played first of all some variations on the piano with great execution
and taste. The eldest then played a quartett by _Krommer_. But neither
the composition, nor his playing pleased me. “His tones”, says a remark
in my diary, “are without power, and his execution without expression.
Added to this, he handled his bow so badly, that, if he does not alter
this, he will never become a perfect virtuoso. He holds the bow a
hand’s breadth from the nut, and raises the right arm much too high.
In this manner, all strength fails him in the stroke, and the shades
of _piano_ and _forte_ vanish altogether in his playing.” After him,
Herr _Eck_ also played a quartett by _Krommer_. “But Heavens! what a
difference was there! The transitions from _forte_ to _piano_ in his
tones, the clearness of the passages, the tasteful _fioriture_ by which
he knew how to enhance the most common place composition, lent an
irresistable charm to his playing. He gained also, the most undivided
applause. _Pixis_ then played a quartett by _Tietz_, the celebrated
crazy violinist of St. Petersburgh, but had just as little success with
it as with his former one. At last, he begged Herr _Eck_ to play a duet
by _Viotti_ with him, in order that he might be able to say that he had
played with all the great violinists of the day; for _Viotti_, _Rode_,
_Kreutzer_, _Iwanovichi_, _Tietz_, _Durand_ and others, had all done
him that honour. In this request all the company joined, and Herr _Eck_
was obliged to consent. _Pixis_ played this duet best of all, although
he did not bring out _one_ of the passages as well as Herr _Eck_, who
was not at all prepared for it.”
In the Concert also, which the brothers gave, the eldest had no
success, “the passages were flat and without expression: he even played
very false, and at times scraped so much as to inflict pain on the ears
of the audience.... According to my idea, three years ago when I heard
him for the first time in Brunswick, he played the easy Concertos of
_Iwanovichi_ and others, better than the difficult ones with which he
now came forward.” Yes, I even doubted whether he ever could become a
great violinist, “unless he soon got a good master, who, of all things,
could give him a good style of bow-ing.”
Upon these doubtless too severe criticisms my Instructor who was a very
stern judge, may certainly have had some influence. When, ten years
later, I again met _Pixis_ in Vienna, he had become a distinguished
virtuoso, and as Professor at the Conservatory in Prague, he proved
himself also an able teacher of the violin.
In Königsberg, I began again to paint. I made the acquaintance of a
miniature painter, named _Seidel_, who gave me some lessons, and sat to
me. The picture was very like. My diary speaks also of composing. From
a remark about the polishing down of a Concerto, it is evident that
at that time, I did not understand how to work of a piece; in which I
afterwards succeeded so well, that, the rough draught, seldom suffered
even from slight changes, and, once written in score, it was never
altered afterwards.
For our journey to Memel, “we chose the road along the shore, being
twelve miles (German) shorter than that across the country. In winter
also, when the sand is hard frozen, it is better to drive on than the
latter. Three miles from Königsberg, the road runs close to the sea,
and does not leave it until you reach Memel. We travelled the whole
night, and suffered much from the cold and cutting sea air. Between
the fourth and fifth station we had the misfortune to have a wheel
come off. We were now obliged to quit the carriage, to right it by our
united strength, and secure the wheel temporarily with ropes. All this
may have lasted a full half hour, and I feared I had got my fingers
frostbitten; but this I happily found to be groundless. At nine o’clock
we reached Memel, but were obliged to wait three whole hours until we
could be carried across the harbour, because the boatmen had first to
be collected from all parts of the town. Four miles farther we reached
the frontiers.”
We arrived at Mittau with a large addition to our number; for Myrrha,
without our remarking it, had brought forth nine pups, six living and
three dead. “All, excepting two, were taken away from the poor mother.”
