BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Wednesday, February 9, 1825

Karl is at Beethoven’s apartment today, probably after stopping to read today’s newspapers and reporting the news to his uncle, still laid up with an aching foot. Poet and medical student Samuel Saphir has died at the age of 23. The poet who won the prize of 25 ducats for the best poem in honor of the Emperor’s birthday has not been identified; he only gave a code name, and a great deal of the poem was stricken out by the Censor.

Brother Johann joins them about this point. Talk turns to Brother Johann’s idea of holding several Akademie benefit concerts during Lent. Johann says he will pursue it eagerly. He plans to go to the Police tomorrow to get the required permissions. Johann gives Karl a notice for subscriptions, and he is to copy it six to eight times, to hand out in places where subscriptions might be sold.

Johann believes that Beethoven’s illness is due to getting up before the apartment has been warmed up. Ludwig coughs a bit, and Johann asks whether he also coughs at night. Karl (perhaps writing for Johann) cautions that a girl in London has died of wet feet.

Mid-day dinner is dumplings, but Karl says it is downright bad. It was made with water and marrow, and perhaps that marrow was not fresh.

The locksmith and the shoemaker come to the apartment.

Beethoven makes a note: + Whether the sound machine is louder or not with light metal is easy to investigate. Johann believes that the current ear trumpet is better than those Ludwig has used before. [This exchange indicates that even now in the winter of 1825, Beethoven still had a remaining bit of hearing, though he was increasingly reliant on mechanical devices such as the ear trumpets to understand, and they were not always successful, as reflected in the ever-longer entries in the conversation books.] Johann in talking to the housekeeper learned two relatives of hers, who were without hearing for a long time, were completely cured by the priest at St. Stephan’s. [Anton Schindler identified this priest as Father Weiss, of St. Stephan’s Cathedral. He may be correct in this, since Beethoven had turned to Weiss regarding his hearing several times before, in 1800 and again in the early 1820s.]

There is discussion of the coffee allowance for the housekeeper. She is allotted one pound of coffee for 2 months. She gets 50 coffee beans per day in her allotment, and a pound of coffee has 64 such allotments. Johann’s cook also gets coffee every day.

Ludwig mentions to Johann the letter received yesterday from Ferdinand Ries, asking for a copy of the Ninth Symphony for the music festival in Aachen in May. Johann will take the letter with him; Ludwig will get it back tomorrow with Johann’s written opinion on what to do.

Conversation Book 84, 22v-25v.

Cappi & Co. today advertises in the Wiener Zeitung (Nr.31) at 138 that several old works of Beethoven are newly published and available in new editions. These are the three piano trios, op.1, for sale at 6 florins W.W. each. The advertisement continues, “The publisher felt it was owed to art and to the public to produce a new, correct, dignified, beautiful edition of this classic work, of which it possesses the originals. With these three magnificent works, Beethoven began his brilliant, immortal career, and even though they were placed alongside the best of this kind immediately upon their first publication, they could only be surpassed by their creator himself, and are undoubtedly among the rare works that are destined to last forever. This latest original edition will be a worthy addition to every music collection. The publisher will gradually publish all of Beethoven’s works that are its property in new editions, to be arranged according to the pattern of the three Trios mentions above, and hopes thereby to provide pleasant enjoyment to the numerous admirers of Beethoven’s genius.”

Just below that on the same page is an advertisement from Sauer & Leidesdorf for Franz Schubert’s latest work, Variations for the Pianoforte for four hands, op.35 (today catalogued as D.813), as well as several other previously published Schubert compositions. This set of eight variations is on an original theme in A-flat major.

These Variations for Four Hand Piano are here performed by Daniel Barenboim and Martha Argerich: