The Years 1796 and 1797--Beethoven in Prague and Berlin--King
Frederick William II and Prince Louis Ferdinand--Himmel, Fasch and
Zelter--Compositions and Publications.
The narrative resumes its course with the year 1796, the twenty-sixth
of Beethoven’s life and his fourth in Vienna. If not yet officially,
he was _de facto_ discharged from his obligations to the Elector
Maximilian and all his relations with Bonn and its people were broken
off. Vienna had become his home, and there is no reason to suppose that
he ever afterwards cherished any real and settled purpose to exchange
it for another--not even in 1809 when, for the moment, he had some
thought of accepting Jerome Bonaparte’s invitation to Cassel.
He had now entered his course of contrapuntal study with
Albrechtsberger; he was first of the pianoforte players of the capital
and his name added attraction even to the concert which Haydn,
returning again from his London triumphs, had given to introduce
some of his new works to the Viennese; his “master-hand” was already
publicly recognized in the field of musical composition; he counted
many nobles of the higher ranks in his list of personal friends and
had been, perhaps even now was, a member of Prince Carl Lichnowsky’s
family. The change in his pecuniary condition might have thrown a more
equitable temperament than his off its balance. Three years ago he
anxiously noted down the few kreutzers occasionally spent for coffee
or chocolate “für Haidn und mich”; now he keeps his own servant and a
horse. His brothers, if at all a burden, were no longer a heavy one.
Carl Caspar, according to the best information now obtainable, soon
gained moderate success in the musical profession and, with probably
some occasional aid from Ludwig both pecuniary and in obtaining pupils,
earned sufficient for his comfortable support; while Johann had secured
a situation in that apothecary shop “Zum Heiligen Geist” which, in
1860, was still to be seen in the Kärnthnerstrasse near the former
site of the gate of that name.[75] His wages were, of course, small and
we shall soon see that Ludwig offers him assistance if needed, though
not to Karl; but Johann’s position gradually improved and he was able
in a few years to save enough to enable him, unaided by his brother, to
purchase and establish himself in a business of his own.[76]
“Fate had become propitious to Beethoven”; and a final citation from
the memorandum book will show in what spirit he was determined to
merit the continuance of Fortune’s favor. If we make allowance for the
old error as to his real age, this citation may belong to a period a
year or two later; but may it not be one of those extracts from books
and periodical publications which all his life long he was so fond of
making? This seems to be the more probable supposition. The words are
these: “Courage! In spite of all bodily weaknesses my spirit shall
rule. You have lived 25 years. This year must determine the complete
man. Nothing must remain undone.”
And now let the chronological narrative of events be resumed. As the
year 1795 had ended with a public appearance of Beethoven as pianoforte
player and composer, so also began the year 1796; and, as on a former
occasion in a concert by Haydn, so this time he played at a concert
given by a singer, Signora Bolla, who afterward became famous, in the
Redoutensaal. Again he played a pianoforte concerto.
MEETING OF FRIENDS IN NUREMBERG
“In 1796,” says Wegeler (“Nachträge,” p. 18), “the two older Breuning
brothers, Christoph and Stephan, find him (Beethoven) at Nuremberg
on a return journey to Vienna. Which journey is not specified. None
of the three having a passport from Vienna they were all detained at
Linz, but soon liberated through my intervention at Vienna.” And from
a letter written by Stephan von Breuning to his mother, dated January,
1796, Wegeler quotes: “From Nuremberg, Beethoven travelled all the way
in company with us. The three Bonnians thus attracted the attention
of the police, who thought they had made a wonderful discovery. I do
not believe that there could be a less dangerous man than Beethoven.”
Wegeler’s suggestion that Beethoven was returning “perhaps from Berlin”
is of course out of the question. But between the date of Haydn’s
concert (December 18th) and Stephan von Breuning’s letter, if written
towards the end of January, there was ample time, even in those days of
post-coaches, for a journey to Prague and thence across the country
to Mergentheim or Ellingen, at that time the temporary residences of
Elector Maximilian. The necessity of Beethoven’s knowing precisely in
what relation he was to stand with the Elector in the future, accounts
sufficiently for his being in Nuremberg at that time, especially if
he had had occasion to visit Prague during the Christmas holidays,
which is not improbable. Dlabacz, in his “Künstler-Lexikon,” has a
paragraph of which this is a part: “v. Beethoven, a Concertmaster on
the pianoforte. In the year 1795, he gave an academy in Prague at
which he played with universal approval.” It is true that Dlabacz may
here record a concert given during Beethoven’s stay in the Bohemian
capital some weeks later; but, on the one hand, no other notice of
such a concert has been discovered; and, on the other, the “universal
approval” on this occasion may have been an inducement for him to
return thither so soon.
At all events, his delay in Vienna after coming from Nuremberg was
short and was doubtless occupied with the last corrections of the
Sonatas, Op. 2, dedicated to Haydn, the six Menuets (second part), the
Variations on the theme from “Le Nozze disturbate” and those on “Nel
cor più non mi sento,” all of which works are advertised in the “Wiener
Zeitung” in the course of the next two months, while their author was
again in Prague or cities farther North. For the following letter we
are indebted to Madame van Beethoven, widow of the composer’s nephew,
Carl:
To my brother Nicholaus Beethoven
to be delivered at the apothecary shop at the Kärnthner Thor Mr.
von Z.[77] will please hand this letter to the wig-maker who will
care for its delivery.
Prague, February 19th (1796).
Dear Brother!
So that you may at least know where I am and what I am doing
I must needs write you. In the first place I am getting on
well--very well. My art wins for me friends and respect; what more
do I want? This time, too, I shall earn considerable money. I
shall remain here a few weeks more and then go to Dresden, Leipsic
and Berlin. It will probably be six weeks before I shall return. I
hope that you will be more and more pleased with your sojourn in
Vienna; but beware of the whole guild of wicked women. Have you
yet called on Cousin Elss? You might write to me at this place if
you have inclination and time.
F. Linowsky will probably soon return to Vienna; he has already
gone from here. If you need money you may go to him boldly, for he
still owes me some.
For the rest I hope that your life will grow continually in
happiness and to that end I hope to contribute something.
Farewell, dear brother, and think occasionally of
Your true, faithful brother
L. Beethoven.
Greetings to Brother Caspar.
My address is The Golden Unicorn
on the Kleinseite.
A debt of gratitude is certainly due Johann van Beethoven for having
carefully preserved this letter for full half a century and leaving it
to his heirs, notwithstanding all the troubles which afterwards arose
between the brothers, since it is hardly more valuable and interesting
for the facts which it states directly than for what it indicates and
suggests more or less clearly.
A SOJOURN IN PRAGUE AND ITS FRUITS
It, with other considerations, render it well nigh certain that
Beethoven had now come to Prague with Prince Lichnowsky as Mozart had
done, seven years before, and that upon leaving Vienna he had had
no intention of pursuing his journey farther; but encouraged by the
success thus reported to his brother, he suddenly determined to seek
instruction and experience, pleasure, profit and fame in an extended
tour. Had he projected this journey already in Vienna, how could all
recollection of it have been lost by Wegeler? How could von Breuning
in the letter cited above have omitted all mention of it? Nor is it
possible to think that Beethoven, still so young and still so unknown
outside the Austrian and Bohemian capitals, having so many powerful and
influential friends there, and there only, could at this time have gone
forth to seek elsewhere some permanent position with a fixed salary.
The remarks which have been preserved, made by him in writing or
conversation, expressing a desire for such an appointment, all belong
to a later period, and cannot by any torture of language be made to
refer to this, when he was looking into the future with well-grounded
hopes and serene confidence of advancement in his new home. Vienna
seemed to offer him all his ambition could crave; why should he seek
his fortune beyond her walls?
It is pleasant to note his care for the welfare of his brother Johann,
which care, doubtless, the other brother did not need. But how could
Prince Lichnowsky have been indebted to Ludwig?
The musical public of Prague was the same that had so recently honored
itself by its instant and noble appreciation of Mozart, and had given
so glorious a welcome to “Figaro,” “Don Giovanni” and “Titus.” There
being no royal or imperial court there, and the public amusements being
less numerous than in Vienna, the nobility were thrown more on their
own resources for recreation; and hence, besides the traditional taste
of the Bohemians for instrumental music, their capital was, perhaps,
a better field for the virtuoso than Vienna. No notice of any public
concert given by Beethoven on this visit has been discovered, either in
the newspapers of the time or in the reminiscences of Thomaschek and
others; and “the considerable money” earned “this time” must have been
the presents of the nobility for his performances in their salons, and,
perhaps, for compositions.
The conception of the aria “Ah, perfido! spergiuro” is generally
associated with Beethoven’s sojourn in Prague. The belief rests upon
the fact that upon the cover of a copy which he revised Beethoven
wrote the words “Une grande Scène mise en musique par L. v. Beethoven
à Prague, 1796.” On the first page is written: _Recitativo e Aria
composta e dedicata alla Signora Contessa di Clari da L. v. Beethoven_.
The opus number, 46, in this title is in the handwriting of Al. Fuchs,
who owned a copy. Now, on November 21st, 1796, Madame Duschek, the well
known friend of Mozart, at a concert in Leipsic sang “An Italian Scena
composed for Madame Duschek by Beethoven,” and it was easy to conclude
that the aria was really written by Beethoven for Madame Duschek. On a
page of sketches preserved in Berlin among others there are sketches
belonging to “Ah, perfido!” which do not agree with the printed page.
On the lower margin of the first page is the remark: _pour Mademoiselle
la Comtesse de Clari_. Nottebohm is led by these things to surmise that
the aria was written in Vienna in 1795, before the visit to Prague.
In any case, we are permitted to associate the date 1796 only with
the completion of the work in Prague; and the purpose may well have
been to have it sung by Madame Duschek, who is thus proved to have
belonged to the circle of Beethoven’s friends in Prague. Nevertheless,
the aria was originally intended for the Countess Josephine Clari, a
well known amateur singer who married Count Christian Clam-Gallas in
1797. The scena first appeared in print in the fall of 1805, when it
was published in a collection made by Hoffmeister and Kühnel. Beethoven
placed it upon the programme of his concert in 1808.
Another family in which Beethoven was received on the footing of a
friend was that of Appellate Councillor Kanka. Both father and son
were dilettante composers and instrumental players--the father on the
violoncello, the son on the pianoforte. Gerber gives them a place
in his Lexicon. “Miss Jeanette” (the daughter), says the eulogistic
Schönfeld, “played the pianoforte with great expression and skill.” The
son adopted his father’s profession, became a distinguished writer on
Bohemian law, and in later years did Beethoven good service as legal
adviser.
There is in the Artaria collection, a thick fascicle of sketches and
musical fragments from Beethoven’s hand in which papers from the Bonn
period down to the close of the century are stitched together in such
disorder as to show that they were thus joined merely for preservation.
One sheet of mere sketches bears, if correctly deciphered, this
inscription: “Written and dedicated to Gr. C. G. as a souvenir of his
stay in P.” On the fourth page of the sheet stands “these 4 Bagtalles
by B.” with something more illegible. May not some yet unknown
composition of Beethoven be still in the possession of the family
Clam-Gallas? Count Christian and his two daughters are numbered by
Schönfeld among the fine pianoforte players of Prague, and these few
notices exhaust the information obtained upon this visit of Beethoven
there. His next appearance is in Berlin. No record has been found of
the proposed visit to either Dresden or Leipsic, although his journey,
it would seem, must have taken him through the Saxon capital.
INCIDENTS OF A VISIT TO BERLIN
In after years he was fond of talking about his sojourn in Berlin, and
some particulars have thus been preserved. “He played,” says Ries,
several times at court (that of King Frederick William II), where
he played the two grand sonatas with _obbligato_ violoncello,
Op. 5, written for Duport, first violoncellist of the King, and
himself. On his departure he received a gold snuff-box filled
with Louis d’ors. Beethoven declared with pride that it was not
an ordinary snuff-box, but such an one as it might have been
customary to give to an ambassador.
This king shared his uncle Frederick II’s love for music, while
his taste was better and more cultivated. His instrument was the
violoncello, and he often took part in quartets and sometimes in the
rehearsals of Italian operas. He exerted a powerful and enduring
influence for good upon the musical taste of Berlin. It was he
who caused the operas of Gluck and Mozart to be performed there
and introduced oratorios of Handel into the court concerts. His
appreciation of Mozart’s genius, and his wish to attach that great
master to his court, are well known; and these facts render credible a
statement with which Carl Czerny closes a description of Beethoven’s
extemporaneous playing contributed to Cock’s “London Musical
Miscellany” (August 2nd, 1852):
His improvisation was most brilliant and striking. In whatever
company he might chance to be, he knew how to produce such an
effect upon every hearer that frequently not an eye remained
dry, while many would break out into loud sobs; for there was
something wonderful in his expression in addition to the beauty
and originality of his ideas and his spirited style of rendering
them. After ending an improvisation of this kind he would burst
into loud laughter and banter his hearers on the emotion he had
caused in them. “You are fools!” he would say. Sometimes he would
feel himself insulted by these indications of sympathy. “Who can
live among such spoiled children?” he would cry, and only on
that account (as he told me) he declined to accept an invitation
which the King of Prussia gave him after one of the extemporary
performances above described.
