BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Monday, March 18, 1822:
In the great Landständischen Saale in Vienna, young pianist/violinist Carl Maria von Bocklet (1801-1881) from Prague holds a musical-declamatory Akademie concert. In the first half of the concert, Bocklet demonstrates his skill on the violin, and in the second half on the piano. In between halves, Herr Tieze performed the song Adelaide op.46 by Beethoven. The critic for the Vienna Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung described Beethoven’s song as “forever new and beautiful.” His voice was complimented as “very graceful, with a gentle, well-mannered tone that is very flexible and supple.” While the performance was noble and soulful, the anonymous critic thought the last tempo was taken a bit too fast. Among other items on the program was the first movement of a piano concerto by Beethoven’s former student Ferdinand Ries.
Beethoven was a great supporter of Bocklet, and wrote a number of letters of introduction for him. Several letters to Zmeskall and Steiner & Co. from about 1817 in particular extolled Bocklet’s skill on the violin.
Music dealer Pietro Mechetti repeats his advertisement for piano duet arrangements of the King Stephan Overture and the Overture to the Creatures of Prometheus (neither arranged by Beethoven) in today’s Wiener Zeitung.
Beethoven almost certainly received no compensation for these publications.