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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/15141-8.txt b/15141-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1a30797 --- /dev/null +++ b/15141-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7501 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Beethoven, by George Alexander Fischer + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Beethoven + +Author: George Alexander Fischer + +Release Date: February 22, 2005 [eBook #15141] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BEETHOVEN*** + + +E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Karina Aleksandrova, Ralph Janke, +and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which + includes sound files and the original illustrations. + See 15141-h.htm or 15141-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/1/4/15141/15141-h/15141-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/1/4/15141/15141-h.zip) + + +Transcriber's Notes: 1. Corrected spelling of Maelzel's invention in one + place from 'Panharmonican' to 'Panharmonicon'. + + 2. In the index, corrected 'Krumpholtz' to + 'Krumpholz', 'Origen of the dance' to 'Origin of + the dance', and 'Neafe' to 'Neefe'. + + + + + +BEETHOVEN + +A Character Study together with Wagner's Indebtedness to Beethoven + +by + +GEORGE ALEXANDER FISCHER + +Es kann die Spur von meinen Erdentagen +Nicht in Aeonen untergehn. + + GOETHE. + +New York +Dodd, Mead and Company +The Trow Press, New York + +1905 + + + + + + + +[Illustration: BEETHOVEN] + + + + TO THE MEMORY OF + My father + + + + +CONTENTS + +CHAPTER + I. Early Promise + II. The Morning of Life + III. The New Path + IV. Heroic Symphony + V. Fidelio + VI. The Eternal Feminine + VII. Victory from Defeat + VIII. Meeting with Goethe + IX. Optimistic Trend + X. At the Zenith of His Fame + XI. Methods of Composition + XII. Sense of Humor + XIII. Missa Solemnis + XIV. Ninth Symphony + XV. Capacity for Friendship + XVI. The Day's Trials + XVII. Last Quartets + XVIII. In the Shadows + XIX. Life's Purport + +WAGNER'S INDEBTEDNESS TO BEETHOVEN + +INDEX + + + + +CHAPTER I + +EARLY PROMISE + + God acts upon earth only by means of superior chosen men. + --HERDER: _Ideas Toward a History of Mankind_. + + +As life broadens with advancing culture, and people are able to +appropriate to themselves more of the various forms of art, the artist +himself attains to greater power, his abilities increase in direct ratio +with the progress in culture made by the people and their ability to +comprehend him. When one side or phase of an art comes to be received, +new and more difficult problems are invariably presented, the +elucidation of which can only be effected by a higher development of the +faculties. There is never an approach to equilibrium between the artist +and his public. As it advances in knowledge of his art, he maintains the +want of balance, the disproportion that always exists between the genius +and the ordinary man, by rising ever to greater heights. + +If Bach is the mathematician of music, as has been asserted, Beethoven +is its philosopher. In his work the philosophic spirit comes to the +fore. To the genius of the musician is added in Beethoven a wide mental +grasp, an altruistic spirit, that seeks to help humanity on the upward +path. He addresses the intellect of mankind. + +Up to Beethoven's time musicians in general (Bach is always an +exception) performed their work without the aid of an intellect for the +most part; they worked by intuition. In everything outside their art +they were like children. Beethoven was the first one having the +independence to think for himself--the first to have ideas on subjects +unconnected with his art. He it was who established the dignity of the +artist over that of the simply well-born. His entire life was a protest +against the pretensions of birth over mind. His predecessors, to a great +extent subjugated by their social superiors, sought only to please. +Nothing further was expected of them. This mental attitude is apparent +in their work. The language of the courtier is usually polished, but +will never have the virility that characterizes the speech of the free +man. + +As with all valuable things, however, Beethoven's music is not to be +enjoyed for nothing. We must on our side contribute something to the +enterprise, something more than simply buying a ticket to the +performance. We must study his work in the right spirit, and place +ourselves in a receptive attitude when listening to it to understand his +message. Often metaphysical, particularly in the work of his later +years, his meaning will be revealed only when we devote to it earnest +and sympathetic study. No other composer demands so much of one; no +other rewards the student so richly for the effort required. The making +a fact the subject of thought vitalizes it. It is as if the master had +said to the aspirant: "I will admit you into the ranks of my disciples, +but you must first prove yourself worthy." An initiation is necessary; +somewhat of the intense mental activity which characterized Beethoven in +the composition of his works is required of the student also. There is a +tax imposed for the enjoyment of them. + +Like Thoreau, Beethoven came on the world's stage "just in the nick of +time," and almost immediately had to begin hewing out a path for +himself. He was born in the workshop, as was Mozart, and learned music +simultaneously with speaking. Stirring times they were in which he first +saw the light, and so indeed continued with ever-increasing intensity, +like a good drama, until nearly his end. The American Revolution became +an accomplished fact during his boyhood. Nearer home, events were fast +coming to a focus, which culminated in the French Revolution. The magic +words, Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, and the ideas for which they +stood, were everywhere in the minds of the people. The age called for +enlightenment, spiritual growth. + +On reaching manhood, he found a world in transition; he realized that he +was on the threshold of a new order of things, and with ready prescience +took advantage of such as could be utilized in his art. Through +Beethoven the resources of the orchestra were increased, an added range +was given the keyboard of the piano, the human voice was given tasks +that at the time seemed impossible of achievement. He established the +precedent, which Wagner acted on later, of employing the human voice as +a tool, an instrument, to be used in the exigencies of his art, as if it +were a part of the orchestra. + +Beethoven's birthplace, Bonn, no doubt proved a favorable soil for the +propagation of the new ideas. The unrest pervading all classes, an +outcome of the Revolution, showed itself among the more serious-minded +in increased intellectuality, and a reaching after higher things. This +_Zeitgeist_ is clearly reflected in his compositions, in particular the +symphonies and sonatas. "Under the lead of Italian vocalism," said +Wagner, speaking of the period just preceding the time of which we +write, "music had become an art of sheer agreeableness." The beautiful +in music had been sufficiently exploited by Mozart and Haydn. Beethoven +demonstrated that music has a higher function than that of mere beauty, +or the simple act of giving pleasure. The beautiful in literature is not +its best part. To the earnest thinker, the seeker after truth, the +student who looks for illumination on life's problem, beauty in itself +is insufficient. It is the best office of art, of Beethoven's art in +particular, that it leads ever onward and upward; that it acts not only +on the esthetic and moral sense, but develops the mental faculties as +well, enabling the individual to find a purpose and meaning in life. + + * * * * * + +Ludwig van Beethoven was born at Bonn, December 16, 1770. He came of a +musical family. His father and grandfather were both musicians at Bonn, +at the Court of the Elector of Cologne. The family originally came from +Louvain, and settled in Antwerp in 1650, from which place they moved to +Bonn. + +This old city on the Rhine, frequently mentioned by Tacitus, older than +Christianity, the scene of innumerable battles from Roman times up to +the beginning of the nineteenth century, has much that is interesting +about it, but is distinguished chiefly on account of having been +Beethoven's birthplace. It was for five centuries (from 1268 to 1794) in +the possession of the Electors of Cologne. The last one of all, Max +Franz, who succeeded to the Electorate when Beethoven was fourteen years +of age, and who befriended him in various ways was, in common with the +entire Imperial family, a highly cultivated person, especially in music. +He was the youngest son of Maria Therese, Empress of Austria, herself a +fine singer and well versed in the music of the time. The Elector played +the viola and his chief interest in life seems to have been music. In +Beethoven's time and long before, the aristocracy led lives of easy, +complacent enjoyment, dabbling in art, patronizing music and the +composers, seemingly with no prevision that the musicians whom they +attached to their train, and who in the cases of Mozart and Haydn were +at times treated but little better than lackeys, were destined by the +irony of fate to occupy places in the temple of fame, which would be +denied themselves. + +Ludwig van Beethoven, the grandfather of the composer, received his +appointment as Kapellmeister at Bonn in March of 1733, then twenty-one +years of age. A little more than a century afterward a statue was +erected there in the Münster Platz to his illustrious grandson, Liszt +being the moving spirit in the matter. The grandfather was in every way +a worthy man, but he died when our composer was three years of age, and +from that time poverty and hardship of all kinds was the portion of the +family. Beethoven's father was careless and improvident. His salary of +300 florins, about $145, was all they had upon which to live. The +mother was the daughter of a cook and the widow of a _valet de chambre_ +to one of the Electors. She was kind-hearted, of pleasant temper and +lovable disposition, and the affection between mother and son was deep +and lasting. The father was stern, and a strict disciplinarian, as so +often happens in such cases. He was determined that the son should do +better than himself, being willing to furnish the precept, if not the +example. + +Reared in this school of adversity the boy had a hard life. His father +was his first teacher, teaching him both violin and clavier. He began +with him as early as his fourth year; he seems to have been aware of the +boy's ability, but had no consideration, and was a hard taskmaster. +Before he was nine years of age, however, the boy's progress was so +great that the father had no more to teach him. + +In those times the musical life centered about the Court. Beethoven +studied the organ under the court organist, Van den Eeden, an old friend +of his grandfather's. Van den Eeden was succeeded shortly after by +Christian Neefe, and Beethoven, then eleven years of age, was +transferred to him. Neefe had an important bearing on Beethoven's life. +He was in his best years, thirty-three, when he began teaching him, and +was a thorough musician, who had had a varied experience before assuming +this post. He was a university man