BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Wednesday, December 31, 1823

Beethoven makes a note to himself that he needs paper, and a reminder to send New Year’s greetings to Carl Hensler and Dr. Jacob Staudenheim, his occasional physician.

Conversation Book 41, 14v.

Karl’s advertisement for a housekeeper appears again today in the Intelligenzblatt supplement to the Wiener Zeitung at 1346. Even though a housekeeper was hired yesterday, the advertisement will run one more time.

About this time, Beethoven at last has a continuity draft of the entire Ninth Symphony. But work is far from finished; his sketches for the Ninth will continue into February of 1824, as he works on the orchestration and makes revisions to his draft.

The new January 1824 issue of The Harmonicon, published in London, (Nr.XIII) includes a letter from Vienna at pp.3-4. The correspondent, among other news, notes that “Beethoven not withstanding his deafness, is perfectly well in health, and in high spirits; he is now composing a new opera.” [While Beethoven’s health was certainly much improved from prior years, nothing became of the ideas for an opera.]

The Foreign Music Report from Vienna, also on page 4 of this issue, adds: “We note with pleasure that the indefatigable Beethoven has composed several new Overtures of various characters and in different styles. He is also said to have nearly completed his grand mass, composed for the Grand Duke, Rudolph, Cardinal Bishop of Olmütz, and the public may shortly expect to be gratified by its appearance.”