In the families to whom Herr _Eck_ was recommended, we found the most
hospitable welcome. We were invited to dinners, suppers, musical
parties and balls; and everything was done to render our stay
agreeable. In the house of a “Collegiate-Assessor”, _von Berner_,
I played for the first time in the place and in the presence of my
teacher. It happened thus; Herr _Eck_, after having played some
quartetts with great applause, was solicited to accompany a young
Pianiste of 16 years of age, a Miss _Brandt_, who was possessed of a
surprising skill, in a Sonata of _Beethoven’s_; but he excused himself
on the plea of great fatigue. As I well knew that _Eck_ did not dare
to play any piece _at sight_, that he did not know, I offered to play
in his stead. It is true, the Sonata was wholly unknown to me, but I
trusted to my readiness in reading. I was successful; and the young
Artist, in whom probably but little confidence had been felt, was
overwhelmed with praise.
At the subsequent musical parties, I was now always solicited to play
something; and I remember that Herr _von Berner_ on my taking leave of
him, said to me with fatherly kindness: “My young friend, you are on
the right road--only keep in it! Herr _Eck_ as a Virtuoso is certainly
still above you; but you are a much better musician than he is.”
In the Governor’s house I heard a Violinist of the name of _Sogeneff_,
who at that time was very celebrated in Russia, and a serf of Prince
_Subow_. “He played variations of his own composition, which were
immensely difficult. The composition pleased me right well, but his
play, although skilful, was very raw, and offensive to the ear. Herr
_Eck_ played immediately after him, so that the difference between the
two Players was very distinctly perceptible. The play of the Russian,
was wild and without transition from _forte_ to _piano_; that of Herr
_Eck_ firm, powerful, and still, always harmonious. We heard there,
also, some Russian military singers. They were six private soldiers,
some of whom sang soprano parts. They shrieked fearfully, so much so
that one was almost obliged to stop ones ears. They are practised in
singing by a non commissioned Officer, cane in hand. In some songs they
accompanied themselves on sort of Schalmey of so piercing a tone, that
I expected the ladies would have fainted away. The Melodies of the
songs were not bad, but accompanied by a great deal of false harmonics.”
At a club in the house in which we lived, I was invited to a card
party “with three Excellencies, but was obliged to pay dearly for the
great honour, for I lost more than three thalers in a few hours.”
Our departure for Riga was put off until December the second, on
account of Herr _Eck’s_ recurring indisposition. I spent my evenings at
the houses of Herr _von Berner_ and _von Korf_, in turn, and constantly
practised with Fräulein _Brandt_. We played through the whole store
of sonatas with violin accompaniment, and many of the masterpieces of
_Mozart_ and _Beethoven_ were thus brought under my notice for the
first time. After supper we chatted for an hour, or Frau _von Korf_
played at chess with me, a game which from my childhood, I had been
passionately fond of.
Herr _von Berner_, who had become attached to me, invited me to pass
some months with him in the country, upon my return from Petersburgh;
and then to give some Concerts about midsummer, a season in which
all the Courland nobility are assembled at Mitau. It gave me great
satisfaction to hear that I was considered far enough advanced to
appear in public as a virtuoso. I gladly consented.
It is odd that there is nothing mentioned in my diary about the
children of Herr _Berner_; for one of his daughters who afterwards
became a pupil of _Rode_, and distinguished herself as a violin player,
must already then have been very nearly grown up.
At last the hour of our departure came, and with a moved and grateful
heart I took leave of the families who had so kindly welcomed me.
In Riga, I found a letter from Brunswick, that gave me much pleasure.
I had asked permission of the Duke to dedicate my new Concerto, as
my first published work, to him; and the answer written by the Lord
Chamberlain _von Münchhausen_, brought the consent to my request. Full
of impatience to see my work appear, I begged Herr _Eck_ to write to
_Breitkopf & Härtel_ in Leipsic, with whom he was in correspondance,
to propose the publishing of the concerto. The reply soon arrived, but
was very discouraging to me.
For the consolation of the young Composer who can find no publisher
for his first work, the conditions upon which the above named firm
consented to undertake its publication, may be mentioned. I had myself
given up all claim to payment, and only stipulated for some free
copies. The firm required however that I should buy one hundred copies
at half the selling-price! At first my youthful Artist-pride rebelled
against such dishonourable conditions, as I deemed them. But the wish
to see the publication of the concerto so expedited, that, upon our
return to Brunswick, I might be able to present the Duke with a printed
copy; joined to the hope that he would make me a present, assisted
me to conquer my sensitiveness, and agree to the conditions. The
concerto was finished in time, and when I returned, was lying ready at
a Music-seller’s in Brunswick; but the package was not delivered to me
before I had paid for the hundred copies.
