BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Saturday, April 15, 1826

Very early in the morning, unpaid assistant Karl Holz comes by Beethoven’s apartment together with composer/pianist Anton Halm, whom Artaria is commissioning to arrange the Grosse Fuge for four-hands piano. Halm, on behalf of his wife, thanks Beethoven for the precious souvenir of a lock of his hair. If it would not be too much trouble, she would like to come visit with her husband sometime.

Halm’s plan is to use Carl Czerny’s four-hands piano arrangement of the Kreutzer Sonata as his model. Halm has a number of technical questions about how the parts should be divided between the hands, and whether in one spot the 2nd voice could be raised because of how the 1st and 4th voices are written. Holz, possibly on behalf of Halm, again asks whether the two tied eighth notes that open the piece could be notated as quarter notes. Beethoven is insistent that they not be.

Halm thinks that only the first part of the fugue is difficult to arrange; the rest of it he finds easy. He would like to borrow the score for a while. But if there are mistakes in the copy perhaps he should not. Holz says that there is a corrected copy but it will need to be collated first. Halm promises to be very diligent in his work. Holz apologizes for coming so early; Halm has no time on weekdays to come other than very early. Artaria has offered him 100 florins W.W. for doing the arrangement. [On April 13, Artaria had said he would pay 40 florins C.M., which equals 100 W.W.]

After Halm departs, Beethoven goes out in the morning with Holz to read the newspapers, and he copies down an advertisement for a summer apartment in Döbling. Nephew Karl joins them. He indicates there has just been a fire on the Spitelberg.

Holz mentions that he spoke to the Head Censor, Franz Sartory, who cannot recall whether Haslinger received permission from his office to publish these works [op.114 and 116]. If he has not, he had better not print one note without Beethoven’s consent. “This will also be a permanent rule in the future for the art dealers here.” [No trace of such a decree has been found.] Holz adds, “The old one [Steiner] has really been completely pushed out because of the pranks from the young one [Haslinger].

Holz relates a conversation yesterday between Haslinger and Joseph Linke:
H. Why do you show yourself so rarely.
L. Because Herr Steiner is a rough partner.
H. We will also in the future refuse to have the honor of such visitors, who only come here to chatter.
L. I shall never again be troublesome to you, and I have also already complained to Beethoven about the manners here.
H. What’s it to Beethoven? What does he have to do with it? We do not want to have anything to do with him; we do not need him.
L. Maybe so, but Beethoven lives more easily without you than you do without him; besides, we are both far too small against him to be allowed to say that we do not need him.
H. He is a very rough person.

They discuss various housekeepers Beethoven has had. They have a laugh over the tough chickens prepared by one of them. Another one was at least honest. Karl mentions one who told the maid that she was too good for us.

They go back to the apartment. The housekeeper has bought cheese. She says 4 pounds of cheese is too much. Holz says that she really is a housekeeper, “With the former ones, there were 3 lovers here at the same time.”

Holz mentions a large dam that had been built near Nussdorf on the Danube. It was meant to lead the water into the main stream, but it has to be removed because now no water flows into the Danube Canal any more. This prevents wood from being brought to the City this way, which makes for an economic loss of 200,000 florins. The management of the Water Construction Office is not competent; an ordinary ship’s boy was able to prove the construction brought only a little benefit, but they did not want to make changes to their plans.

Holz and Karl depart, possibly to run errands and do shopping for Beethoven. While they are gone, former unpaid assistant (and later biographer) Anton Schindler stops by Beethoven’s apartment. Unlike most of his comments in this time period, this appears to be a genuine visit by Schindler and not a fraudulent fantasy written years after the fact. “I come to you with a very pleasant commission from Duport [Louis Antoine Duport, manager of the Kärnterntor Theater].— He sends his greetings, asking if you would be prepared to write an opera for the Hoftheater. He guarantees you a written contract if you decide to do it, and is ready to—if you so wish—deposit the money somewhere, so that you must not have any doubts about the prompt payment of the fee.”

