BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Friday, July 28, 1826

Nephew Karl visits his uncle today. Probably in relation to the visit yesterday to see Haslinger with Holz, and the dispute over the title pages, Karl is somewhat dismissive of his uncle’s concerns. “You act as if you were an aspiring author, whose works one does not want to buy unseen.” They got to Haslinger’s shop late; Holz did not show up at the Petersplatz as they had agreed. “I waited and then I went to his place where I found him still in bed, because he, as he said, did not get home until 3 in the morning.” [Karl seems to be suggesting that Holz was carousing until late in the night, probably taking satisfaction in his uncle’s spy having his own weaknesses exposed.] He [probably Haslinger] said to me that he would not come to see you until Wednesday [August 2.] He feared to be thrown out; I gave him courage.” Uncle Ludwig asks whether Karl’s mother Johanna has said anything about difficulties with collecting the pension funds from Haslinger. “She has not said a word about him to me.”

Uncle Ludwig relates the story of demanding that Ignaz Dembscher pay Ignaz Schuppanzigh 50 florins for the privilege of being loaned the parts to the op.130 quartet, and his question “Must it be?” Karl expects that hit hard, since Dembscher is said to be stingy. He will likely delay it, like Brother Johann did with the 50 florins he promised Karl’s mother.

The acting housekeeper, Marie Stiegel, says that one has to go to the market at 6 a.m. in order to get good meat. Karl asked her how she liked her trip to the theater last Sunday. While Uncle Ludwig grumbles a bit about her, Karl points out that there is much less annoyance with her than earlier with the housekeeper [probably meaning Elisabeth Passy.]

Their respective ages is the subject of discussion. Karl says that he thinks his uncle is 57 [he is actually 55.] Karl is 19 years old.

Ludwig and Karl both do some financial computations on the conversation book page, probably relating to the pay due to Stiegel since there is mention of earnest money.

Uncle Ludwig wants to write a letter to B. Schott’s Sons in Mainz. Karl asks Uncle Ludwig to tell him what he wants to write, and then he will take care of the draft tomorrow morning and bring it to him. Uncle Ludwig asks at what time Karl will come. He says at 8:30 a.m.

Conversation Book 115, 35r-36v. This concludes Conversation Book 115, and Conversation Book 116 probably begins being used almost immediately. This is a book of 60 leaves. The first page and the last three pages are blank. Page 1v has an apparently stray notation from someone (possibly Holz), “From early morning until 9:15.” The book covers a period of around ten days.

Ludwig has given notice to Marie Stiegel, who started as a maid and got promoted to housekeeper, and she is very upset as a result. Karl, trying to change his uncle’s mind, tells him, “She is very sad because she has to leave; she says she never shied away from work and only had declined spraying because it was too strenuous for her. Moreover, she was always very content here, and therefore she is very sorry because you fired her, the more so because she feared the slander from the people in the house, because she held the position for such a short time. [She actually has lasted far longer than most, who seldom work for Beethoven more than a month.] She says she would happily have done the spraying, but she was afraid of harming herself because she does not have a strong chest and is coughing.”

Among Beethoven’s complaints about Stiegel are that she did not buy enough blotting paper, and she bought cherries, but failed to buy something else that she was supposed to purchase. Karl doesn’t know why she did these things, so he checks with Stiegel for an answer. He reports back, “She says you asked for large cherries back then, and they cost 15 kreutzers; the money was in the basket, so she thought she had bought everything, and then only later found something more. — They cheated her with the blotting paper, because she was trying to get back here as soon as possible. She is going back to fetch the rest.”

There is some discussion of the Schuppanzigh Quartet. Karl is surprised that one of the members (possibly Karl Holz) has not suggested that Beethoven write quartets for beginners. Uncle Ludwig mentions that Holz was alarmed that he was considering letting the new quartet be premiered in Berlin. “It is only boasting and conceit when they think only they can play your works. They are being played abroad also, and perhaps even better than here.” Also, cellist Joseph Linke (1783-1837) has a terrible frenzy to criticize and correct. The viola player, Franz Weiss is the most humble one of the group. Karl is especially annoyed by such remarks coming from Holz, a dilettante, rather than a professional musician. Karl doesn’t think it is good that Holz knows about Uncle Ludwig’s plans.

Back to the housekeeper. Frau von Passy probably expects to be called back into Ludwig’s service, Karl jokes. Stiegel would like to stay, the maid tells Karl. “She talked about the fish woman [Therese Jonas] and that she is always glad when she comes.” Uncle Ludwig wants Karl to figure out what is owed to Stiegel. Karl asks whether she has already been paid something, which would need to be deducted from the amount due to Stiegel. Uncle Ludwig continues to raise complaints about her. Karl loses his temper with his impossible-to-please uncle: “What does that mean compared to the perpetual change!” This is the first that Ludwig has heard that she had a cough and that was why she didn’t want to do the spraying. Karl tells him, “She was afraid that if she told you this reason, you would have thought she was too weak for the rest of the work. — She begged me to ask you in her name to let her stay.” [Uncle Ludwig’s response is not recorded, but the topic is immediately changed. In any event, there is no talk over the next few weeks of a replacement housekeeper, so it appears likely that Stiegel succeeds in staying on, at least for now.]

Karl mentions that there is something Uncle Ludwig wanted along with the beef for dinner today.

Uncle Ludwig asks about Karl’s examinations. Karl tells him that his first oral examination is next Wednesday [August 9. Karl does not mention that he has no intention of taking his exams.]

Uncle Ludwig jots down a short errand list while Karl is still there, perhaps over dinner since Karl is not being talkative:

• coupons [the interest on the bonds held on behalf of Nephew Karl by the magistrate, paid in semiannual installments of 22 1/2 florins C.M.]
• mirror
• with enthusiasm and vigor [an idea for the performance indication for the canon WoO 196, Es muss sein. The final version is “Quick, with enthusiasm.”]

Uncle Ludwig also begins drafting a letter to Ignaz Dembscher, whose remark to Holz, “Muss es sein?” [Must it be?] inspired the canon [It must be.] “and hope that through this, you will consider your ideas of patronage…the consequences of the opposite are dubious, and must be considered…” He then writes another idea for the canon’s tempo marking, “quick and with enthusiasm.” This draft is catalogued as Brandenburg Letter 2174. The actual letter to Demsbscher does not survive, nor does Beethoven’s manuscript of the canon. This humorous little four-voice canon is known only from a copy made a few days later by Holz.

“Es muss sein, ja ja ja ja ja” [It must be, yes yes yes yes yes] is here performed by Accentus:

Nephew Karl writes, and then crosses out: Fuga. a poco andante. He then leaves for the day, possibly with the letter for Dembscher, but Beethoven does not send the canon just yet.

Conversation Book 116, 2r-4v.

Karl does not mention his examinations (which he is not taking), letting Ludwig think that he is continuing to study for them, though he is not, having secretly sold his textbooks yesterday. He also does not mention that he bought two pistols, intending to commit suicide.

Tobias Haslinger (who for a few days has been advertising his music shop under his own name, formerly S.A. Steiner & Company) today advertises in the Wiener Zeitung (Nr.171) at 721 six pieces by Beethoven’s former pupil Carl Czerny, two of them being advertised for the first time. The first of these is the Variations brillantes for piano four hands, on popular themes from the opera Il Crociato by Meyerbeer, op.125. The second is an Impromptu brilliant in A major for piano four hands, op.116.