London, November 8, 1816.Sir:In answer to yours of the 1st October, I am desired by Mr. Birchall to inform you, he is glad to find you are now satisfied respecting his promise of paying you £5 ... in addition to what you before received according to agreement; but he did not think you would have delayed sending the receipt signed after the receipt of the 130 ducats merely because you had not received the £5 ..., which latter sum was not included in the receipt. Till it comes Mr. Birchall cannot, at any rate, enter into any fresh arrangement, as his first care will be to secure those pieces he has already paid you for, and see how they answer his purpose as a Music Seller and without the receipt he cannot prevent any other Music Seller from publishing them. In regard to the airs with variations, the price of £30, which is supposed you mean for each, is considerably more than he could afford to give, ever to have any hopes of seeing them repay him—if that should be your lowest price—Mr. Birchall will give up his idea of them altogether. The Symphony in A will be quite ready for publication in a week; Mr. Ries (who has kindly undertaken the inspection of your works) has it now looking over—but it will not come outtill the day comesyou may appoint.Mr. Birchall fears the Sonata in G and the Trio in B-flat have been published in Vienna before his—he will be obliged to you to inform him of the day, when you write, that they were published. I am sorry to say, that Mr. Birchall’s health has been very bad for two or three years back, which prevents him from attending to business and as there are, I fear, but little hopes of his being much better, he is less anxious respecting makinganyadditions to his catalogue than he otherwise would have been; he is much obliged to you for the offer of the Sonata and the Trio, but he begs to decline it for the reasons before mentioned.Hoping to hear soon respecting the paper sent for your signature,I am Sir, for Mr. Birchall, etc.C. Lonsdale.P. S. The Sonata in G is published and the Trio will be in a few days. Is Mr. Beethoven’s opera of Fidelio published? Where and by whom?
London, November 8, 1816.
Sir:
In answer to yours of the 1st October, I am desired by Mr. Birchall to inform you, he is glad to find you are now satisfied respecting his promise of paying you £5 ... in addition to what you before received according to agreement; but he did not think you would have delayed sending the receipt signed after the receipt of the 130 ducats merely because you had not received the £5 ..., which latter sum was not included in the receipt. Till it comes Mr. Birchall cannot, at any rate, enter into any fresh arrangement, as his first care will be to secure those pieces he has already paid you for, and see how they answer his purpose as a Music Seller and without the receipt he cannot prevent any other Music Seller from publishing them. In regard to the airs with variations, the price of £30, which is supposed you mean for each, is considerably more than he could afford to give, ever to have any hopes of seeing them repay him—if that should be your lowest price—Mr. Birchall will give up his idea of them altogether. The Symphony in A will be quite ready for publication in a week; Mr. Ries (who has kindly undertaken the inspection of your works) has it now looking over—but it will not come outtill the day comesyou may appoint.
Mr. Birchall fears the Sonata in G and the Trio in B-flat have been published in Vienna before his—he will be obliged to you to inform him of the day, when you write, that they were published. I am sorry to say, that Mr. Birchall’s health has been very bad for two or three years back, which prevents him from attending to business and as there are, I fear, but little hopes of his being much better, he is less anxious respecting makinganyadditions to his catalogue than he otherwise would have been; he is much obliged to you for the offer of the Sonata and the Trio, but he begs to decline it for the reasons before mentioned.
Hoping to hear soon respecting the paper sent for your signature,
I am Sir, for Mr. Birchall, etc.C. Lonsdale.
P. S. The Sonata in G is published and the Trio will be in a few days. Is Mr. Beethoven’s opera of Fidelio published? Where and by whom?
End of the English Connection
To this letter Beethoven sent an answer addressed to Mr. Birchall dated December 14, 1816, as follows:
Vienna, December 14, 1816.—1055 Sailerstätte.Dear Sir:I give you my word of honor, that I have signed and delivered the receipt to the house, Fries and Co., some day last August, who, as they say, transmitted it to Messrs. Coutts and Co., where you’ll have the goodness to apply. Some error might have taken place that instead of Messrs C. sending it to you, they have been directed to keep it till fetched. Excuse this irregularity, but it is not my fault, nor had I ever the idea of withholding it from the circumstance of the £5 not being included. Should the receipt not come forth at Messrs. C., I am ready to sign any other and you shall have it directly with return of post.If you find variations in my style too dear at £30, I will abate, for the sake of your friendship, one-third, and you have the offer of such variations as fixed in our former letters for £20 each air.Please to publish the Symphony in A immediately, as well as the Sonata and the Trio—they being ready here.The grand opera Fidelio is my work. The arrangement for the pianoforte has been published here under my care, but the score of the opera itself is not yet published. I have given a copy of the score to Mr. Neate under the seal of friendship and whom I shall direct to treat for my account in case an offer should present.I anxiously hope your health is improving. Give me leave to subscribe myself, Dear Sir,Your very obedient servant,Ludwig van Beethoven.[Postmark, Dec. 31, 1816.]
Vienna, December 14, 1816.—1055 Sailerstätte.
Dear Sir:
I give you my word of honor, that I have signed and delivered the receipt to the house, Fries and Co., some day last August, who, as they say, transmitted it to Messrs. Coutts and Co., where you’ll have the goodness to apply. Some error might have taken place that instead of Messrs C. sending it to you, they have been directed to keep it till fetched. Excuse this irregularity, but it is not my fault, nor had I ever the idea of withholding it from the circumstance of the £5 not being included. Should the receipt not come forth at Messrs. C., I am ready to sign any other and you shall have it directly with return of post.
If you find variations in my style too dear at £30, I will abate, for the sake of your friendship, one-third, and you have the offer of such variations as fixed in our former letters for £20 each air.
Please to publish the Symphony in A immediately, as well as the Sonata and the Trio—they being ready here.
The grand opera Fidelio is my work. The arrangement for the pianoforte has been published here under my care, but the score of the opera itself is not yet published. I have given a copy of the score to Mr. Neate under the seal of friendship and whom I shall direct to treat for my account in case an offer should present.
I anxiously hope your health is improving. Give me leave to subscribe myself, Dear Sir,
Your very obedient servant,Ludwig van Beethoven.
[Postmark, Dec. 31, 1816.]
This letter closed the correspondence; for upon the death of Mr. Birchall his successor, Lonsdale, did not deem the connection with the composer to be worth retaining. Letters to Zmeskall, Sir George Smart and Neate, in London, tell of incidents which make up the history of the latter part of the year 1816:
(To Zmeskall—December 16.)Here dear Z. you will receive my friendly dedication[169]which I hope will be a precious souvenir of our long-continued friendship and be accepted as a proof of my respect and not as the end of a long-spun thread (for you belong to my earliest friends in Vienna). Farewell—Abstain from the decayed fortresses, the attack exhausts more than those on the well preserved.As ever,Your friend,Beethoven.N.B. If you have a moment’s time please tell me how much a livery will cost now (without cloak) with hat and boot money.The most extraordinary changes have taken place, the man, thank God, has gone to the devil, but on the other hand the wife seems disposed to attach herself all the more closely.
(To Zmeskall—December 16.)
