BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Wednesday, May 26, 1824

Beethoven seems to still spend most of his time in Vienna over the coming weeks, making his summer rental in Penzing largely a waste of money. He does not actually move to Penzing for several weeks yet.

Conversation Book 70 begins being used today, most likely. This is a fairly substantial book of 28 leaves, with writing on each page. It appears to cover the time through May 30, 1824. The lack of legitimate entries by chatterbox unpaid assistant Anton Schindler makes many of the entries difficult to date with precision. We have typically followed Prof. Theodore Albrecht’s chronology for this book, as we do in most instances.

Conversation Book 70, 1r, courtesy Berlin Staatsbibliothek

In the morning, Beethoven adds up columns of financial numbers with pencil, which fill the entire first page of the book. Schindler’s annotations regarding the book are written in ink on this page, which is reproduced here courtesy of the Berlin Staatsbibliothek. Beethoven’s numbers likely represent various payments that need to be made out of the 500 florin C.M. honorarium received yesterday for the second Akademie concert last Sunday afternoon.

Nephew Karl arrives in the afternoon and begins sorting through the music returned to Beethoven after the concert. Half of the choral parts are missing; mostly they have the soprano and alto parts. Beethoven indicates someone unnamed needs to be paid a florin, and Karl confirms that he should give him the money.

Copyist Frau Schlemmer comes to Beethoven’s apartment to collect her payment for the last minute copying for the second Akademie. That charge comes to 21 florins. The 500 florins is vanishing quickly.

Later, Beethoven goes to a coffee house to relax and read the newspapers. He makes note of fast coaches between Vienna and Prague, Brünn [Brno], Graz, Pressburg and Ofen. They also have separate coaches and baggage coaches, all very low-priced. [Beethoven may be thinking of taking the Akademie concert on the road, since the copying is already a sunk cost.]

Back home at the apartment, Brother Johann comes to visit. He began negotiations with publisher Maximilian J. Leidesdorf concerning the Missa Solemnis today. Johann has two propositions for Ludwig: the first is that Leidesdorf will print 100 copies for Ludwig, and they will sell them by subscription under his own name. Once those 100 copies are disposed of, they will pay Ludwig first, before they make any profit. [This is quite similar to the proposal Prince Nikolai Galitzin had made to Beethoven a few months earlier, as being more efficient than having the copies made by hand. He would be able to get many more subscribers at the lower price per copy.] That could be done over about 8 months. Galitzin and Franz Stockhausen of the Singing Academy in Paris should both be notified about the subscription, since they would be able to help getting subscribers.

If Ludwig thinks that proposition is too risky, then Johann has an alternative. He will pay Ludwig 1000 florins C.M. cash [Ludwig’s asking price with various publishers] immediately upon receipt of the score. He will then make all the arrangements with Leidesdorf and handle the subscription, and will pay Ludwig an additional 150 gold ducats [675 florins C.M.] within 8 months. In effect, Johann would take on all the risk and headaches of dealing with Leidesdorf. This assumes that Ludwig wants nothing to do with the publisher himself. But it is still important that Ludwig write to Galitzin about the subscribers. Johann asks to see the letter Galitzin had written [on August 23, 1823] anticipating he could get a group of at least 50 subscribers for the Mass at the lower price.

While Johann reads over the letter from Galitzin, Ludwig makes notes that he needs to write to the lawyers in Berlin. Also two copies need to be made of the Ninth Symphony: one for the King of France as a dedication copy, and also one for Galitzin.

Johann tells Ludwig that he can have the Mass copied by Frau Schlemmer’s group. Her charges are reasonable, and she has asked Johann for more work. [Her copyists have also made several copies of the Mass already, so they are quite familiar with it.]

Ludwig makes a note that he needs to write Galitzin, Stockhausen in Paris, and adds Berlin to the list.

Johann says he will take the score to Leidesdorf, and they can estimate how many printing plates will be required. He’ll stay there with the score. Ludwig is resistant; he doesn’t want to give up the copy. Johann reminds him that he’s already arranged for two copies of it. Ludwig doesn’t want it to go to Leidesdorf’s shop. Johann, getting annoyed, says he will take it home and Leidesdorf can come look at it there, and it won’t leave his house. [Ludwig appears not to let Johann take the score, since the subject does not come up again.]

The topic changes to watered-down wine. Nephew Karl also mentions that the subscriptions to the Mozin French-German Dictionary actually closed when the first volume appeared. Since bookseller Schalbacher has several more volumes in stock, though, he can let them have one for the subscription price, but they need to do it soon.

Now-fired unpaid assistant Anton Schindler comes up. Johann recalls how despotic he behaved himself with the participants of the Akademie concerts.

Johann makes a deal with young Karl: He will contribute a new hat, 12 neckties, 2 vests and one suit. In return for that Karl only needs to contribute good grades.

