <»p. i
III. 225, 887, 244, 2s*
Fnnue from a String Quartet >" O, from ■
collection projected by Haslinger— II, 888.
Quartet for String, arranged from Pf.
Sonata <>P. 14, No. 1 I. 848.
Quartets (Three) in B-flat, D and C, for Pf.
and String's, composed in 1785 I. ss. 210
Quartet for Strings, an arrangement of the
Quintet in B-flat, published by Artaria aa
Op. 75—1. 208.
Quartet in B-flat, for Pf., Violin, Viola and
Violoncello, arranged l>v B. from Quintet
Op. 10— I. 208; 350.
Quartet (arrangement of the"Eroica" Sym-
phony as Pf. Quartet -II. 118.
Quintet f«.r Stringa, in B-flat, <>p l
arrangement of the Octet, Op. 108 -I, l^t.
1U. 187, 204.
Quint. 4 for Pf., 01><><-. Clarinet, Bassoon
and Horn, in E-flat, Op. 16 -I, 2nd, 207, 214,
*2t. 280, 816, 850; II. 8, 84, 887.
Quintet for Strings, in C, Op 28 I. 228,
188; unauthorised publication of, 284el
855, 864, 868; II. it
Quintet for Stringa, in C minor, Op. 104
(arranged from the Trio. Op. 1, No. 9 —II.
374. 888; III. 23.
Quintet (arrangement "f the Pint Sym*
phonj I. **s
Quintet, Pf.. Double-b tea, I lute, Horns.
etc. (arrangement of the Second Symphony
with Double-bass, Piute and 2 Horns, oat 1*6.)
—II. li .;.
Sextet in B-flat, for ( larinets, Horni
Bassoons, Op. 71- I. 806, 807, 208; II, II,
147, 186
i: i II
■
■
■
\\ II, 80. tH
i
m Q • ■ I 18
' ' ■■ t f..r W : I
of the i^ i
I. 182 k 144, 184
I tinner Ifuaic for I.
l \
this for Wind 1 is— I. 1
144.
Rondio
a B-flat I
l • l ■ III.
for quinteta -III. <r.
(e^ SON \T\s. i K FOR PI INO-
I (H< I I \M> ( i I 111 K INsI Rl ■
MINIS OBB1 K. \ I
Three Sonatas for Pf
and B-flat, Op. 16—1.
Sonata for Pf. and \ iolin,
I ; '7.
. for Pf. and Violin, in I'. Op < * I.
'. 901
Thi for Pf. an I ^ lin, in A. I '
minor and G.O
in \. for Pf. and \ iolin,
"Kreutser" I. 1 10, 965; II 10, 81
.tii fur Pf. and Violin,
II. 287, 818, 818, 818,
867.
\ it turno for Pf. and \ -om
the Serenade, Op. B . 1 1 If I. 1
Rondo f-.r Pf. an. I \ Win, In G I 11
Sonata for Pf. and Violin
Tri' i for ( Iboes a nd Ba I, I
Six All.-inand.o for l'f > ' x N
\ -i.it i'>n-< on "Se vuol ba r for PI
and Violin I. l «, l », 176, r
in B-flat for Pf and l ■: it. l.
I i-t f..r l'f
and «.. Op .'- I. 185. I
Sonata for l'f. and \ ' ^
11. 118, 181, 1 IS, l 11,
DUO for Pf. and 1
- renade, < )p I publishi D II
1. 808; II 80
Sis Variations on Nations! Th< _ Pf
and Piute - \ Op. 105 [1,418, 1
111
I ■ . \ - .•
Pf tad I luU r ^ 0 11. 418,
816; III. 28
Pf. (< »|o
—I. 210 I
Las f or Pf ■ an d >
and «-. Op 102 II. 81fl -
348
Index to Compositions
Variations on "See the Conquering Hero
Comes," from "Judas Maccabseus," for Pf.
and Violoncello— I, 202, 205.
Variations in E-flat, Op. 44, for Pf., Violin
and Violoncello — I, 137.
Variations on "Bei Mannern welche Liebe
fiihlen," for Pf. and Violoncello— I, 364.
Variations on "Ein Madchen oder Weib-
chen," for Pf. and Violoncello— I, 226, 305.
Arrangement of Trio, Op. 3, for Pf. and
Violoncello, Op. 64—11, 113.
Sonata for Pf. and Horn, Op. 17—1, 239,
244, 267, 274, 277, 279, 290; II, 39.
Sketches from "Pastoral" Sonata for Pf.
and Violoncello— II, 310.