Here dear Z. you will receive my friendly dedication[169]which I hope will be a precious souvenir of our long-continued friendship and be accepted as a proof of my respect and not as the end of a long-spun thread (for you belong to my earliest friends in Vienna). Farewell—Abstain from the decayed fortresses, the attack exhausts more than those on the well preserved.
As ever,Your friend,Beethoven.
N.B. If you have a moment’s time please tell me how much a livery will cost now (without cloak) with hat and boot money.
The most extraordinary changes have taken place, the man, thank God, has gone to the devil, but on the other hand the wife seems disposed to attach herself all the more closely.
(To Sir George Smart, dictated to Häring.)Vienna, December 16, 1816.—1055 Sailerstätte, 3d Floor.My dear Sir:You honor me with so many encomiums and compliments that I ought to blush, tho’ I confess they are highly flattering to me and I thank you most heartily for the part you take in my affairs. They have rather gone a little back through the strange situation in which our lost—but happily recovered—friend Mr. Neate found himself entangled. Your kind letter of 31 October, explained a great deal and to some satisfaction and I take the liberty to enclose an answer to Mr. Neate, of whom I also received a letter, with my entreaties to assist him in all his undertakings in my behalf.You say that the Cantata might serve your purpose for the Oratorios and I ask you if you find £50 too much to give for it? I have had no benefit for it whatever until now, but I still should not wish to ask of you a price by which you might be a loser. Therefore we shall name £40, and if your success should be great, then I hope you will have no objection of adding the £10, to make the sum as mentioned. TheCopyrightwould beyoursand I should only make the condition of my publishing ithereat a period, whichyou will be pleasedto appoint and not before. I have communicated to Mr. Häring your kind intentions (good wishes) and he joins with me in the expression of the highest regard, which he always entertained for you.Mr. Neate may keep the different works except the Cantata if you accept it and I hope he will have it in his power with your assistance to do something for me, which from my illness and from the state of the Austrian finances would be very welcome.Give me leave to subscribe myself with the greatest esteem and cordiality,Ludwig van Beethoven.
(To Sir George Smart, dictated to Häring.)
Vienna, December 16, 1816.—1055 Sailerstätte, 3d Floor.
My dear Sir:
You honor me with so many encomiums and compliments that I ought to blush, tho’ I confess they are highly flattering to me and I thank you most heartily for the part you take in my affairs. They have rather gone a little back through the strange situation in which our lost—but happily recovered—friend Mr. Neate found himself entangled. Your kind letter of 31 October, explained a great deal and to some satisfaction and I take the liberty to enclose an answer to Mr. Neate, of whom I also received a letter, with my entreaties to assist him in all his undertakings in my behalf.
You say that the Cantata might serve your purpose for the Oratorios and I ask you if you find £50 too much to give for it? I have had no benefit for it whatever until now, but I still should not wish to ask of you a price by which you might be a loser. Therefore we shall name £40, and if your success should be great, then I hope you will have no objection of adding the £10, to make the sum as mentioned. TheCopyrightwould beyoursand I should only make the condition of my publishing ithereat a period, whichyou will be pleasedto appoint and not before. I have communicated to Mr. Häring your kind intentions (good wishes) and he joins with me in the expression of the highest regard, which he always entertained for you.
Mr. Neate may keep the different works except the Cantata if you accept it and I hope he will have it in his power with your assistance to do something for me, which from my illness and from the state of the Austrian finances would be very welcome.
Give me leave to subscribe myself with the greatest esteem and cordiality,
Ludwig van Beethoven.
(Mr. Häring, at Beethoven’s dictation, to Mr. Neate.)Vienna, December 18, 1816.My dear Sir:Both letters to Mr. Beethoven and to me arrived. I shall first answer his, as he has made out some memorandums, and would have written himself, if he was not prevented by a rheumatic feverish cold. He says: What can I answer to your warmfelt excuses? Past ills must be forgotten, and I wish you heartily joy that you have safely reached the long-wished-for port of love. Not having heard of you, I could not delay any longer the publication of the Symphony in A, which appeared here some few weeks ago. It certainly may last some weeks longer before a copy of this publication appears in London, but unless it is soon performed at the Philharmonic, and something is done for me afterwards by way of benefit, I don’t see in what manner I am to reap any good. The loss of your interest last season with the Philharmonic, when all my works in your hands were unpublished, has done me great harm; but it could not be helped, and at this moment I know not what to say. Your intentions are good, and it is to be hoped that my little fame may yet help. With respect to the two Sonatas, Op. 102, for pianoforte and violoncello, I wish to see them sold very soon, as I have several offers for them in Germany, which depend entirely upon me to accept; but I should not wish, by publishing them here, to lose all and every advantage with them in England. I am satisfied with the ten guineas offered for the dedication of the Trio, and I beg you to hand the title immediately to Mr. Birchall, who is anxiously waiting for it; you’ll please to use my name with him.I should be flattered to write some new works for the Philharmonic—I mean Symphonies, an Oratorio, or Cantatas, etc. Mr. Birchall wrote as if he wished to purchase my “Fidelio.” Please to treat with him, unless you have some plan with it for my benefit concert, which in general I leave to you and Sir George Smart, who will have the goodness to deliver this to you.The score of the opera “Fidelio” is not published in Germany or anywhere else. Try what can be done with Mr. Birchall, or as you think best. I was very sorry to hear that the three Overtures were not liked in London. I by no means reckon them among my best works, (which, however, I can boldly say of the Symphony in A), but still they were not disliked here and in Pesth, where people are not easily satisfied. Was there no fault in the execution? Was there no party spirit?And now I shall close, with the best wishes for your welfare, and that you enjoy all possible felicity in your new situation of life.Your true friend,Ludwig van Beethoven.
(Mr. Häring, at Beethoven’s dictation, to Mr. Neate.)
Vienna, December 18, 1816.
My dear Sir:
Both letters to Mr. Beethoven and to me arrived. I shall first answer his, as he has made out some memorandums, and would have written himself, if he was not prevented by a rheumatic feverish cold. He says: What can I answer to your warmfelt excuses? Past ills must be forgotten, and I wish you heartily joy that you have safely reached the long-wished-for port of love. Not having heard of you, I could not delay any longer the publication of the Symphony in A, which appeared here some few weeks ago. It certainly may last some weeks longer before a copy of this publication appears in London, but unless it is soon performed at the Philharmonic, and something is done for me afterwards by way of benefit, I don’t see in what manner I am to reap any good. The loss of your interest last season with the Philharmonic, when all my works in your hands were unpublished, has done me great harm; but it could not be helped, and at this moment I know not what to say. Your intentions are good, and it is to be hoped that my little fame may yet help. With respect to the two Sonatas, Op. 102, for pianoforte and violoncello, I wish to see them sold very soon, as I have several offers for them in Germany, which depend entirely upon me to accept; but I should not wish, by publishing them here, to lose all and every advantage with them in England. I am satisfied with the ten guineas offered for the dedication of the Trio, and I beg you to hand the title immediately to Mr. Birchall, who is anxiously waiting for it; you’ll please to use my name with him.
