BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Friday, June 16, 1826

Beethoven is continuing to work on the op.131 string quartet in C-sharp minor, but it is probably nearing completion at this point. He puts sketches for the 7th movement of the quartet on leaf 39v of Conversation Book 112, in barely visible pencil; a detail from these sketches, enhanced for readability, is seen nearby. The hand-drawn staff lines are unusually wavy here even for Beethoven, suggesting that he was hurriedly writing while he walked.

In between the staves, Beethoven writes part of his shopping list:

• slippers
• mirror

He continues on the next page, along with some numbers written by Nephew Karl (possibly at another time):

• about spraying [of the streets and alleys for dust and dirt. The government arranged for twice daily sprayings to keep down the dust and dirt in the City, the cost of which was assessed to the property owners. According to an 1823 decree published in the June 7 Wiener Zeitung at 45, landlords could pass that charge on to their tenants, but no markup was permitted. The superintendent of the Schwarzspanierhaus will try unsuccessfully to get the tenants in the building, presumably including Beethoven, to help defray these charges, which were 25 florins per month.]
• for roasting coffee another machine

This concludes Conversation Book 112. Conversation Book 113 immediately begins being used today. This notebook presently consists of 43 leaves, which cover the second half of the month of June. The pages of the conversation book are bound out of order; leaves 15-43 chronologically come before leaves 1-14. Schindler accurately dated the book to the Month of June 1826, though it also says “in Baden,” and Beethoven did not go to Baden in 1826 (though he had in 1824 and 1825).

Nephew Karl visits his uncle later today. When Elisabeth Passy, the prospective housekeeper, came to see him, she didn’t say anything about Tuesday, but assured him she certainly wanted to come on Monday. “She talks terribly much. I was rather busy when she came to me, but I could hardly get rid of her.”

She then started talking about bringing the maid, Marie Stiegel, so she wouldn’t have to carry her things to Beethoven’s apartment herself. “I told her that would be difficult, because someone always has to stay at home to be at your service, as is also the case.” In any event, the maid is not going to help her. It would be hard for her to consult with the maid. “Hopefully, she will be able to shop on her own; I told her directly that this would not happen, and she also understood.” Karl says he has told her everything that can be said about this issue.

“I think one has to break her of some of her habits, particularly her addiction to improvements, which seems to dominate her very much. Among other things, she told me that when she lived in happier circumstances, people had taken her for a woman born in France when she spoke French, and a woman born in Italy when she spoke Italian. I spoke French with her and I can assure you that her French orthoepy [correct pronunciation] is not any better than her German orthography [spelling; orthoepy is considered the auditory counterpart of orthography, with the parallel being of particular note because of Beethoven’s deafness.]

Karl assures his uncle that he will come on Tuesday, June 20.

Karl asks about the Ischl spa; it is 32 miles away. [Uncle Ludwig has been considering a trip there for the baths for his health.]

Uncle Ludwig expresses a wish that Karl would stay longer with him. Karl replies that recently he was much too late to class. Today he has to be at the Polytechnic Institute exactly at 3 o’clock, because they have a written exam on every Friday.

The fishmonger, Therese Jonas, has sent a fish to Beethoven as a gift. Wilhelm Klingenbrunner, poet at the Leopoldstadt Theater, takes Beethoven’s fish orders to Jonas since her market is nearby his apartment. Karl suggests that he should invite them both to the Leopoldstadt Theater some time.

Karl departs for his exam sometime between 2:30 and 3. Beethoven makes a note “+ sugar, coffee—” which may be a shopping list, or may relate specifically to the new housekeeper’s allowance for these items.

Karl returns late that afternoon with bad news. He was late for his written exam again today. Uncle Ludwig asks whether he needs to take a fiacre to get there on time. Karl says he does not need a fiacre so long as he leaves the apartment by half past 2. They need to have dinner earlier. “In general, it will be rare during the week for me to eat with you in the future, because I always lose time, except on Saturdays.”

Uncle Ludwig suggests that he could come into the City to visit the tailor. Karl would like to go together on occasion; he definitely needs suspenders. Perhaps they could meet before lunch, in the Michaelerhaus at 12:30 tomorrow.

Karl then heads back to his rooms. Uncle Ludwig goes to a coffeehouse and reads the newspapers. He copies an advertisement from today’s Intelligenzblatt for an apartment with 9 rooms and 2 kitchens in a very pleasant mountainous wine region, partly furnished from the second half of June through the end of November for 200 florins W.W.

Conversation Book 113, 15r-16v.