Chapelmaster Reichardt had withdrawn himself from Berlin two years
before, having fallen into disfavor because of his sympathy with the
French Revolution. Neither Himmel nor Righini, his successors, ever
showed a genius for chamber music of a high order, and, indeed, there
was no composer of reputation in this sphere then living in that
quarter. The young Beethoven by his two sonatas had proved his powers
and the King saw in him precisely the right man to fill the vacancy--no
small proof of superior taste and judgment. What the German expression
was which the translator of Czerny’s letter has rendered “accept an
invitation which the King gave him” there is no means of knowing; but
as it stands it can only mean an invitation to enter permanently into
his service. The death of the King the next year, of course, prevented
its being ever renewed.
Friedrich Heinrich Himmel, five years older than Beethoven, whom
the King had withdrawn from the study of theology and caused to be
thoroughly educated as a musician, first under Naumann in Dresden and
afterwards in Italy, had returned the year before and had assumed his
duties as Royal Pianist and Composer. As a virtuoso on his instrument
his only rival in Berlin was Prince Louis Ferdinand, son of Prince
August and nephew of Frederick II, two years younger than Beethoven and
endowed by nature with talents and genius which would have made him
conspicuous had fortune not given him royal descent. He and Beethoven
became well known to each other and each felt and did full justice to
the other’s musical genius and attainments. Now let Ries speak again:
MEETINGS WITH HIMMEL, FASCH AND ZELTER
In Berlin he (Beethoven) associated much with Himmel, of whom he
said that he had a pretty talent, but no more; his pianoforte
playing, he said, was elegant and pleasing, but he was not to
be compared with Prince Louis Ferdinand. In his opinion he paid
the latter a high compliment when once he said to him that his
playing was not that of a king or prince but more like that of a
thoroughly good pianoforte player. He fell out with Himmel in the
following manner: One day when they were together Himmel begged
Beethoven to improvise; which Beethoven did. Afterwards Beethoven
insisted that Himmel do the same. The latter was weak enough
to agree; but after he had played for quite a time Beethoven
remarked: “Well, when are you going fairly to begin?” Himmel
had flattered himself that he had already performed wonders; he
jumped up and the men behaved ill towards each other. Beethoven
said to me: “I thought that Himmel had been only preluding a
bit.” Afterwards they were reconciled, indeed, but Himmel could
never forgive or forget[78]. They also exchanged letters until
Himmel played Beethoven a shabby trick. The latter always wanted
to know the news from Berlin. This bored Himmel, who at last
wrote that the greatest news from Berlin was that a lamp for the
blind had been invented. Beethoven ran about with the news and
all the world wanted to know how this was possible. Thereupon he
wrote to Himmel that he had blundered in not giving more explicit
information. The answer which he received, but which does not
permit of communication, not only put an end to the correspondence
but brought ridicule upon Beethoven, who was so inconsiderate as
to show it then and there.
With Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch and Carl Friedrich Zelter he also
made a friendly acquaintance, and twice at least attended meetings of
the Singakademie, which then numbered about 90 voices. The first time,
June 21st, says the “Geschichte der Singakademie”:
A chorale, the first three numbers of the mass and the first six
of the 119th Psalm were sung for him. Hereupon he seated himself
at the pianoforte and played an improvisation on the theme of the
final fugue: “Meine Zunge rühmt im Wettgesang dein Lob.” The last
numbers of “Davidiana” (a collection of versets by Fasch) formed
the conclusion. No biographer has mentioned this visit or even his
sojourn in Berlin. Nor does Fasch pay special attention to it;
but the performance must have pleased, for it was repeated at the
meeting on the 28th.
The performance of the Society must also have pleased Beethoven, and
with good reason; for Fasch’s mass was in sixteen parts and the psalm
and “Davidiana,” in part, in eight; and no such music was then to be
heard elsewhere north of the Alps.
In 1810, Beethoven, speaking of his playing on that occasion, told
Mme. von Arnim (then Elizabeth Brentano) that at the close his hearers
did not applaud but came crowding around him weeping; and added,
ironically, “that is not what we artists wish--we want applause!”
Fasch’s simple record of Beethoven’s visit is this:
June 21, 1796. Mr. van Beethoven extemporized on the “Davidiana,”
taking the fugue theme from Ps. 119, No. 16.... Mr. Beethoven,
pianist from Vienna, was so accommodating as to permit us to hear
an improvisation. . . . June 28, Mr. van Beethoven was again so
obliging as to play an improvisation for us.
Early in July, the King left Berlin for the baths of Pyrmont, the
nobility dispersed to their estates or to watering-places, and the
city “was empty and silent.” Beethoven, therefore, could have had no
inducement to prolong his stay; but the precise time of his departure
is unknown. Schindler names Leipsic as one of the cities in which,
during this tour, Beethoven “awakened interest and created a sensation
by his pianoforte playing, and, particularly, by his brilliant
improvisation”; but no allusion in any public journal of that or any
subsequent period, not even the faintest tradition, has been discovered
to confirm the evidently erroneous statements. Moreover, Rochlitz in
his account of a visit to the composer in 1822 remarks, “I had not yet
seen Beethoven”; and again, “It was only as a youth that he ... passed
through (Leipsic).” So, until some new discovery be made, this must
also find its place in the long list of Schindler’s mistakes.
Notwithstanding Wegeler’s statement (“Notizen,” 28) that he left
Beethoven a member of the family of Prince Lichnowsky “in the middle
of 1796,” it is as certain as circumstantial evidence can well make
it that the Doctor and Christoph von Breuning had returned to Bonn
before Beethoven reached Vienna again; but Stephan and Lenz were still
there. The former obtained at this time an appointment in the Teutonic
Order, which so many of his ancestors had served, and his name appears
in the published “Calendars of the Order” from 1797 to 1803, both
inclusive, as “Hofrathsassessor.” He then soon departed from Vienna to
Mergentheim, whence he wrote (November 23rd) with other matters the
following upon Beethoven to Wegeler and Christoph:
I do not know whether or not Lenz has written you anything about
Beethoven; but take notice that I saw him in Vienna and that
according to my mind, which Lenz has confirmed, he has become
somewhat staider, or, perhaps I should say, has acquired more
knowledge of humanity through travels (or was it because of the
new ebullition of friendship on his arrival?) and a greater
conviction of the scarceness and value of good friends. A hundred
times, dear Wegeler, he wishes you here again, and regrets nothing
so much as that he did not follow much of your advice. (“Notizen,”
page 19.)
