BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Thursday, January 27, 1825

Beethoven goes with Nephew Karl, and probably also Brother Johann to the Heniksten banking house to make arrangements for collecting the 50 ducats from Prince Galitzin. The score is not delivered, but the quartet appears to be finished and is being copied. Galitzin sent the money in the form of rubles. Karl or Johann objects when Heniksten tries to determine the exchange rate in paper rubles; they need to be silver rubles. Heniksten deducts his charges for the exchange rate, postage, etc. There is a separate bill for Stieglitz, who sent the money from St. Petersburg. “Jews!” Karl exclaims.

Johann (or Karl) asks whether there were mistakes in the copy of the Bundeslied that was sent to Schott.

Johann had some sausages specially made for him and for a government councilor, who designated a good square in the City to sell them. It takes a whole day to make the sausages.

Johann delivers the news that Carl Maria von Weber is writing an opera on Oberon. The libretto was written by an Englishman.

Back at the apartment, the soup is in the pot to cook already, but the housekeeper is waiting for the new maid to show up. The leg of venison she bought was quite large and expensive, almost 5 florins. She could have bought a smaller one for 3 florins.

Tobias Haslinger joins Beethoven for mid-day dinner. He mentions that in the Sammler of this Tuesday [January 25], it says that at Schuppanzigh’s concert last Sunday, they gave the quartet by Spohr, a trio by Mozart, Beethoven’s Septet, and the Quartet in E-flat, [op.127] still in manuscript. [Haslinger is mistaken; the Sammler account does not mention the new quartet, though it was in Schuppanzigh’s advance publicity.] Beethoven corrects him, that the quartet was not played at the concert. Haslinger says many people came to the Steiner music shop saying they were very sorry that they had not heard the new quartet as promised and had been looking forward to it. Abbé Stadler did not approve of the Spohr double quartet; he repeatedly shook his head.

Beethoven makes a remark about Friedrich Rochlitz writing in the Leipzig Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung that the French knew nothing about the gold medal King Louis XVIII had awarded to him. Haslinger reminds him that it’s not Rochlitz’s fault; he hasn’t been editor of the AMZ for five years. Haslinger thinks that Gottfried Christoph Härtel, owner of the publishing house of Breitkopf & Härtel and the successor to Rochlitz, is to blame. In any event, Haslinger thinks a retraction should be published in the same journal, the AMZ. If Haslinger were in Beethoven’s place, he wouldn’t insert anything about it in any other journals, because that would just stir up trouble. Since the AMZ has only a small readership, they will all see it.

Johann joins them. He has arranged for his meat to be delivered with Ludwig and Karl’s. He has it delivered there through his cook. He spoke with someone who thought that Rossini cannot find singers as good as in Vienna, which is why he doesn’t write operas anymore.

The leg of venison is not done yet and needs to be roasted more. But Haslinger has had enough to eat already.

Karl, probably on behalf of either Johann or Haslinger, writes, “People are now saying out loud that Salieri is Mozart’s murderer.” [Theodore Albrecht observes that this discussion occurs on Mozart’s birthday, January 27.]

He thinks Beethoven should be really pleased with Schuppanzigh’s performances of his works. Perhaps some things could be improved, but not everything can be good. Haslinger then asks whether Beethoven’s ballet The Creatures of Prometheus has appeared in print as a string quartet. Beethoven tells him that Artaria had printed a string quartet arrangement some twenty years ago, but it was not done by him. [It was apparently done with Beethoven’s approval, since his student Ferdinand Ries sent a copy of it to Nikolaus Simrock in Bonn. It’s possible Ries did the arrangement under Beethoven’s supervision.]

Haslinger says that his business partner Sigmund Anton Steiner pays only 600 florins rent for his apartment. Johann comments that if Steiner dies, he will do what he can to get Steiner’s apartment with its cheap rent. [Steiner does not die until 1838.]

