BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Friday, February 4, 1825

Beethoven is having corn problems and rheumatic swelling with one of his feet, which is giving him significant pain, and he probably does not leave the apartment today. He makes some memoranda to himself about the proposed England trip. The additional 100 guineas he requested from Neate to make the trip is a trifle that means nothing. Beethoven resolves to stick by what he demanded, it’s only 100 guineas more for there and back again. [He does not yet know that the Philharmonic yesterday rejected his request.]

Nephew Karl appears to leave, probably with Johann, for the Heniksten bankers regarding the funds sent by Prince Galitzin. He has sent them 700 rubles, of which they have given Uncle Ludwig only 550. So they need to get the other 150 rubles. Ludwig asks how much a ruble is worth, and Karl tells him it’s roughly 1 florin.

Karl (probably writing for Johann) says that Ludwig must take into account the Akademies that could be given en route in the major cities of Germany and France. And then the Opera in London. Johann can make the calculations on the standard that 550 rubles equals 50 ducats. From this it can be calculated how much 700 rubles equals. Ludwig asks whether Heniksten is well to do. “Heniksten is rich to over 1 million.”

Johann tells Ludwig that the new Quartet for Galitzin should be copied on thin paper to minimize the weight and save on postage, and then delivered right away to the letter post. Ludwig says he doesn’t have time to arrange that, and Johann says he’ll take care of it.

Conversation Book 83, 45r-46v. This concludes Conversation Book 83; Conversation Book 84 continues directly after this. Conversation Book 84 is comprised of 54 leaves. However, leaves 2-6 were mistakenly bound into this book and actually belong to one of the books used in January, 1824.

A workman is at Beethoven’s apartment. He mentions to Beethoven that his girl is also hard of hearing, but it goes back and forth. Sometimes it is harder to hear, and sometimes easier. He suggests the folk remedy of licorice pills might help. He then takes his leave, “I won’t bother you any longer and give you my sincerest thanks.”

Beethoven makes a short errand list:

+Blotting sand.
+Quartet by the post — 50 kr.

Nephew Karl is curious as to who will win the prize for the best poem in honor of the Emperor’s birthday. The winner is to be named tomorrow.

Brother Johann writes a letter to Schott publishers in Mainz. “Enclosed you will find my brother’s seven works, cleanly copied, and just now reviewed and corrected by him, so that they can be engraved immediately. I would like to point out that you should not send all the works you have in your hands, namely the Great Mass, the Symphony, and the works you are now receiving, to my brother for correction of the engraving, but rather entrust them to the well-known and skillful Herr Gottfried Weber, so as not to delay publication too much. I have no doubt that he will undertake the corrections with pleasure out of love for the author and the work.”

“Furthermore, I hereby inform you in my name, and that of my brother, that you may consider the above seven works as your rightful property, which my brother will confirm in his next letter to you. I am most respectfully yours sincerely, Johann van Beethoven, Landowner.”

Brandenburg Letter 1931; Albrecht Letter 394. The original is held in the Mainz City Library (HS III 71, Nr.11) and can be seen here:

https://www.dilibri.de/dilibri_kalliope/content/pageview/2170008

The seven works referenced are Opferlied op.121b, Bundeslied op.122, Der Kuss op.128, the Consecration of the House Overture op.124, the Six Bagatelles op.126, as well as the piano solo and piano duet arrangements of the Overture that had been done by Carl Czerny. J.J. Schott writes on the letter a notation to answer soon.

Brother Johann probably returns to Ludwig’s apartment in the evening. On Tuesday, February 8, the two of them can go and see the City administrators about the coupons on Karl’s court bonds, between 10 and 11 in the morning.

Johann adds that he found out the grisly tale he related the other day about Hermann Van Aken being decapitated by his lion was incorrect in that it was the lioness that removed his head, not the lion. Adolf Bäuerle, editor of the Theaterzeitung, received an extensive letter that he will be printing. [Again, Van Aken was alive and well, and the lion story was a sensationalized hoax.]