In Riga, Herr _Eck_ had a quarrel with the Society of Musical
Dilettanti there. Being in possession of the Concert room; they
required from him, as from all foreign artists, that he should first
perform in their concert, for which they were ready to give him up
the room and orchestra, for his own concert afterwards. Herr _Eck_
refused to comply with these conditions and would rather give up his
own concert altogether. This made the company more compliant; and
they declared themselves satisfied, if he would agree to play in no
other concert than theirs, after his own. He consented to this, on the
condition that they would be silent about it beforehand: because he
had been told that the subscribers to the dilettanti concerts would be
unwilling to pay for an extra-concert, if they were sure of hearing the
foreign Artist in the former. Silence, however, was not kept, and the
consequence was that Herr _Eck’s_ concert was badly attended. Angry at
this, he now demanded the sum of fifty ducats for his appearance in
their concert, as a remuneration for the loss which their gossiping
had caused him. The gentlemen directors, feeling in some degree that
they had been wrong; after long debating, agreed to pay thirty ducats.
Herr _Eck_, however, stood by his first demand. The gentlemen now
threatened to make the police compel him to appear; and he was actually
summoned before the Chief of the police. But he succeeded in winning
him over to his cause, and the gentlemen directors were dismissed,
with their charge. At last, upon the day of the concert, after the
bills parading forth the name of Herr _Eck_, had been posted up at the
corners of the streets, they vouchsafed to grant the required demand;
but they were not a little surprised at the declaration of Herr _Eck_,
that, now, after having been summoned before the police he would not
play at all, not even for double the sum demanded. All their threatning
and storming was of no avail; they were obliged to give their concert
without him. “I was there,” says the diary, “and much enjoyed the
fermentation that prevailed among the dilettanti. Nothing but Herr
_Eck_ and his refusal were spoken of; but nobody said one single
word in his favour; all were too much annoyed at their disappointed
expectations. The concert went off badly. A virtuoso on the flute, from
Stockholm, who first played an old fashioned concerto by _Devienne_
in place of Herr _Eck_, pleased as little as a dilettante from St.
Petersburgh, who executed a concerto for the piano by _Mozart_, in a
most schoolboy-like manner.”
_Eck_, had however won the good will of the Director of the police,
by having offered to give a concert for the benefit of the Nikolai
Asylum for the poor. _Meirer_, the Director of the Theatre, gave the
house gratis, and Messeurs _Arnold_ and _Ohmann_, as well as the ladies
_Werther_ and _Bauser_ gave their vocal services. The Musical Society
did all they could to put a stop to it; but in vain. “Immediately upon
his appearance Herr _Eck_ was received with the liveliest applause,
which was still more increased after he had played. The proceeds, after
deducting the expenses, amounted to more than a hundred ducats, which
were handed over to the cashier of the Asylum; but a gift of one
hundred ducats from the nobility present was also made to Herr _Eck_,
and the next morning, fifty more followed from several rich merchants,
who did not wish to be behindhand in generosity.”
Among the many invitations, one is also mentioned in the diary, to the
house of the rich sugar baker _Klein_, who “kept no less than three
tutors for his children”--a German, a Frenchman and a Russian.
On the seventeenth of December we quitted Riga. In Narwa the governor,
a great lover of music, who had seen from the _Paderoschna_, which we
were obliged to deliver up at the gate of the town, to be examined,
what a celebrated _Artist_ was passing through, invited us immediately
for the evening. “Our excuse, that we could not appear in our
travelling clothes, was not accepted. The governor sent his state
carriage, and we were carried off half by force. The embarrassment at
finding ourselves all at once in the midst of a brilliant society, clad
in travelling costume, very soon wore off after the friendly welcome
and obliging politeness of those present, and we passed a pleasant
evening. At one o’clock when the party broke up, we found our carriage
with post-horses ready before the door, and set out immediately.
