BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Wednesday, April 5, 1826

Unpaid assistant Karl Holz comes to visit Beethoven today. He thinks Beethoven would be doing Ignaz von Mosel a favor if he were to accept the dedication of the quartet by Carl August von Klein, even if he admits it is not worth very much.

Beethoven inquires as to the status of Mathias Artaria publishing the new quartet [op.130]. It has been delayed because the Feast of the Annunciation legal holiday was moved from March 25 (which was Holy Saturday) to Monday, April 3.

The housekeeper is still not well, but Holz believes that she and her sister the maid will nevertheless be discharged tomorrow, having received their two weeks’ notice. Thus they will both leave. The next set of servants will not start until next Thursday, April 13, so Beethoven would be best off to go to an inn for his meals until then. Or the building’s concierge could make arrangements for a delivery if Beethoven is not feeling well enough to go out. If he’s desperate, he could get a servant at once at the police. Holz assures Beethoven that if he can find someone to act temporarily during this vacancy, he will take her on at once. Beethoven asks whether Holz intends to deduct anything from the earnest money of the departing servants; Holz tells him he has already informed them that it would be deducted from their pay. Holz told her to make sure they get away at once tomorrow. “I’ll come tomorrow to pay the scum.” The housekeeper says she is going into the hospital today; she’s asking for her pay now. He’ll also pay the new housekeeper, Frau Bruckl, her 5 florins earnest money.

Brother Johann comes to visit Ludwig while Holz is still there, dealing with the servants. It appears that they go out to a coffee house to talk out of earshot of the maid and housekeeper, and Holz leaves to run errands. Johann reminds Ludwig that he needs to be very careful when firing a servant; if she is dismissed while she is sick, then if she gets admitted to the hospital, Ludwig would have to pay her former employer for the whole sickness period. That happened to Johann once, so when he gives a reference letter for them Ludwig should always say that she was dismissed while healthy. Ludwig says he can’t do that, since she’s still sick. Johann tells him that she will be well in a few days; then he can give a reference saying she was discharged while healthy. Johann suggests that he tell them they can keep the earnest money, and then they will probably stay until next Thursday, so Ludwig isn’t without servants for a week. One of the servants (“the big one”) has to go to Countess Klari tomorrow, but she will tell the Countess she has to stay on here for a few days more.

Johann, a propertied gentleman, is going to get fire insurance. “If a lot burns, a lot will be paid.”

Ludwig, not entirely paying attention and reading the newspapers, copies down a notice from the April 5 Beobachter that Andreas Johann Freiherr von Stift received the order of the Red Eagle, 2nd class of Prussia. [Stift (1760-1836) is the personal physician to the Emperor and President of the medical faculty at the University of Vienna.] Holz appears to depart about now, since he probably has to return to work.

Johann brings up Frau Elisabeth Passy, daughter of wholesaler Ferdinand Bertoli. He reminds Ludwig that 12 or 13 years ago, he used to dine together with her and cloth dealer Johann Wolfmayer. Ludwig wrote a song in her album. [The contents of the album are not known.] She is now poor, has hardly 800 florins per year, “and this woman, who understands everything, is forced to work as a housekeeper. She speaks and writes French and Italian, and is one of the best cooks in Vienna; perhaps you could get her some time. The cloth dealer Wolfmeyer [sic, a very fervent devotee of Beethoven’s music] is related to her, knows her very well, you might ask him.”

Johann mentions that he spoke to publisher/composer Maximilian Leidesdorf about Ludwig’s latest quartet [op.130]. He told Johann he heard the quartet with much delight and completely understood it, except for the last movement [the Grosse Fuge], which he very much wants to hear again in order to comprehend it fully.

Johann asks whether Ludwig is not still considering that he might write the music to the oratorio Der Sieg des Kreuzes. If he were to start work on it, the Conservatory of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde would pay him right away.

Brother Johann appears to depart and Ludwig goes home. While Ludwig is out with Johann, Holz comes by the apartment with the long-awaited proofs from Haslinger, and leaves them with the sick housekeeper, but she forgets to give them to Beethoven.

Sometime later in the day, Nephew Karl comes to visit for a short while to inform his uncle that he hired someone to serve as Ludwig’s kitchen maid. She will start on Monday, April 10.

The local police surgeon, Dr. Georg Dolliner comes again today to examine the housekeeper. He reports that she has no fever today, and may be well in two days. Karl asks how long the current maid, the housekeeper’s sister, is staying. Uncle Ludwig tells him she is leaving tomorrow. Then Karl will have the new girl come tomorrow instead of Monday. Karl talks further to the maid, and she says that she would like to learn from the cook. She can cook herself, but she recognizes she still has a lot to learn and would only want to be a kitchen maid for now. She sees that she would not do as a cook.

Nephew Karl comments that Haslinger wants the manuscripts of the works he buys from Uncle Ludwig, because he knows how much the manuscripts are worth.

They talk about the dedication of the string quartet by Klein; Karl thinks Ignaz von Mosel is very kind, but asks how the composition of the quartet is.

The brain that the maid bought is very fresh. She presumably did not buy everything that was on the receipt, though.

Ludwig asks how much Kaiserbier costs. Karl tells him that Kaiserbier costs 24 kreutzers. [Kaiserbier was a beer brewed by the brewery on Prager Street in Jedlesee, currently owned by Anton Bosch. His Kaiserbier and Englischbier were famous internationally, and the brewery was considered one of the best in the country.]

Ludwig asks Karl his opinion of the op.130 quartet. “I am convinced that in general, it will be seen as one of your greatest. Among others, [Joseph] Böhm said so, he was so delighted with it.”

Karl thinks he may be able to come visit tomorrow and help deal with the housekeeper. He’ll eat dinner at home. He will be finished at half past one, and then come to see Ludwig.

Conversation Book 107, 63r-69v.

Today’s Wiener Zeitung (Nr.77) at 339 includes an advertisement from Mathias Artaria for Seven Songs from Walter Scott’s Lady of the Lake, set for voice and piano by Franz Schubert, op.52, in two volumes. The first volume is priced at 3 florins 30 kreutzers W.W., and the second volume for a florin less. These songs are today catalogued as D.835-839, 843 and 846. D.839, Ellen’s hymn Ave Maria, one of Schubert’s most popular compositions, is here performed by Renée Fleming and Christoph Eschenbach: