BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Thursday, November 6, 1823 (approximately)

The Harmonicon, published in London, in its November issue (Nr.XI) leads off at 155-157 with a Memoir of Ludwig van Beethoven. Although quite lengthy, we present it here complete since it provides a fascinating sample of how the composer was viewed in England during his lifetime. The author is anonymous, but is clearly well-informed (with Ferdinand Ries being a likely informant), starting with the first line, written at a time when the composer himself probably believed he was born in 1772.

“LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN was born Dec. 17th, 1770, at Bonn on the Rhine, where his father at that time was principal vocal tenor in the chapel of the Elector, and his grandfather held first the situation of chief base singer, and subsequently that of chapel-master. M. Choron, in his Dictionnaire Historique des Musiciens, says that he is the reputed son of Frederick the Second of Prussia, but does not state on what authority. [In a footnote: That Beethoven is a wonderful man there can be no doubt; but if this prince were really his father, he is the greatest prodigy the world ever saw, or most likely, will ever see again: for as Frederick II. died in 1740, the period of Mad. Beethoven’s gestation must in such a case have been exactly thirty years.]”

“His youthful years were not exceedingly fortunate: his father poured out too many libations to Bacchus, and, though assertions to the contrary have been hazarded, it is known that his early education was much neglected. The extent of his learning amounted to a smattering of Latin, which almost every boy in Germany is able to acquire. The first instructions he received in music were from Neefe, who was organist to the court. The progress he made under this master was so rapid, that at the early age of eleven he was able to play the Preludes and Fugues of the great Sebastian Bach, or, as they are generally called, “Le Clavecin bien tempére;” a work which able judges have pronounced to be superior to all others, for forming a player on the organ and piano-forte.”

“His powers for composition began very early to unfold themselves; for, in 1783, we find published at Manheim and Speyer, Variations for the piano-forte to a march, Sonatas, and Songs, which appeared under his own name. The fame of his youthful genius attracted the attention of the Elector of Cologn, who sent him, at his own expense, to Vienna, in character of his court-organist, to study under the celebrated Haydn, in order to perfect himself in the art of composition. He did not long enjoy the instructions of this great master, for Haydn delivered him over to the care and instructions of the learned Albrechtsberger.”

“It appears that the character of Beethoven was marked by great singularity from his earliest years. Both Haydn and Albrechtsberger, but particularly the latter, were often heard to declare, that he was not willing to profit by good advice. Beethoven has himself been heard to confess, that among other peculiarities which he prided himself on displaying, when a young man, was that of refusing to acknowledge himself as the pupil of Haydn, at which this master took great offense.”

“The consequence of this self-confident spirit was, that, at this period, he made but little progress in composition, and was more ambitious to become a brilliant performer. This may, in a great measure, be gathered from the remarks that occur in the Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung of this period, in which he is not allowed to possess the ability of composing even variations of any merit. Harshness of modulation, melodies more singular than pleasing, and a constant struggle to be original, are among the principal faults of which he was accused. As to the latter charge it may be remarked, that it is the besetting sin which has adhered to Beethoven through life; and we cannot help wishing that, with it, he had also possessed the power of spreading the vice among his contemporaries, and of bequeathing it to his successors. But if this indefatigable search after originality be a sin, to what new and extraordinary effects, to what wonders, has it not given birth! To whom so justly than to this author, can these lines be applied,–

“Great wits may sometimes gloriously offend,
And rise to faults true critics dare not mend.”

“Yet severe as these critics were on him, as a composer, they were lavish in their praises of him as a player. It was acknowledged that he had studied the piano-forte with a success that enabled him to excel all the masters of his time; that there was a spirit, a fire, and brilliancy of execution, which no one could equal; and that nothing was wanting to perfect his performance, but a certain precision and distinctness of touch. It was unanimously agreed, that his triumph was in the execution of a fantasia, and in the art of varying any given theme without the least premeditation. In such extempory performance, his power was inimitable: he was considered to approach the nearest to Mozart, as he is allowed never since to have had a rival, except in the brilliant Himmel. [Friedrich Heinrich Himmel (1765-1814). A footnote continues: We are assured, from undoubted authority, that he has spoken with the utmost contempt of Himmel’s playing. The following anecdote may be relied on: –During Beethoven’s stay at Berlin, Himmel asked him one evening at a party to play a Fantasia, with which Beethoven complied. He then asked Himmel to perform one in return. When Himmel had played for some time, Beethoven asked him in his usual abrupt manner, why he was so long preluding, and when he meant to begin. This so offended Himmel, that he rose from the piano, and could never be persuaded to play before Beethoven again.]

After completing his term with Albrechtsberger, he returned to [Bonn. The return to Bonn actually occurred before Beethoven’s studies with Haydn and Albrechtsberger.] But Vienna had superior attractions for him, and he obtained the Elector’s permission to return thither again, after a very short residence in his native place. He obtained leave of absence for a year, but when once fixed in the gayer capital, he would not return again.

In this splendid metropolis he has resided nearly thirty years, where he has delighted the public, and, indeed, the world in general, by the variety and originality, both of his vocal and instrumental compositions. He has secured a name, and reached a height of renown, to which no other author, Handel, Haydn, and Mozart excepted, has attained. For though Rossini’s name is, at the present instant, more often pronounced than that of any other composer, yet his works, so far as they now extend, are not likely to confer on him a lasting reputation, equal to that which the great German musicians have permanently gained.”