(f) FOR PIANOFORTE ALONE
Three Sonatas (No. 1, F minor; No. 2, A
major; No. 3, C major), Op. 2—1, 137, 144,
186 192 217. C
Sonata in E-flat, Op. 7—1, 202, 209, 244,
318; II, 74.
Sonata in C minor, Op. 10, No. 1 — I, 207,
210, 224, 226, 244.
Sonata in F major, Op. 10, No. 2—1, 224,
244; II, 76.
Sonata in D, major, Op. 10, No. 3—1, 205,
224, 244.
Sonata in C minor, Op. 13 ("Pathetique")
—I, 209, 221, 225, 227, 307; II, 90.
Sonata in E major, Op. 14, No. 1 — I, 225,
226, 244; arranged as a String Quartet, 349,
364.
Sonata in G major, Op. 14, No. 2 — I, 225,
244.
Sonata in B-flat, Op. 22—1, 277, 279, 282,
286, 299, 364.
Sonata in A-flat major, Op. 26 — I, 289,
290; story of the Funeral March, 291; pub-
lished, 364; the Funeral March orchestrated
by B., II, 298; 299; III, 312.
Sonata quasi una Fantasia, in E-flat, Op.
27, No. 1— I, 244, 280, 289, 291, 364.
Sonata quasi una Fantasia, in C-sharp
minor, Op. 27, No. 2—1, 244, 289, 291, 292,
293; dedication of, 322; B.'s opinion of, 322;
338, 339; published, 364.
Sonata in D major, Op. 28 ("Pastoral")—
I, 289, 292.
Sonata in G major, Op. 31, No. 1 — I, 364,
365; II, 20.
Sonata in D minor, Op. 31, No. 2 — I, 364,
365; origin of the Finale, 368; II, 20.
Sonata in E-flat, Op. 31, No. 3— II, 40.
Two Sonatas, No. 1 in G minor, No. 2 in
G major, Op. 49—1, 206, 209, 225, 278; IE 55.
Sonata in C major, Op. 53 ("Waldstein") —
I, 103, 140; II, 31, 37, 40, 55, 77. (See
Andante favori.) <f
Sonata in F major, Op. 54—11, 31, 40, 56.
76.
Sonata in F minor, Op. 57 ("Appassio-
nata")— I, 140; II, 31, 40, 73, 77, 113, 335.
Sonata in F-sharp major, Op. 78 — B.'s
opinion of, I, 292; 323, 336, 338; II, 148, 154,
160, 161; dedication, 195.
Sonatina in G major, Op. 79 — II, 148,
160, 161; publication of, 195.
Sonata in E-flat, Op. 81a ("Les Adieux,
l'Absence et le Retour")— II, 143, 146, 148,
159, 160, 161, 192, 199, 200, 207, 210, 219.
Sonata in E minor, Op. 90 — II, 288, 291,
303, 328.
Sonata in A major, Op. 101 ("fur Hammer-
klavier")— II, 328, 338, 356, 364, 365, 389,
412.
Sonata in B-flat, Op. 106—11, 376, 378, 382,
388, 389, 396, 411, 412, 413, 414, 415; III, 23,
145.
Sonata in E major, Op. 109 — III, 48, 49, 90.
Sonata in A-flat, Op. 110— HI, 48, 49, 90.
Sonata in C minor, Op. Ill — III, 48, 49, 55,
72, 90. <^—
Three Sonatas dedicated to Maximilian
Friedrich— I, 72.
Sonata (Unfinished) sent to Eleonore von
Breuning— I, 139, 140, 179.
Sonata for Pf. four hands, in D, Op. 6 — I,
200, 209.
Gavotte, Marcia lugubre et Rondo, for Pf .
four hands (attributed to Mozart) — I, 139.
Grand Fugue for Pf . four hands, arranged
from the Finale of the Quartet Op. 130 — III,
223, 224.
Andante favori, in F (see Sonata, Op.
53)— II, 31, 40, 77.
Allegretto in C minor (B. and H. Supple-
ment, XXV, No. 299)— I, 210.
Bagatelles, in general— I, 261; III, 57, 62.
Bagatelles (Seven), Op. 33—1, 71, 140, 361,
362, 364, 371; II, 20.
Bagatelles, Op. 119—1, 365, 371; III, 48, 86.
Bagatelles (Six), Op. 126— III, 57, 64, 142
et seq.
Bagatelles (B. and H. Supplement, XXV,
295)— I, 210.
"Beethoven's Ietzter Gedanke" ("Derniere
Pensee musicale") — II, 415.
Ecossaise in E-flat — III, 216.
Ecossaises (Twelve)— II, 113; III, 216.
