BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Thursday, July 21, 1825 (approximately)

Perhaps put in mind of the promise to write a four-hand piano sonata while drafting the letter to Adolph Schlesinger the other day (or Diabelli may have inquired about status of the sonata), sometime about now Beethoven writes an undated letter to publisher Anton Diabelli: “Dear Sir! Why did you want another sonata from me?!? You have a whole army of composers who can do it far better than I can. Give every one of them each a bar, what a wonderful work is then to be expected? – “

“Long live this Austrian society of yours, which SchusterFleck, your master knows how to handle.”

“Now, my best one, I have a request of you. Be of goodness, do not engrave this cursed, corrupted, illegally engraved piano reduction of the Overture, despite all assurances of ownership. Be so kind as I beg you — by our old friendship, for the new one is not worth much — farewell — grant my request — Your old Amicus, Beethoven.”

Brandenburg Letter 2017; Albrecht Letter 392. The second paragraph refers to Diabelli’s patriotic 1819 project of getting all the eminent Austrian composers of the day to contribute a variation on the theme he composed, which Beethoven derisively called a Schusterfleck [cobbler’s patch], though he nevertheless wrote a set of 33 variations on it, op.120.

Sieghard Brandenburg dates this letter to about July 20, based on Beethoven’s letter to Schott of August 2, in which he states that he learned of a plan to publish the unauthorized piano reduction of the Consecration of the House Overture, op.124, twelve days earlier.

The Bonn Beethovenhaus has another page of the household purchases covering July 21 and 22 and July 28-30. H.C. Bodmer Collection, BS II/1, which can be seen here:

https://www.beethoven.de/de/media/view/5899685415878656/scan/0

Again, the housekeeper or other servants had to make a complete accounting of all money received and the outlay of all expenses for each day. Beethoven would carefully review them, make any necessary corrections, and then once he was satisfied with the examination, cross the accounting out with a large X.