I should be flattered to write some new works for the Philharmonic—I mean Symphonies, an Oratorio, or Cantatas, etc. Mr. Birchall wrote as if he wished to purchase my “Fidelio.” Please to treat with him, unless you have some plan with it for my benefit concert, which in general I leave to you and Sir George Smart, who will have the goodness to deliver this to you.
The score of the opera “Fidelio” is not published in Germany or anywhere else. Try what can be done with Mr. Birchall, or as you think best. I was very sorry to hear that the three Overtures were not liked in London. I by no means reckon them among my best works, (which, however, I can boldly say of the Symphony in A), but still they were not disliked here and in Pesth, where people are not easily satisfied. Was there no fault in the execution? Was there no party spirit?
And now I shall close, with the best wishes for your welfare, and that you enjoy all possible felicity in your new situation of life.
Your true friend,Ludwig van Beethoven.
Dr. Kanka’s Help Implored
Toward the end of the month Beethoven wrote a lengthy letter to Dr. Kanka:
Vienna, December 28, 1816.My very dear and honored friend:To-morrow’s post-wagon will carry for you a Symphony by me in score, the reported Battle Symphony in score, Trio and a Violin Sonata and a few song pieces—I know that you feel in advance that I am grateful for all that you do for me as lately also for the quick remittance recently of my semi-yearly [dues]. But now again a request, rather an imposition, yes even a commission. The city of Retz, consisting of about 500 houses will appoint you as Curator of a certain Johann Hamatsch in Prague, for heaven’s sake do not decline such a simple judicial matter for thereby my poor little nephew will finally receive a small fortune, of course the matter will first have to be passed on by our magistracy here, inasmuch as the mother will probably have some benefit of it, think of it how much time these things will take, my poor unfortunate brother died without seeing the end, for the courts have such care for His Majesty, that the predecessor of the present syndicus of the city of Retz wanted to pay my brother 5000 florins for 500 (x) such are the honorable men which our amiable Christian monarch has around him—the present syndicus is himself an honest and capable man (for, if he wanted to he might have been like the former), meanwhile the aforementioned Hamatsch in Prague (a tradesman) has not yet given notice of his acceptance (N. B.—for 4 or 5 years).The syndicus Bayer of Retz will therefore send you the Curatel decree together with a copy of the bill of exchange from the magistracy of Retz, I know much too well how small and trivial the case is for a man of brains like yourself, if you do not think it fitting, I beg of you to choose somebody for it and to promote the matter as much as you can—but it would in every respect be better if you would undertake it, perhaps a mere consultation with the man (in Prague) would bring the matter to a conclusion.xThe present syndicus needed only 30 days and as many nights to extricate the matter from its former confusion in which it had been left.My nephew, so dear to me, is in one of the best institutions in Vienna, displays great talent, but all this goes to my expense and the Retz affair might enable me to spend a few hundred florins more on the education of my dear nephew. I embrace you as one of my dearest friends.
Vienna, December 28, 1816.
My very dear and honored friend:
To-morrow’s post-wagon will carry for you a Symphony by me in score, the reported Battle Symphony in score, Trio and a Violin Sonata and a few song pieces—I know that you feel in advance that I am grateful for all that you do for me as lately also for the quick remittance recently of my semi-yearly [dues]. But now again a request, rather an imposition, yes even a commission. The city of Retz, consisting of about 500 houses will appoint you as Curator of a certain Johann Hamatsch in Prague, for heaven’s sake do not decline such a simple judicial matter for thereby my poor little nephew will finally receive a small fortune, of course the matter will first have to be passed on by our magistracy here, inasmuch as the mother will probably have some benefit of it, think of it how much time these things will take, my poor unfortunate brother died without seeing the end, for the courts have such care for His Majesty, that the predecessor of the present syndicus of the city of Retz wanted to pay my brother 5000 florins for 500 (x) such are the honorable men which our amiable Christian monarch has around him—the present syndicus is himself an honest and capable man (for, if he wanted to he might have been like the former), meanwhile the aforementioned Hamatsch in Prague (a tradesman) has not yet given notice of his acceptance (N. B.—for 4 or 5 years).
The syndicus Bayer of Retz will therefore send you the Curatel decree together with a copy of the bill of exchange from the magistracy of Retz, I know much too well how small and trivial the case is for a man of brains like yourself, if you do not think it fitting, I beg of you to choose somebody for it and to promote the matter as much as you can—but it would in every respect be better if you would undertake it, perhaps a mere consultation with the man (in Prague) would bring the matter to a conclusion.
xThe present syndicus needed only 30 days and as many nights to extricate the matter from its former confusion in which it had been left.
My nephew, so dear to me, is in one of the best institutions in Vienna, displays great talent, but all this goes to my expense and the Retz affair might enable me to spend a few hundred florins more on the education of my dear nephew. I embrace you as one of my dearest friends.
A little cantata, written in honor of Prince Lobkowitz, belongs to this month of December. An autograph copy was given some forty years afterwards to Dr. Ottokar Zeithammer, of Prague, by the aged widow of Beethoven’s friend Peters, who gives this account of its origin:
The copy of a little cantata which he (Beethoven) wrote for me to be performed on the birthday of the Prince, now long dead, and which—as he himself says—reached me after his death, was in reality written by him and most daintily tied together with blue ribbon.... The cantata consists only of a few reiterated words, we can hardly saycomposedby himself, and originated when he heard of the approaching birthday festival of the Prince when visiting us. “And is there to be no celebration?” he asked, and I answered him, “No.” “That will not do,” he replied; “I’ll hurriedly write you a cantata, which you must sing for him.” But the performance was never reached.[170]
The copy of a little cantata which he (Beethoven) wrote for me to be performed on the birthday of the Prince, now long dead, and which—as he himself says—reached me after his death, was in reality written by him and most daintily tied together with blue ribbon.... The cantata consists only of a few reiterated words, we can hardly saycomposedby himself, and originated when he heard of the approaching birthday festival of the Prince when visiting us. “And is there to be no celebration?” he asked, and I answered him, “No.” “That will not do,” he replied; “I’ll hurriedly write you a cantata, which you must sing for him.” But the performance was never reached.[170]
The intended performance never took place, because Lobkowitz, born on December 7, 1772, died on December 16, 1816. And so he, too, disappears from our history. The foregoing receives all needful confirmation in this letter:
(To Peters.)January 8, 1816.[Should be 1817.]Only yesterday did I hear from Hrn. von Bernard, who met me, that you are here and therefore I send you these two copies, which unfortunately were not finished until just at the time when the death of our dear Prince Lobkowitz was reported. Do me the favor to hand them to His Serene Highness, the first-born Prince Lobkowitz, together with this writing, it was just to-day, I intended to look up the cashier to ask him to undertake its delivery in Bohemia, not having, in truth, believed anyone here.I, if I may speak of myself, am in a state of tolerably good health and wish you the same. I dare not ask you to come to me for I should be obliged totell you why, and that I should not presume to do as little as why youwould notorwould not desireto come. I beg you to write the inscription to the Prince as I do not know his given name—the 3rd copy please keep for your wife.
(To Peters.)
January 8, 1816.[Should be 1817.]
