BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Thursday, May 30, 1822

Beethoven has lunch with nephew Karl at about 2 pm on Thursday, which is visitation day. Karl’s examinations went well. Karl doesn’t like that the professor of religion, who is embittered toward Blöchlinger’s institute, keeps calling on him in class. But it always turned out well in the end.

Beethoven makes a note in the conversation book “+ Franz Oliva.” [It appears Beethoven has learned from one of his contacts about the summons issued on May 8th for his one-time unpaid secretary, who overstayed his visa in Russia. Beethoven may be thinking of writing Oliva to warn him of the situation. Unfortunately, all of Beethoven’s letters to Oliva were destroyed in a fire. A very likely source for Beethoven learning this information is Joseph Bernard, editor of the Wiener Zeitung; the first official notice of Oliva’s summons that I have been able to locate will appear in the June 1, 1822 edition of that newspaper, so Bernard almost certainly had the summons in hand by this date. However, Bernard does not write in this Conversation Book at all; perhaps he wrote on some random scraps of paper that were not retained.]

Conversation Book 17, f. 2r-2v.

A concert is held tonight in Vienna for the benefit of Rossini’s wife, prima donna Isabella Colbran. Although Rossini had suggested a performance of La Riconoscenza, she chose instead Elisabetta, regina d’Inghilterra.