But, between Narwa and St. Petersburgh, one misfortune after the other
occured to us. Two stations on this side of St. Petersburgh, we were
persuaded to place our carriage upon a sledge. But hardly had we driven
half an hour in it, when the cords with which it was fastened, broke,
and we could get on no farther. The postillion was obliged to get some
peasants from the neighbouring village to help us. After the job was
done, they made us understand by signs that we were to pay them five
rubles. Very angry at this shameful demand, we refused to give so much,
but as they shewed the intention of cutting the cords with which they
had bound the wheels, with their axes; and as we saw that we could not
contend against the crowd of wild looking fellows who by degrees had
surrounded our carriage, we were obliged to comply with the demand.
“After a halt of more than an hour we were at last enabled to proceed;
but it was not long before we stuck fast in the snow, and it was only
by the help of several peasants whom we called to assist us, that we
were able to extricate ourselves. We now found that in the deep snow,
the sledge hindered more than it served us, and we had the carriage
taken off. After this was done, and paid for, we were enabled to
proceed; but again seven times did we stick fast, so that no less
than sixteen hours were necessary to accomplish this post of three
miles. As we came nearer to St. Petersburgh we found the roads better,
and were also driven faster. At last, Wednesday the 22. at nine in
the evening, we arrived; after being six days and five nights upon
the road. The last part of the journey from Narwa to St. Petersburgh
is dreadfully uniform and tiresome. The perfectly straight road cut
through the fir forests, with the party coloured Werst-stones, each
exactly like the other, are enough to weary the most patient! Seldom
only does the endless forest open, to disclose a few buildings, or a
miserable village. The houses, or rather the huts of these villages,
have for the most part, one room only, with a window a foot square. In
this room, men and animals live together quite peaceably. The walls
consist of unhewn beams laid upon each-other, the crevices being filled
up with moss. It cannot certainly be very warm in these holes; but the
inhabitants do not seem to care for that; for I saw children and grown
up people running about in their shirts, and barefoot in the snow. The
poorer and more wretched the objects appear during the journey, the
more surprising is the magnificent St. Petersburgh and its palaces.....
We descended at the _Hôtel de Londres_, and immediately engaged a
guide, without whom one cannot be here even for one day; for as soon as
the stranger is shown his room, not a soul troubles himself about him
any farther.”
In St. Petersburgh, I was at first quite left to myself. This would
therefore have been the most favorable opportunity for me to look round
that splendid city. But the extreme cold, which already exceeded twenty
degrees, would not permit of this. I therefore continued to work with
my usual diligence, and indeed with increased zeal, for the period
of Herr _Eck’s_ instruction was more than half elapsed.--Through a
member of the Imperial orchestra we were introduced into the “Citizen
Club,” and there made the acquaintance of almost all the celebrated
_artistes_ and scholars then in St. Petersburgh. Among others, my diary
mentions _Clementi_, his pupil _Field_, the violinist _Hartmann_, the
first violin of the Imperial orchestra, _Remi_, also a member of the
orchestra, _Leveque_, the son of the leader in Hanover, and director of
an orchestra of serfs belonging the senator _Teplow_, _Bärwald_ from
Stockholm, the hornist _Bornaus_, and others.
_Clementi_, “a man in his best years, of an extremely lively
disposition, and very engaging manners,” liked much to converse with
me “(in French, which from my great practice in St. Petersburgh I
soon spoke pretty fluently)” and often invited me after dinner to
play at billiards. In the evening, I sometimes accompanied him to
his large pianoforte warehouse, where _Field_ was often obliged to
play for hours, to display the instruments to the best advantage
to the purchasers. The diary speaks with great satisfaction of the
technical perfection and the “dreamy melancholy” of that young artist’s
execution. I have still in recollection the figure of the pale,
overgrown youth, whom I have never since seen. When _Field_, who had
outgrown his clothes, placed himself at the piano, stretched out his
arms over the keyboard, so that the sleeves shrunk up nearly to his
elbows, his whole figure appeared awkward and stiff in the highest
degree; but as soon as his touching instrumentation began, everything
else was forgotten, and one became all ear. Unhappily, I could not
express my emotion and thankfulness to the young man otherwise than by
a silent pressure of the hand, for he spoke no other language, but his
mother tongue.