as well, and it was fortunate for +Beethoven in every way that he was brought in childhood under the +influence of so cultivated and enthusiastic a musician. Neefe saw the +boy's talent and became his friend. On one occasion the Elector took his +musicians to Münster where he had a palace, Neefe's duties requiring +that he go with them. Beethoven, then under twelve years of age, was +left behind as organist. Frimmel states that Neefe, on assuming the +position, reserved the privilege of absenting himself frequently from +his post, on condition that he provide a substitute. After the Münster +episode, the twelve-year-old Beethoven became the regular substitute. +When we consider the important rôle that church music played in those +times, such precocity is remarkable. This connection with church music +bore good fruit in later years. + +Neefe was soon after promoted, the Elector giving him charge of the +secular as well as the sacred music of the Court, upon which Beethoven +received his first appointment, that of cembalist of the orchestra. The +duty of the cembalist is to preside at the piano. Only a good musician +would be capable of filling such a position, as all the accompaniments +were played from the score. He held this for two years, afterward +playing viol in the orchestra for several years more. This work in the +orchestra was later of the greatest possible benefit to him in +composing. There was no salary at first, but the post had an important +bearing on his life, as he was obliged to attend all the rehearsals as +well as the performances of the opera, always taking an active part. +Before he reached the age of fifteen he was appointed second court +organist. During this year he studied the violin with Franz Ries, which +enabled him a few years later to play in the band. + +It was in Beethoven's fifteenth year that he played the organ every +morning at the six o'clock mass in the Minorite church. For some years +before and during this period he was busy trying his hand at musical +composition, but nothing which he composed during his youth amounts to +much. He could improvise in a marvelous manner and he attracted much +attention by the exercise of this talent, becoming famous in this +connection long before he was known as a composer. + +His creative talent unfolded itself slowly. He had high ideals and +worked faithfully toward their attainment. Failure to reach the level of +his aspirations did not dishearten him; rather it spurred him on to +greater effort. + +The discerning intellect is always in advance of the creative. His +delight in Bach was great; he studied him to such purpose that, at +twelve years, he was able to play the greater part of the Well-tempered +Clavichord. His wonderful interpretation of Bach, later, on his arrival +in Vienna, immediately placed him in the front rank of _virtuosi_, +according to Hüttenbrenner, Schubert's friend. + +As a boy he was docile, shy and reserved, caring nothing for the +ordinary games of boys, or at least not participating in them to any +extent. At an age when other boys begin learning their games, he began +in composition, being forced to it, no doubt, by his father. He is said +to have written a cantata at the age of ten to the memory of an English +friend of the family, who died early in the year 1781. Some variations +on a march in C minor bear the following statement: _Composées par un +jeune amateur L v B age de dix ans_. + +From year to year he kept on in musical composition, feeling his way, +not discouraged by his inability to produce anything great, although +Mozart's precocity and genius were no doubt frequently held up to him by +others as an example to profit by. When he was seventeen he went to +Vienna, the funds for the trip probably being furnished by the Elector. +Here he met Mozart, then at the height of his fame, whose operas were +frequently produced in Bonn and throughout Germany. He probably had some +lessons from him. Mozart was very much occupied with the approaching +production of Don Giovanni, which took place in Prague shortly after the +young man's arrival. As Beethoven's visit terminated in three months, it +is not likely that he derived much benefit from these lessons. On his +first meeting with the master he extemporized for him on a subject given +him by Mozart. That this was a momentous occasion to the impressionable +Beethoven is certain. The emotions called up by the meeting enabled him +to play with such effect that when he had finished, the well-known +remark was elicited from Mozart: "Pay attention to him. He will make a +noise in the world some day." + +Beethoven, however, was compelled to return to Bonn, owing to the +serious illness of his mother, who died of consumption July 17, 1787. He +now took charge of the family and had a hard life from almost every +point of view, his one enjoyment probably being in the exercise of his +art. The affection between mother and son was one of the few bright +spots in a boyhood of toil and privation. The father's harshness served +to accentuate the kindness of the mother, and he felt her death keenly. +He gave a few lessons, most unwillingly, the money from which, together +with his salary as assistant organist and a portion of the father's +salary, kept the family together, affording them some degree of comfort. + +His return, no doubt, retarded his artistic development. The musical +atmosphere of Vienna would have been much better for him, especially at +this period, when he was entering manhood and eager to get at the works +of contemporary composers. In those times only a small amount of the +music that was written, was published. Many of the lesser works were +composed merely to grace some social function, with but little thought +given them as to their ultimate fate. It was customary to play from +manuscript, copies of which were not readily attainable. In a city like +Vienna new music was constantly being produced, occasionally at public +concerts, but most often at social gatherings. The freemasonry existing +among musicians and the wealthy amateurs was such that a musician of any +talent was sure to be received, and put on a friendly footing. No other +city in Europe afforded such opportunities for musical culture as did +Vienna. It was the home of Mozart and Haydn and a host of lesser +composers, as well as instrumentalists and singers. Music in one form or +another was the chief diversion of the better classes, the wealthier of +whom maintained their private orchestra. Many of these latter were fine +performers, taking part regularly in the concerts given by their +orchestras. + +The next year we find Beethoven taking his meals at the Zehrgarten, +where artists, professors from the university, and other notable people +congregated. It was at this period that he made the acquaintance of +Count Ferdinand Waldstein, the first of the aristocratic circle of +friends which surrounded him all his life. Count Waldstein at +twenty-four, on coming of age, entered the Germanic order, passing the +year of his novitiate at the Court of the Elector at Bonn. The senior by +eight years, his influence over Beethoven was considerable, as is +evidenced in many ways. The Count was an enthusiastic amateur, visiting +him frequently. He gave him a piano, and was useful to him in many ways. +The social position of Count Waldstein was such that his friendly +attitude toward Beethoven at once attracted the attention of others to +the young musician. From this time on he was able to choose his friends +from among the best people of his native city. The young man +commemorated the friendship by taking an air of the Count's, who was +somewhat of a composer, and composing twelve variations for four hands +for the piano from it. Later, in 1805, after the Eroica Symphony and +Fidelio, when the master had become famous, he composed the great +Waldstein Sonata, opus 58, and dedicated it to him. The Waldstein family +became extinct with Ferdinand, but the name will live for centuries +through these compositions. + +About the time of his first meeting with Count Waldstein, Beethoven made +another acquaintance, which had an important bearing on his subsequent +life. This was Von Breuning. He and Beethoven took violin lessons of +Franz Ries. Stephen von Breuning liked Beethoven from the start and +introduced him at his mother's house. The Breunings were in good +circumstances, cultivated, good-natured and hospitable. They delighted +in having him about, and treated him with the utmost consideration. +Madame von Breuning formed a sincere, motherly affection for him; he was +soon on a footing in their house almost equal to that of a member of the +family. He went with them about this time on a visit to some of their +relations in another city. They were instrumental in shaping his +destiny in various ways, and their friendship was of great moment to him +throughout life. Beethoven, then in his eighteenth year, gave lessons to +the daughter Eleonore, as well as to the youngest son, Lenz. Eleonore +afterward married Dr. Wegeler, who was in the same circle. Many years +later he collaborated with Ries's son Ferdinand in writing reminiscences +of the master. + +The names of Count Waldstein and the Von Breunings are indelibly +associated with Beethoven's name as friends from the beginning. When we +consider how every circumstance of Beethoven's family and mode of life +tended against his forming desirable friendships, how rough in exterior +and careless of his appearance he was, we can ascribe it only to the +force of his character that he should have the friendship of such +people. He had done nothing as yet to lead people to believe that he +would ever become a great composer. As has been stated, however, he was +a pianist of great originality, with a remarkable talent for +improvising, which, no doubt, had much to do in making him a welcome +guest wherever he went. + +Madame von Breuning, with her woman's tact, and the fine intuitive +perceptions that were characteristic of her, looked after his +intellectual development, and was helpful to him in various ways, +encouraging him as well in his musical studies. But Beethoven was by no +means an easy person to get along with, as she soon found out. He was +fiery and headstrong, disliking all restraint, being especially +impatient of anything that savored of patronage. She seems to have known +that in Beethoven she had before her that rarest product of humanity, a +man of genius, and had infinite patience with him. His dislike for +teaching was pronounced, then, as in after years, and she was often at +her wits' end to get him to keep his engagements in this respect. She, +in short, did for Beethoven what Madame Boehme did for Goethe many years +before, when the poet left his native Frankfort and came to Leipsic. He +was but sixteen, and found in her a friend, counsellor, almost a mother, +who not only instructed him about dress and deportment, which soon +enabled him to obliterate his provincialism, but showed a motherly +solicitude for him, which must have been of great help to him in many +ways. + +Madame von Breuning interested Beethoven in the classics, as well as in +contemporary philosophical literature. Lessing, Goethe and Schiller +became favorite authors with him. A much-thumbed translation of +Shakespeare was a valued part of his small library in after years. He +devoted much study to Homer and to