Fantasia, Op. 77—1, 293; II, 91, 148, 154,
160, 161, 195.
Landler (Six)— I, 364, 365. (Also for Or-
chestra.)
Contradances (Six)— I, 289, 364. (Also for
Orchestra.)
Marches, Three Grand, for four hands, in
C, E-flat and D, Op. 45—1, 350, 356; II, 40.
Minuet in E-flat— II, 56.
Polonaise in C, Op. 89—11, 152, 305, 328.
Preludes (Two) through all the Major
Keys, for Pianoforte or Organ, Op. 39 — I,
138, 371; II, 20.
Prelude in F minor— I, 138; II, 55.
Rondos (Two) in C and G, Op. 51—1, 202,
244, 275, 277, 322, 364; dedicated, 370.
Rondo Allegretto — I, 75.
[NDEX t> > ( !OMF081 riONS
Hondo a Capriccia "Die Wuth ti I ..-r
verlornen Groschen"), Op. wj 111. 1 i -;.
246
Bondo in C Youthful, anonymous I.
7t. 1 10.
\ ariations - Oi gins! Theme, ' >;■
34—1. SI l. , 170; dedication. 868;
II. 80.
Variations Fifteen) with a Pugue, on a
Theme from "Prometheus," Op. 86 1. I
865. 868 170; II. 20.
Variation* in l>. on a Theme used after*
wards in "The Ruins of Athena," Op 76
II. 148, 160. 161, 105.
Variations Thirty-three) on a Walts by
Diabelli. Op. 120— III, L07, 108, 12*!
147.
Variations on ■ Theme by Conn! Wald-
Btein, in C, for four bands — I, 13'J, 176, 183,
184.
Variations (Nine) on a March by Dressier,
in C minor — I, 60, 70, 72.
Variations (Twenty-four) on "Venni amo-
re," in D— I. 7. 114, 117, 1
Variations (Thirteen) on "Es war einmal,"
by Dittersdorf— I, 189, 176, 188, 184.
Variations (Nine) on "Quant h piu bello,"
by Paisiello, in A— I, 187.
Variations on "VI cor pill non mi sento,"
by Paisiello— I, 187, 192.
Variations on the "Minuet a la Vigano" —
I. iss, 192.
Variations (Twelve) on a Russian Dance
from "Das Waldm&dchen" — I, 200, 209, 244.
Variations (Sis easy) on a Swiss Air, for
Harpsichord or Harp — I. •i-il .
Variations on "lue fievre brulante," by
Grrtry— I. 226, 227, 805.
Variations Ten) on "La Stessa, la stessis-
sima," by Salieri — I, 227. 2W. 275.
Variations (Eight) on "Tandeln und
Si hersen," by Stlssmayer— I, 2*7.
Variations (Nine) on "Kind, wiUsI Du?"
by Winter— I, 227, 275.
Variations (Seven) on "God Bave the
King"— I, 1 10, 305, :57n; II. 10.
Variations on "Rule Britannia" — I, 370;
II. 40.
Variations (Thirty-two) in C minor — II.
76,118, 117.
Variations for four hands on "Ich denke
I), in"— II. 55.
Variations on a Theme from "Le Nosse
disturbate." - e "Minuet a la Viqah
Variations on "Ich denke Dein" I. £~~ .
279, 885, 862; II. 55, 1 17. 1 18
Variations, tres faciles, in <> — I. 277. 279,
290.
Waltz in I) III. *»lt;.
Waltzes Twelve), also published for
Strings and Wind II. 118.
Cadenza for Mosart's Concerto in 1>
minor — I, 1n.">.
Movement for a I lock I. 76.
I ■ part Organ 1 .'-1.71
III. in
Sk II.
528.
it SONGS Wl 111 PI \\u| ()R I I
\(.< OMPANIMI N I
Abendlied III
Abu bit
II. 80S.
Adelaide, < >j>. 16— I, 14 KM I
u. i hi, oi
Als die Gdiebte sich tr. •: II.
72. I
Amante impaaiente, L'— II, U
Andenken II. 16
An die ferne <■ II.
357. 868; III. :52.
An die Gdiebte— II, M0, i^\. 808
In die Hoffnung— II,
856; III. 20
\u einen Slugling — I, 7 )
An Minna I. 182.
Ariettes I Pour) and a Duet, Ital
82—11. 160, 192, 1
Bardengeist, l>-r II. t
Bitten II. 20
BlOmchen Wunderhold, Das— I
Bundeslied— m, I I
Che fa il mio bene Buffa -II, 2
< 'he fa il mio bene I Seri i 11-
Der Jtlngling in der Premde II. l it . 148.