Even at that time, many anecdotes of the remarkable avarice of the
rich _Clementi_ were related, which had greatly increased in latter
years when I again met him in London. It was generally reported that
_Field_ was kept on very short allowance by his master, and was obliged
to pay for the good fortune of having his instruction, with many
privations. I myself experienced a little sample of _Clementi’s_ true
Italian parsimony, for one day I found teacher and pupil with up turned
sleeves, engaged at the washtub, washing their stockings and other
linen. They did not suffer themselves to be disturbed, and _Clementi_
advised me to do the same, as washing in St. Petersburgh was not only
very expensive, but the linen suffered greatly from the method used in
washing it.
Of all the acquaintances I made in the Citizen’s Club, none were dearer
to me than my young friend _Remi_. The diary speaks of him immediately
after our first meeting, as a “polite and charming young Frenchman.”
The same enthusiasm for art, the same studies and the same inclinations
bound us yet closer to each-other. We met every day at dinner at the
Citizen’s Club, when I was not invited out with my Instructor; and
when in the evening there was no Opera or Concert in which _Remi_ was
engaged, we played duets, of which _Remi_ possessed a great collection,
till late in the night. There were many evenings in that cold winter
on which the Theatre was closed; for by an _ukas_ of the benevolent
Emperor _Alexander_, all public amusements were forbidden when the
cold should exceed seventeen degrees, in order that the coachmen and
servants might not be exposed to the danger of being frozen to death.
And during that winter, the cold often remained at above seventeen
degrees for a fortnight together. That was a dull, monotonous time for
foreigners. But foreign _artistes_, were still worse off, for they
were unable to give their concerts. When the cold fell below seventeen
degrees there were notices innumerable; but they were often obliged to
be recalled on the following day. Herr _Eck’s_ public concert was also
postponed till March 6. O. S. after having been announced more than
once. In the mean time however, he played twice at Court at the private
Concerts of the Empress, and pleased so much, particularly the second
time, that the Empress had him engaged as solo player in the Imperial
Orchestra at a salary of 3500 rubles.
The less frequently operas and concerts took place in the cold months
of January and February, the more diligently I attended them, in order
to become more nearly acquainted with the native and foreign talent. I
also saw and heard _Tietz_ the celebrated crazy violin player. He was a
man of about forty years of age, with a ruddy complexion, and pleasing
exterior. His appearance in no wise showed his insanity. We therefore
were the more astonished when he addressed every one with the question,
“My most gracious monarch, how are you?” He then related to us a long
affair in which was but little evidence of sanity; complained bitterly
about a malicious sorcerer, who, jealous of his violin playing had so
bewitched the middle finger of his left hand that he could no longer
play; but at last expressed the hope that he would still be able to
conquer the spell--and so forth. On taking leave of us he fell upon
his knees before Herr _Eck_, kissed his hand, before the latter could
prevent it, and said, “My most gracious Monarch, I must do homage to
thee and thine art, upon my knees!”
Four months later, in the beginning of May 1803, all St. Petersburgh
rang with the sudden news that _Tietz_, whom the Russians in their
blind patriotism regarded as the first violinist in the world, and who
on account of his madness had not played for six months, had suddenly
commenced again. _Leveque_ related the nearer particulars to me.
_Tietz_ had been invited to a musical party at the Senator _Teplow’s_,
but had refused to play in spite of all entreaty; Herr _Teplow_, much
annoyed, sent away the orchestra saying, “Then I also will never again
hear music!” This made so deep an impression upon _Tietz_ that he
said, “most gracious Monarch, have the orchestra recalled; I will play
a symphony to their accompaniment.” This took place, and having once
began, he played quartets until two o’clock in the morning. The next
day the amateurs assembled in his house and he played again. This gave
me the hope of hearing him also, and on that account I hastened to him
on May the second (20. April). Many amateurs were once more assembled
there, who again beseiged him with requests to play; this time however
in vain. He was not to be moved, and I afterwards heard that some one
had been of the party whom he did not like.