Except this notice of his bearing and demeanor, there is a complete
hiatus in Beethoven’s history from his appearance in the Singakademie
until the following November. The so-called Fischoff Manuscript has,
it is true, a story of a “dangerous illness” which was caused by his
own imprudence this summer; but as it is in date utterly irreconcilable
with other known facts, it will receive its due consideration
hereafter. The most plausible suggestion is that coming back, flushed
with victory, with the success of his tour and delighted with the
novelty of travelling at his ease, he made that excursion to Pressburg
and Pesth of which afterwards Ries was informed and made record
(“Notizen,” page 109), but of which no other account is known.
ATTEMPTS AT PATRIOTIC MUSIC
And thus we come to November. This was the year of that astounding
series of victories ending at Arcole, gained by the young French
general Napoleon Bonaparte. The Austrian government and people alike
saw and feared the danger of invasion, a general uprising took place
and volunteer corps were formed in all quarters. For the Vienna corps,
Friedelberg wrote his “Abschiedsgesang an Wiens Bürger beim Auszug
der Fahnen-Division der Wiener Freiwilliger,” and Beethoven set it
to music. The original printed edition bears date “November 15,
1795.” It does not appear to have gained any great popularity, and
a drinking-song (“Lasst das Herz uns froh erheben”) was afterwards
substituted for Friedelberg’s text, and published by Schott in Mayence.
The rapid progress of the French army had caused the Germans in Italy
to become distrustful of the future and to hasten homeward. Among them
were Beethoven’s old companions in the Bonn orchestra, the cousins
Andreas and Bernhard Romberg, who in the spring of this year (May
26th), had kissed the hand of the Queen of Naples, daughter of the
Empress Maria Theresia, and then departed to Rome to join another
friend of the Bonn period, Karl Kügelgen. The three coming north
arrived at Vienna in the autumn; the Rombergs remained there for a
space with Beethoven, while Kügelgen proceeded to Berlin. Baron von
Braun--not to be mistaken for Beethoven’s “first Mæcenas” the Russian
Count Browne--had heard the cousins the year before in Munich and
invited them “to give Vienna an opportunity to hear them.” There is no
notice of their concert in the Vienna newspapers of the period, and the
date is unknown. From Lenz von Breuning is gleaned an additional fact
which alone gives interest to the concert for us. He writes to Wegeler
in January, 1797--not 1796, as erroneously printed in the appendix to
the “Notizen,” page 20--and after the meeting with the von Breunings at
Nuremberg:
Beethoven is here again;[79] he played in the Romberg concert. He
is the same as of old and I am glad that he and the Rombergs still
get along with each other. Once he was near a break with them; I
interceded and achieved my end to a fair extent. Moreover, he
thinks a great deal of me just now.
It it clear that the Rombergs, under the circumstances, must have
largely owed their limited success to Beethoven’s name and influence.
In February, 1797, they were again in their old positions in
Schroeder’s orchestra in Hamburg.
Beethoven during this winter must be imagined busily engaged with
pupils and private concerts, perhaps also with his operatic studies
with Salieri, certainly with composition and with preparation for and
the oversight of various works then passing through the press; for in
February and April, Artaria advertises the two Violoncello Sonatas, Op.
5, the Pianoforte Sonata for four hands, Op. 6, the Trio, Op. 3, the
Quintet, Op. 4, and the Twelve Variations on a Danse Russe; these last
are the variations which he dedicated to the Countess Browne and which
gave occasion for the anecdote related by Ries illustrating Beethoven’s
forgetfulness; for this dedication he had
received a handsome riding-horse from Count Browne as a gift.
He rode the animal a few times, soon after forgot all about
it and, worse than that, its food also. His servant, who soon
noticed this, began to hire out the horse for his own benefit
and, in order not to attract the attention of Beethoven to the
fact, for a long time withheld from him all bills for fodder. At
length, however, to Beethoven’s great amazement he handed in a
very large one, which recalled to him at once his horse and his
neglectfulness. (“Notizen,” page 120.)
On Thursday, April 6, 1797, Schuppanzigh gave a concert, on the
programme of which Beethoven’s name figured twice. Number 2 was an
“Aria by Mr. van Beethoven, sung by Madame Tribolet (-Willmann);” No.
3 was “a Quintet for Pianoforte and 4 wind-instruments, played and
composed by Mr. L. v. Beethoven.” This was the beautiful Quintet, Op.
16, the time of whose origin is thus more definitely indicated than in
the “Chronologisches Verzeichniss,” a fact for which we are indebted to
Nottebohm.
But the war was renewed and the thoughts of the Viennese were occupied
with matters more serious than the indulgence of their musical taste.
On the 16th of March, Bonaparte forced the passage of the Tagliamento
and Isonzo. During the two weeks following he had conquered the
greater part of Carniola, Carinthia and the Tyrol, and was now rapidly
approaching Vienna. On the 11th of February, Lorenz Leopold Hauschka’s
“Gott erhalte unsern Kaiser” with Haydn’s music had been sung for the
first time in the theatre and now, when, on April 7th, the Landsturm
was called out, Friedelberg produced his war-song “Ein grosses,
deutsches Volk sind wir,” to which Beethoven also gave music. The
printed copy bears date April 14th, suggesting the probability that it
was sung on the occasion of the grand consecration of the banners which
took place on the Glacis on the 17th. Beethoven’s music was, however,
far from being so fortunate as Haydn’s, and seems to have gained as
little popularity as his previous attempt; but as the preliminaries to
a treaty of peace were signed at Leoben on the 18th, and the armies, so
hastily improvised, were dismissed three weeks afterwards, the taste
for war-songs vanished.
A QUIET AND UNEVENTFUL PERIOD
The little that is known of Beethoven’s position as a teacher at this
period is very vague and unsatisfactory; enough, however, to render it
sufficiently certain that he had plenty of pupils, many of them young
ladies of high rank who paid him generously. In the triple capacity of
teacher, composer and pianist his gains were large and he was able to
write in May to Wegeler that he was doing well and steadily better.
