BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Sunday, February 19, 1826

Beethoven makes an errand list in the morning:

• Books + Small matches.
• Carpenter: cupboards with padlock for candles.
• Letter paper.
• Tailor.
• About Tobias.
• Concerning Hatzfeld. [Related to the dedication of the Ninth Symphony to the King of Prussia.]
• Concerning the doctor, Karl. [Probably a reminder to ask Karl to have Dr. Braunhofer visit him again.]

Nephew Karl arrives. Uncle Ludwig asks him to pick up the porcelain he and Holz bought the other day at the porcelain factory. Karl says he’ll arrange a fiacre and make note of the transaction right away.

Karl sees that the flour that his uncle has is very fine. The housekeeper, Frau Lindner, will be surprised. She says that the kitchen spoon has been mislaid. She will look for it later. Karl departs for a while to run the errand for his uncle.

Unpaid assistant Karl Holz arrives, presumably around 11 a.m., as he projected yesterday. He asks how many herrings they are having for dinner.

Karl returns from the porcelain factory with the new dishes. He recommends that his uncle count them so they know how many need to be replaced. If it goes with the current help as it has with the others, there won’t be any plates left in half a year.

Karl says he got a sudden sharp pain in his ear this week, which made him almost afraid. He read a book from his landlord Mathias Schlemmer [possibly about hearing disorders, since Schlemmer seems to have been hard of hearing], but now it is better.

Karl notes that there is much baking and frying taking place in the kitchen. The cook made the fish. “It would be bad if one could not make 1 pound last 2 days. For pikes, one places a little soup in the butter. By doing that, a great deal will be saved. But she probably doesn’t know that trick.”

Housekeeper Frau Lindner did ask for a cookbook today, though.

Uncle Ludwig thinks he might go out. Karl cautions against it; the temperatures are chilly and he should remain at home. This is the most dangerous time [presumably that it feels warmer than it actually is.] Karl has to leave. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Uncle Ludwig still is concerned about the letter to Prince Hatzfeld. Karl tells him that Holz has already said how it should be handled. The secretary of the Prussian legation already expressed his opinion, so it’s no use asking him again. The request must be made in writing.

Uncle Ludwig asks if Karl can come in the morning. He can’t do that, but will come in early midday. Before 2 p.m. dinner will be time enough. [Karl actually comes to visit his uncle this evening, after the Schuppanzigh Quartet concert.]

Ludwig continues his errand list:

• Try out the bells today.
  Tailor.
  Flannel.

[Former unpaid assistant Anton Schindler here added some fraudulent entries after Beethoven’s death.]

Nephew Karl and Holz attend the third concert of the Musik-Verein, in the large Redoutensaal at 12:30 p.m. The program begins with Beethoven’s Second Symphony, and ends with Beethoven’s Egmont Overture and the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah. Baron Eduard von Lannoy conducts this rather brief concert of a little over an hour in length. Leipzig Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung Nr.15, April 12, 1826, at 247. See annexed handbill courtesy of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde.

Karl and Holz probably leave around 2 p.m. They likely have dinner together, then go to the Schuppanzigh Quartet concert at 4:30 at the Musik-Verein hall at the Sign of the Red Hedgehog, at which they perform Haydn’s Quartet in E-flat major op.71/3, Mozart’s String Quintet in C major, K.515, and Beethoven’s Quartet in G major, op.18/2. Franz Schubert also attends both concerts. Otto Deutsch, The Schubert Reader at 510.

The String Quartet op.18/2 is here played by the Alban Berg Quartet:

At the quartet concert, Brother Johann approaches Holz about attending the salon at Baron Dembscher’s on Tuesday evening, even though he has not been invited. Holz arranges to meet Johann at a particular place, but annoyed at Johann’s presumptuousness, Holz has no intention of actually meeting him there. [Holz does not mention this to Ludwig until Wednesday.]

