BEETHOVEN 200 YEARS AGO TODAY: Sunday, March 14, 1824

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Beethoven in all probability continues his proofreading of elements to the Missa Solemnis this morning and has not but dressed when unpaid assistant Anton Schindler arrives in all probability round midday with the information that alto Caroline Unger and soprano Henriette Sontag are free to come back right here for dinner at present. Beethoven, shocked at this, complains in regards to the late discover, however Schindler says one of many girls [Sontag] didn’t let him know that they had been accessible till at present. It’s nonetheless early within the day, so one might have gentle boiled “Spanish partridges” [their joking name for potatoes.]

Schindler leaves to get the younger girls and produce them again. The housekeeper doesn’t like the concept they’ll have surprising dinner visitors any greater than Beethoven does. She goes out for some hurried purchasing, however every little thing is already closed. She manages to get a hen and two parts of meat from the restaurant downstairs. She asks what number of there will probably be for dinner. The reply is 4: the 2 girls, Schindler and Beethoven. [Karl appears to be elsewhere today; he will be at the Schuppanzigh Quartet concert at 4 p.m. with Brother Johann, and he may presently be at the concert at the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, where a symphony by Mozart and the cantata Davidde penitente, K.469, are being performed. He might alternatively be at one of Carl Czerny’s private Sunday concerts.] There may be salad, and so they have Gugelhupf for a pastry, so she is ready to scrape collectively one thing. Beethoven hurriedly will get dressed and tries to make himself presentable to obtain two younger girls.

In all probability between 1 and a couple of, Schindler returns with Sontag and Unger, whereas Beethoven remains to be shaving. They modestly flip apart and anticipate him to complete, then Unger says they each rejoice that Beethoven was so variety as to ask them. They’ve simply come from rehearsal, so that they ask to be excused that they’re so early. Unger jokes that that they had a rehearsal of at present’s climate: the opera Der Schnee [The Snow. That opera by Daniel François Esprit Auber is scheduled to premiere Friday, March 19, and as she suggests, it is snowing in Vienna both this morning and afternoon.]

Beethoven apologizes for the poor fare he has to supply them. Sontag says she hasn’t come to eat nicely, however to make Beethoven’s acquaintance which she has so seemed ahead to. Unger says Schindler informed them “to the delight of all, you’ve got lastly determined to offer a live performance.” The women can be most grateful if they’d be thought-about worthy to sing in it. She suggests they go into the room with the Broadwood piano, and so they can sing Beethoven one thing, maybe a bit from Fidelio. Sadly, Beethoven doesn’t have a replica. Unger is shocked he doesn’t have Fidelio at hand.

Beethoven runs down the record of what’s supposed to be performed on the live performance. Unger says that he must do the Benedictus from the Missa Solemnis. Beethoven protests that it’s too lengthy. Unger scoffs, “How might the general public discover one in all your works to be lengthy?”

Probably whereas the women are wanting on the stacks of music on the piano to seek out one thing to sing, an offended Beethoven pulls Schindler apart and calls for an evidence for why he introduced them to dinner with nearly no advance discover. Schindler repeats he didn’t discover Fraulein Unger at residence yesterday. “Due to this fact I couldn’t discover out till at present; subsequently, it’s not my fault.” Unger inserts herself, saying Schindler knew the day earlier than yesterday that she was coming, however the one query was about whether or not Sontag might make it. However Unger did promise to carry Sontag. A cornered Schindler says that sure, he knew that, however couldn’t discover out yesterday whether or not Sontag would come.

Over the modest dinner, the subject of summer season comes up, and Beethoven mentions he’ll in all probability be in Baden once more. Sontag protests that’s too distant, and he ought to summer season someplace nearer, to allow them to go to him usually. [Beethoven does stay during the first part of the summer in Penzing, only about three miles southwest of Vienna.]

After dinner, Schindler takes the women residence. They can’t keep late as a result of they’ve a rehearsal for a Courtroom live performance at 10 a.m. tomorrow, for a live performance scheduled the next day on the Hofburg. Schindler, wounded and humiliated, bitterly mulls over his tough remedy by Beethoven in entrance of those younger girls, however says nothing.

Dialog Ebook 59, 11v-13v.

1823 lithographic portrait of Caroline Unger, by Ferdinand von Lütgendorff (1785-1858)

In 1873, Unger wrote to Ludwig Nohl about her acquaintance with Beethoven, and this go to specifically. She believed that Beethoven’s friendliness to her was brought on by the composer’s friendship along with her father. About this go to, she wrote: “I can nonetheless see the easy room within the Landstrasse, the place a bit of wire served as a bell pull, and the place a big desk stood within the center, on which good roast beef was served to us with tremendous candy wine. I see the second room subsequent to it, stuffed to the ceiling with orchestral elements. In the midst of it stood the piano that Area (if I’m not mistaken) had despatched to Beethoven from London. Jette Sontag and I entered into this room as if right into a church, and we tried (sadly in useless) to sing for the esteemed grasp.”