Plato. Beethoven left school at the +age of thirteen, and could not have given much time to his studies even +when at school, as so much was required of him in his music. He learned +a little--a very little, of French, also some Latin and Italian, and +made up for his deficiencies by studying at home. Intellectual gifts +were valued by the Von Breunings; to the youth, in his formative period, +association with people like these was an education in itself. + +About this time the Elector enlarged the sphere of his musical +operations by establishing a national opera at Bonn, modeled after the +one maintained by his imperial brother at Vienna. The works were +produced on a good scale, and some excellent singers were engaged. +Beethoven was appointed to play the viola, and this connection with the +orchestra was of inestimable value to him in many ways. It not only gave +him a knowledge of orchestration; it also made him familiar with the +noted operas, which must have been greatly enjoyed by him. Mozart's +operas were given a prominent place in the _répertoire_, and many others +that were noteworthy were introduced. But it was not opera alone which +was being performed; the drama was also represented, and his connection +with the orchestra gave him an intimate acquaintance with the +masterpieces of literature, which greatly influenced his subsequent +career. The tragedies of Shakespeare were occasionally produced, special +prominence, however, being given to the works of the great Germans, +Lessing, Schiller and other philosophers and poets of the Fatherland, +the exalted sentiments and pure intellectuality of which are unmatched +by any people. This early acquaintance with the best literature of his +time gave him an intellectual bias which served him well all his life. +It is fortunate that his opportunity came so early in life, when the +activity of the brain is at its highest and when lasting impressions are +produced. The mental pictures called up by the portrayal of these +tragedies came to the surface again in after years sublimated, refined, +in symphony and sonata, in mass and opera. Every one of his works has +its own story to tell; sometimes it is just the record of the events of +a day as in the Pastoral Symphony, but told with a glamour of poetry and +romance, that for the time gives us back our own youth in listening to +it; sometimes it is a tragedy which is unfolded, as in the Appassionata +Sonata or the Fifth Symphony; or it will be a Coriolanus Overture, that +seething, boiling ferment of emotion and passion, the most diverse, +contradictory, unlike, that can be imagined. From these impressions, +acquired in the ardor of youth, when the intellect grasps at knowledge +and experience with avidity, when its capacity is at its greatest, and +the whole world is laid under contribution, came a rich harvest which +untold generations may enjoy. No one of the many that made up the +audiences night after night, probably ever formed a guess at what was +going on in the brain of this quiet reserved youth during the progress +of these plays. The keen discriminating intelligence which was always +sifting and sorting these pictures and stowing them away for use in +after years,--the flashes of enthusiasm,--the intuitive discernment of +intellectual subtleties that brought him into _rapport_ with the author +and gave him the perception of being on an equality with the great ones +of the earth, here were forces already in operation which were destined +to influence the world for generations to come. To fall from this ideal +world of the intellect and the emotions, at the cue of the conductor, +back to the cognitions of ordinary life, and a realization of its +limitations, must have been as tragic an experience to this youth, who +said of himself: "I live only in my art," as any he had seen depicted on +the stage. Mental processes like these write their lines deeply on the +faces of gifted people. + +Of the thirty-one members of the orchestra some had already attained +fame, and others achieved it in after years. In this collection of +geniuses the attrition of mind on mind must have been of benefit to +each. The conductor, Joseph Reicha, had a nephew, Anton Reicha, whom he +adopted, who played the flute in the orchestra. He and Beethoven were +intimate, and the prominence which Beethoven gives to the flute in his +orchestral works may in part be explained by this intimacy. Reicha +afterward joined Beethoven at Vienna, remaining there until 1808, when +he took up his residence in Paris. He was a prolific composer and the +author of numerous theoretical works. Many of his operas were produced +in Paris during his lifetime. He taught at the Paris Conservatoire, and +was a member of the Institute. Then there was Bernhard Romberg, and his +cousin Andreas Romberg. The latter was a musical prodigy, having played +the violin in concerts as early as his seventh year. At seventeen, his +virtuosity was such that he was engaged for the Concerts Spirituels at +Paris. Some years later he journeyed to Bonn to be near his cousin +Bernhard, with whom he was intimate, and accepted a position in the +Elector's orchestra as violinist. He later went to Vienna, then Hamburg, +and afterward became Kapellmeister at Gotha. He composed all kinds of +music, instrumental and vocal, symphonies, operas, etc. His setting of +Schiller's "Song of the Bell" is well known at the present day, as well +as the oratorio, "The Transient and the Eternal." He was made Doctor of +Music by Kiel University. Bernhard Romberg was a distinguished +violoncellist. When his connection with the Elector's orchestra ceased, +he made a professional tour to Italy and Spain with his more famous +cousin Andreas and was very successful. In 1796 they came to Vienna and +gave a concert at which Beethoven assisted. Bernhard afterward was a +professor in the Paris Conservatoire and later became Kapellmeister at +Berlin. He was a composer of operas, concertos, etc. While he and +Beethoven were not in accord on the subject of musical composition, each +disliking the other's works, there is no question but that his +proximity to him at Bonn, was one of the forces that had much to do with +Beethoven's artistic development. + +Then there was Franz Ries, pupil of Salomon, the distinguished +violinist. Ries had already achieved fame in Vienna as soloist, and had +been before the public since childhood. He was Beethoven's teacher, as +stated. We must not forget Neefe, Beethoven's former teacher, who was +pianist, or Simrock, all of whom formed a galaxy of _virtuosi_ and +composers unequalled by any similar organization. Beethoven greatly +profited by his association with these chosen spirits, assimilating +their experiences and endeavoring to emulate them. + +Thus passed a few years pleasantly enough during this formative period +at Bonn, music in one form or another taking up most of his waking +moments. He fell in love a few times, first with a Mlle. de Honrath of +Cologne, who visited the Von Breunings frequently and was their intimate +friend. She had a bright, lively disposition, and like a true daughter +of Eve, took great pleasure in bantering him. There was also a Miss +Westerhold who made a deep impression on him. Both were the subject of +conversation by him in after years. + +The visit of Haydn, who with Salomon made a short sojourn at Bonn, on +their return from London to Vienna in July of 1792, gave Beethoven an +opportunity for an interview with the great master, which had an +important bearing on the young man's career. Salomon was acquainted with +the Beethovens as he was a native of Bonn. The fame of the young +musician had reached his ears, and he brought about the meeting with +Haydn. Beethoven at twenty-two, had, unlike so many promising children, +fulfilled the promise of his youth. He was not only a distinguished +performer: his compositions were also attracting attention in his +circle. In honor of the distinguished guests, a breakfast was arranged +at Godesburg, a resort near Bonn, at which some compositions of +Beethoven's were performed by the Elector's orchestra. Some of this +music had been submitted to the master previously. Haydn, who was in +holiday humor, seems to have been specially attracted to it, and +encouraged Beethoven to continue. + +Some of the sketch-books of the Bonn period are in the British Museum, +and an examination of them is of interest as it shows his method of +composing. Beethoven all through life was a hard worker and a hard +taskmaster to himself. He elaborated and worked over his first +inspiration, polishing, cutting down, altering, making additions, never +satisfied, always aiming after the attainment of his highest ideals, +never considering himself, always placing his art first and personal +comfort and convenience afterward. This is apparent in the sketch-books +of this early date. His industry was extraordinary, although his work +grew but slowly. It was elaborated bit by bit in much the same way in +which Nathaniel Hawthorne built up his romances. + +Haydn's approbation was an important link in the chain of circumstances +that was soon to enable Beethoven to leave for Vienna. Count Waldstein +was the moving spirit in this matter, the Elector furnishing the funds. +He knew that the artistic atmosphere of Vienna would be of incalculable +benefit to Beethoven and encouraged him in the project. Accordingly we +find him setting out for Vienna in 1792, leaving Bonn never to return to +it even for a visit. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE MORNING OF LIFE + + Thou, O God! who sellest us all good things at the price of labor. + --LEONARDO DA VINCI. + + +Closely following his arrival in Vienna, Beethoven began studying +composition with Haydn, applying himself with great diligence to the +work in hand; but master and pupil did not get along together very well. +There were many dissonances from the start. It was not in the nature of +things that two beings so entirely dissimilar in their point of view +should work together harmoniously. Beethoven, original, independent, +iconoclastic, acknowledged no superior, without having as yet achieved +anything to demonstrate his superiority; Haydn, tied down to established +forms, subservient, meek, was only happy when sure of the approbation of +his superiors. His attitude toward those above him in rank was +characterized by respect and deference; he probably expected something +similar from Beethoven toward himself. Haydn was then at the height of +his fame, courted and admired by all, and his patience was sorely tried +by the insolence of his fiery young pupil. He nicknamed Beethoven the +Grand Mogul, and did not have much good to say of him to others. The +pittance which he received for these lessons was no inducement to him, +as he was in receipt of an income much beyond his requirements. The time +given up to these lessons could have been better employed in composing. + +Haydn and Beethoven, however, were in a measure supplementary to one +another as regards the life-work of each. Haydn paved the way for +Beethoven, who was his successor in the large orchestral forms. He and +also Mozart were pioneers in the field which Beethoven made peculiarly +his own. Haydn also directed Beethoven's attention to the study of +Händel and Bach, whose works Beethoven always held most highly in +esteem. It is true that Beethoven, even