“Beethoven is as original and independent in his general modes of thinking, as he is in his musical productions. A decided enemy to flattery, and an utter stranger to every thing dishonorable, he disdains to court the favour of every one, however wealthy or exalted in rank. The consciousness of his talents not being dully rewarded, too frequently makes him vent his complaints in the bitterest terms, and against individuals, who from their high station, have the power to obstruct his success in life. Thus he has for years resided in Vienna in open hostility with many, and in friendship only with the few whom the admiration of his great genius will not allow to take offence, either at the singularities of his manners, or at the ill-judged candour with which he declares his opinion both of persons and things.”

“Till very lately he had hardly any other income than what his compositions procured him; and consequently he has too often lived in circumstances very unworthy of so great a genius. This, together with an increase of difficulties and of invidious enemies, determined him, in 1809, to accept an offer of the situation of maestro di capella to the new Westphalian court of Jerome Buonaparte. His intention was made known to the Archduke Rudolph, and the Princes Lobkowitz and Kinsky, and fortunately for the honour of Vienna and of Austria, those personages induced him to alter his resolution. In terms at once the most flattering and the most delicate, they had a deed drawn up, by which they settled on him an annuity of 4000 florins. The only conditions attached to this pension were, that he should reside in Vienna, or some other part of Austria-Proper, and not undertake any journey into foreign countries, without the consent of his patrons.”

“The issue of the late war has sufficiently proved how judiciously he acted in declining the offers of the court of Westphalia. [After quickly bankrupting the treasury of Westphalia with his profligate spending, Jerome Bonaparte fled to France in 1813 and the Kingdom of Westphalia was dissolved.] We are sorry to be obliged to add that, from a variety of untoward circumstances, the greater portion of this pension has been for a considerable time past discontinued. Prince Lobkowitz, who is since dead, was so utterly ruined, that his palace in Vienna, is now converted into a hotel. Prince Kinsky was killed at the beginning of the last war with France, and the Archduke Rudolph is now, therefore, his only remaining protection.” [The heirs of Prince Kinsky eventually honored Beethoven’s annuity, though with the devalued new florins issued by Austria after a period of economic instability and inflation.]

“We have been assured that he has always expressed a great wish to see foreign countries, and particularly England, but it does not appear that he has ever made any application for leave of absence, for such a purpose; though, under present circumstances, but few difficulties could be expected to present themselves on this point. Some few years back he was applied to by the Philharmonic Society of London, to visit England, and the conditions were not only fully agreed upon, but he had actually begun to make preparations for his journey. Notwithstanding which, he had not the courage to carry his intentions into execution, and it is hardly now to be expected that he will ever cross the seas, and give the people of these kingdoms an opportunity of paying him that homage which his vast talents would assuredly command from a liberal and enlightened nation.”

“It may, however, be doubted, whether his presence would add either here, or elsewhere, to his celebrity. His extreme reserve towards strangers, which is carried to such excess, as to render it painful for his most intimate friends to witness, prevents him from displaying those excellent qualities, which, under a forbidding exterior, he is known to possess. And yet such are the contrasts that meet in his character, that occasionally his warmth of temper, extreme bluntness of remark, and singularity of manners, together with his total want of reserve in offering his opinion on others, tend to estrange him much from the prescribed forms of society.”

“Add to all this, that deplorable calamity, the greatest that could befall a man of his profession, his extreme deafness, which we are assured is now so great as to amount to a total privation of hearing. Those who visit him are obliged to write down what they have to communicate. To this cause may be traced many of the peculiarities visible in his later compositions; for though, as we have before observed, the design of a composition ought to be found in the mind, without any aid from material sounds, yet its effect should be accurately heard upon some instrument, before final adoption.”

“This calamity has also the effect of rendering him dreadfully suspicious, so that no conversation can pass in his presence without his imagining himself the subject of it: a weakness which is the usual attendant on deafness. It should, however, be here mentioned, that, notwithstanding his foibles, which far more frequently belong to great than to ordinary minds, his character as a man, and a citizen, ranks deservedly high. Though his eccentricity leads him to deviate from ordinary rules, in the smaller affairs of life, yet his high feeling of truth and justice has produced a rectitude in his moral conduct, which ensures him the esteem of every honorable man.”

“Though his early education was neglected, yet he has made up for the deficiency by subsequent diligence and industry, so that we are assured by those who know him well, that his knowledge of German literature is very respectable, and that he is a very tolerable proficient in Italian, though of French he knows but little. Whenever he can be induced to throw off his natural reserve, his conversation becomes extremely animated, full of interesting anecdote, and replete with original remarks on men and manners.”

“To give a detailed account of his works, would exceed the limits of this sketch. They are universally known, and acknowledged to be compositions of the highest order. We subjoin to this Memoir a list of them, which we believe to be accurate.” [Appended is a list of Beethoven’s works with opus numbers, fairly complete up to op.102 and then quite spotty, with the highest number belonging to the Diabelli Variations, op.120. Listed under op.118 is a spurious string quartet.]

“The last account we hear of this great man is, that he has just completed a new grand mass. [That would be the Missa Solemnis, op.123.] The dark tone of his mind is in unison with that solemn style which the services of the church demand; and the gigantic harmony he knows so well how to wield, enables him to excite feelings of the awful and sublime, in a manner that none living can attempt to rival.”

The Foreign Musical Report in the same magazine at 175 also includes the comment, “Beethoven has just completed his second grand Mass, and it is expected to be forthcoming at Christmas next. At present he is said to be occupied in the composition of a new symphony.”