Schindler had for some years been the concertmaster of the Josephstadt Theater. Prior management had then promised him the right to hold an Akademie concert for his own benefit. However, Hensler, the manager, died and his daughter, Josepha von Scheidlin, took over management and she is now refusing to let him hold the concert on grounds that he is now working at the Kärntnertor Theater. He has gone to Johann Baptist Bach [Beethoven’s attorney; Schindler had worked as a clerk for him before becoming a professional musician.] who has written a letter demanding their cooperation, but so far he has not received a response.

Beethoven asks what he should use for a libretto for this proposed opera. Schindler read Claudine from Villa Bella by Goethe today, but he doubts that as a libretto it will in its present form make much of an impact. Friedrich August Kanne is writing a libretto for Duport. On Friday Duport asked Schindler to go see how far it had come and how it was. “I was very amazed by Kanne’s work. However, as he realizes that it is good, he has decided to write the music to it himself.”

Duport will do what he can to promote German opera; he has engaged a dozen singers, with Nanette Schechner (1806-1860) as prima donna, with 4 tenors and several bass singers. Baden Court Opera Singer Franz Siebert (1793-1858) is in Vienna [he had arrived April 10.] Another singer who is in Frankfurt presently will come, and he only guarantees 50 Italian performances. If all goes as planned, and the German opera becomes what one expects, it will stand next to the Italian opera with dignity. “This is the intention of the administration, because their existence depends entirely on the German opera and the ballet.” The theater administration is finally fed up with Rossini. “He has exhausted himself, and they want to return once more to the great and sublime.”

The French opera will be performed only when the noble subscribers demand it, and if they pay for it. Domenico Barbaja is the entrepreneur of the theater once again, and Duport is only the managing director. Duport would like to know whether Beethoven is still thinking about setting Grillparzer’s libretto to Melusine. That would also be good, but Kanne’s would be better if there are several to choose between.

“I ask you to consider it all. I’ll come back in a few days and will ask for your preliminary opinion, so that I can inform Duport about it, and he sees that I have not neglected to tell you about his desire.

Possibly Holz returns now, because Schindler abruptly leaves, writing, “Well now, in God’s name I have to go—”

Holz asks whether the first Leonore Overture has ever been printed. It has not, only the third Leonore Overture has been published by this point. Holz suggests it may be too difficult to sight read at a rehearsal. “It has not been heard here for a long time: Mylord [Ignaz Schuppanzigh] should probably give it during a morning concert, he thinks. Holz departs.

The first Leonore Overture (1805) is here performed by the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, conducted by Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, in a live performance on March 22, 2013:

Nephew Karl comes about 4:45, after Holz has gone, and asks for his weekly allowance from his uncle. Having got the money, he writes, “I have to go now. It is almost 5 o’clock and the days are not yet so long. I still have something to do for tomorrow. I’ll see you again one of these days.”

Conversation Book 108, 24v-33v.

Berlin publisher Adolph Martin Schlesinger writes a letter to Beethoven today, replying to the composer’s letter of February 27 (which no longer survives). He received the libretto for Grillparzer’s Melusine, which he handed over to Count von Brühl, and he said he sent an offer to Beethoven eight days ago, and the Count assured him that all was to be entirely in accordance with Beethoven’s wishes. Gaspare Spontini (1774-1851), Kapellmeister to King Friedrich Wilhelm III, also promised to do everything he could to ensure it comes about.

Schlesinger then asks Beethoven for the rights to the opera, when finished, including in a reduced score and all kinds of arrangements. “I fully expect and request that you offer it to no one else.” Adolph Bernhard Marx, editor of the Berliner allgemeine musikalische Zeitung sends his highest regards, and he asks that Beethoven soon honor them with a contribution from his pen.

Schlesinger will come to Vienna next summer, and looks forward to meeting Beethoven. Carl Maria von Weber is currently performing his new opera Oberon in London; Schlesinger is publishing the opera and it is already out in a piano arrangement. [Schlesinger will visit Beethoven in September, and will give him a copy of the piano reduction of Oberon at that time.]

Brandenburg Letter 2147; Albrecht Letter 430. The whereabouts of the original letter are unknown; the text is derived from Max Unger, Ludwig van Beethoven and His Publishers S.A. Steiner and Tobias Haslinger in Vienna and Ad. Mart. Schlesinger in Berlin (1921) Nr.124.