in the old Bonn days, was +familiar to some extent with the works of these masters; but his +opportunity for getting at this kind of music was limited in Bonn. +Vienna, the musical center of the world at that time, was, as may be +supposed, a much better field in this respect. The study of these +profound works of genius under the leadership and eulogy of so prominent +a musician as Haydn had much to do with shaping Beethoven's ideals. +These masters gave an example of solidity and earnestness which is +characteristic of their work. Haydn and Mozart, on the other hand, +appealed to him in his lighter moods, in the play of fancy, in the +capricious and humorous conceits of which he has given such fine +examples in the symphonies and sonatas. + +The lessons to Beethoven continued for a little over a year, or until +Haydn left on another visit to England in January of 1794. So eager was +he for advancement, that he took lessons from another teacher at the +same time, carefully concealing the fact from Haydn. Beethoven always +maintained that he had not learned much from him. + +Strangely, Haydn had no idea at this time or for some years after that +his pupil would ever amount to much in musical composition. He lived +long enough to find Beethoven's position as a musician firmly +established, but not long enough to witness his greatest triumphs. + +On the departure of Haydn he began with Albrechtsberger in composition, +also having violin, and even vocal lessons from other masters. Beethoven +realized, on coming to Vienna, more fully than before, the necessity for +close application to his studies. Though a finished performer, he knew +but little of counterpoint, and the more purely scientific side of his +art had been neglected. That he applied himself with all the ardor of +his nature to his studies we know. They were given precedence over +everything else. He even delayed for a long while writing a rondo which +he had promised to Eleonore von Breuning and when he finally sent it, it +was with an apology for not sending a sonata, which had also been +promised. + +It is characteristic of Beethoven that his teachers in general were not +greatly impressed by him. We have seen how it was in the case of Haydn. +Albrechtsberger was more pronounced in his disapproval. "He has learned +nothing; he never will learn anything," was his verdict regarding +Beethoven. This was surely small encouragement. Beethoven's original and +independent way of treating musical forms brought on this censure. As he +advanced in musical knowledge he took the liberty to think for himself; +a very culpable proceeding with teachers of the stamp of +Albrechtsberger. The young man's intuitive faculties, the surest source +of all knowledge according to Schopenhauer, were developed to an +abnormal degree. By the aid of this inner light he was able to see truer +and farther than his pedantic old master, with the result that the pupil +would argue out questions with him on subjects connected with his +lessons which subverted all discipline, and well-nigh reversed their +relative positions. Beethoven's audacity--his self-confidence, is +brought out still more strongly when we reflect on the distinguished +position held by Albrechtsberger, both as teacher and composer. He was +director of music at St. Stephen's and was in great demand as a teacher. +Some of his pupils became distinguished musicians, among them Hümmel, +Seyfried and Weigl. He excelled in counterpoint, and was a prolific +composer, although his works are but little known at the present day. He +was set in his ways, a strict disciplinarian, conservative to the +backbone, and upward of sixty years of age. We can readily believe there +were stormy times during these lessons. There is no doubt however, that +Beethoven learned a great deal from him, as is evident from the +exercises still in existence from this period, embracing the various +forms of fugue and counterpoint, simple, double, and triple, canon and +imitation. He was thorough in his teaching and Beethoven was eager to +learn, so they had at least one point in common, and the pupil made +rapid headway. But his originality and fertility in ideas, which showed +itself at times in a disregard for established forms when his genius was +hampered thereby--qualities which even in Albrechtsberger's lifetime +were to place his pupil on a pinnacle above all other composers of the +period, were neither understood nor approved by the teacher. Under the +circumstances, it is not surprising that the lessons continued but +little over a year. His studies in theory and composition seem to have +come to an end with Albrechtsberger; we hear of no other teacher having +been engaged thereafter. + +Shortly after Beethoven came to Vienna, his father died, and soon after +the two brothers Johann and Caspar, having no ties to keep them in Bonn, +followed the elder brother, who kept a fatherly watch over them. They +gave him no end of trouble for the rest of his life, but Beethoven bore +the burden willingly and was sincerely attached to them. All the honor +and nobility of the family seems to have centered in him. + +On his arrival in Vienna he carried letters of introduction from Count +Waldstein and from the Elector, which opened to him the doors of the +best houses. His intrinsic worth did the rest. One of his earliest +Vienna friends was Prince Lichnowsky, a person who seems to have +possessed a combination of all those noble qualities that go to make up +the character of a gentleman. Highly cultivated and enthusiastic on the +subject of music, he had the penetration to see that in Beethoven he had +before him one of the elect of all time. The Prince had been a pupil of +Mozart and an ardent admirer of the deceased master. Providentially, +Beethoven appeared on the scene soon after Mozart's decease, and +received the devotion and admiration that had formerly been given +Mozart. In this he was ably seconded by his wife, who shared with him +the admiration and reverential wonder which such highly endowed people +would be apt to accord to a man of genius. One of the first acts of +this princely couple was to give Beethoven a pension of 600 florins per +year. This was but the beginning of unexampled kindness on their part. +They followed this by giving him a home in their residence on the +Schotten bastion, and we find him well launched in the social life of +the gayest capital in Europe. + +This practical help was invaluable to Beethoven, for with the aid which +he had from the Elector, it was almost enough to assure him +independence. It not only increased his opportunities for study, but, +his mind being free from care, he was enabled to profit more by his +studies. The Lichnowskys were older than Beethoven and were childless. +He was allowed to do as he pleased; a privilege of which he availed +himself without hesitation. They entertained considerably and their +social position was unexceptionable. They maintained a small orchestra +for the performance of the music he liked and for his own compositions. +He was always the honored guest, and met the best people of Vienna. The +devotion of the Princess, in particular, was always in evidence. + +It can be readily understood that with such an original character as +Beethoven, headstrong and impatient of restraint, a pleasant smooth life +was not to be expected. The arrangement would seem to have been an +excellent one for him, but he did not so regard it. Already at odds with +the world, misunderstanding people and being misunderstood, he soon came +to realize that a life of solitude was the only resource for a man +constituted as he was. He never considered himself under any obligation +to the Prince, or rather, he acted as though he felt the obligation to +be the other way. He acted independently from the start, taking his +meals at a restaurant whenever it suited his convenience, and showing an +ungovernable temper when interfered with in any way. But the kindness +and patience of the Princess never failed her; after any trouble it was +she who smoothed the difficulty and restored harmony. She was like an +indulgent mother to him; in her eyes he could do no wrong. + +Prince Lichnowsky was wholly unaccustomed to this sort of thing. It is +certain that he never met with anything of the kind from Mozart, and +there were times when his patience was sorely tried by Beethoven. The +Princess, with a sweetness and graciousness which Beethoven appreciated, +always made peace between them. He afterward said that her solicitude +was carried to such a length that she wished to put him under a glass +shade, "that no unworthy person might touch or breathe on me." + +Of course this kind of thing only confirmed the young man in his course. +It was kindness, but it was not wisdom. Few people are so constituted as +to be able to stand praise and adulation without the character suffering +thereby. Censure would have been much better for him. When the +individual is attacked, when he is made to assume the defensive, he +first discovers the vulnerable points in his armor, and as opportunity +offers strengthens them. Beethoven's ungovernable temper and apparent +ingratitude are frequently commented on, but the ingratitude was only +apparent. When he came to a knowledge of himself and discovered that he +was in the wrong in any controversy or quarrel, and it must be admitted +they were frequent enough all through his life, he would make amends for +it so earnestly, with such vehement self-denunciation, and show such +contrition, that it would be impossible for any of his friends to hold +out against him. Then there would be a short love-feast, during which +the offended party would possibly be the recipient of a dedication from +the master, and things would go on smoothly until the next break. The +Prince soon learned to make all sorts of concessions to his headstrong +guest, and even went so far as to order his servant to give Beethoven +the precedence, in case he and Beethoven were to ring at the same time. + +But Beethoven did not like the new life. Even the little restraint that +it imposed was irksome to him, and the arrangement came to an end in +about two years. But the friendship continued for many years. +Beethoven's opus 1 is dedicated to the Prince, as well as the grand +Sonata Pathetique, and the Second Symphony, also the opus 179, +consisting of nine variations, and the grand Sonata in A Flat. To the +Princess Lichnowsky he dedicated opus 157, variations on "See the +Conquering Hero Comes." He also dedicated several of his compositions to +Count Moritz Lichnowsky, a younger brother of the Prince. + +Among the other friends of this period may be mentioned Prince +Lobkowitz, who was an ardent admirer of Beethoven, Prince Kinski, and +also Count Browne to whose wife Beethoven dedicated the set of Russian +variations. In acknowledgment of this honor, the Count presented +Beethoven with a horse. He accepted it thankfully and then forgot all +about it until some months after, when a large bill came in for its +keep. There was also Count Brunswick and the Baron von Swieten, and most +of the music-loving aristocracy of Vienna, who it appears could not see +enough of him. His music and his individuality charmed them and he was +beset with invitations. Baron von Swieten was one of his earliest and +staunchest friends. His love and devotion to music knew no bounds. He +gave concerts at his residence with a full band, and produced music of +the highest order, Händel and Sebastian Bach being his favorites, the +music being interpreted in the best manner. It is related that the old +Baron would keep Beethoven after the others had left, making him play +far into the night and would sometimes put him up at his own house so +that he might keep him a little longer. A note from the Baron to +Beethoven is preserved, in which he says, "If you can call next +Wednesday I shall be glad to see you. Come at half-past eight in the +evening with your nightcap in your pocket." + +These social successes, however, did not lead to idleness. He kept up +the practise all his life of recording his musical thoughts in +sketch-books, which latter are an object lesson to those engaged in +creative work as showing the extraordinary industry of the man and his +absorption in his work. Many of these are preserved in the different +museums, those in the British Museum being a notable collection. Some of +the work of this period was afterwards utilized by being incorporated +into the work of his riper years. + +Beethoven's talents as a performer were freely acknowledged by all with +whom he came in contact. When we come to the question of his creative +talent, we can only marvel at the slowness with which his powers +unfolded themselves. His opus 1 appeared in 1795, when he was +twenty-four years old. There was nothing of the prodigy about him in +composition. At twenty-four, Mozart had achieved some of his greatest +triumphs. + +Beethoven's work however, shows intellectuality of the highest kind, and +this, whether in music or literature, is not produced easily or +spontaneously; it is of slow growth, the product of a ripened mind, +attained only by infinite labor and constant striving after perfection, +with the highest ideals before one. + +He had been trying his hand at composition for many years, but was +always up to this time known as a performer rather than as a composer, +although he frequently played his own compositions, and had as we have +seen, great talent at improvising, which in itself is a species of +composition, and an indication of musical abilities of the highest +order. + +All the great masters of music delighted in the exercise of this talent, +although it is now rarely attempted in public, Chopin having been one of +the last to exercise it. Bach excelled in it, sometimes developing +themes in the form of a fugue at a public performance. No preparation +would be possible under these circumstances, as in many cases the theme +would be given by one of the audience. + +This art of improvising, as these masters practised it,--who can explain +it or tell how it is done? All we know is that the brain conceives the +thought, and on the instant the fingers execute it in ready obedience to +the impulse sent out by the brain, the result being a finished +performance, not only so far as the melody is concerned, but in harmony +and counterpoint as well. Mozart, at the age of fourteen, at Mantua, on +his second Italian tour, improvised a sonata and fugue at a public +concert, taking the impressionable Italians by storm, and such +performances he repeated frequently in after years. Beethoven excelled +in this direction as greatly as he afterward did in composition, +towering high over his contemporaries. Czerny, pupil of Beethoven and +afterward teacher of Liszt, states that Beethoven's improvisations +created the greatest sensation during the first few years of his stay in +Vienna. The theme was sometimes original, sometimes given by the +auditors. In Allegro movements there would be bravura passages, often +more difficult than anything in his published works. Sometimes it would +be in the form of variations after the manner of his Choral Fantasia, +op. 80, or the last movement of the Choral Symphony. All authorities +agree as to Beethoven's genius in improvising. His playing was better +under these circumstances than when playing a written composition, even +when it was written by himself. + +Once Hümmel undertook a contest with Beethoven in improvising. After he +had been playing for some time Beethoven interrupted him with the +question, "When are you going to begin?" It is needless to say that +Beethoven, when his turn came to play, distanced the other so entirely +that there was no room for comparison. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE NEW PATH + + I tremble to the depths of my soul and ask my dæmon: "Why this cup + to me?" + --WAGNER. + + Life at last has found a meaning. + --WAGNER: _Letter to Frau Wille_. + + +Reference has already been made to the fact that Beethoven's opus 1 was +published in 1795, something like three years after taking up his +residence in Vienna, and when he was twenty-four years of age. It +consists of three Trios for piano and strings. When Haydn returned from +London and heard these Trios, the master criticised one of them and +advised him not to publish it. Beethoven thought this particular one the +best of the three, and others concur with him in this opinion. Shortly +after, he published his opus 2, consisting of three sonatas dedicated to +Haydn, besides variations and smaller pieces. But this does not by any +means give the amount of his compositions for this period, some of which +were not published until many years afterward. + +All this time, Beethoven, though playing frequently at the houses of his +aristocratic friends, had not yet made his appearance in public, but +about the time that his opus 1 appeared, he played at a concert given +in aid of the Widow's Fund of the Artists' Society. He composed for this +occasion a Grand Concerto (opus 15) in C major for piano and orchestra, +taking the piano part himself. It was finished on the day preceding that +on which the concert was held, the copyists waiting in another room for +their parts. At the rehearsal, the piano being one-half note out of +tune, he transposed it into C sharp, playing it without the notes. Very +soon after, he appeared again in public, at a concert given for the +benefit of Mozart's widow, when he played one of Mozart's concertos. The +beginning once made, he appeared rather frequently as a performer, not +only in Vienna, but extended his trips the next year as far as Berlin, +where he encountered Hümmel. + +But Beethoven's mind was always turned toward composition. It had been +the aim of his life, even at Bonn, to become a great creative artist. +For this he had left his native city, and the larger opportunities for +musical culture afforded by his life in Vienna must have directed his +thoughts still more strongly into this channel. An important social +event of the period was the annual ball of the Artists' Society of +Vienna. Süsmayer, pupil and intimate friend of Mozart, the composer of +several of the "Mozart Masses," had composed music for this ball and +Beethoven was asked to contribute something likewise, with the result +that he composed twelve waltzes and twelve minuets for it. He also had +in hand at the same time piano music, songs, and studies in orchestral +composition. Nothing which he produced in these years, however, gave any +forecast of what he would eventually attain to. This is paralleled in +the case of Bach, who, up to his thirtieth year was more famous as a +performer than as composer. + +Beethoven's earlier compositions were regarded as the clever product of +an ambitious young musician. Although later in life, he all but +repudiated the published work of these years, some of the thoughts from +the sketch-books of this period were utilized in the work of his best +years. + +He acquired a habit early in life of carrying a note-book when away from +his rooms, in which he recorded musical ideas as they came to him. His +brain teemed with them; these he entered indiscriminately, good and bad, +assorting them later, discarding some, altering others, seldom retaining +a musical thought exactly as it was first presented to his +consciousness. Music became the one absorbing passion of his life. It +took the place of wife and children; it was of more importance to him +than home or any other consideration. His compositions show continual +progress toward artistic perfection to the end of his life, and this was +attained only by infinite labor. + +It may not be out of place here to reflect on the essentially unselfish +character of the man of genius. He lives and strives, not for himself, +but for others; he pursues an objective end only. Among the forces +making for the regeneration of mankind, he is foremost. + +There is little of importance to record concerning Beethoven for the few +years following the publication of his opus 1. He continued to perform +occasionally in public, and also gave a few lessons, but his time was +taken up with study and composition for the most part. It was a period +of earnest endeavor, the compositions of which consist of the better +class of piano music, as well as trios, quartets and occasional songs, +his work being much in the style of Mozart and Haydn; the quality of +emotional power and intellectuality not yet having appeared to any +extent. + +His great productions, those that show his genius well developed, are +coincident with the beginning of the nineteenth century. The years 1800 +and 1801 were an epoch with him as a composer. He was now thirty, and +was beginning to show of what stuff he was made. These two years saw the +production of some of the imperishable works of the master, namely: the +First Symphony, the Oratorio _Christus am Oelberg_, and the Prometheus +Ballet Music. It is probable that he had given earnest thought to these +works for some years previously, and had had them in hand for two years +or more before their appearance. The First Symphony calls for special +mention as in it the future Symphonist is already foreshadowed. He was +almost a beginner at orchestral work, but it marks an epoch in this +class of composition, raising it far beyond anything of the kind that +had yet appeared. Viewed in the light of later ones it is apparent that +he held himself in; that he was tentative compared with his subsequent +ones. Considered as a symphony and compared with what had been produced +in this class up to that time, it is a daring innovation and was +regarded as such by the critics. He broadened and enlarged the form and +gave it a dignity that was unknown to it before this time. + +Beethoven's sonatas are as superior to those that had preceded them as +are his symphonies. He enlarged them, developed the Scherzo from the +Minuet and made them of more importance in every way. With Haydn the +Minuet was gay and lively, a style of music well adapted to Haydn's +particular temperament and character; but Beethoven in the Scherzo +carried the idea further than anything of which Haydn had dreamed. +Before Beethoven's First Symphony appeared, he had composed a dozen or +more sonatas and was in a position to profit by the experience gained +thereby. He felt his way in these, the innovations all turning out to be +improvements. + +One has only to compare the sonatas of Mozart and Haydn with those of +Beethoven to be at once impressed with the enormous importance of the +latter. As has been stated, the experience gained with the sonata was +utilized in the First Symphony, each succeeding one showing growth. +Beethoven's artistic instinct was correct, but he