After the concert, both Nephew Karl and Holz go to Uncle Ludwig’s apartment to report on the two concerts. First Uncle Ludwig has Karl try out the bell for the servants, since he cannot hear it himself. Karl tells him that he needs to be careful to pull the bellcord straight, not at a slant. The rope should be pulled only once, but it should be done powerfully.

They report that the Symphony at the first concert went well. Holz thinks they played the first movement and the Menuetto too fast. “Baron Lannoy conducted; he never lets anyone tell him what to do.” He indicates the speed at which Lannoy took the Scherzo to Beethoven. “They also took the Hallelujah by Handel too fast. In the rehearsals, Baron Lannoy omitted 6 or even 12 bars, here and there, if he found them superfluous.”

The maid informs Karl that Frau Lindner broke two plates from the old set already.

Steiner is about to publish the terzet, Tremate, empi tremate, op.116. Someone named Grünbaum did the Italian inscription for the title page. “It must have been there [at Steiner’s] for a long time.” Beethoven says yes, it was performed in February of 1814. Giuseppe Siboni was the tenor in that premiere. Nephew Karl says that he heard Siboni was dead. [Karl was misinformed; Siboni was born in 1780 and does not die until 1839.]

Beethoven shows the fabric that they got for pants and vests. Holz thinks the sales clerk made a mistake and sold them too much fabric; one only needs 5 ells for pants and the longest vest, and they have 10 ells, which cost 27 florins 30 kreutzers W.W.

Uncle Ludwig starts to dictate a letter to the police censorship office, in a rage about Steiner printing the Terzet and other works with unauthorized changes or errors. Karl jokes, “Your handling of justice is quite astonishing. They are already trembling when they come in.” Karl begins addressing a letter. Holz advises omitting the anger. That will just lead to further questions. Uncle Ludwig makes a suggestion, but Karl objects, “Steiner will spit poison if he hears that.”

Holz changes the subject to the Schuppanzigh Quartet concert earlier. It has never been this good. They played the quartet in G, op.18/2 today, and the Mozart quintet in C minor.

On the other hand, poet Franz Grillparzer was quite indignant about the Musik-Verein’s concert, especially their handling of the Egmont Overture. Grillparzer knows it only from the piano arrangement. “He said, however, that he would prefer playing it on the piano, no matter how badly he plays, than hearing it played by the orchestra, entirely without color and life.”

Poet Christoph Kuffner read Joseph Bernard’s libretto for Der Sieg des Kreuzes. “He absolutely does not approve. He doesn’t understand how one can find a sense or any inspiration for a single bar [in it.]” Kuffner never finds a vision of the character of an oratorio in the libretto, much less a halfway decent development of the idea. “The poetic idea that should run through the whole is nowhere to be found.”

Nephew Karl chimes in that Bernard considers it his best literary child. “He told me that it was just as appropriate for spoken performance as for a musical setting in the theater!! He obviously expects that the music would cover up the deficiencies of the text; but it is too bad for the composition that will get wasted on such stuff.” Goethe could write an oratorio, but he has feelings and is familiar with the fine arts.

Nephew Karl mentions that he needs a weekly allowance for his midafternoon snacks. Uncle Ludwig probably gives it to him, and Karl departs for the evening.

Holz mentions that Karl kissed Frau Vivenot’s hand very grazioso. “Your Herr Brother was also there; he asked whether you were writing a new Symphony.” [Now that he no longer lived next door to Ludwig, Johann saw him much less frequently.] Holz mentions later that Court Councilor Mosel was also at the concert.

Holz says that he took the parts for the second quartet [op.132] from Dembscher’s after the rehearsal to his place. At the rehearsals, he told them that it was too difficult for them, and that Beethoven wanted it back. “If it doesn’t go very well, then it is better if it isn’t done at all.” Mathias Artaria sent him the proof sheets for the third quartet [op.130] today. Holz asks whether Beethoven has looked through the proofreading of the first three movements of the quartet that he had done.

