BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Monday, August 30, 1824 (approximately)

Sometime about now, music publisher Anton Diabelli writes Beethoven an undated letter, addressed to him in Baden at the Schloss Gutenbrunn. Diabelli is pleased to acknowledge Beethoven’s letter of August 24, in which he agreed to write a grand sonata for piano four hands. He asks that it be done “the sooner the better.” Diabelli confirms Beethoven’s fee of 80 gold ducats for the sonata, “for I am convinced that your works are not created for the moment, but for eternity.”

Diabelli also thinks the work will be noteworthy since Beethoven has not yet written such a piece [the sonata for piano four hands op.6 either slipped Diabelli’s memory, or he did not consider it to be counted as a grand sonata]. He could also work much more freely and make use of the entire keyboard, marshaling it like an army of sounds.

Brandenburg Letter 1868; Albrecht Letter 380. Anton Schindler wrote the date, “August 1824” in pencil on the letter. In this instance he is almost certainly correct since this letter is a response to Beethoven’s dated letter of a few days ago. The original is held by the Berlin Staatsbibliothek (aut.35,44c). Although Diabelli was not wrong in his assessment of the immortality of Beethoven’s works, the promised sonata was likely never even begun.