“I bear in mind my presumptuous comment that he didn’t perceive methods to write for the voice as a result of a observe in my half within the Symphony lay too excessive for my voice. To that he answered, ‘Simply be taught it, and the observe will come.’ To at the present time, that phrase has remained a byword in my work.” Ludwig Nohl, Mosaik (1881), p.282.

Ferdinand Piringer, who has taken over because the conductor for the irregularly-held Concert events spirituel after the dying of Franz Xaver Gebauer, writes to Beethoven at present. Piringer addresses him: “Generalissime omnium compositorum!” Beethoven has agreed to supply elements for the Pastoral Symphony to be used within the subsequent Live performance spirituel [to be held April 1], and Piringer asks whether or not he can come by for them, or he can ship for them on Tuesday or Wednesday. Piringer additionally asks about Beethoven’s Akademie live performance, whether or not it has been scheduled and when, and whether or not he can contribute one thing to it. “I’m at your command with the best pleasure.” He indicators it “Excellentissimi humillimus servus.” Beethoven arranges for the elements to be offered to Piringer, and the symphony is carried out as deliberate on April 1.

Brandenburg Letter 1792; Albrecht Letter 347. The unique is held by the Berlin Staatsbibliothek, aut.35,56. Schindler has written a observe on the letter, describing Piringer as “a really humorous man, who was usually in a position to cheer Beethoven up along with his facial expressions alone.” Schindler additionally explains that Piringer known as Mozart the King of Music, and Beethoven his “Generalissimus.” Due to their relationship, Beethoven allowed Piringer to handle him on this method, although he wouldn’t tolerate it from others. On the letter after its receipt, Beethoven has written various notes, in all probability communications or reminders for the copyists, together with that the place there is no such thing as a pause written, the copyists nonetheless want to produce them, and for the primary flute to be written an octave decrease with an 8va marking. There are additionally conversations with the housekeeper, who advises that the washerwoman is there, and so they solely have sufficient wooden till Thursday [probably March 18th]. These notes affirm that when a dialog e book was not at hand, any handy scrap of paper could possibly be used for communication with Beethoven, although few of them have survived.

The Schuppanzigh Quartet’s sixth and ultimate live performance in its fourth subscription collection is held at present. This system is a momentous one, for it options the premiere of “a brand new quartet by Schubert. One should hear this composition extra usually with a view to decide it totally.” [This premiere was the Rosamunde Quartet, Franz Schubert’s Quartet Nr. 13 in A minor, op.29, D.804, which was indeed just completed by Schubert. The composer dedicated the piece to Ignaz Schuppanzigh.]

Additionally on this system is Beethoven’s beloved Septet op.20 in E-flat main. The latter piece options Herrn. Joseph Friedlowsky on clarinet, August Mittag on bassoon and Michael Herbst taking part in horn. “The entire artists carried out this highly effective and on the similar time pretty work by our extremely revered Beethoven with explicit diligence and fireplace; the Minuet and Trio needed to be repeated, and the viewers left the live performance corridor utterly glad. Vienna Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung Nr.12, March 27, 1824 at 45.

Wanting again over this just-concluded collection, the critic of the Vienna AMZ held forth at size in regards to the delights of the string quartet kind. “We can’t assist however thank the entrepreneur in addition to all of the taking part artists. Mr. Schuppanzigh actually needed to consider that each one it took was one choice to collect round him all of the true connoisseurs and lovers of music. One can because of this view the violin quartet and its revival in these productions as a striving towards the theatrical hypersthenia, i.e. towards the opera arias and singspiels, and the shape ought to be preserved. It takes a finely skilled ear to comply with the thrill of variety in all its shades delivered to the best unity on this style of music, to totally soak up the humorous turns of phrase and melody – such because the quartet alone is allowed to have – and to not lose sight of the circulate of the entire over the pleasure in particular person thrilling locations.”

“The quartet is a perpetual harmonious fireworks show, wherein ahead voices and figures continually change locations, however wherein the true connoisseur can nonetheless discover the best impact regardless of such restricted means. When one leaves a music room solely to see the identical menu served up repeatedly within the subsequent, second and third, particularly, the opera arias, as a every day roast, that are blended right into a ragu by the masters of potpourri only for the sake of selection, if you end up so filled with singing and really feel nearly exhausted from overfeeding of the identical recurring themes – that are additionally repeated by the piano gamers with out singing – one can view such a violin quartet as a tonic for the abdomen and coronary heart, which everybody ought to use for their very own well being.” The critic closes by begging Schuppanzigh to start the month of Might with a brand new collection, however set in a broader out of doors enviornment, corresponding to the plush gardens of the Augarten park in Vienna.

Vienna AMZ Nr.12, March 27, 1824, 45-56.

Schubert’s Rosamunde Quartet is carried out right here dwell by the Hagen Quartet:



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