It is very possible that the illness mentioned by the Fischoff
Manuscript may have occurred during this summer. There can be little
doubt that the original authority for the statement is Zmeskall, and
therefore the fact of such an attack may be accepted as certain,
but the date--being, as there given, clearly wrong, as well as
the inference that in it lay the original cause of the composer’s
subsequent loss of hearing--must be left mainly to conjecture. From May
to November, 1797, Beethoven’s history is still a blank and nothing but
the utter silence of Lenz von Breuning in his correspondence with his
family at Bonn on a topic so likely to engage his sympathies as the
dangerous illness of his friend, appears to prevent the filling of this
blank in part by throwing him upon a bed of sickness. True, Lenz may
have written and the letter have been lost or destroyed; or he may have
neglected to write because of his approaching departure from Vienna,
which took place in the autumn. His album, still preserved, has among
its contributors Ludwig and Johann van Beethoven and Zmeskall. Ludwig
wrote as follows:
Truth exists for the wise,
Beauty for a feeling heart:
They belong to each other.
Dear, good Breuning;
Never shall I forget the time which I spent with you in Bonn as
well as here. Hold fast your friendship for me; you will always
find me the same.
Vienna 1797
the 1st of October.
Your true friend
L. v. Beethoven.
They never met again. Lenz died on April 10th of the following year.
In November, Beethoven enjoyed a singular compliment paid him by the
association of the Bildende Künstler--a repetition of his minuets and
trios composed two years before for the artists’ ball; and on the 23rd
of December, he again contributed to the attractions of the Widows’ and
Orphans’ Concert by producing the Variations for two Oboes and English
Horn on “Là ci darem la mano,” played by Czerwenka, Reuter and Teimer.
His publications in 1797, besides those mentioned at the beginning of
the year, were the Twelve Variations for Pianoforte and Violoncello on
the theme from Handel’s “Judas Maccabæus,” precise date unknown; the
Pianoforte Sonata, Op. 7; and the Serenade, Op. 8, both advertised by
Artaria and Co., October 7th. Finally, the Rondo in C, Op. 51, No. 1,
published by Artaria with the catalogue number 711.
* * * * *
We come to a consideration of the facts touching the compositions of
the years 1796 and 1797.
THE COMPOSITION OF “ADELAIDE”
Among the most widely known of these is “Adelaide.” The composition
of this song must have been begun in the first half of 1795, if not
earlier, for sketches of it are found among the exercises in double
counterpoint written for Albrechtsberger. Other sheets containing
sketches for “Adelaide” and the setting of Bürger’s “Seufzer eines
Ungeliebten” are preserved in the library of the Gesellschaft der
Musikfreunde in Vienna and the British Museum in London. The song was
published by Artaria in 1797, under the title “Adelaide von Matthisson.
Eine Kantate für eine Singstimme mit Begleitung des Klaviers. In Musik
gesetzt und dem Verfasser gewidmet von Ludwig van Beethoven.” The opus
number 46 was given to it later. In 1800 Beethoven sent a copy of the
song to the poet and accompanied it with the following letter:
Most honored Sir!
You are herewith receiving from me a composition which has been
in print for several years, but concerning which you probably, to
my shame, know nothing. Perhaps I can excuse myself and explain
how it came about that I dedicated something to you which came so
warmly from my heart yet did not inform you of the fact, by saying
that at first I was unaware of your place of residence, and partly
also I was diffident, not knowing but that I had been over-hasty
in dedicating a work to you without knowing whether or not it met
with your approval.
Even now I send you “Adelaide” with some timidity. You know what
changes are wrought by a few years in an artist who is continually
going forward; the greater the progress one makes in art the less
one is satisfied with one’s older works. My most ardent wish will
be fulfilled if my musical setting of your heavenly “Adelaide”
does not wholly displease you, and if it should move you soon to
write another poem of its kind, and you, not finding my request
too immodest, should send it to me at once, I will put forth all
my powers to do your beautiful poetry justice. Look upon the
dedication as partly a token of the delight which the composition
of your A. gave me, partly as an evidence of my gratitude and
respect for the blessed pleasure which your poetry has always
given, _and always will_ give me.
Vienna, August 4th, 1800.
When playing “Adelaide” sometimes recall
your sincere admirer
Beethoven.
Whether or not Matthisson answered this letter is not known; but when
he republished “Adelaide” in the first volume of his collected poems
in 1815, he appended to it a note to this effect: “Several composers
have vitalized this little lyric fantasy with music; but according to
my strong conviction none of them so threw the text into the shade
with his melody as the highly gifted Ludwig van Beethoven in Vienna.”
The “Opferlied,” the words of which were also written by Matthisson,
is one of the poems to which Beethoven repeatedly recurred. “It seems
always to have presented itself to him as a prayer,” says Nottebohm.
Its last words, “The beautiful to the good,” were written in autograph
albums even in his later years. The origin of the composition is to
be ascribed to 1795, as Nottebohm enters it in his catalogue. It was
thus possible for Wegeler to know it in 1797, when he put a Masonic
text under the music. It had not yet been published at that time,
however, which fact accounts for the discovery of sketches for it in a
sketchbook of 1798-1799 described by Nottebohm.
It was not published until later, probably in 1808, when it came with
two other songs from the press of Simrock. Beethoven composed the
poem a second time, utilizing the beginning of his first melody, for
solo, chorus and orchestra (Op. 121b). To this setting we shall recur
hereafter. There is still another song which must be brought into the
story of this period. It is the “Seufzer eines Ungeliebten,” with
its two parts based on two independent but related poems by Bürger.
Particular interest attaches to the second part, “Gegenliebe,” from
the fact that its melody was used afterward by Beethoven for the
variations in the “Choral Fantasia,” Op. 80. Sketches for this melody
are found associated with sketches for “Adelaide” on a sheet in the
archives of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde. Nottebohm fixes the year
of the song’s origin as 1795. It was first published as late as 1837
by Diabelli along with the song, “Turteltaube, du klagest,” which was
composed much later. The Italian song, “O care selve, o cara felice
libertà” (from Metastasio’s “Olimpiade”), entered under number 1264
in Thayer’s “Chronologisches Verzeichniss,” appears as a chorus for
three voices at the end of the Albrechtsberger exercises, and hence
may be placed in the year 1795, as is done by Nottebohm, who adds that
it originated simultaneously with the setting of “Wer ist ein freier
Mann?” Here mention must also be made of two arias which Beethoven
wrote for introduction in Umlauf’s comic opera “Die schöne Schusterin.”
These songs were assigned to the Bonn period in the first edition of
this biography because the opera was performed in Bonn in the years
1789 and 1790. The two songs composed by Beethoven are an arietta, or
rather strophic song, “O welch’ ein Leben,” for tenor, and an aria,
“Soll ein Schuh nicht drücken?” for soprano. The words of the latter
are in the original libretto. The words of the tenor song, though
not part of the original text, were obviously written for the opera.