Only yesterday did I hear from Hrn. von Bernard, who met me, that you are here and therefore I send you these two copies, which unfortunately were not finished until just at the time when the death of our dear Prince Lobkowitz was reported. Do me the favor to hand them to His Serene Highness, the first-born Prince Lobkowitz, together with this writing, it was just to-day, I intended to look up the cashier to ask him to undertake its delivery in Bohemia, not having, in truth, believed anyone here.
I, if I may speak of myself, am in a state of tolerably good health and wish you the same. I dare not ask you to come to me for I should be obliged totell you why, and that I should not presume to do as little as why youwould notorwould not desireto come. I beg you to write the inscription to the Prince as I do not know his given name—the 3rd copy please keep for your wife.
The Coming of Anselm Hüttenbrenner
To the few names which this year have appeared in our narrative, there is still to be added one worthy of a paragraph: that of a wealthy young man from Gratz, an amateur musician and composer of that class whose idol was Beethoven—Anselm Hüttenbrenner, who came to Vienna in 1815 to study with Salieri, and formed an intimate friendship with Franz Schubert. His enthusiasm for Beethoven was not abated when the present writer, in 1860, had the good fortune to enjoy a period of familiar intercourse with him, to learn his great and noble qualities of mind and heart, and to hear his reminiscences from his own lips. That these, in relation to Beethoven, were numerous, no one will expect; since no young man of twenty-two years, and a stranger, could at the period before us be much with the master except as a pupil—and he took none—or in the position lately occupied by Oliva and soon to be assumed by Schindler; which of course was all out of the question with Hüttenbrenner.
I learned to know Beethoven [he relates] through the kindness of Hrn. Dr. Joseph Eppinger, Israelite. The first time Beethoven was not at home; his housekeeper opened to us his living-room and study. There everything lay in confusion—scores, shirts, socks, books. The second time he was at home, locked in with two copyists. At the name “Eppinger” he opened the door and excused himself, having a great deal to do, and asked us to come at another time. But, seeing in my hand a roll of music—overture to Schiller’s “Robbers” and a vocal quartet with pianoforte accompaniment, text by Schiller—he took it, sat himself down to the pianoforte and turned all the leaves carefully. Thereupon he jumped up, pounded me on the right shoulder with all his might, and spoke to me the following words which humiliated me because I cannot yet explain them: “I am not worthy that you should visit me!” Was it humility? If so it was divine; if it was irony it was pardonable.
I learned to know Beethoven [he relates] through the kindness of Hrn. Dr. Joseph Eppinger, Israelite. The first time Beethoven was not at home; his housekeeper opened to us his living-room and study. There everything lay in confusion—scores, shirts, socks, books. The second time he was at home, locked in with two copyists. At the name “Eppinger” he opened the door and excused himself, having a great deal to do, and asked us to come at another time. But, seeing in my hand a roll of music—overture to Schiller’s “Robbers” and a vocal quartet with pianoforte accompaniment, text by Schiller—he took it, sat himself down to the pianoforte and turned all the leaves carefully. Thereupon he jumped up, pounded me on the right shoulder with all his might, and spoke to me the following words which humiliated me because I cannot yet explain them: “I am not worthy that you should visit me!” Was it humility? If so it was divine; if it was irony it was pardonable.
And again:
A few times a week Beethoven came to the publishing house of Steiner and Co. in the forenoon between 11 and 12 o’clock. Nearly every time there was held there a composers’ meeting to exchange musical opinions. Schubert frequently took me there. We regaled ourselves with the pithy, often sarcastic remarks of Beethoven particularly when the talk was about Italian music.
A few times a week Beethoven came to the publishing house of Steiner and Co. in the forenoon between 11 and 12 o’clock. Nearly every time there was held there a composers’ meeting to exchange musical opinions. Schubert frequently took me there. We regaled ourselves with the pithy, often sarcastic remarks of Beethoven particularly when the talk was about Italian music.
Hüttenbrenner remembered as a common remark in Vienna in those days that what first gave Beethoven his reputation on coming there twenty-four years before, was his superb playing of Bach’s “Well-Tempered Clavichord.”
Two or three minor notes will close the story of the year. In the concert for the Theatrical Poor Fund, in the Theater-an-der-Wien, September 8th, one of the finales to Beethoven’s“Prometheus” music was revived: “A glorious piece worked out in a masterly manner,” says a reporter; and the concert for the Hospital of St. Mark, on December 25, opened with his “Symphony in A, one difficult of execution, which was performed with the greatest precision under the direction of this brilliant composer.” More important was a proposition made early in the year by his old friend Hoffmeister in Leipsic, for a complete edition of his pianoforte works, which came to nothing and concerning which more in another connection. In July he received another series of songs from Thomson which, according to a letter in French to Thomson, dated January 18, 1817, he had already finished by the end of September.
Works Composed and Published in 1816
The works composed in 1816 are:
I. Pianoforte Sonata in A major, Op. 101, dedicated to Baroness Dorothea von Ertmann.[171]Nottebohm’s researches place all the sketches for the sonata in the years 1815 and 1816. (See, “Zweit. Beeth.,” pp. 340 and 552et seq.)II. Song: “Der Mann von Wort,” Op. 99.III. Song-cycle: “An die ferne Geliebte,” Op. 98. The autograph bears the inscription “1816 in the month of April.” Sketches from 1815 and 1816 are described by Nottebohm in “Zweit. Beeth.,” p. 334et seq.IV. March in D major, for military band; the autograph bears the inscription in Beethoven’s hand: “March for the grand parade of the Guard, by L. v. Beethoven, June 3, 1816.”V. Cantata for the birthday of Prince Lobkowitz, composed for Peters.VI. Song: “Ruf vom Berge,” dated “December 13, 1816.”
I. Pianoforte Sonata in A major, Op. 101, dedicated to Baroness Dorothea von Ertmann.[171]Nottebohm’s researches place all the sketches for the sonata in the years 1815 and 1816. (See, “Zweit. Beeth.,” pp. 340 and 552et seq.)
II. Song: “Der Mann von Wort,” Op. 99.
III. Song-cycle: “An die ferne Geliebte,” Op. 98. The autograph bears the inscription “1816 in the month of April.” Sketches from 1815 and 1816 are described by Nottebohm in “Zweit. Beeth.,” p. 334et seq.
IV. March in D major, for military band; the autograph bears the inscription in Beethoven’s hand: “March for the grand parade of the Guard, by L. v. Beethoven, June 3, 1816.”
