BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Thursday, August 31, 1826 (approximately)

Possibly late yesterday or this morning, Beethoven is visited by portrait painter Willibrord Joseph Mähler (1778-1860). He writes his home address in Beethoven’s conversation book, perhaps attempting to get a sitting from Beethoven for another portrait. [Mähler had at least twice painted Beethoven, in 1804 and 1815, and he also appears to have painted a now-lost standing portrait of Beethoven in Laxenburg Park, about the end of the 1810s. Beethoven does not seem to have ever taken Mähler up on this invitation, however.]

Unpaid assistant Karl Holz visits Beethoven in the late afternoon, after Mähler has departed. Holz has run a number of errands. He spoke yesterday to Beethoven’s friend Stephan von Breuning, who works in the Imperial War Office, about Karl pursuing a military career and a new guardian for him. Karl’s behavior won’t be better on his own than it would be under military discipline. “Breuning said it would be good to choose a strict guardian, to whom one should give the monthly allowance that he may spend on Karl. In the military one only needs to talk to the colonel and the company commander to ask him to keep an eye on him.” Beethoven asks, what about Karl’s examinations at the Polytechnic that need to be made up? Holz retorts, “Why take the exams, if he is to become a soldier.”

Uncle Ludwig, again protective of his nephew, thinks that Karl’s desires should be taken into account. Holz doesn’t think that is for the best. “If you only want to do what he wants, he will always choose a position where it will be easier for him to pursue his previous lifestyle. What if he pursues trade, and plays even worse tricks there? Breuning says that abroad, one does not find the best example of morals in the merchants, who have now sunk so deep that they put all their eggs in one basket? They almost only speculate in papers now, and in them one does not find the honest profit that one used to in commercial business. Naturally, he would prefer to be able to live in a foreign city, unsupervised, and without coercion, but what if he would cost you 3 times as much there?”

Beethoven resigns himself to the change in guardians, but is uncertain who should take over. Holz suggests that someone from the Magistrate’s office, from the criminal senate, should be appointed. What about you, Beethoven suggests. Holz does not want the position. He could talk to a third person, who could be recruited to keep an eye on him, but Holz could not do any more than he has always done. The Magistrate would also prefer to choose someone who he already knows.

The housekeeper (apparently still Marie Stiegel, since there have been no interviews or advertisements recently, with Karl, who usually arranged them, in the hospital) has made too much bread. She asks whether she should serve the cold chicken with the vegetables for supper.

Holz continues, “Breuning thinks the safest way to turn him into a useful person is for him to join the military.” But he should still remain under supervision. What about the idea of working in a commercial establishment, as they had discussed with Attorney Bach? “He [Karl] does not seem to want that; there he must be or must become a skilled mathematician.”

Ludwig asks whether Karl’s mother Johanna has sufficient money for Karl’s care. Holz believes so. She can pay the cost out of the 27 florins 30 kreutzers interest paid on Karl’s invested capital held by the Magistrate, and will still have some left over. And then Ludwig does not need to demand an accounting as to whether the payments are right or whether she has paid.

Holz turns to the score of the quartet op.131 that he is proofreading. He inquires as to whether the natural sign before the D in the 2nd violin part of the first movement is necessary in the third bar. Sometimes it is missing. “One hears it, but if you think it is necessary, I’ll enter it.” [On the copy of the score prepared by Wenzel Rampl, used by Schott as a publishing template, the missing natural sign in bar 7 is added in red.] Beethoven asks why Holz had not commented before about the natural. Holz says he did not notice the missing natural sign when they played through the quartet; he saw it only when he was copying the part. They have probably been playing a D natural all along, but had not noticed that the natural sign was missing from the page. If one did not play it, the missing natural would have been most obvious in the first violin part.

Beethoven wonders whether Karl will face a prison sentence. Holz thinks not: “I do not think it is allowed to punish him physically, in order not to encourage his defiance and maybe also his intention to shoot himself once again.” I do not mean physical punishment, Beethoven tells him; I mean imprisonment. Holz says, “I call prison a physical punishment.”

Holz suggests that they go and talk to Karl first about his future career. They can go to the Magistrate afterwards. Beethoven is reluctant to go to the magistrate, lest they face more questioning about Karl. Holz dismisses his fears. “If the Magistrate had found it necessary to interrogate us once again, they would have already have sent for us.” When should we go? Beethoven asks Holz. Either early, at 8 or half past 8, or later in the day, 4 o’clock in the afternoon. They agree to go see the magistrate first, and then visit Karl tomorrow, Friday, September 1, probably in the morning. That should be safe now that the swelling is going down. “If the brain was being shifted as much as by a hair’s breadth from its normal position, he would have died. At the most, it was only a wound of the braincase.” [Clearly, Karl’s injury was a good deal more serious than the glancing scratch most Beethoven biographers suggest.]

Beethoven had been wanting to go out to the country, but now with Karl in the hospital he doesn’t feel that he can leave Vienna. Holz tells him that it is very clear to everyone that he needs recreation.

Beethoven blames himself for Karl’s attempted suicide. Holz will have none of that. “You must not believe that. Since he has always proven himself merciless and cruel towards you, he certainly hoped by this accusation [blaming Uncle Ludwig’s expectations of him] to be able to inflict a subtle insult on you. He knew that this would offend you the most; that is why he said it.” What if his mother Johanna is there when they visit, Uncle Ludwig asks. Then we shall leave again at once, Holz replies. She will also have to earn something again. Perhaps the Magistrate will investigate her influence on Karl further, perhaps not.

Conversation Book 119, 42r-48v.