160, 195.
Die Trommel gerOhret 3 I ■■• ■ i
Dimmi ben mio II. 2
I'.hre ( rottes in der Natur, Die II. 1
Bin grosses, deutsches Volk aind ■ \ 1.
201.
Binsl wohnten I \n den fern 1 1 lieb-
ten) II. 1 I*-. 160, i
Blegie auf den I I i Pud I
I - war einmal ein Konig II. 195.
Peuerfarb— I. 182, 184, l
Preudvoll und leidvoll. S I •• n
Gedenke mein- II. 160, I
Gegenliebe I. 208; 11. 188.
Geheimnias, l>.^ II. 72, 828, 856; III
Gellerl : Bis Sacred Songs "Bitten." D
Liebe des Nlchsten," "Vom Tode,"
Ehre G I in der Natur." ttea Ma
und Vorsehung" and "Busslied 11.
GlUck der Preund* b ift, Dai II. 20
Colt, j M hi II. I
Grefe I's Wanning 11. 160, i
Hers, mein Hers 11. 191, 194, I ■"■
Horch, wie w hallt's ("D< r \N u htel-
achlag I. 170; II 10
Id. denke Dein I II.
55, 1 17. I v^
! . der mil flatterndem Sinn — I. 1 I
Ich liebe dich II. 10
In quests tomba II. 111. 118 I I
350
Index to Compositions
Irish Songs (for Thomson, with obbligato
instruments)— II, 70, 157, 162, 194, 238, 259,
260, 303.
Kennst du das Land— II, 186, 191, 194,
195.
Klage, Die— I, 132; II, 160.
Kleine Blumen— II, 210.
Kriegers Abschied, Des— II, 303, 328.
Kuss, Der— I, 275; III, 64, 87.
La Partenza — II, 20.
Liebe des Nachsten, Die — II, 20.
Liebende, Der— II, 148, 160, 195.
Lied aus der Feme— II, 147, 148. 160, 195.
Lisch aus, mein Lieht— II, 388, 416; III, 50.
Lydiens Untreue — II, 72.
Mailied— I, 204.
Mann von Wort, Der— II, 356, 357.
Man strebt die Flamme — I, 133.
Merkenstein— II, 303, 310, 357; III, 61.
Mit einem geinalten Bande — II, 194.
Mit Liebesblick— II, 160, 195.
Mit Madchen sich vertragen — I, 132; III,
58.
National Songs— II, 17. (See "Irish,"
"Scottish" and "Welsh.")
No, non turbate (Scena and air) — I, 364.
Nord oder Slid— II, 386, 388, 389; III, 50.
O care selve — I, 204.
Odi l'Aura (Duet)— II, 160, 209.
Opferlied— I, 203, 275, 364; III, 64, 140,
141, 189, 202. (See Works for Chorus and
Orchestra.)
O, welch' ein Leben — I, 204. (See also
"Die schone Schusterin," under Choral
Works.)
Plaisir d'aimer— I, 228.
Priifung des Kussens — I, 131.
Punschlied— I, 133.
Que le temps (jour) me dure — I, 228.
Ruf vom Berge— II, 356, 389.
Schilderung eines Madchens — I, 72.
Scottish Songs (Twelve)— II, 328, 416.
Scottish Songs (Twenty-five) — II, 17, 69,
190, 203, 218, 219, 259, 260; III, 50.
Sehnsucht— II, 132, 133, 194, 195, 357.
Seufzer eines Ungeliebten — I, 202, 203,
207.
Six Songs, Op. 75—11, 192, 195.
"Soil ein Schuh nicht driicken" (from "Die
schone Schusterin")— I, 204, 224.
Three Songs, Op. 83—11, 192, 199.
T' intendo— II, 209.
Trinklied ("Erhebt das Glas")— I, 132,
199.
Trinklied ("Lasst das Herz uns froh er-
heben") — I, 199. (See "Abschiedsgesang.")
Trocknet nicht— II, 186, 194, 210.
Turteltaube— I, 204.
Urian's Reise — I, 88, 132.
Wachtelschlag, Der— I, 370; II, 40.
Was ist des Maurers Ziel — I, 133.
Was zieht mir— II, 210.
Welsh Songs (with obbligato instru-
ments)—II, 70, 157, 238, 389.
Wer ist ein freier Mann — I, 133, 204.
Zufriedene, Der— II, 148, 160, 195.
Zwar schuf das Gliick— II, 148, 160, 195.
Sketches for uncompleted songs: "Erl-
konig"— III, 86; "Haidenrbslein"— II, 415;
"Meine Lebenszeit verstreicht" — I, 275.
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