Archduke Rudolph now has a librarian, Franz Xaver Richter (1783-1856), who is a clergyman. Ferdinand von Troyer is gone from the administration and will be Vice High Chamberlain in Rudolph’s service.

Haslinger says that Joseph Böhm plays quartets beautifully. [Later this year, Böhm will give the second performance of the op.127 quartet, sparking a competition with Schuppanzigh.] Schuppanzigh is certainly up to the Haydn quartets, but some of Beethoven’s quartets, for example the Razoumovskys, are too difficult. Joseph Mayseder plays them the best. [Mayseder will be the third entry in that competition over op.127.]

They discuss financial matters. He advises Beethoven not to put all his capital in a single paper instrument, like his bank shares, but rather in 3 different instruments. For instance, bank shares, investing at Rothschild, and investing in metal coinage at 5 percent [Viennese paper money was subject to fairly severe inflation at times, and keeping the money in coinage would also act as protection against that.] Haslinger appears to leave now, with Johann and Karl remaining.

Discussion turns to the exchange with Heniksten this morning. Johann saw the whole bill that he is sending to Prince Galitzin. In sum, the additional amount sent ended up being 8 ducats, with 4 of that being the costs of the letter and fees to settle [so Heniksten only kept 18 florins, rather than the 100 florins that they feared Heniksten was trying to make off with.] The remaining 4 ducats should cover the cost of copying the symphony and the quartet for Galitzin. But Heniksten only has the 50 ducats from the prince here, and it will be two months before the bills of exchange for the next quartet arrive.

Heniksten asks that Beethoven send him the quartet, because within 10 days he’ll have a very good and secure carriage to St. Petersburg; he has not always had such a swift carriage.

Karl writes “One ought not to sell them. They are rising in value very strongly.” [It is unclear whether the bills of exchange are meant, or the quartets themselves, since as Haslinger indicated, there is very strong public interest in a new quartet from Beethoven. Only the op.127 quartet has been sold to a publisher so far, to Schott.]

Ludwig, Johann and Karl visit a coffee house in the late afternoon. Ferdinand I, king of Naples and Sicily, had died on January 4 and news of it was just reaching Vienna. Karl makes a remark that someone is consoling them over the grief. [Since Ferdinand was a reactionary autocrat, this comment is probably made sarcastically.] A service will be held for Ferdinand tomorrow at the Italian church, and Mozart’s Requiem is to be sung.

Haslinger is having a set of Beethoven’s works copied for Archduke Rudolph, who pays him well for it. In the process, he makes a great deal of money without expenses. In the end, when everything has been delivered, a separate gift has been promised to him. Johann thinks that as soon as Haslinger has accumulated enough money, he will leave Steiner behind and set up his own firm. [The edition made by Haslinger for the Archduke is today in the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde library.] Johann later remarks that Haslinger must have copies of the Overtures and everything in manuscript in order to do such a project. Ludwig is concerned that Haslinger could publish his own set of collected works from that material. Johann agrees that Haslinger is well aware of that.

As they prepare to leave, Karl observes that it’s snowing. They head back to the apartment, buying paper on the way. Letter paper costs 1 florin 48 kreutzers, ordinary paper 48 kreutzers, and blotting paper is 24. The total for all of them is 3 florins; pencils would be another 48 kreutzers.

Johann says that he will go see Schuppanzigh at his regular coffee house to talk to him further about the idea of the Akademie concerts. If he can’t do it, then Ferdinand Piringer [who is running the Concerts spirituel] should handle it, and he wouldn’t ask for any fee at all. That is more for Beethoven. Ludwig asks why he would do it for free. Johann says because he is Ludwig’s greatest admirer. [Even so, Johann is disregarding the quite substantial out-of-pocket expense of the musicians, soloists, copying, lighting and staging.]