V. Cantata for the birthday of Prince Lobkowitz, composed for Peters.
VI. Song: “Ruf vom Berge,” dated “December 13, 1816.”
The publications for the year were:
I. Song: “Das Geheimniss,” as a supplement for the “Wiener Modenzeitung,” February 29, 1816.II. Song: “An die Hoffnung,” Op. 94; by Steiner and Co., in February.III. “Wellington’s Sieg, oder die Schlacht bei Vittoria, in Musik gesetzt von Ludwig van Beethoven. 91stesWerk”; by Steiner and Co., Vienna, in March.IV. Canon: “Glück zum neuen Jahr”; by J. Riedel, Vienna, in May.V. Song: “Die Sehnsucht,” words by Reissig; by Artaria in a collection which appeared in June.VI. Sonata for Pianoforte and Violin, Op. 96; dedicated to Archduke Rudolph; Vienna, Steiner and Co., in July.VII. Trio for Pianoforte, Violin and Violoncello, Op. 97; dedicated to Archduke Rudolph; published by Steiner and Co., Vienna, on July 16.VIII. Song: “Merkenstein,” Op. 100; dedicated to Count Dietrichstein; Vienna, Steiner and Co., in September.IX. Song: “Der Mann von Wort,” Op. 99; Vienna, Steiner and Co., in November.X. Song-Cycle: “An die ferne Geliebte,” Op. 98; dedicated to Prince Lobkowitz; Vienna, Steiner and Co., in December.XI. Symphony, No. 7, in A major, Op. 92; dedicated to Count Moritz von Fries; Vienna, Steiner and Co., in December.XII. Symphony, No. 8, in F major, Op. 93; Vienna, Steiner and Co., in December.XIII. Quartet for Strings, F minor, Op. 95; dedicated to Zmeskall; Vienna, Steiner and Co., in December.XIV. Two Sonatas for Pianoforte and Violoncello, Op. 102. According to a letter of Zmeskall’s dated January 20, 1817, these sonatas were not published later than the works last mentioned, that is, December, 1816. They were published by Simrock without dedication. In the later edition published by Artaria in 1819, they are dedicated to Countess Erdödy.
I. Song: “Das Geheimniss,” as a supplement for the “Wiener Modenzeitung,” February 29, 1816.
II. Song: “An die Hoffnung,” Op. 94; by Steiner and Co., in February.
III. “Wellington’s Sieg, oder die Schlacht bei Vittoria, in Musik gesetzt von Ludwig van Beethoven. 91stesWerk”; by Steiner and Co., Vienna, in March.
IV. Canon: “Glück zum neuen Jahr”; by J. Riedel, Vienna, in May.
V. Song: “Die Sehnsucht,” words by Reissig; by Artaria in a collection which appeared in June.
VI. Sonata for Pianoforte and Violin, Op. 96; dedicated to Archduke Rudolph; Vienna, Steiner and Co., in July.
VII. Trio for Pianoforte, Violin and Violoncello, Op. 97; dedicated to Archduke Rudolph; published by Steiner and Co., Vienna, on July 16.
VIII. Song: “Merkenstein,” Op. 100; dedicated to Count Dietrichstein; Vienna, Steiner and Co., in September.
IX. Song: “Der Mann von Wort,” Op. 99; Vienna, Steiner and Co., in November.
X. Song-Cycle: “An die ferne Geliebte,” Op. 98; dedicated to Prince Lobkowitz; Vienna, Steiner and Co., in December.
XI. Symphony, No. 7, in A major, Op. 92; dedicated to Count Moritz von Fries; Vienna, Steiner and Co., in December.
XII. Symphony, No. 8, in F major, Op. 93; Vienna, Steiner and Co., in December.
XIII. Quartet for Strings, F minor, Op. 95; dedicated to Zmeskall; Vienna, Steiner and Co., in December.
XIV. Two Sonatas for Pianoforte and Violoncello, Op. 102. According to a letter of Zmeskall’s dated January 20, 1817, these sonatas were not published later than the works last mentioned, that is, December, 1816. They were published by Simrock without dedication. In the later edition published by Artaria in 1819, they are dedicated to Countess Erdödy.
The Year 1817—Beethoven and the Public Journals of Vienna—Fanny Giannatasio’s Diary—The Philharmonic Society of London—Cipriani Potter—Marschner—Marie Pachler-Koschak—Beethoven’s Opinion of Mälzel’s Metronome.
The Year 1817—Beethoven and the Public Journals of Vienna—Fanny Giannatasio’s Diary—The Philharmonic Society of London—Cipriani Potter—Marschner—Marie Pachler-Koschak—Beethoven’s Opinion of Mälzel’s Metronome.
Beethoven’s splenetic remarks to strangers in his last years upon the music, musicians and public of Vienna have given rise to widely diffused but utterly false conceptions as to the facts. Thus William Henry Fry, a leading American writer on music in the middle of the nineteenth century,[172]did but express a common opinion in the following:
That composer [Beethoven] worked hard for thirty years. At his death, after the cup of glory had overflowed, his name resounding through Christendom, he left in all a beggarly sum of two or three thousand dollars, having lived as any one acquainted with his career knows, a penurious life, fitted to his poverty and servile position in Vienna.
That composer [Beethoven] worked hard for thirty years. At his death, after the cup of glory had overflowed, his name resounding through Christendom, he left in all a beggarly sum of two or three thousand dollars, having lived as any one acquainted with his career knows, a penurious life, fitted to his poverty and servile position in Vienna.
Beethoven and the Viennese Journalists
The popular want of appreciation of his merits “doomed Beethoven to a garret, which no Irish emigrant would live in.” It is altogether unnecessary to argue against such statements, as the whole tenor of this biography refutes them; but the public press of Vienna deserves a vindication, and the appearance of a new “Allgemeine Musik-Zeitung” on January 2nd, 1817, affords a suitable opportunity for the little that need be said on the subject. This journal, conducted “with particular reference to the Austrian Empire,” and published by Steiner and Co., was, during the first two years, without the name of any responsible editor; the volumes for 1819 and 1820 announce Ignaz von Seyfried as holding that position; the others, from 1821 to 1824, bear the name of Friedrich August Kanne. A leading writer in the earlier volumes was Hofrath Ignaz von Mosel, who already had some local celebrityfor his articles on musical topics in the “Vaterländische Blätter” and other periodicals, and who continued a prolific contributor to musical journals to the end of his life in 1844. Beethoven valued him as a writer; but Mosel had the temerity to undertake, like Mozart, the task of revising and modernizing Handel. Of his eight mutilations of that great man’s works, two, “Samson” and “Belshazzar,” were printed and, for some fifty years, adopted for performance throughout Austria and Germany—a remarkable proof of the general ignorance which prevailed concerning the works of the greatest oratorio composer; for two such monuments of arrogant presumption, of incompetency to comprehend his author and of a false and perverted taste, probably do not exist unless, perhaps, among the other six works which were not printed. One of Beethoven’s sarcasms, remembered by Carl Czerny, indicates his opinion of Mosel’s dilettantism. Reading a newspaper once at Artaria’s, he saw that Mosel “had been ennobled, particularly because of his services in behalf of music.” “The Mosel is muddy where it flows into the Rhine” (Der Mosel fliesst trüb in den Rhein!), said Beethoven, laughingly. Kanne ranked with the best musical journalists of the day, and, to use the words of Hanslick, his labors and influence as a critic were considerable, especially because of his enthusiasm for Beethoven, is certain.
