BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Tuesday, April 23, 1822

You may remember that our entry for February 1, 1822 featured Joseph Schmid’s piano arrangement of the opera Der Freischütz by Weber. That arrangement was ballyhood by Weigl’s art and music shop as being most faithful to the original and done with Weber’s approval. In today’s Wiener Zeitung, Weigl advertises a set of Easy Variations for Piano by Schmid on the Hunter’s Chorus from that opera, Schmid’s op.38. Weigl proclaims about the set, “Variations on this beloved theme can be found on all music stands, but most are for advanced artists. A young person hears these melodies in the theater and wishes to enjoy them on the piano afterwards, but is faced with unconquerable difficulties. In these variations, Herr Joseph Schmid gives a sweet work. The fingering is clearly visible and the entire simple composition is so artfully woven that it is as easy on the ear as it is easy on the fingers.” Five other works for piano by Schmid are similarly advertised, but he is essentially forgotten today.