BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Sunday, May 1, 1825

Karl and Johann return to Ludwig’s apartment this morning. The old woman, Barbara Holzmann, will go with Ludwig to Baden to find a place for the summer in a couple of days; Johann has already arranged that with her.

One of them tells Ludwig he should get beefsteak from the White Swan tomorrow; on Sundays their meat is poor anyway. Since he will have beefsteak tomorrow, he should eat only soup and vegetables today.

Johann will be leaving for his estate for the summer soon; it is already quite beautiful.

Beethoven appears to be feeling better, for he sets foot out of the apartment for the first time in weeks today. He goes to a restaurant, probably the Swan, for mid-day dinner and reads the newspapers of the last couple days. From Friday’s newspaper, he makes note of an ad for a housekeeper wanting a position. He also makes note of paper seals for sale in Saturday’s Wiener Zeitung. The advertisement appears right above Steiner’s advertisement for the as-yet-untitled Name Day Overture, op.115.

Beethoven makes a list of errands and shopping he needs to do before his upcoming move to Baden.
+Letter post office.
+Get a tooth filled.
+Toothbrush.
+Soap. [The preceding three lines are crossed off, suggesting he completed these tasks.]
Tailor: alter black suit coat.
+Trousers, etc.
+Watch. +Large clock.
+Exchange at Fries’s. [The preceding four lines are similarly crossed off.]
+Bohemian wine.
+Seals. Paper. [This line is crossed out.]
+Razor.
Tooth powder.
Matches.
+Pencil. [This line is stricken out, probably because it is replaced below by “2 pencils”.]
+Mass [the Missa Solemnis] to [Ferdinand] Piringer. [For proofreading of Prince Radziwill’s subscription copy.]
+Address of [Schloss] Gutenbrunn to the letter carrier.
+Suspenders.
+2 ordinary books. [Prof. Albrecht suggests he means blank conversation books.]. Writing paper. Seals.
+2 pencils.
+Pens.

Beethoven returns to his apartment in the mid to late afternoon. Nephew Karl is there, and he reports on what he has found out on his trip to Baden about the prospective lodgings there at Schloss Gutenbrunn. The owner died, as Uncle Ludwig knew, which has brought about a change. The administrator was ordered to set the apartment rental at 600 florins, but he told the new owner that the now-dead landlord had granted Beethoven a lower price out of admiration for him. The best the new owner was willing to do was 500 florins. But it was already been arranged for 80 new window panes to be installed immediately if Beethoven takes the apartment, removing the old leaded windows to give him more light.

In any event, Karl did not pay the earnest money because he wanted to know whether his Uncle still wanted the apartment. Uncle Ludwig can come any day and stay as long as he wants. Ludwig thinks he would like to go out to Baden and see what his other options are. Karl suggests Brother Johann go with him, maybe tomorrow. They might be able to find a pleasing apartment that is not so expensive. There is still time to let the administrator know his final decision, but that decision needs to be made pretty soon. Johann has little faith in his own horse and carriage to make it out to Baden, so they will need to hire a fiacre. Ludwig is hesitant. Maybe he should just take the Gutenbrunn apartment, since he knows he likes it there already. Karl tells him that less expensive apartments could surely be found. On the other hand, Ludwig knows that he will have everything he needs at Gutenbrunn. Johann thinks former housekeeper Barbara Holzmann should go along with Ludwig to Baden, since she knows what he needs and can make the proper arrangements.

The maid is making a remedy for Beethoven’s stomach, with boiled cream and an egg beaten into it.

Johann continues to press Ludwig to spend the summer with him in Gneixendorf, since that wouldn’t cost anything, and Baden is terribly expensive. Ludwig could have good food, 5 rooms, domestic service. And if Ludwig needs to come into the City, Johann will drive him back once a month. He thinks Ludwig would benefit from being in that region. Karl acknowledges that people wonder why he doesn’t do so, since everyone knows he spends the summer out in the country. Ludwig asks when the next rental deadline is. That would be St. Michael’s Day, September 24. [It is in fact September 29. The spring rental day, St. George’s Day, is April 24, which may be the source of Karl’s error.]

Ludwig still doesn’t want to be anywhere around Johann’s wife Therese, whom he despises. Johann says that Ludwig shouldn’t worry about her. She actually did very well in caring for Ludwig when he was ill, and he thinks she is very willing to do it again.

Wiener Zeitung editor Joseph Bernard is going to send his wife and child to visit Johann at his estate. But he’d really like Ludwig to come as well. He is leaving tomorrow. Johann will speak to his brother-in-law, baker Leopold Obermayer, tomorrow about driving Ludwig out to Baden. Ludwig doesn’t want to impose on Obermayer, so Karl will see what it costs to rent a fiacre. If it’s not too expensive, they can drive out to Johann’s apartment in Windmühle and all go together.

Karl’s room near the Polytechnic is ready, and everything has been arranged with Franz Michael Reisser (1769-1835), an official at the school. But he can’t move in until he is completely enrolled. [Karl has been attending classes there for around a month, but his official admission does not seem to have gone through yet.]

Karl goes to check on the price of a fiacre to take them to Baden and carry them around town for the day as they check apartments. He informs his uncle that most drivers want 18 or 20 florins for such a task. There was one who would take 15. Karl negotiated and said he’d pay 12 florins, and the driver agreed to that if they bought him his mid-day dinner of up to 2 florins 44 kreutzers as well. There’s also a customs fee that needs to be paid for leaving and entering the City. That price still seems high to Ludwig. Karl insists they aren’t getting anything less expensive. Karl hires the fiacre for his uncle and Holzmann for tomorrow. The plan is to then take the public coach from Baden back to the City, and that costs 3 florins.

Conversation Book 88, 37v-44r.