Taking 1821-1822 as a medium date, the leading political and literary journals in Vienna in those years were the “Wiener Zeitung,” Joseph Carl Bernard, editor; the “Beobachter,” Joseph Pilat, editor; the “Sammler,” Portenschlag and Ledermeyer, editors; the “Wiener Zeitschrift” (fashion journal), Johann Schickh, editor; and the “Theater-Zeitung,” Adolph Bäuerle, editor. Most of these editors were personal friends of Beethoven; and whoever performs the weary task of looking through their myriads of pages sees that all were his admirers and let no opportunity pass unimproved of adding a leaf to his laurels. Still, disappointment at the comparative paucity of matter relating to him follows such an examination. The cause, however, lay in himself; in the small number of his new compositions of high importance, and in the rarity of his appearance before the public. True, there were newspapers, and in divers languages, that took no note of Beethoven and his works because music and musicians were not within their scope; but not one of them was hostile. In short, whether the periodical press be considered as the exponent or the guide of public opinion, in either case its tone at Vienna during the ten years which remained of Beethoven’s lifeis ample refutation of the so oft asserted disregard for and contemptuous neglect of their great composer on the part of the Viennese. The correspondence of this and the next two or three years is very voluminous. Schindler says most pertinently of it:
During these years our composer, instead of writing many notes, as had been his wont, wrote many letters, referring in part to his domestic affairs, in part to the litigation and in part to the education of his nephew. These letters are, in general, among the least encouraging and most deplorable testimonials to the excitement which attended his passionate prosecution of these objects. Those of his friends and nearer acquaintances who permitted themselves to be drawn into these three matters were so overwhelmed with documents and communications that they blessed the hour in which the lawsuit was brought to a conclusion.
During these years our composer, instead of writing many notes, as had been his wont, wrote many letters, referring in part to his domestic affairs, in part to the litigation and in part to the education of his nephew. These letters are, in general, among the least encouraging and most deplorable testimonials to the excitement which attended his passionate prosecution of these objects. Those of his friends and nearer acquaintances who permitted themselves to be drawn into these three matters were so overwhelmed with documents and communications that they blessed the hour in which the lawsuit was brought to a conclusion.
Mistaken Training of Nephew Karl
There are few men of whom a most false and exaggerated picture may not be presented by grouping together their utterances, spoken or written at long intervals and in the most diverse moods and states of mind. Thomas Carlyle says: “Half or more of all the thick-plied perversions which distort the image of Cromwell will disappear if we honestly so much as try to represent them in sequence as they were, not in the lump as thrown down before us.” Hence, strict chronological order must not lightly be abandoned—never when distortion of the image is thereby produced. But there are series of letters covering comparatively short periods of time, which may be grouped and placed apart with no ill consequence. Such is the series to Steiner and Co.; and such to the Streichers and Zmeskall, which are too unimportant to place in the text.[173]An abstract or analysis of them would serve but a small purpose; but they should be read despite their triviality, for they show, better than any description would, the helplessness of their writer in all affairs of common life; also, by implication, the wretched prospect of any good result to his undertaking the supervision and education of a boy more than usually endowed with personal attractions and mental capacity, but whose character had already received a false bias from the equally indiscreet alternate indulgence and severity of his invalid and passionate father and of his froward and impure mother. Moreover, this undertaking rendered necessary a sudden and very great change in the domestic habits of a man nearly fifty years of age, who, even twenty years before, had not been able, when residing in the family of his Mæcenas, Lichnowsky, to bear the restraints imposed by common courtesy and propriety. It is obvious that there was but one course to be taken for the boy fromwhich a good result might reasonably have been expected; and this was to send him at once to some institution far enough from Vienna to separate him entirely, vacations excepted, from both mother and uncle; to subject him there to rigid discipline and give him the stimulus of emulation with boys of his own age. When it was too late, as will be seen, this idea was entertained, but not sanctioned by the civil authorities. That such a course with the boy would have resulted well, subsequent events leave no doubt; for, passing over the question how far facts justify the harsh judgments recorded against him for more than half a century, each new writer bitterer than the last, we know this: that after his uncle’s death, although his bad tendencies of character had been strengthened and intensified by the lack of efficient, consistent, firm and resolute restraint from 1815 to 1827, yet a few years of strict military discipline made of him a good and peaceable citizen, a kind and affectionate husband and father. Had Beethoven’s wisdom and prudence equalled his boundless affection for his nephew, many painful pages in this work would have no place; many which, if the truth and justice to the dead and living permitted, one would gladly suppress. But it must not be forgotten that Beethoven, on his death-bed, as Schindler relates, expressed “his honest desire that whatever might some day be said of him, should adhere strictly to the truth in every respect, regardless of whether or not it might give pain to this or the other person or affect his own person.”
Let us again take up the thread of our narrative. We are still to imagine Beethoven living in the lofty, narrow house. No. 1055-6 Sailerstätte, entered from the street, but its better rooms on the other side looking over the old city wall and moat and out across the Glacis and little river Wien to the suburb Landstrasse, where, fronting on the Glacis, stood the institute of Giannatasio in which his nephew was a pupil, having been placed there in February, 1816. There is no record, nor do the sketchbooks show, that in the first half of this year his mind was occupied with any important composition; on the contrary, his time and thoughts were given to the affairs of his nephew, to his purposed housekeeping and to quarrels with his servants, as the frequent letters to the Streichers and Zmeskall showad nauseam. A curiously interesting picture of the man and his doings is disclosed by the letters referred to, Fanny Giannatasio’s records, and the jottings which that young woman wrote down in the form of a diary.[174]
At the beginning of the year 1817, Beethoven seems to have harbored a desire to take lodgings nearer the institute. Giannatasio offered to let him have one which was at his disposal, but Beethoven declined the offer with the words: “Gladly as I should like to make use of your kind offer that I live with you in the garden-house, it is for various reasons impossible.” In April he moved into rooms in the Gärtnerstrasse near the Streichers and the institute. Meanwhile there had been a misunderstanding between him and Giannatasio. A fortnight later explanations had been made and peace restored; but when Nanni asked Beethoven if he was still angry he replied: “I think much too little of myself to getangry.” The nephew had been to blame and had disclosed new evidences of a thoughtlessness which had deeply pained his good uncle.
Chiefly from the letters written in this year, we learn a sequence of other happenings. Early in January, Beethoven sends copies of the song-cycle, “An die ferne Geliebte,” to Court Councillor Peters, tutor in the house of Prince Lobkowitz, for the new prince whose Christian name he does not know. In the same month he writes an autograph French communication to Thomson, in Edinburgh, stating that all the songs which he had commissioned in the previous July had been completed by the end of September,but had not been forwarded because of an illness from which he was not yet quite recovered. As to the folksongs of various nations he urges that prose versions of the texts be obtained as being preferable to the versified, a thing which he had suggested before, the prose being a better guide for him to the sentiment of the songs than rhymed lines. On January 30, he rebukes Zmeskall for having pained him by sending him a gift in acknowledgment of the dedication of the String Quartet, Op. 95, which had come from the press in December, 1816. “Although you are only a performing musician,” he writes, “you have several times exercised the power of imagination, and it seems to me that it has occasionally put unnecessary whims into your head—at least so it seemed to me from your letter after my dedication. Good as I am and much as I appreciate all the good in you, I am yet angry, angry, angry.” Other letters to Steiner at this time refer to the Pianoforte Sonata in A, Op. 101, which was then in the hands of the printers and appeared in February with a dedication to Baroness Ertmann. The suggestion had gone out that German composers substitute German terms in music in place of Italian. With characteristic impetuosity, Beethoven decided to begin the reform at once, although it seems to have involved the reëngraving of the title-page of the new Sonata. He wrote to Steiner in the military style with which we are already familiar:
To the Wellborn Lieut[enant] Gen[eral], for his own hands.PublicandumAfter individual examination and taking the advice of my council we have determined and hereby determine that hereafter on all our works with German titles, Hammerclavier be printed in place of pianoforte; our best Lt. Gen. as well as the Adjutant and all others concerned will govern themselves accordingly and put this order into effect.Instead of Pianoforte, Hammerclavier—which settles the matter once for all.Given, etc., etc.,on January 23, 1817.by theG[eneralissimu]s....m.p.