The melody was afterward used by Beethoven as a setting for Goethe’s
“Mailied,” published in 1805, as Op. 52. Both songs, as written for the
opera, were published for the first time in the Complete Edition of
Beethoven’s works from the copies preserved in the Berlin Library.
NUMEROUS PIECES OF CHAMBER MUSIC
Most important of the instrumental compositions of this period is
the Quintet for Strings, Op. 4, which is frequently set down as an
arrangement (or revised transcription) of the Octet, Op. 103. The
Quintet, however, though it employs the same motivi as the Octet, is an
entirely new work, made so by the radical changes of structure--changes
of register to adapt the themes to the stringed instruments and changes
in the themes themselves. The origin of the Quintet can be placed
anywhere in the period from 1792 (when the Octet was probably begun) to
the beginning of 1797, when the Quintet was advertised as “wholly new.”
There is a clue in the Wegeler anecdote already related in connection
with the String Trio, Op. 3, in the chapter of this work devoted to the
works composed in Bonn. In 1795, Count Appony commissioned Beethoven to
compose a quartet, the honorarium being fixed. Wegeler’s recollection
was that Beethoven twice undertook the task; but the first effort
resulted in the String Trio and the second in “a quintet (Op. 4).”
There is not sufficient internal evidence to reject the story so far as
it affects the Quintet (the Trio has already been subjected to study),
and from its structure it might well be argued that the composition was
undertaken as a quartet and expanded into a quintet in the hands of
the composer. If Count Appony’s commission was given in 1795, the date
of the completion of the Quintet may be set down as 1796. Artaria, who
published the work, advertised it in the “Wiener Zeitung” of February
8th, 1797.
The two Sonatas for Pianoforte and Violoncello, Op. 5, belong to the
year 1796, and are the fruits of the visit to Berlin. There is no
reason to question Ries’s story that Beethoven composed them for Pierre
Duport and played them with him. The dedication to Friedrich Wilhelm
II and the character of the works lend credibility to Ries’s account
of their origin. Beethoven played them with Bernhard Romberg in Vienna
at the close of 1796 or beginning of 1797, and they were published
soon afterward, being advertised by Artaria in the “Wiener Zeitung”
of February 8th, 1797. The Twelve Variations on a theme from Handel’s
“Judas Maccabæus,” were published by Artaria in 1797, dedicated to the
Princess Lichnowsky, _née_ Countess Thun. There were no performances
of Handel’s oratorios in Vienna at this time, but it is not improbable
that the suggestion for the Variations came from Baron van Swieten.
Here seems to be the place to refer to the Allegro movement in
sonata-form for viola and violoncello which Beethoven gave the title,
“Duett mit zwei Augengläsern obbligato von L. v. Beethoven” (Duet
with two Eyeglasses obbligato, by L. v. Beethoven), to be found in
the volume of sketches from this period (1784-1800) which the British
Museum bought from J. N. Kafka in 1875.[80] There ought to be a hint
as to the identity of the two players “with two eyeglasses obbligato.”
Here is also the place for the three Duos for Clarinet and Bassoon
first published by André in Offenbach. The Sextet for Wind-Instruments
published by Breitkopf and Härtel in 1810 (it received the opus number
71 later), belongs to this period. Sketches for the last movement,
which differ from the ultimate form, however, are found amongst the
sketches for the Pianoforte Sonata, Op. 10, No. 3. The inception of
the Sonata must fall sometime between the middle of 1796 and the
middle of 1798, since the subscription for it was opened in the
beginning of July, 1798, and other works of a similar character were
already completed in 1797. It is, therefore, possible to place the
origin of the earlier movements of the Sextet in an earlier period,
say 1796-97, a proceeding which is confirmed by the circumstance that
the beginning is found before sketches for “Ah, perfido!” (which was
composed in 1796 at the latest), on a sheet of sketches in the Artaria
collection. The Kafka volume of sketches in the British Museum contains
sketches for the minuet and trio of the Sextet, “Ah, perfido!” and the
Pianoforte Sonata, Op. 49, No. 2. This fact also indicates the year
1796. Beethoven let the work lie a long time. It had its first hearing
at a chamber concert for the benefit of Schuppanzigh in April, 1805;
but it was not until 1809 that he gave it out for publication. On
August 3rd of that year he wrote to Breitkopf and Härtel: “By the next
mail-coach you will receive a song, _or perhaps two_, and a sextet for
wind-instruments,” and on August 8th: “The sextet is one of my earlier
things and, moreover, was written in a single night--nothing can really
be said of it beyond that it was written by an author who at least has
produced a few better works; yet for many people such works are the
best.” The statement that the work was written in a single night must
be taken in a Pickwickian sense, for sketches of it have been found.
PREDILECTION FOR WIND-INSTRUMENTS
It is plain that at this time Beethoven had a particular predilection
for wind-instruments. Erich Prieger owned a fragment of a Quintet in
E-flat for Oboe, three Horns and Bassoon, formerly in the possession
of Artaria. The beginning of the first movement is lacking, but can
be supplied from the repetition in the second part. The Adagio is
intact, but there are only a few measures of the Minuet. Influenced,
no doubt, by the performances of such compositions, Beethoven composed
at this time two works for two oboes and English horn. Nottebohm
surmises that they were instigated by a terzetto for two oboes and
English horn composed by a musician named Wendt and performed at a
concert of the Tonkünstler-Gesellschaft by three brothers, Johann,
Franz and Philipp Teimer, on December 23rd, 1793. One of the two works,
the Trio which was published as Op. 87, is pretty well known, since
it was made accessible to wider circles by arrangements published in
Beethoven’s day and with his approval. Artaria published it in April,
1806, without opus number. He also published it for two violins and
viola as Op. 29, and finally as a Sonata for Pianoforte and Violin.
The last transcription was published first, as stated in Thayer’s
Catalogue. Nothing of a historical nature is known of the Variations on
“Là ci darem” for the same instruments beyond the fact that they were
performed on December 23rd, 1797, at the concert for the benefit of the
Widows and Orphans in the National Court Theatre. On a free page of
the autograph (after the sixth variation) there are some miscellaneous
sketches, among them a motive for the Adagio of Op. 3, another which
was used in the Serenade, Op. 25, and, more remarkable still, a few
measures of “Adelaide,” on which he was at work in 1793, and which
appeared in print in 1797. Obviously, the Variations were finished, and
we may set down at the latest the year 1795 for their beginning.