In the next few days, someone [perhaps Friedrich August Kanne?] will be bringing to Beethoven an essay about the last Akademie concert. The censors in Vienna did not approve of it, so it will be sent to the Berlin and Leipzig Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung instead. [No such essay appears to have been published there either, so the essay, its author and its contents remain a mystery.] Perhaps Kanne can alter it. [The German text contains a bit of wordplay: “Kanne kann es…”] Johann has already spoken to Kanne about it.

Johann has been offered 50 ducats for the terzet Tremate, empi, tremate, which was performed in the second Akademie [Steiner already owns the piece, having paid for it nearly a decade ago although he has still not published it.] At least 300 ducats or even 400 ducats could be obtained from Haslinger as soon as it is finished. [“It” may be one of the string quartets intended for Prince Galitzin, who had commissioned them more than a year ago.]

The Consecration of the House Overture performed in the Akademie concerts also had an effect; Johann has already sold it. Johann asks whether Ludwig still intends to write the oratorio Der Sieg des Kreuzes on Joseph Bernard’s libretto. Ludwig does not think so. Johann will pay the money Ludwig needs within 3 days. If Ludwig does write the oratorio, Vincenz Hauschka of the Musikverein would pay what Ludwig wants for it immediately.

The Grand Rhine Festival will be in Cologne in July. Everyone who lives along the Rhine assembles there. Johann thinks Ludwig should go and give two Akademie concerts. He guarantees 10,000 florins C.M. [Johann had made similar extravagant promises of wealth resulting from the two Akademie concerts in Vienna, and Ludwig had little to show for them despite all the labor and expense, so he is likely skeptical of these projections.] Ludwig is having trouble following the conversation, though, and asks when and what this is for. Karl repeats, the Rhine Festival, in July. They expect 800 people. [Presumably participants in the festival, as opposed to attendees.]

The advertising for the second Akademie had been terrible. Attorney Johann Baptist Bach first learned that there was even to be a concert when he got the tickets at 11 o’clock the morning of the concert. Duport had forgot about advertising, and Schindler put it off for too long, so nothing happened. Schindler should have arranged it the day that Johann had loaned him his coach. [The main problem with the advertising of course was the indecision over both the place and the date of the concert.]

Ludwig asks Karl what food they have in the house. There is roasted chicken, and beefsteak. The chicken is a fat pullet. They can have the beefsteak for mid-day dinner tomorrow, and then in the evening roasted or fried chicken. This evening they can have a small leg of lamb, roasted.

Conversation Book 70, 1r-7v.

Ludwig drafts the letter to Prince Galitzin after Johann leaves. If he also wrote one to Stockhausen in Paris as Johann had suggested, that letter does not survive. Galitzin’s letter, in Beethoven’s hand, is dated today. Beethoven recognizes that all Galitzin’s kind letters have gone unanswered, though it is only because of the press of business. “Most recently I was asked to take part in a few Akademies, in which I lost time and money, in disgrace to our current institutions in Vienna. I had to become the victim of the former ballet dancer Duport, tenant of the Kärntnertor Theater. Do not ask me to give you the nasty details, which would outrage and disgust you to hear, just as I would be disgusted to repeat and describe them. I can only say that I lost a lot of time and money in the process.”

Beethoven has heard about the premiere of the Mass in St. Petersburg, as a grand oratorio. [Johann had probably told him this, since there will be a mention of the Russian premiere in tomorrow’s Allgemeine Theater-Zeitung and Johann likely had spoken to editor Adolf Bäuerle.] Since the Prince had written once saying that an engraved version of the score could be sold on subscription for 5 gold ducats, that could be published and sent to the Prince within half a year. Beethoven would be happy to send the invitation for subscription with the next post.

Beethoven promises to send the long-promised quartet to Galitzin. He could write another as well, if only the demand and encouragement from everywhere for great works were not so large. Since Galitzin probably also needs more of Beethoven’s compositions, he will send a new Overture [Consecration of the House op.124], a Trio, which was excellently performed by three local Italians [Tremate, empi, tremate, op.116], and his new large symphony with a finale including chorus and solo voices, which is being copied into score. Beethoven would want no reward beyond reimbursement of the copying costs. But perhaps the Prince could convince the Empress of Russia to accept the dedication of the Missa Solemnis to her, and the Emperor might then in return give Beethoven an annual pension. Beethoven would then send all of his great works to the Emperor first, and also quickly fulfill his orders, “and in this way needy humanity could also be helped temporarily.”

Beethoven proudly includes an impression of his gold medal awarded by the King of France, which weighs half a pound. [This would be the lithograph of the medal that appeared in the Vienna Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung of April 28, 1824.] He also includes a poem “A Lodovico van Beethoven,” a gushing work in 20 stanzas by Calisto Bassi in honor of the second Akademie.

Brandenburg Letter 1841; Anderson Letter 1292. The original of the letter is held by the Musée Adam Mickiewicz in the Polish Library in Paris. Some text has been lost from the 3rd and 4th pages of the letter, which was printed in facsimile in Marie Mirska, Neue Beethovenfunde in Die Musik 24 (1931/1932) at p.482.