To the Wellborn Lieut[enant] Gen[eral], for his own hands.
Publicandum
After individual examination and taking the advice of my council we have determined and hereby determine that hereafter on all our works with German titles, Hammerclavier be printed in place of pianoforte; our best Lt. Gen. as well as the Adjutant and all others concerned will govern themselves accordingly and put this order into effect.
Instead of Pianoforte, Hammerclavier—which settles the matter once for all.
Given, etc., etc.,on January 23, 1817.by theG[eneralissimu]s....m.p.
Beethoven was in doubt as to the correctness of “Hammerclavier,” thinking that it might better be “Hämmerclavier.” In another communication he says the matter must be referred to a philologist. At the same time he offers, if necessary, to pay for the engraving of a new title, adding that perhaps the old one might be utilized for another sonata. He bases his acceptance of the new word on the belief that the instrument itself was a German invention—a theory long ago disproved so far as the priority of the invention is concerned.
Baroness Ertmann now lived at St. Pölten, where the command of her husband lay quartered, and thither Beethoven sent a copy of the “Hammerclavier” sonata accompanied by the following letter:
My dear, valued Dorothea-Cäcilia!You must often have misunderstood me when I was obliged to appear displeasing to you particularly in the early days when my style hadless recognition than it has now. You know the teaching of the un-called apostles who helped themselves along with quite other means than the holy gospel; I did not want to be counted among them. Receive now what was often intended for you and what may be a proof of my affection for your artistic talent as well as your person. That I did not hear you play at Czerny’s recently was due to my ill-health which at last seems to be giving way before my strength.I hope soon to hear you, how it goes at Pölten with ..., and whether you care anything for yourAdmirer and friend,L. van Beethoven, m.p.All things lovely to your worthyhusbandandconsort.[175]
My dear, valued Dorothea-Cäcilia!
You must often have misunderstood me when I was obliged to appear displeasing to you particularly in the early days when my style hadless recognition than it has now. You know the teaching of the un-called apostles who helped themselves along with quite other means than the holy gospel; I did not want to be counted among them. Receive now what was often intended for you and what may be a proof of my affection for your artistic talent as well as your person. That I did not hear you play at Czerny’s recently was due to my ill-health which at last seems to be giving way before my strength.
I hope soon to hear you, how it goes at Pölten with ..., and whether you care anything for your
Admirer and friend,L. van Beethoven, m.p.
All things lovely to your worthyhusbandandconsort.[175]
Reflections Committed to Paper
The picture of Beethoven’s domestic affairs will gain in vividness by imagining the following extracts from the so-called “Tagebuch” of the Fischoff Manuscript to be scattered through these preceding pages. Dates are nowhere given; but memoranda of letters to Brentano in April follow which prove these notes to belong to the previous months:
Never again live alone with a servant; there is always danger, suppose, for instance, the master falls ill and the servant, perhaps, also.He who wishes to reap tears should sow love. (Beethoven is here surely thinking of his nephew.)The Compassionate Brothers (the monks) in Tell, form a semi-circle around the dead man and sing in deep tones:Rasch tritt der Tod den Menschen anEs ist ihm keine Frist gegebenEr stürzt ihn mitten in der BahnEs reisst ihn fort vom vollem LebenBereitet oder nicht zu gehn!Er muss vor seinen Richter stehen!Vidi malum et accepi.—(Plinius.)Tametsi quid homini potest dari maius quam gloria et laus et aeternitas.—(Plinius.)What more can be given to man than fame and praise and immortality?Audi multa loquere pauca.Something must be done—either a journey and to this end the writing of the necessary works or an opera—if you are again to remain here during the coming summer an opera would be preferable in case circumstances, but moderately—if the summer sojourn is to be here, a decision must be made, where, how?God help me, Thou seest me deserted by all men, for I do not wish to do wrong, hear my supplication, only for the future to be with my Karl, since the possibility shows itself nowhere, O harsh fate, O cruel destiny, no, no, my unhappy condition will never end.This one thing I feel and clearly comprehend, possessions are not the highest things in life, but guilt is the greatest evil.There is no salvation for you except to go away, only thus can you swing yourself up to the summits of your art again, while here you are sinking into vulgarity, and a symphony ... and then away—away—away—meanwhile collect the salary which mayhap can be done yet for years.Work during the summer for the journey, only thus can you carry out the great task for your poor nephew, afterward wander through Italy, Sicily, with a few artists—make plans and be of good cheer for the sake of C.In my opinion, first the saline baths, like those of Wiesbaden, etc., then the sulphur baths like Aix-la-Chapelle were everlastingly cold. Spend evenings and afternoons in company, it is uplifting and not wearying and live a different life at home.Sensual enjoyment without a union of souls is bestial and will always remain bestial; after it, one experiences not a trace of noble sentiment but rather regret.
Never again live alone with a servant; there is always danger, suppose, for instance, the master falls ill and the servant, perhaps, also.
He who wishes to reap tears should sow love. (Beethoven is here surely thinking of his nephew.)
The Compassionate Brothers (the monks) in Tell, form a semi-circle around the dead man and sing in deep tones:
Rasch tritt der Tod den Menschen anEs ist ihm keine Frist gegebenEr stürzt ihn mitten in der BahnEs reisst ihn fort vom vollem LebenBereitet oder nicht zu gehn!Er muss vor seinen Richter stehen!
Rasch tritt der Tod den Menschen anEs ist ihm keine Frist gegebenEr stürzt ihn mitten in der BahnEs reisst ihn fort vom vollem LebenBereitet oder nicht zu gehn!Er muss vor seinen Richter stehen!
Rasch tritt der Tod den Menschen anEs ist ihm keine Frist gegebenEr stürzt ihn mitten in der BahnEs reisst ihn fort vom vollem LebenBereitet oder nicht zu gehn!Er muss vor seinen Richter stehen!
Vidi malum et accepi.—(Plinius.)
Tametsi quid homini potest dari maius quam gloria et laus et aeternitas.—(Plinius.)
What more can be given to man than fame and praise and immortality?
Audi multa loquere pauca.
Something must be done—either a journey and to this end the writing of the necessary works or an opera—if you are again to remain here during the coming summer an opera would be preferable in case circumstances, but moderately—if the summer sojourn is to be here, a decision must be made, where, how?
God help me, Thou seest me deserted by all men, for I do not wish to do wrong, hear my supplication, only for the future to be with my Karl, since the possibility shows itself nowhere, O harsh fate, O cruel destiny, no, no, my unhappy condition will never end.
