BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Wednesday, August 10, 1825

Beethoven, in high spirits, writes from Baden to Karl Holz in Vienna today, inquiring about the status of the copy of the parts for the quartet op.132 that Holz and Joseph Linke are compiling from Beethoven’s autograph. “On the tenth or rather say on the 10th of August. Most excellent chip! Most excellent wood of Christ! [Beethoven’s recurring joke about Holz (wood in German) being a splinter of the True Cross] Where are you? I’m blowing the wind to Vienna to bring you here in a whirlpool.”

“If the quartet [op.132] may only get here at least by Friday [August 12], but if it takes longer, then make sure Karl brings it here on Sunday [August 14]. That you will be warmly welcomed when you yourself arrive, this you know per se — what a man of language in me!” [The latter phrase is in French: voila qu’el homme de langue en moi!]

“I am truly astonished to hear that the Mainz street urchins [the publisher B. Schott’s Sons] really did abuse my joke. [The fanciful biography of Tobias Haslinger Beethoven wrote to them, which they published.] It is disgusting. I can swear that this was not my idea at all, but rather that [Ignaz] Castelli was supposed to write a poem roughly based on this sketch, but only under the name of the Musical Tobias, with canons from me. But since it happened this way, one must consider it heaven-sent.”

“It is a companion piece to Goethe’s Bardt [Goethe’s satirical piece Prolog zu den neuesten Offenbarungen Gottes verdeutscht durch Dr. Karl Friedrich Bahrdt, 1774]– without comparison to any other author–but I believe that Tobias himself somehow has wronged them, et voila, revenge — is anyhow better than falling into the jaws of a monster. I cannot shed any tears over it, but I must laugh. If you come on Friday, you’ll be best off eating in my good-for-nothing household [rather than the Baden hotels and restaurants.]”

“In the end, I entertain a secret paternostergäßler [a reference to the address of the Steiner music shop, where Haslinger was a partner]–but Piringer will hum; he can’t scream; I think he is like someone said about Schreyvogel, ‘He can’t scream or y..ll.'” [Birthe Kibsgaard points out this may be more play with rather rude words, since it also means “He can’t scream or f..ck.”]

“Farewell, good Holz, write and come, everything in its proper time. In haste, your friend Beethoven.”

Brandenburg Letter 2028, Anderson Letter 1409. The original is held by the New York Public Library (JOF 72-4). The secret paternostergäßler, Haslinger, visits Beethoven tomorrow.

The T. Weigl Art and Music shop advertises a number of pieces of music in today’s Wiener Zeitung (Nr.181) at 767. Among them is “Il faut partir. Romance de Blangini,” Variations for Pianoforte, op.118/1 by Beethoven’s former pupil Ferdinand Ries. This set of variations had been written by Ries in about 1813.