The Sextet for four stringed instruments and two horns, Op. 81b, also
belongs to this early period and in all likelihood was conceived before
the Sextet for wind-instruments. Sketches for the first two movements
are upon a sheet in the Berlin library by the side of sketches for the
song, “Seufzer eines Ungeliebten.” Sketches for this song keep company
with some for “Adelaide.” The Sextet is therefore to be credited to
the year 1795, or perhaps 1794. It was published in 1819 by Simrock
in Bonn. In a letter which Beethoven sent to Simrock with the MS.
(but which has been lost) he had written to the publisher, who was an
admirable horn player, that “the pupil had given his master many a hard
nut to crack.” As to whether or not, and if so when and where, the
Sextet had been played before being sent to Simrock there is, as yet,
no conclusive evidence.
The beautiful Quintet in E flat, Op. 16, for Pianoforte and
Wind-instruments, was played at a concert given by Schuppanzigh on
April 6th, 1797, being number 5 on the programme which described it as
“A Quintet for the Fortepiano accompanied by four Wind-Instruments,
played and composed by Mr. Ludwig van Beethoven.” It had probably been
completed not long before. Sketches are found in connection with a
remark concerning the Sonata in C minor, Op. 10, No. 1.
It was in all probability composed between 1794 and the beginning of
1797. In the minutes of a meeting of the Tonkünstler-Gesellschaft under
date May 10th, 1797, occurs this entry: “On the second day Mr. van
Beethoven produced a Quintet and distinguished himself in the Quintet
and incidentally by an improvisation.” The word “dabey” (incidentally)
seems to indicate that he introduced an improvisation in the Quintet
as he did on a later occasion to the embarrassment of the other
players, but to the delight of the listeners. Ries tells the story in
his “Notizen,” p. 79. It was at a concert at which the famous oboist
Friedrich Ramm, of Munich, took part.
In the final Allegro there occur several holds before a resumption
of the theme. At one of these Beethoven suddenly began to
improvise, took the Rondo as a theme and entertained himself and
the others for a considerable space; but not his associates. They
were displeased, and Ramm even enraged (_aufgebracht_). It really
was comical to see these gentlemen waiting expectantly every
moment to go on, continually lifting their instruments to their
lips, then quietly putting them down again. At last Beethoven was
satisfied and dropped again into the Rondo. The entire audience
was delighted.
Wasielewski doubts the correctness of the story, since there is but
one hold in the Finale. Dr. Deiters thought that Ries confounded the
last with the first movement, in which the clarinet enters after a
_fermata_. The Quintet was published by Mollo in Vienna in 1801, and
was dedicated to Prince Schwarzenberg. It appeared simultaneously in
one arrangement made by Beethoven himself as a Quartet for Pianoforte
and Strings, as Ries expressly declares. Beethoven had nothing to do
with the arrangement as a String Quartet published by Artaria as Op. 75.
Touching the history of the Serenade for Violin, Viola and Violoncello,
Op. 8, little else is known beyond the fact that its publication was
announced in the “Wiener Zeitung” on October 7th, 1797, by Artaria. Mr.
Shedlock called attention in the “Musical Times” of 1892 (p. 525) to
sketches which appeared along with others of the Pianoforte Concerto
in B-flat, and the Trio, Op. 1, No. 2. That Beethoven valued the work
highly is a fair deduction from the fact that he published it soon
after its composition and authorized the publication of an arrangement
for Pianoforte and Viola which he had revised. This arrangement
received the opus number 42, though probably not from Beethoven.
Hoffmeister in Leipzig, who published it in 1804, under the title
“Notturno pour Fortepiano et Alto arrangé d’un Notturno pour Violon,
Alto et Violoncello et revu par l’auteur--Œuvre 42,” advertised it
in the “Intelligenzblatt der Zeitschrift für die elegante Welt” on
December 17, 1803. It is this arrangement, no doubt, to which Beethoven
referred in a letter to Hoffmeister, dated September 22nd, 1803, in
which he said: “These transcriptions are not mine, though they were
much improved by me in places. Therefore, I am not willing to have
you state that I made them, for that would be a lie and I could find
neither time nor patience for such work.” According to the view of Dr.
Deiters, which was shared also by Nottebohm, the Serenade, Op. 25,
also belongs here. It was probably composed before Op. 8. Beethoven
entrusted its publication in the beginning of 1802 to Cappi, who had
just begun business. Then, like Op. 8, it was published by Hoffmeister
as Op. 41, in an arrangement for Pianoforte and Flute (or Violin),
which, no doubt, was included in Beethoven’s protest against being set
down as the transcriber.
A GROUP OF PIANOFORTE SONATAS
Prominent among the compositions of this time is the Sonata in
E-flat for Pianoforte, Op. 7. The only evidence of the date of its
composition is the announcement of its publication by Artaria in the
“Wiener Zeitung” of October 7th, 1797. There are sketches for the third
movement in the Kafka volume, but they afford no help in fixing a date.
The Sonata is inscribed to the Countess Babette Keglevich, one of
Beethoven’s pupils, who afterwards married Prince Innocenz Odescalchi
in Pressburg. Nottebohm quotes the following from a letter written by
a nephew of the Countess: “The Sonata was composed for her when she
was still a maiden. It was one of the hobbies, of which he (Beethoven)
had many, that, living as he did _vis-à-vis_, he came in morning
gown, slippers and tasseled cap (_Zipfelmütze_) to give her lessons.”
Inasmuch as the sketches mentioned belong only to the third movement
and the sheet contains the remark: “diverse 4 bagatelles de inglese
Ländler, etc.,” Nottebohm supposes that the movement was originally
intended for one of the Bagatelles and was later incorporated in the
Sonata. It is very probable that the two little Sonatas, Op. 49, belong
to this period. Everybody knows that the second movement of the second
Sonata (the minuet) is based on the same motive as the third movement
of the Septet. That the motive is older in the Sonata than in the
Septet is proved by the fact that sketches for it are found along with
some to “Ah, perfido!” (1795-96) and the Sextet for Wind-instruments,
Op. 71. This circumstance establishes its early origin, say in 1795
or, at latest, 1796. Nottebohm considers it likely that the first
Sonata was finished at the latest in 1798, certainly before the Sonata
“Pathétique” and the Trio for strings, Op. 9, No. 3. The Sonatas were
ready for publication as early as 1802, in which year brother Carl
offered them to André in Offenbach. They were not published until
1805, when they appeared with the imprint of the Bureau d’Arts et
d’Industrie, as appears from an advertisement in the “Wiener Zeitung”
of January l9th, 1805. Here, too, belongs the little Sonata in D for
four hands, Op. 6, published by Artaria in October, 1797, as Nottebohm
surmises. It was probably composed for purposes of instruction. Except
a few trifles (marches, and two sets of variations) Beethoven wrote
nothing more for four hands, though Diabelli offered him 40 ducats for
a four-hand sonata in 1824.
