BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Monday, October 13, 1823

According to the discussions that Nephew Karl had with the landlord of the new apartment in Vienna, the old tenants were supposed to be out of the place completely by today. Whether they were in fact is unknown, but Beethoven appears not to have moved into the apartment from Baden for another week to ten days or so. The timeline here is exceedingly fuzzy due to the lack of conversation books and datable correspondence that would indicate his whereabouts.

Kapellmeister Friedrich Schneider gives a performance today in the Gewandhaus featuring a symphony of his own composition, and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto Nr. 5 in E-flat op.73. The reporter from Leipzig was grateful for this performance, since the concerto is seldom played here. Most pianists consider it too difficult, not without grounds, since they love their splendor more than art itself. Kapellmeister Schneider carried the brilliant concert with his usual skill, but they missed his usual high-spirited humor, especially in the transitions of the last movement. Leipzig Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung Nr. 13 for March 25, 1824 at 203. The Wiener Zeitschrift Nr.20 of February 14, 1824 at 166-167 after extolling Schneider’s own compositions, added, “The concert giver then masterfully performed the wonderful pianoforte concerto (E-flat major) by the brilliant Beethoven, and gave all true friends of art a very enjoyable evening.”

Mistuko Uchida here performs the Emperor Concerto, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons conducting:

Cappi and Diabelli announce in today’s Wiener Zeitung at 948 the publication of an early example of a pedagogical work by Beethoven’s former pupil, Carl Czerny: “Grand Exercice di Bravura,” in the form of a Rondeau brillant, for piano solo, op.47.

The blurb (probably written by Czerny himself) reads, “Calculated for the study of rare and brilliant difficulties, as well as pleasant passages requiring a delicate performance, this composition will give players all the more interesting enjoyment, since it is suitable for performance in any artistic circle.”

Several other piano works by Czerny are also advertised, the First Grand Pot-pourri Concertant for 2 pianos, 6 hands op.38; and the Three Fugues for piano solo, op.31.