BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Sunday, January 1, 1826

Beethoven starts today with a list of errands to be run, probably tomorrow since this is a Sunday.

Kitchen maid.
Housekeeper.
House superintendent.
To the housekeeper, her monthly [expense] money.
Butcher.
[Attorney Johann Baptist] Bach, 2 [New Year’s] cards.
New hand wash basin.

Probably in the morning, violinist Ignaz Schuppanzigh visits Beethoven. He asks again to get the first violin part for the new quartet, op.130, so that he can go through it before they start to rehearse it. Beethoven would like to take part in the rehearsals again, so Schuppanzigh asks when he wants to do them. Violist Franz Weiss has to give many lessons, but they need more than one rehearsal. “One time is no time.” Schuppanzigh suggests that Beethoven write a few lines to Weiss, and then he will make it possible.

Nephew Karl lets them know that the housekeeper’s Krapfen [seasonal donuts made to use up the lard before Lent] are almost ready.

Schuppanzigh continues discussing rehearsals [still addressing Beethoven in the third person as usual, which is disregarded here] “It is always better around midday because of [cellist Joseph] Linke, because it is difficult for him to get away from the theater, and is always susceptible to a monetary fine.” Schuppanzigh again suggests that he would like to have the first violin part on Tuesday morning. He is looking forward to premiering the new quartet very much [Linke had gotten the premiere of the previous quartet for his benefit concert.]

Beethoven suggests that perhaps they should have a special concert for the premiere. Schuppanzigh answers that Karl Holz, his second violinist and Beethoven’s unpaid assistant, doesn’t want the performance to be done outside the subscription series, though Schuppanzigh doesn’t see why not. Holz doesn’t understand how poorly the subscriptions are doing. So he would also like to give this quartet as an evening concert, rather than their usual 4:30 start time. He also wants to give a piano work, for example the piano quintet op.16 with wind instruments. “By the way, tell Holz that I will do it wisely, if I give it outside of the subscription series—because he gossips too much about it.”

Schuppanzigh leaves for the quartet concert, which as usual will be held at the Musikverein at 4:30 p.m.

Afterwards, but before the concert, Holz comes to see Beethoven. He probably reads what Schuppanzigh has written and protests, “I am not against it. I wish him all possible success, but I fear that the subscribers will take it badly if they must pay twice to hear the new quartet.” Beethoven thinks that they will accept it without a problem. “I wish that from my heart,” Holz answers. “Anyhow, the subscribers are coming 3 or 4 times during the winter, 10 fl. each time; in the end it will be too much for them.”

Holz visited Nephew Karl’s mother, Johanna van Beethoven. She asked Holz to speak with Attorney Bach. If Beethoven would vouch for her paying her debt, she would relinquish the entire year’s pension income to him, until the debt is paid. [Currently she is obliged to turn over half of the pension for Karl’s support.]

Holz understands that the dividend from Beethoven’s bank shares will amount to 33 florins per share, or 231 florins for the seven remaining shares. [The dividend ended up being 34 florins per share, payable on January 10th.]

The rehearsal for the new quartet is set for noon on Tuesday. Uncle Ludwig asks Karl which of his pieces will be played today at the Schuppanzigh Quartet concert. Karl, who usually attends, lets him know that it will be his Quintet in E-flat.

Holz and Nephew Karl head to the Musikverein for the Schuppanzigh Quartet concert, the fourth concert in the tenth subscription series. The works performed include Haydn’s Quartet Nr.59, op.74/3,Hob.III/74, “Rider” in G minor (Apponyi); a Quartet in A major by Mozart (probably K.464); and Beethoven’s Quintet in E-flat, op.4. Leipzig Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung Nr.7, February 15, 1826 at 118.

Afterwards, Holz returns to Beethoven’s apartment; Nephew Karl appears to return to his rooms. They discuss the lottery held by the Rothschilds. They make a considerable gain, and they pay at least 4 percent annually. They need to be raffled off within 30 years, and at worst, the owner of the lot gets a 5th percent according to the drawing. [Uncle Ludwig will soon be tossing around the half-baked idea of converting Karl’s investments held at the magistrate into Rothschild lottery tickets.]

Holz mentions that Karl did not believe that they were drinking beer at Steiner’s yesterday. After Holz leaves, Beethoven totals up the value of his bank shares. This concludes conversation book 100. The next volume, Conversation Book 101, appears to be used starting tomorrow.

Brother Johann arrives in Vienna today from Gneixendorf, but he does not visit Ludwig just yet.

In Leipzig today, there is a repeat performance of a subscription concert with an even greater number of listeners. Among the works played by a young woman, the sister of Ferdinand David, is the “Beethoven Concerto in C minor [Nr.3 op.37], which the young artist performed to everyone’s delight, we must admit more enthusiastically than we had expected and with the most outstanding skill. It would probably have lost some of its positive effect if it had been performed after Beethoven’s very popular C minor Symphony [Nr.5 op.67] as it had been announced. The concerto was, however, played beforehand, justifiably.” Leipzig Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung Nr.10, March 8, 1826 at 163.

The Berliner allgemeine musikalische Zeitung of March 29 (Nr.13) in its report on the same concert indicates that the Beethoven Concerto had not been heard in Leipzig for so long, and she earned the unanimous applause of the connoisseurs and music lovers. “The ability to play such a piece with the spirit and fire that lies within it, but also clearly and comprehensibly, certainly does not belong to the pianists a la mode.”