Tomorrow, Johann has a dinner guest at his place, so he bought some wine.

Johann ran into Pietro Cappi [formerly partners with Anton Diabelli], who said that he is reprinting Ludwig’s Piano Trios op.1, and that there will be an announcement about it in the Wiener Zeitung as well as some other journals.

Johann then relates that Cappi told him the Court has issued a decree that a musical dealer cannot engrave anything by Beethoven without his written permission. Ludwig is startled to hear this news, and asks when that happened. Johann says for the last year and a half. This is why the Censor did not allow the reprinting, but Beethoven had confirmed the owner’s rights, and so the Censor may say anything he wants. Johann thinks it strange that Ludwig hasn’t ever heard anything about this decree. In any event, Cappi promises good sales, and he will publish the piano fantasias soon as well. [By “piano fantasias,” Cappi means the two Sonatas quasi una fantasia op.27, as well as the Fantasia op.77.] Beethoven is pleased to have his works back in print, even if he doesn’t earn any money from it. But it won’t please Steiner, because they are trying to do the same thing, and possess most of Ludwig’s works from when they bought the rights of the Kunst- und Industrie-Comptoir. Many publishers possess some of Ludwig’s works, but because they are so spread around, no one music publisher can issue a Collected Works since the others wouldn’t allow it.

Cappi also lamented to Johann that they cannot send anything to England because the customs fees for musical pieces are so high that it doubles the cost of each copy.

The maid went to the suburb where the housekeeper’s relatives were, and she inquired of them about the wash. [Apparently these relatives had been engaged to do the laundry for the Beethovens.]

Johann has a boot cleaner. He is bringing a poultice [for Ludwig’s foot, which has a painful corn.] Karl will see whether it’s possible to still get a footbath yet today. Johann returns, and gives the poultice to the housekeeper to heat up. He has also ordered a footbath for a single foot, which is coming immediately. It should help the pain. Ludwig should dry off the foot after the bath, and then put the poultice on it.

Johann leaves shortly afterwards. Karl says Johann promised to take Joseph Bernard along to the Schuppanzigh Quartet concert on Sunday, February 6. But Johann shouldn’t have done that, since Bernard didn’t have a ticket. It makes him vulnerable to unpleasant incidents with the ticket handlers. He really shouldn’t take guests along at all in such a manner, since he himself only has admission because of his name. Bernard thinks Schuppanzigh would have given him a free ticket though, if he had asked.

Karl and Ludwig both have colds coming on, so the housekeeper makes a folk remedy for them of warm beer with egg in it to reduce their fevers.

Ludwig starts to give Karl a hard time about his studies and wasting his time with other students, but Karl is having none of it. “I’ve already told you a hundred times that I repeat the subject matter that is covered in the discussion group at the home of one of my fellow students, because I am not in a position to do it alone.” Uncle Ludwig asks who that is. Karl replies, “He is a Greek, and lives in the Schwertgasse.”

The cook serves the Beethovens the warm beer with egg yolks.

Conversation Book 84, 1r-1v, 7r-10v. As previously mentioned, leaves 2-6 of this conversation book are actually interpolations from a January 1824 conversation book; Johann and Karl’s story about the lioness is continuous from leaf 1 onto leaf 7.

Today’s Wiener Zeitung (Nr.27) includes an advertisement at 120 from Sauer & Leidesdorf for a set of new dance music, “Halt’s eng z’samm,” [Hold Tightly Together,] Austrian ländler dances composed by Hieronymous Payer (1787-1845), Franz Schubert, Johann Pensel (1794-1828), Max Leidesdorf (1787-1840) and Leopold Czapeck (1792-1840). This set of dances in three volumes is available for piano solo, piano four hands, piano with violin, or two violins with bass. We have been unable to locate a copy of these volumes to determine what exactly was contributed and by whom. All of them were prolific composers of such little dance tunes.