In the pianoforte compositions of these two years are to be included
the Variations in A on a Russian dance from the ballet “Das
Waldmädchen,” published in April, 1797, and dedicated to the Countess
Browne, _née_ Bietinghoff. “Das Waldmädchen,” by Traffieri, music by
Paul Wranitzky, was first performed at the Kärnthnerthor-Theater on
September 28, 1796, and was repeated sixteen times the same year. This
fixes the time of the composition of the Variations approximately. They
were probably written before the end of 1796.
There are a few other compositions brought to light by Nottebohm and
Mandyczewski, which call for notice. No. 299, Series XXV (Supplement),
B. and H. Complete Works, is an Allegretto in C minor, 3/4 time; No.
295 a Bagatelle, also in C minor 3/4, Presto, sketches for which are
associated with those for the C minor Sonata, Op. 10, No. 1. From the
remark: “Very short minuets to the new sonatas. The Presto remains for
that in C minor,” written about this time Nottebohm concludes that this
Bagatelle was conceived as an intermezzo in the C minor Sonata, and
that, possibly, the Allegretto had a similar origin.[81]
A unique place among Beethoven’s early works is occupied by the two
pieces for mandolin with pianoforte accompaniment first published in
the Complete Edition. Thayer, who knew of the sketches at Artaria’s,
but seems not to have seen the composition recovered by Nottebohm,
which is called Sonatine, associated Beethoven’s purpose with
Krumpholz, who was a virtuoso on the mandolin; but Mylich, Amenda’s
student companion, may have been in the composer’s mind.
The fact that no compositions for orchestra save the dances for the
Redoutensaal, to be referred to presently, have been preserved, is not
to be taken as conclusive evidence that Beethoven did not venture into
the field of orchestral music in the Bonn and early Vienna days. Such
an assertion is less likely to be made now than before the discovery of
the two Imperial cantatas of 1790. Moreover, Mr. Shedlock’s extracts
from the Kafka sketchbook in the British Museum show that Beethoven
tried his youthful hand at a symphony. Among the earliest of the
sketches there is one in C minor marked “Sinfonia,” which begins as
follows:
[Illustration]
THE “JENA” SYMPHONY AND SOME DANCES
Nottebohm notes the theme also in his “Zweite Beethoveniana” (p. 577).
Shedlock’s contention that out of this theme grew the second movement
of the first Pianoforte Quartet (composed in 1785) is incontestable.
The symphonic sketch is therefore of earlier date than 1785. In
1909, Prof. Fritz Stein, Musical Director of the University of Jena,
announced that in the collection of music of the Academic Concerts,
founded in 1780, he had discovered the complete parts of a symphony in
four movements in C “par Louis van Beethoven.” These words are in the
handwriting of the copyist on the second violin part; on the ’cello
part is written: “Symphonie von Beethoven.” Dr. Hugo Riemann,[82]
after a glance through the score prepared by Prof. Stein and put at
his disposal, gave it as his opinion that the symphony might well be a
composition by Beethoven. Thematically, he says it suggests partly the
Mannheim school, partly Haydn; the instrumentation is nearer Mozart
than Stamitz or Cannabich.
Mention of Beethoven’s orchestral dances has already been made.
Schindler’s remark that the musicians of Vienna “refused citizenship”
to Beethoven’s efforts to write Austrian dance music is discredited,
at least so far as Viennese society is concerned, by the success of
his dances composed for the Redoutensaal and the very considerable
number of his waltzes, ländlers, minuets, écossaises, allemandes and
contra-dances which have been preserved. Only the smaller portion of
these dances have been included in the Complete Edition of Breitkopf
and Härtel. Thus in Series II there are 12 minuets and 12 German
dances; in Series XXV (Supplement), 6 “Ländrische Tänze” for two
violins and bass, 6 German dances for pianoforte and violin, and, for
pianoforte alone, 6 German dances, 6 écossaises and a few miscellaneous
dances; in Series XVIII (Small Pieces for Pianoforte) there are 6
minuets and 13 “Ländrische” (1-6 identical with those numbered 7-13 in
Series II, but transcribed). There are many dances as yet unpublished.
For instance, among the Artaria MSS, purchased by Erich Prieger, there
are 12 écossaises, of which 6 are as yet unknown, also 12 “Deutsche”
for pianoforte and 6 minuets for two violins and bass, which have
never been printed. The three orchestral dances noted by Thayer in the
Thematic Catalogue as No. 290, of the Artaria collection, are Nos.
3, 9 and 11 of the 12 minuets which A. von Perger discovered in the
archives of the Künstler-Pensions-Institut in 1872, and which were
published by Hengel in Paris in pianoforte transcription in 1903 and in
score and parts in 1906, edited by Chantavoine. They were composed for
the Künstlersocietät and are now in the Court Library at Vienna. (MS.
16,925.)
FOOTNOTES:
[75] It is now No. 16 of the extended Operngasse.
[76] Czerny described Beethoven’s brothers to Otto Jahn as follows:
“Carl: small of stature, red-haired, ugly; Johann: large, dark, a
handsome man and complete dandy.”
[77] “Mr. von Z.” is doubtless Zmeskall, who is thus shown to have been
a trusted friend of Beethoven’s in 1796. “This time” indicates plainly
that Beethoven had been in Prague before. Through the words: “Greetings
to Brother Caspar” the pen has been heavily drawn, and, if the color of
the ink can be trusted after so many years, it was done at the time of
writing. “F. Linowsky” is Fürst (Prince) Lichnowsky.
[78] Beethoven told the story to Mme. von Arnim with the additional
particular that they were walking in Unter den Linden and went thence
into a private room of the principal coffee-house where there was a
pianoforte, for the exhibition of their skill.
[79] After the journey to Pesth?
[80] See the articles by J. S. Shedlock in “The Musical Times,” June to
December, 1892. Mr. Shedlock made a copy of the duet for Dr. Deiters.
[81] “Beethoveniana,” p. 31. Later Beethoven wanted to give the Sonata
an Intermezzo in C major (Ibid., p. 479), but did not carry out the
intention.
[82] See Vol. II, p. 60, of the revised edition of “Ludwig van
Beethoven’s Leben” by Thayer, 1910.