did not trust to this +alone. He proceeded carefully, weighing the matter well, and his +judgment was usually right. There is evidence from his exercise books +that he had this Symphony in mind as early as 1795. It was first +produced on April 2, 1800, at a concert which he gave for his own +benefit at the Burg theatre. On this occasion he improvised on the theme +of the Austrian National Hymn, recently composed by Haydn, well known in +this country through its insertion in the Hymnal of the Protestant +Episcopal Church, under the title of Austria. Beethoven's hearing was +sufficiently intact at this time to enable him to hear his symphonies +performed, an important matter while his judgment was being formed. + +The Prometheus Ballet Music, opus 43, consisting of overture, +introduction and sixteen numbers, was first performed early in 1801, and +achieved immediate success, so much so that it was published at once as +pianoforte music. In addition to the Prometheus, there is to be +credited to this period the C minor concerto, opus 37, a septet for +strings and wind, opus 20, a number of quartets, and other compositions. +The _Christus am Oelberg_ (The Mount of Olives), opus 85, Beethoven's +first great choral work, has already been mentioned. In this oratorio +Jesus appears as one of the characters, for which he has been severely +criticised. His judgment was at fault in another respect also in having +the concert stage too much in mind. The composition at times is operatic +in character, while the text calls for a mode of treatment solemn and +religious, as in Passion-music. If set to some other text, this work +would be well nigh faultless; the recitatives are singularly good, and +there is a rich orchestration. It is reminiscent of Händel and prophetic +of Wagner. The Hallelujah Chorus in particular is a magnificent piece of +work. As is the case with the Messiah, its beauties as well as its +defects are so apparent, so pronounced, that the latter serve as a foil +to bring out its good qualities in the strongest relief. It was first +performed in the spring of 1803, in Vienna, on which occasion Beethoven +played some of his other compositions. It was repeated three times +within the year. + +Other contributions of 1801 are two grand sonatas, the "Pastorale" in D, +opus 28, the Andante of which is said to have been a favorite of +Beethoven's and was often played by him, and the one in A flat, opus 26, +dedicated to Prince Karl Lichnowsky and containing a grand funeral +march. Then there are the sonatas in E flat and C sharp minor, published +together as opus 27, and designated Quasi una Fantasia. The latter is +famous as the "Moonlight" sonata, dedicated to Julia Guicciardi. +Neither of these names were authorized by Beethoven. Besides these, +there are the two violin sonatas, A minor, and F, dedicated to Count +Fries, and lesser compositions. The Second Symphony (in D) is the chief +production of 1802. In addition there are the two piano sonatas in G, +and D minor, opus 31, and three sonatas for violin and piano, opus 30, +the latter dedicated to the Emperor of Russia. They form a striking +example of Beethoven's originality and the force of his genius, and must +have been caviar to his public. + +The Second Symphony is a great advance on the first, and consequently a +greater departure from the advice laid down to him by others. His +independence and absolute faith in himself and the soundness of his +judgment are clearly illustrated here. The composition is genial and in +marked contrast to the gloomy forebodings that filled his mind at this +time. The second movement, the Larghetto, is interesting on account of +the introduction of conversation among the groups of instruments, an +innovation which he exploited to a much greater extent in subsequent +works. In the Larghetto one group occasionally interrupts the other, +giving it piquancy. There is a rhythm and swing to it which makes it the +most enjoyable of the four movements. The critics hacked it again as +might have been expected, the result being that the next one diverged +still more from their idea of what a good symphony should be. + +It was at this period that life's tragedy began to press down on him. He +had left youth behind, and had entered on a glorious manhood. He was the +idol of his friends, although his fame as a great composer had yet to +be established. The affirmations of his genius were plainly apparent to +him, if not to others, and he knew that he was on the threshold of +creating imperishable masterpieces. A great future was opening out +before him, which, however, was in great part to be nullified by his +approaching deafness and other physical ailments. His letters at this +time to his friend Dr. Wegeler, at Bonn, and to others, are full of +misgivings. + +But not alone is this unhappy frame of mind to be attributed to +approaching deafness or any mere physical ailment. The psychological +element also enters into the account and largely dominates it. The +extraordinary character of the First and Second Symphonies seem to have +had a powerful effect on his trend of thought making him introspective +and morbidly conscientious. In a mind constituted as was his, it is +quite within bounds to assume that the revelation of his genius was +largely the cause of the morbid self-consciousness which appears in his +letters of the period, and in the "Will." He recognized to the full how +greatly superior this work was to anything of the kind that had yet +appeared; singularly the knowledge made him humble. What he had +accomplished thus far was only an earnest of the great work he was +capable of, but to achieve it meant a surrender of nearly all the ties +that bound him to life. The human qualities in him rebelled at the +prospect. With the clairvoyance superinduced by much self-examination, +he was able to forecast the vast scope of his powers, and the task that +was set him. The whole future of the unapproachable artist that he was +destined to become, was mirrored out to him almost at the beginning of +his career, but he saw it only with apprehension and dread. There were +periods when a narrower destiny would have pleased him more. "Unto +whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required." He at times +recoiled from the task, and would have preferred death instead. This was +probably the most unhappy period of his life. He had yet to learn the +hardest lesson of all, resignation, renunciation. That harsh mandate +enunciated by Goethe in Faust: "Entbären sollst du, sollst entbären," +had been thrust on him with a force not to be gainsaid or evaded. + +With such a man but one issue to the conflict was possible: obedience to +the higher law. In a conversation held with his friend Krumpholz, he +expressed doubts as to the value of his work hitherto. "From now on I +shall strike out on a new road," he said. He is now dominated by a +greater seriousness; his mission has been shown him. Adieu now to the +light-hearted mode of life characteristic of his friends and of the +time. His new road led him into regions where they could not follow; +from now on he was more and more unlike his fellows, more misunderstood, +isolated, a prophet in the wilderness. Placed here by Providence +specially for a unique work, he at first does not seem to have +understood it in this light, and reached out, the spirit of the man, +after happiness, occasional glimpses of which came to him, as it does to +all sooner or later. He soon found, however, that happiness was not +intended for him, or rather, that he was not intended for it. Something +higher and better he could have, but not this. On coming to Vienna, and +while living with Prince Lichnowsky, he made so much of a concession to +public opinion as to buy a court suit, and he even took dancing +lessons, but he never learned dancing, never even learned how to wear +the court suit properly, and soon gave up both in disgust. The principle +on which he now conducted his life was to give his genius full play, to +obey its every mandate, to allow no obstacle to come in the way of its +fullest development. That this idea controlled him throughout life, is +apparent in many ways, but most of all in his journal. "Make once more +the sacrifice of all the petty necessities of life for the glory of thy +art. God before all," he wrote in 1818, when beginning the Mass in D. +All sorts of circumstances and influences were required to isolate him +from the world to enable him the better to do his appointed work. +Probably no other musician ever made so complete a surrender of all +impedimenta for the sake of his art as did Beethoven. + +Music as an art does not conduce to renunciation, since its outward +expression always partakes more or less of the nature of a festival. The +claims of society come more insistently into the life of the musician +than in that of other art-workers, the painter or literary man, for +instance, whose work is completed in the isolation of his study. The +musician, on the contrary, completes his work on the stage. He must +participate in its rendering. He is, more than any other, beset by +social obligations; he perforce becomes to a certain extent gregarious, +all of which has a tendency to dissipate time and energy. It is only by +a great effort that he can isolate himself; that he can retain his +individuality. Beethoven's reward on these lines was great in proportion +to his victory over himself. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +HEROIC SYMPHONY + + Ach, der menschliche Intellekt! Ach "Genie"! Es ist nicht so gar + viel einen "Faust" eine Schopenhauerische Philosophie, eine Eroika + gemacht zu haben. + --Friederich Nietzshe. + + +The immediate fruit of this mental travail was a sudden growth or +expansion of his creative powers. This is apparent in his work, marking +the beginning of the second period. His compositions now suggest +thought. There is a fecundating power in them which generates thought, +and it is in the moral nature that this force is most apparent. His work +now begins to be a vital part of himself, the spiritual essence, +communicating to his followers somewhat of his own strength and force of +character. Once having entered on the new path, he reached, in the Third +Symphony, the pinnacle of greatness almost at a bound. He was now, at +thirty-four, at the height of his colossal powers. His titanic genius in +its swift development showed an ability almost preternatural. One +immortal work of genius succeeded another with marvelous rapidity. + +The Third Symphony calls for more than passing notice. Beethoven's +altruism is well known. The brotherhood of man was a favorite theme with +him. By the aid of his mighty intellect and his intuitional powers, he +saw more clearly than others the world's great need. The inequalities in +social conditions were more clearly marked in those times than now. The +French Revolution had set people thinking. Liberty and equality was what +they were demanding. Beethoven personally had nothing to gain and +everything to risk by siding with the people. All his personal friends +were of the aristocracy. It was this class which fostered the arts, +music in particular. From the time that Beethoven came to Vienna as a +young man, up to the end of his life, he enjoyed one or more pensions +given him by members of the upper classes. But his sympathies were with +the people. By