Ludwig asks Johann what Schuppanzigh wanted as a fee. One third, so if for example 900 florins comes in, Schuppanzigh would get 300. Piringer would ask for nothing. And Ludwig would have to give Schuppanzigh a third of the net income of all three Akademie concerts. So, if from all three Akademies, the income is 2000 florins C.M., he gets roughly 700 florins. Ludwig protests that he would want Schuppanzigh to direct. Johann says that Piringer doesn’t have to be the director, just the person to organize things and hold them together. The same works could be performed, just treat them as if they were new.

The maid needs to pick up an old hat at the hatmakers. Karl tells Uncle Ludwig to give her 45 kreutzers to do so. That way Ludwig’s new hat will not be spoiled.

There is quite a lot of venison left over. Karl would like some for the evening meal, so it will be out on the table if Ludwig wants some as well.

Johann notes that publisher Anton Diabelli has found a very rich business partner. [Anton Spina (1790-1857) bought Pietro Cappi’s interest in Cappi & Diabelli, and became the business manager for the new firm, Diabelli & Co.]

The maid and housekeeper need to take the straw sack [for the maid’s bed] out, so they can fill it later. Very early tomorrow morning, she will need to buy wood, since she brought the last of it upstairs today. So the housekeeper would like some money for doing that. Brother Johann then departs.

Conversation Book 83, 7v-18r.

Beethoven today dictates to Nephew Karl a letter to Charles Neate in London. Karl translates the letter into French. “My very dear friend! I hereby warn of you the errors which I believe will still be found in the Symphony in D minor [i.e., the Ninth.]”

“I hope that you will already have my reply [dated January 15] to your letter of the 20th last. [Neate had announced that the London Philharmonic Society would sponsor a trip to England for Beethoven, paying him 300 guineas, on condition that he write them several works, including a Symphony and a Concertante.] I am ready to enter into all of the conditions that the Society makes me; only I will need 100 guineas more for the trip to London. It would hardly be superfluous to say that without that sum I could hardly go there. I pray you to answer me soon on this point, that I may take the appropriate measures. I would begin the Symphony at once; as for the Concertante, I wish to know what the instruments would be. I await with ardent desire the answer of my very dear and highly esteemed Neate.”

“I am with the highest consideration your sincere friend, Louis van Beethoven.”

There follow three pages of corrections for the Ninth symphony, mostly in the hand of copyist Ferdinand Wolanek, primarily for the first, second and fourth movements. Beethoven cautions, as he has done elsewhere, that in the second movement, “With the repetition of the Minore after the Presto, we begin anew from the Segno [at the beginning] and continue without repetition until the fermata [in bar 395], then the Coda is taken up immediately.” Beethoven also notes (in his own hand) that the part of the finale notated in 3/2 should be changed to 6/4. In addition, he makes the same comment about the missing “non ligato” in the first violin at bars 132-133 of the first movement of the Symphony that he recently made to Schott.

Brandenburg Letter 1928; Anderson Letter 1348. There is a copy of the errata in Beethoven’s hand, from which Wolanek made his tidier version, in a private collection. The letter to Neate and the enclosure are in the Bonn Beethovenhaus, H.C. Bodmer Collection BBr 30, and can be seen here:

https://www.beethoven.de/de/media/view/6065454074298368/scan/0

Anton Diabelli & Co. advertises in today’s Wiener Zeitung (Nr.21) at 93-94 a “Newly Discovered Song by W.A. Mozart,” Du trautes Clavier (Dolce corda amate), for solo voice and pianoforte. “Even if this creation left by the unforgettable master had not been taken from the most reliable source, the inimitable setting of this song would betray Mozart’s genius at first glance. The publishers of this precious relic therefore believe that they are doing the art-loving public a real service by publishing it.” We have thus far been unable to identify this composition with certainty, but it may be the song Phyllis an das Clavier, “Bestes kleines Clavier,” Köchel Anh.247 (Anh.C 8.07), which is actually by Kapellmeister Georg Laurenz Schneider (1766-1855).

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