Holz says he heard the housekeeper, Frau Lindner, adding more wood to the fire. “She is impertinent; she will not keep her mouth shut. In addition, she has such a shrill voice that it hurts one’s ears.” The old woman [Barbara Holzmann] already made another dish because Lindner didn’t understand it. Lindner claims that Holzmann has slandered her; it’s not true that Lindner went to bed at 10 o’clock, because she was still up at midnight. Holz suspects that since Beethoven ordered Holzmann to confess everything, she is saying more than is really true in order to look good in his eyes.

The bell is still not quite right. Holz tries ringing it twice; the housekeeper comes, but she didn’t hear the bell at all. Beethoven, sick and in a foul mood, is ready to turn to violence and Holz stops him. “Don’t hit her; you could have trouble at the police.” If he wants to get rid of her, chase her away without any pay; she doesn’t deserve pay if she doesn’t render any services. [Beethoven had recently written to Holz saying that the earnest money for one of the servants, possibly Lindner, was the cane.]

Holz changes the subject back to Kuffner, probably to defuse the situation. The next time Beethoven comes into the City, they can look Kuffner up.

Ignaz Castelli had given Beethoven his 1824 book of a collection of 1000 proverbs; Beethoven had commented that they were short and would be appropriate for composing canons using them. Castelli was overjoyed, and gave him a special copy with music paper bound in. Beethoven has written several canons in the book, and Holz mentions that he saw them at one of the composer’s previous residences, but he hasn’t seen it here in the Schwarzspanierhaus. [A search after Beethoven’s death also fails to turn up this volume, which apparently contains several lost Beethoven compositions.]

Holz mentions that he joined the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde eight years ago. If need be, Schuppanzigh would consider giving a quartet concert for the benefit of the society.

It’s getting late; Holz asks whether Beethoven wants anything else. Beethoven makes a comment about someone, who Holz compares to fencing in a mirror. “It is the most dangerous people who agree with everyone. I prefer those who persist in an erroneous opinion.”

Holz is unimpressed with Beethoven’s former pupil, Ferdinand Ries. “Ries has spoiled more than he has done good things.”

Beethoven mentions that he was an organist back in Bonn. Holz says, “It has probably been a long time since you’ve last played the organ. I mean for the last time” Not all that long, Beethoven answers. He played it at the Benedictine monastery in Heiligenkreuz in October, 1824, when he visited with Karl. Holz mentions that the religious community at Heiligenkreuz is mostly made up of musicians.

Holz asks whether Beethoven has copies of all of his compositions. [No; he does not, for instance, have a copy of Fidelio, and whenever he needs it Beethoven must borrow it from the theater or Archduke Rudolph.]

Ludwig is not happy that he gets out so little. Holz tries to assure him that is common. “People are fully cocooned in the Winter.” Mostly because there is so little to do.

Beethoven makes a comment about religion. Holz answers, “There is no other religion than to do right. And not be an egotist! And usually, the people who are good only out of fear are the worst. That’s what drives our religion….That’s why the Enlightenment was suspended.” Beethoven longs for the days of Emperor Joseph II (who died in 1790). Holz agrees that “He worked upon the intellect through his heart. [In those days,] an individual is allowed to raise his voice. [Today,] there would surely be intellectuals, but they are not allowed to speak.”

Holz reminds Beethoven that they need to get the censor’s approval for the dedication of the Ninth Symphony to the King of Prussia. Beethoven grumpily asks why he has to do that. Holz patiently explains, “If someone wants to have something published in a foreign country, he must have the permission of the local [i.e., Viennese] censor.” Beethoven, annoyed, grouses that he should move to another country. “Where will you live better?” Holz retorts. Beethoven continues complaining, but Holz says that it’s only been so bad this year.

On that note, Holz gives up and goes home for the evening after a very long day. Conversation Book 104, 18v-31r.