honoring Napoleon with the dedication of the Third +Symphony, he would have antagonized the Imperial family, and perhaps +many of the aristocracy, but this phase of the question may not have +occurred to him, and if it had, it would not have deterred him. + +Beethoven's attitude toward Napoleon could have had no other +construction placed upon it than that of strong partisanship, since +there was no artistic bond to unite them. The arch-enemy of Imperialism, +as he was considered at this time, the mightiest efforts of the young +Corsican had hitherto been directed specially against Austria. Beethoven +did not approve of war; he expressed himself plainly on this point in +after years, but at this period considered it justifiable and necessary +as a means of abolishing what remained of feudal authority. + +Austria had been the first to feel the iron hand of Napoleon. His first +important military achievement, and what is generally conceded to be the +greatest in his entire military career, was his campaign against the +Austrians in Italy, which took place in the spring of 1796, shortly +after his marriage. His victories over them first gave him fame, not +only in France, but throughout Europe. Within a month from the time that +he took command in the Italian campaign, he won six victories over them, +giving the French army the command of the whole range of the Alps. +Within a year he had driven the Austrians out of Italy, many thousands +of prisoners were taken, ten thousand men had been killed or wounded, +fifty-five pieces of cannon had been taken, besides rich provinces, +which he looted to enrich France. He pursued his campaign into Austria, +getting to within ninety miles of Vienna with his army, where he +dictated terms of peace to the Emperor, which were highly advantageous +to France. Appalled by these catastrophies, the court was even preparing +to flee from Vienna and was arranging for the safe carriage of the +treasure, when the Emperor accepted Napoleon's terms. The humiliation to +Austria was accentuated by the fact that her armies were nearly twice +that of France. They were also in good condition, while the French +armies were ragged and half starved. With this inferior equipment +Bonaparte humbled the most haughty nation in Europe in the space of a +year. He defeated them again in 1800, at Marengo, and was at all times +their arch-enemy. + +All this happened some years before the period of which we are writing. +Beethoven regarded Napoleon as a liberator, a savior, on account of his +success in restoring order out of chaos in France. It showed +considerable moral courage on his part to come out so plainly for +Napoleon. A broader question than patriotism, however, was here +involved. Patriotism seeks the good of a small section. Altruism +embraces the good of all, thus including patriotism. + +The idea of writing the symphony to Napoleon may have been suggested to +Beethoven by General Bernadotte, who was then the Ambassador of the +French at Vienna. He and Count Moritz Lichnowsky were intimate friends +and saw a good deal of Beethoven at that time. The three young men no +doubt discussed social conditions and politics, as well as music, and it +would have been an easy task for the General, who had served under +Napoleon, to excite Beethoven's enthusiasm for the Liberator of France. +In after years, when General Bernadotte became King of Sweden, he still +retained his interest in the events of this period. + +This Symphony was the best work which Beethoven had yet accomplished; a +work the grandeur and sublimity of which must have been a surprise to +himself. It was conceived in the spirit of altruism, to show his +appreciation of the man whom he believed was destined more than any +other to uplift humanity. In the quality of its emotional expression, +and also in its dimensions, it far exceeded anything of the kind that +had yet appeared. Beethoven himself advised, on account of its great +length, that it be placed at the beginning of a program rather than at +its end. It is unique as a symphony, just as Napoleon was unique as a +man. On finishing the work he put the name of Bonaparte on the +title-page. + + BONAPARTE + + LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN. + +With perfect propriety the concept is here established that two great +men are before the world, Napoleon and Beethoven, and that the latter is +as great in his own province as was Napoleon in his, each being the +exponent of a new order of things, co-equal in the achievement of great +deeds. Posterity, in exalting the one and debasing the other, shows how +modest Beethoven was in the matter. + +He was on the point of sending it to Paris when the news was brought him +by his pupil Ries, that Napoleon was declared Emperor. In a rage +Beethoven tore off the title-page containing the dedication, and threw +it to the floor. "The man will become a tyrant and will trample all +human rights under foot. He is no more than an ordinary man!" was +Beethoven's exclamation. He finally gave it the name of Sinfonia Eroica, +in memory of a great man. It is dedicated to Prince Lobkowitz, who had +it performed before Prince Louis Ferdinand. The Prince was greatly taken +with it, at once recognizing its worth and insisting on hearing it three +times in succession the same evening. + +This year saw the production of two of Beethoven's most famous +pianoforte sonatas, the Waldstein, already referred to in this work, +dedicated to the friend of his youth, Count Waldstein, and the +Appassionata, dedicated to Count von Brunswick, sublime conceptions that +glow with the fire of genius. + +Mention must also be made of the famous Kreutzer Sonata, opus 47, for +piano and violin, which was completed prior to the Third Symphony. This +great work was originally intended for an English violinist resident at +Vienna by the name of Bridgetower, and was first performed at a morning +concert at the Augarten in May of 1803. Beethoven was at the piano and +Bridgetower played the violin part. Beethoven had completed a portion of +the work the previous year, but the violin part had to be played almost +before the ink was dry, the piano accompaniment being made up by +Beethoven as he went along. Notwithstanding this entire want of +preparation, the value of the work was so apparent that it produced an +encore. + +Beethoven changed his mind about the dedication, and a year or two later +this distinction was conferred on a friend, Rudolph Kreutzer, violinist +and composer, who had come to Vienna in 1798 with Bernadotte, and as a +matter of course, became acquainted with Beethoven. Kreutzer had been a +protégé of Marie Antoinette; afterward he was taken up by Napoleon, and +still later by Louis XVIII, each of whom he served in his musical +capacity. The Kreutzer Sonata has had a wide notoriety given it through +Tolstoy's work of that name. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +FIDELIO + + In the mind as in a field, some things may be sown and carefully + brought up, yet that which springs naturally is most pleasing. + --TACITUS. + + +The year 1805 saw Beethoven hard at work in a field new to +him,--operatic composition. It had probably been in his mind for some +years to write an opera. In those days almost every composer wrote +operas, and to have written a successful one carried with it, not only a +certain prestige, but substantial rewards in a financial sense. Outside +of the church but little opportunity was afforded the general public to +gratify its love for music other than in opera. Orchestral concerts were +comparatively rare,--song recitals unknown. The development of the +orchestra was just beginning, through the genius of Beethoven, and the +Viennese were to a great extent, still unconscious of its importance, as +a means of musical expression. The many symphonies, quartets, and other +forms of chamber-music of Haydn, Mozart and contemporaneous composers, +were for the most part written for private performance at musical +functions in the houses of the nobility, or for friends of the +composers. + +Beethoven believed that if he were to write one or two operas, his +income would be reinforced to such an extent as to enable him to give +his attention wholly to the production of symphonies and masses, a style +of composition to which he was inclined by temperament. In the early +symphonies we already have a foreshadowing of what he could do in the +production of great orchestral music, the desire for which in later +years controlled him wholly. Like most men of genius Beethoven had +little regard for money, and until middle age was reached, never thought +of saving any. He valued it only in so far as he could use it for +himself or others. It may be said in passing that he gave it away +freely, glad to be of service to others. His income, augmented by his +copyrights, did not keep pace with his expenditures; when a friend +needed money and he had none, he would give him a composition instead, +which the other would turn into cash. + +The manager of the theatre, An der Wien, had, before this, made +overtures to Beethoven to write an opera, and he went so far as to take +up his quarters in the theatre, preparatory to this work; but a change +in the management made it necessary to give up the idea for the time +being. In 1804, the offer in regard to the opera was renewed, and work +was begun upon it. It took up a large part of his time until its +production in November of 1805. It is probable that he took more pains +with this work than was devoted to any other of his compositions with +the exception of the Mass in D. His capacity for work was extraordinary, +particularly at this time, and the delight that he experienced in +producing these masterpieces was still new to him, which in itself was +an incentive to great exertion. His approaching deafness also had a good +deal to do with his great activity. The ailment had progressed steadily +from the time of its first appearance; at the time of which we write he +had abandoned all hope of any aid from medical treatment; by throwing +himself heart and soul into his work, he could forget for the time the +misfortune which was closing in on him. He feared that a period of +absolute deafness might set in when he would be unable to hear any of +his works, and the desire must have been great to accomplish as much as +possible before that time should come. + +Beethoven does not seem to have been very hard to suit in the way of a +libretto at this time. He probably gave the matter very little +consideration except on one point,--its morality. His high ideals, and +his innate purity of mind, caused him to dislike and condemn the sort of +story which was usually worked up into operatic libretti in those days, +in which intrigue and illicit love formed the staple material. He +expressed himself strongly on this subject, even criticising Mozart for +having set Don Giovanni to music, saying that it degraded the art. So +strongly did he feel about it that he seems to have thought almost any +libretto would do, provided the moral sentiment contained in it were +sufficiently prominent. Later, the experience which he gained with +Fidelio showed him that the libretto of an opera is indeed a very +important matter; then he went to the other extreme, and was unable to +find anything which would satisfy him, although many libretti were +submitted to him at various