BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Friday, March 12, 1824

Work continues on the copying of the parts of the Missa Solemnis Kyrie, Credo, and Agnus Dei to be performed at the Akademie concert on April 8. Beethoven’s proofreading is careful and slow work, and he has only gotten through the soprano and alto choral parts and has them delivered by his maid to supervising copyist Paul Maschek. Maschek immediately sends them to Tobias Haslinger to be lithographed. The maid also picks up yesterday’s work from Maschek, adding to the stack of Beethoven’s proofreading.

Nephew Karl and Brother Johann are with Ludwig this afternoon. Beethoven learns from his maid only now that the copyists are working from their own residences. The maid was at Maschek’s apartment, when one of his copyists brought the parts for the strings that were copied by him yesterday.

Karl (or Karl writing for Johann) notes that Ludwig’s bank shares are up to 1015 florins each in value, having fluctuated recently between 999 and 1013 florins. “If only a person knew everything beforehand.” [Karl is probably mistaken. According to the Wiener Zeitung, the value of the bank shares during March 10 through March 18 will get up to 1014.1 florins each as of tomorrow, but no higher. They do not reach 1015, mostly fluctuating between 999 and 1013, averaging around 1006 florins in value.]

Johann had not brought it up previously, but music publisher S.A. Steiner asked Johann whether he still had the works [Opferlied, op.121b, Bundeslied op.122, Consecration of the House op.124, 6 Bagatelles op.126, and Der Kuss op.128.] He would like to take them and credit them against the substantial debt owed to Steiner by Beethoven, because it would be troubling to him to pay for them. He wants Ludwig to discuss this with him very much. Ludwig points out that Berlin has the rights to Consecration of the House until July or so for the grand opening of the new theater there. Steiner wouldn’t publish until October 1, Johann answers. Violinist Joseph Böhm, who has just come from a tour that included Paris, told Steiner that Maurice Schlesinger would pay very well for the new symphony, so Ludwig needn’t worry about being able to sell it, and it will sell well.

Johann thinks Ludwig should rely on Schindler to arrange for the winds and other instrumentalists who may be required from the Josephstadt Theater to supplement the Kärntnertor Theater orchestra. He knows the people and where they live. He said most of them would come at no charge. Schuppanzigh, on the other hand, does not know all these people because he was gone to Russia for so many years. When Ludwig prefers relying on the famous and well-regarded Schuppanzigh – whom he has relied on in musical matters for over two decades – over Schindler, Johann says Schuppanzigh is too easy-going. [We have seen that thus far Schindler has been excluded from the planning for musical matters, with Beethoven preferring to trust Schuppanzigh’s judgment.]

Copyist Paul Maschek told Johann that the copyists that have been engaged didn’t want to come to Beethoven’s apartment because it’s too far. Ludwig thinks it’s not so far, as he walks everywhere. Johann points out that it depends on where they live. When the maid came to Maschek’s, he was sitting copying in his sleeping shirt. Ludwig is annoyed that the copyists are not working at Maschek’s apartment as he had been told.

Karl writes out a letter to Schlesinger offering him the symphony. [The letter, if it was sent, does not appear to survive.]

Johann thinks the new housekeeper is fine. She shows enthusiasm for her work.

Always interested in other people’s eating habits, Johann comments that yesterday Schindler ate a whole bowl of frittaten (egg and flour crepes cut up and eaten with beef broth), soup and side vegetables.

The subject of ticketing for the concert comes up. Ludwig wonders whether the participants will need to get free tickets. Johann doesn’t think so, but the more prominent ones should get some. [It is unclear whether Johann means the more prominent participants, or the more prominent nobility.]

Karl says he has a dissertation about the indigestibility of cheese, since “Herr Apothecary” [Johann] asserted that he had chemically analyzed cheese, and found all of the elements that partially decompose in wine spirits, water and the like. Ludwig appears to associate these conclusions with his eye ailments, but Johann says the eye doctors here can do nothing for it, and that their cures are useless.

Ludwig frets again about what happens if they can’t fill the Redoutensaal. Johann says a thousand people will come just to see Ludwig. “Don’t even think about an empty house.”

[Schindler, finding two blank pages, inserted here fraudulent entries after Beethoven’s death regarding Beethoven’s tempos and the difference between Beethoven’s current works and those 15-20 years ago. Schindler refers to himself as Beethoven’s “little disciple” and “little son,” which are sure indicators that the entries are forgeries. 9v-10r.]

Conversation Book 59, 7v-10r.

In Berlin, the manager of the soon-to-be-open Königstädtisches Theater, Heinrich Bethmann, protests his dismissal. Bethmann you may recall had contracted with Beethoven for use of the Consecration of the House Overture, op.124, to celebrate the theater’s opening. This explains some of the rumors that were swirling, as reported in the February 7 Wiener Theaterzeitung, that were concerning to both Karl and Uncle Ludwig. The theater, having already paid Beethoven, will nevertheless proceed to use the Overture even though the venue will be under different management.

Unpaid assistant Anton Schindler goes, probably today, to invite alto Caroline Unger and soprano Henriette Sontag to dinner at Beethoven’s apartment on Sunday afternoon. He finds Unger, who would be delighted to come, but Sontag is not at home. Unger assures him that she will drag Sontag, who has made excuse after excuse not to visit Beethoven, along with her. Schindler opts to wait until he has a firm commitment one way or another from Sontag, so he will know whether to notify Beethoven he will have one or two of the young ladies as guests for dinner on Sunday.