BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Sunday, September 10, 1826

Unpaid assistant Karl Holz returns from Baden today. Beethoven mentions that he has been thinking about Adolph Schlesinger publishing his complete works. Holz cautions that they need to be careful with Schlesinger; he is very smart. At minimum, they need to get in writing his declaration that he will pay the requested fee of 10,000 florins (or more).

But Holz has news of his own: He got engaged while he in the country. He says that “I got stuck in Baden! [Ich bin in Baden hängen geblieben!] It is a daughter [Elisabeth Maria] from the house in Döbling by the broker Bogner….It is the same woman who had the misfortune with Drouet. She is not beautiful, but very domestic and very educated. He [Drouet] was already married when he proposed to her.” Beethoven asks whether Baden is very crowded now. Holz tells him that it is rather empty. He had a nice room in the Sauerhof inn. He also spent time at the Casino and in the Redoutensaal in Baden, which are excellent establishments, but they have particularly bad wine. He has had better and less expensive food at a simple inn in Merkenstein than he could get anywhere in Baden. Beethoven asks about Holz’s visit to Merkenstein. “I visited Merkenstein for the first time; I was delighted and kept singing your song Merkenstein wherever I wandered, pp. [Merkenstein was a poem by J.B. Rupprecht about the castle ruin of Merkenstein, set by Beethoven in 1814 for a solo voice, WoO 144, and as a duet, op.100.]

Merkenstein, WoO 144 is here sung by tenor Vincent Lièvre-Picard, with Jean-Pierre Armengaud on piano:

Beethoven asks what he should request from Schlesinger for the cantata Saul. Holz tells him 600 ducats, and that should be included in the declaration. They can show Schlesinger the program, so he will see that it is going to be a major work, and not some short cantata.

Then there is the matter of repurchasing from Tobias Haslinger the pieces Beethoven had sold to Steiner, but were never published. These included among others Fidelio, op.72; the Six Bagatelles op.126; and 12 English songs. Holz says he will approach Tobias about that today. He asks if Beethoven remembers what was paid for these works.

Beethoven tells Holz that Artaria approached him about the idea to treat the Grosse Fuge as its own work, and that he should write a new finale for the quartet op.130. After consideration, Beethoven agrees this is the proper way to handle the work, and tells Holz to advise Artaria accordingly. He also wants some more copies of the lithograph of the Stieler portrait of himself.

Beethoven would like to spend some time in Baden soon. If it comes to that, Holz hopes he can get one or two days off so he can visit him in Baden.

Holz runs errands, visiting Schlesinger and Mathias Artaria, before returning to Beethoven’s apartment. [Holz does not appear to see Haslinger until later.] Schlesinger told him that it would be good if Beethoven were to write a short letter to accompany the marches that Beethoven has promised to send to the King of Prussia [WoO 19, 20, and 24.] King Friedrich Wilhelm III has these marches given to Schlesinger to publish in collections, and no others may appear in them. “Everyone says that they only publish your works for the honor of owning something by you.” Beethoven expresses his annoyance at this; then they wouldn’t want a second piece from him. Holz tries to back that statement off. “If this were the case, why would Schott want a second quartet? He already has the honor of the first one [op.127].”

Schlesinger would also like some canons, which he would like to take along with him to Berlin. [These would presumably then be published in the Berliner allgemeine musikalische Zeitung, which Schlesinger printed.]

Artaria was delighted that Beethoven accepted his proposal about splitting the Grosse Fuge off into a separate piece. That gives him two separate works, which will be more in demand and he will gain very much by this. No copies of the lithograph of the Stieler portrait are available anymore, however.

Holz mentions that there was a musical Akademie at which Frau Schechner sang. But it was all works by Rossini and his imitators. Holz calls it boring.

Beethoven tells Holz that he intends to visit Nephew Karl in the hospital and make payments. Holz asks him what he is paying for at the hospital. Beethoven may visit Karl today or tomorrow, but in any event, Holz does not accompany him to see Karl. The visit to Karl will be covered in the entry for tomorrow, September 11.

Conversation Book 120, 28v-33r.

The Wiener Zeitung of September 22, 1826 (Nr.217) at 917 [reprinted in the Brünner Zeitung of September 25, 1826 (Nr.264) at 1126] notes that Beethoven’s patron Archduke Rudolph today contributes 1000 Scudi to Cardinal Galeffi of the Papal States for the maintenance and restoration of the so-called small Temple of Bramante, which Ferdinand of Austria, King of Spain [Ferdinand II of Aragon] had built in the courtyard of the Franciscan monastery of San Pietro di Montorio, the spot where tradition held that the Prince of the Apostles [Saint Peter] had been crucified. “This beautiful, remarkable monument had suffered much from time and weather.”