BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Thursday, June 13, 1822

Beethoven is in Vienna, visiting nephew Karl at Blöchlinger’s Institute. Late in the day, Blöchlinger offers Beethoven a glass of beer, which he accepts. As it is getting late and Beethoven probably will not be going back to Döbling, Blöchlinger offers to let Ludwig stay with him. They discuss politics, and Blöchlinger is disgusted with the Austro-Hungarian Empire. “We are not one bit better than the Turks. The whole thing is a miserable board game in which every spark of humanity is killed.” [These were dangerous sentiments to put into writing under Metternich.]

Blöchlinger offers Beethoven a second glass of beer, or a glass of wine. The topic turns to faddish means of educating children, and Blöchlinger is a firm traditionalist: “I would rather chop wood than to have to deal with children in this manner.”

Nephew Karl writes out a humorous verse from a the song heard in a Singpsiel, Die moderne Wirtschaft, by Wenzel Müller and Adolf Bäuerle. According to the lyrics, the old music does not please and gentle airs get no applause; the bass drum is the only thing that matters. Gluck and Bach, Haydn and Mozart are long gone and only Rossini creates a frenzy.

Conversation Book 17, leaves 22v through 25v. Unfortunately, this is already the end of this Conversation book, and the next one still extant does not begin until about the beginning of November.

Louis Drouet, principal flautist for the King of France, tonight gives his third and last concert in Vienna at the Landständischen Saal. Among the flute works performed were a Concerto and a set of Variations of his own composition. As part of the concert, “The Orchestra of the Concerts spirituels performed Beethoven’s glorious overture to Prometheus, and the tender Andante from the first symphony of this great master with precision and power.”

Vienna AMZ Nr. 55, July 10, 1822, cols. 436-437. The Vienna AMZ of August 3, Nr.62, col. 491 further expanded upon this review: “Beethoven’s beautiful Overture to Promethus opened the concert, and as often as we have already heard this lovely work, we were so happy to hear it again. The selected players performed it under the excellent leadership of Mr. Von Biringer [Friedrich Piringer] with a lot of fire and energy, and aroused the enthusiasm of the public.”