This one thing I feel and clearly comprehend, possessions are not the highest things in life, but guilt is the greatest evil.
There is no salvation for you except to go away, only thus can you swing yourself up to the summits of your art again, while here you are sinking into vulgarity, and a symphony ... and then away—away—away—meanwhile collect the salary which mayhap can be done yet for years.
Work during the summer for the journey, only thus can you carry out the great task for your poor nephew, afterward wander through Italy, Sicily, with a few artists—make plans and be of good cheer for the sake of C.
In my opinion, first the saline baths, like those of Wiesbaden, etc., then the sulphur baths like Aix-la-Chapelle were everlastingly cold. Spend evenings and afternoons in company, it is uplifting and not wearying and live a different life at home.
Sensual enjoyment without a union of souls is bestial and will always remain bestial; after it, one experiences not a trace of noble sentiment but rather regret.
Beethoven’s mind was engrossed with the plans of travel indicated in these excerpts throughout the year; he considered a tour of some kind essential to the restoration of his health and the recovery of his creative powers. A remittance from the Kinsky estate falling due in April, he wrote a letter to Kanka asking him to make the collection for him and enclosed a receipt. He complains of still feeling the effects of an inflammatory catarrh with which he had been attacked in the previous October, and ends by asking what would be the consequence if he were to leave the Austrian Empire; would a signature sent from a foreign place be valid?—meaning, probably, would such a signature be looked upon as evidence of a violation of the contract which he was under to his noble patrons not to take up a residence outside the Austrian dominions. His chronic dissatisfaction with the conditions which surrounded him in Vienna, as well as the moody mind inwhich his illness had left him, also breathes through the following letter (written in German) to Charles Neate in London:
Explanations to Charles Neate
Vienna, April 19, 1817.My dear Neate!Since the 15th of October I have been seemingly ill and I am still suffering from the consequences and not quite healed. You know thatI must live from my compositions alone, I have been able to compose very little, and therefore to earn almost nothing, all the more welcome would it have been if you had done something for me—meanwhile I suspect that the result of everything has been—nothing.You have even writtencomplainingly of meto Hering, which was not deserved by my fair dealing with you—meanwhile I must justify in the premises, namely: the opera Fidelio had been written for several years, but the book and text were very faulty; the book had to be thoroughly remodeled, wherefore several pieces of the music had to be extended, others shortened, others newly composed. Thus, for instance, the overture is entirely new, as well as various other numbers, but it is possible that the opera may be found in London,as it was at first, in which case it must have been stolen as is scarcely to be avoided at the theatre. As regards the Symphony in A, as you did not write me a satisfactory reply, I was obliged to publish it, I should as willingly have waited 3 years if you had written me that the Philharmonic Society had accepted it—but on all hands nothing—nothing. Now regarding thePianoforte Sonatas with Violoncello, for them I give youa month’s time, if after that I have no answer from you I shall publish them inGermany, but having heard as little from you about them as about the other works, I have given them to a German publisher who importuned me for them,but I have bound him in writing (Hering has read the document) not to publish the Sonatas until you have sold them in London, it seems to me that you ought to be able to dispose of these 2 sonatas for 70 or 80 ducats in gold at least, the English publisher may fixthe day of publication in London and they will appear on the same day in Germany, it was in this manner Birchall bought and got the Grand Trio and the Violin Sonata from me. I also beg you as a last favor togive me an answer touching the sonatas as soon as possible. Frau v. Jennyswears thatyou have done everythingfor me, I too, that is to say I swear that you have donenothingfor me, are doingnothingand will donothing—summa summarum, nothing! nothing! nothing!!!I assure you of my most perfect respect and hopeas a last favor a speedy reply.
Vienna, April 19, 1817.
My dear Neate!
Since the 15th of October I have been seemingly ill and I am still suffering from the consequences and not quite healed. You know thatI must live from my compositions alone, I have been able to compose very little, and therefore to earn almost nothing, all the more welcome would it have been if you had done something for me—meanwhile I suspect that the result of everything has been—nothing.
You have even writtencomplainingly of meto Hering, which was not deserved by my fair dealing with you—meanwhile I must justify in the premises, namely: the opera Fidelio had been written for several years, but the book and text were very faulty; the book had to be thoroughly remodeled, wherefore several pieces of the music had to be extended, others shortened, others newly composed. Thus, for instance, the overture is entirely new, as well as various other numbers, but it is possible that the opera may be found in London,as it was at first, in which case it must have been stolen as is scarcely to be avoided at the theatre. As regards the Symphony in A, as you did not write me a satisfactory reply, I was obliged to publish it, I should as willingly have waited 3 years if you had written me that the Philharmonic Society had accepted it—but on all hands nothing—nothing. Now regarding thePianoforte Sonatas with Violoncello, for them I give youa month’s time, if after that I have no answer from you I shall publish them inGermany, but having heard as little from you about them as about the other works, I have given them to a German publisher who importuned me for them,but I have bound him in writing (Hering has read the document) not to publish the Sonatas until you have sold them in London, it seems to me that you ought to be able to dispose of these 2 sonatas for 70 or 80 ducats in gold at least, the English publisher may fixthe day of publication in London and they will appear on the same day in Germany, it was in this manner Birchall bought and got the Grand Trio and the Violin Sonata from me. I also beg you as a last favor togive me an answer touching the sonatas as soon as possible. Frau v. Jennyswears thatyou have done everythingfor me, I too, that is to say I swear that you have donenothingfor me, are doingnothingand will donothing—summa summarum, nothing! nothing! nothing!!!
I assure you of my most perfect respect and hopeas a last favor a speedy reply.
The Sonatas had been published three months before this letter was written, by Simrock in Bonn; a fact which Beethoven seems to have assumed was not known in London. The Frau v. Jenny mentioned was the Countess von Genney, through whose aid Beethoven hired a villa in Hetzendorf, from Baron von Pronay in 1823. Beethoven’s irascible outbreak against Neate must be read in the light of the latter’s letter of explanation and apology dated October 29, 1816, and printed in the preceding chapter.
The new lodgings in Georgi were occupied by Beethoven on April 24, 1817, but the contract of rent may have been temporary and conditional, for in July and again in September he wrote to Frau Streicher about lodgings in the Gärtnergasse, and later in the year he changed his lodgings, for which he had little use during the summer because of his sojourn in the country.
Alois Fuchs, now a youth of nearly 18 years, had come to Vienna some months earlier to enter the university, dependent largely upon his musical talents and knowledge for his support. Here he appears to have studied the violin under Beethoven’s old friend, Krumpholz. Whether because the composer remembered him as the solo singer in his mass at Troppau, or through the intervention of Krumpholz, Fuchs has not informed us; but at any rate he had promised a contribution to the youngster’s album. On May 2nd Krumpholz died very suddenly of apoplexy while walking on the Glacis, and Beethoven commemorated the event by writing his “Gesang der Mönche” (from Schiller’s “Tell”) for three male voices in Fuchs’s album with the superscription: “In memory of the sudden and unexpected death of our Krumpholz on May 3rd, 1817.” The date was not intended to record the time of composition, but of the death of the violinist; as such a record it was an error.