times during the remainder of his life. A +quantity of them were found among his papers after his death. Bouilly's +libretto Leonore, which had been set to music by two different composers +before Beethoven took it in hand, was finally selected, and Sonnleithner +was employed to translate it from the French. The name of the opera was +changed to Fidelio, but the various overtures written for it are still +known as the Leonore overtures. + +Beethoven took up his quarters in the theatre again as soon as the +libretto was ready for him and went to work at it with a will. But he +was not at his best in operatic writing,--this symphonist, this creator +of great orchestral forms. The opera was an alien soil to him; +composition--never an easy matter to Beethoven, was more difficult than +ever in the case of Fidelio. The sketch-books show the many attempts and +alterations in the work, at its every stage. In addition, he was +handicapped at the outset by an unsuitable libretto. The Spanish +background, for one thing, was a clog, as his trend of thought and +sympathies were thoroughly German. But this is a slight matter compared +with the forbidding nature of the drama itself, with its prison scenes, +its dungeons and general atmosphere of gloom. One dreary scene after +another is unfolded, and the action never reaches the dignity of tragedy +nor the depth of pathos which should be awakened by the portrayal of +suffering. We are unable to feel that the two principal characters are +martyrs; as one tiresome scene succeeds another, we come to care nothing +whatever about them and are unable to sympathize with them in their +suffering or rejoice in their deliverance. The first requisite in opera, +it would appear, is that it be pervaded by an atmosphere of +romanticism. Other things are necessary; the libretto must have dramatic +situations; but above all, the romantic element must prevail. If it is +difficult for the listener to become interested in an opera with such a +libretto as is Fidelio, it must be doubly so for the composer who +undertakes the task of writing music for it. A dull story hinders the +play of fancy; the imagination remains dormant, and the product under +such conditions has the air of being forced. The musician is in bonds. + +Musically, it is a work of surpassing beauty; but there is a dissonance +between music and libretto which gives the impression of something +lacking; there is not the harmony which we expect in a work of this +kind. Wagner has taught us better on these points. The music of Fidelio +has force and grandeur; some of it has a sensuous beauty that reminds us +of Mozart at his best. Had Beethoven's choice fallen to a better +libretto, the result might have been an altogether better opera. + +Fidelio affords a good instance of the fact that operatic composition, +considered strictly as music, is not the highest form in which the art +can be portrayed, and that, in itself, it is not so strictly confined to +the domain of music as is the symphony, or the various forms of sacred +music (the oratorio or the mass, for instance). It may, in the right +hands, come to be a greater work of art, viewed in its entirety, than +either of the forms just mentioned. In the hands of a man like Wagner, +it undoubtedly is, but in such a case the result is achieved by means +other than those obtained through the domain of music. Much is +contributed by the literary quality of the libretto, its poetic and +romantic qualities, its dramatic possibilities, as well as its stage +setting and the ability of the singers to act well their parts. An opera +is a combination of several arts, in which music is often subordinated. +Not so in the case of sacred music, in which the entire portrayal rests +absolutely on the musician's art. Of the works of the great composers +who wrote both classes of music, those which are devoted to religious +subjects will be found vastly superior in almost every instance, with +the one exception of Mozart's and in the case of this composer, his Mass +in B flat and the Requiem will bear comparison with any of his operas. +With no regular income, Mozart was compelled to write operas in order to +live, but his preference was for sacred music. Haydn, on the other hand, +spent no time on grand opera. Through his connection with the Princes +Esterhazy, which gave him an assured income from his twenty-ninth year +to the end of his life, he was in a position to write only the style of +music to which he was best adapted by his talents and preference. + +Above all other considerations, the opera must be made to pay. The +composers expected to make money from it, and its presentation was +always accompanied by enormous expense. Everything conspired to get them +to write what their audience would like, without considering too closely +whether this was the best they were capable of producing. In those times +all that people required of an opera was that it should entertain. If we +compare the best opera before Wagner's time with such works as Bach's +Grand Mass in B minor, or Beethoven's Mass in D, we will readily see +that the composers of those times put their best thought into their +sacred compositions. Bach, Protestant that he was, but with the vein of +religious mysticism strong in him, which is usually to be found in +highly endowed artistic natures (Wagner is an instance, also Liszt), was +attracted by the beautiful text of the Mass, its stateliness and +solemnity, and the world is enriched by an imperishable work of genius. +It is significant that he wrote no opera, and Beethoven only one. Both +composers probably regarded the opera as being less important +artistically than the other great forms in which music is embodied. + +In operatic composition, as we have seen, the musicians of those times +were too apt to write down to their public. No such temptation came to +them in their religious works, as no income was expected from this +source. Here the composer could be independent of his public, so this +branch of the art was developed to a much greater degree than the other. +A high standard was thus reached and maintained in religious music. + +Beethoven by temperament was not adapted to operatic composition. He was +too much the philosopher, his aims being higher than were desired by an +operatic audience of that time. He could best express himself in +orchestral music, and his genius drew him irresistibly in this +direction. This predilection appears throughout his works. In his purely +orchestral compositions, his genius has absolute freedom. When he came +to opera he found himself constantly hampered by new and untried +conditions. He soon found that opera has to do with something besides +music. Having once begun, however, he carried it through, perforce, by +almost superhuman efforts. + +Wagner, poet that he was, builded better. He had the temperament for +opera. He was adapted to operatic composition as if he had been +specially created for the purpose. Here was the union of the poet and +the musician in the same individual. Knowing the importance of the +drama, and aided by his literary instinct, he was able to select +interesting subjects which were well adapted to musical treatment. It +was the spirit of romanticism pervading these dramas of Wagner's which +enabled him to weave such music about them. We cannot imagine him making +good music to a poor libretto,--with Wagner the libretto and the music +were of equal importance, the two usually having been produced +simultaneously; his music fits the words so well that no other would be +desired. + +Early in the summer, Beethoven left his quarters in the theatre and went +into the country nearby, where he could work with more freedom than in +the city. No labor seems to have been too great for him in the +composition of this work. The opera was finished early in the fall of +1805, and as soon as he returned to town he began with the rehearsals. +Then he had almost as much work as in writing the opera, everything +possible having been done to worry him. His simplicity and want of tact +seem to have been very much in evidence at this time; he was like a +child compared with the astute men of affairs with whom he now came in +contact. His greatest difficulty, however, was with his singers. A man +following so faithfully the intimations of his genius as did Beethoven, +withal a man of such striking individuality and force of character, +would be sure to disregard to some extent the capacity of his +performers. His singers made no end of trouble, stating that their parts +were unsingable and asking for alterations. Some of the members of the +orchestra also complained about technical difficulties, but the master +was obdurate, refusing to make any changes. Instead of placating them, +by which means only, a good performance was possible as things went at +that time, he overrode their wishes and would make no concessions +whether in large or in small matters. To Beethoven, music as an art was +the most serious fact in his existence; to the others, it was no more +than a means of enjoyment or of subsistence. His point of view being so +different from that of the others, it is not surprising that he was +always at odds with them. Trifles often annoyed him more than gross +derelictions. At one of the rehearsals the third bassoon player was +absent and Beethoven was enraged. That anything short of illness or +disaster should keep this man from his post was a piece of insolence, an +insult to the art. Prince Lobkowitz was present, and in the effort to +pacify him, made light of the affair; he told him that this man's +absence did not matter much, as the first and second bassoonists were +present, a line of argument that served to include the Prince in +Beethoven's wrath. Hofsekretär Mahler relates the dénouement of the +incident. On the way home, after the rehearsal, as he and Beethoven came +in sight of the Lobkowitz Platz, Beethoven, with the delinquent third +bassoonist still in his mind, could not resist crossing the Platz, and +shouting into the great gateway of the palace, "Lobkowitzscher Esel" +(ass of a Lobkowitz). + +Meanwhile, the French army, with Napoleon at its head, was advancing on +Vienna and almost at the time that the opera was ready for presentation, +took possession of the city. This was on November 13, 1805. The +imperial family, the members of the nobility and every one else who +could do so, had left the city on the approach of the French forces, but +this did not discourage Beethoven. The opera was ready and must be +presented. He could not have expected much of an audience as the very +people who were interested in the subject had left the city. It was +actually put on the stage on November 20, the audience consisting, it +appears, mainly of French officers. It is not to be supposed that such a +work would appeal to them, as there was no ballet, and the melodrama, +instead of containing good jokes and risque anecdotes, was simply the +tale of a wife's devotion. No doubt the intendant of the theatre, as +well as Beethoven and the whole company were anathematized freely. It +was continued for three nights and then withdrawn. + +The work involved was enormous, both in the composition and in getting +it ready for the stage. The rewards during Beethoven's lifetime were +always slow. In its original form the opera was considered too long for +the patience of the average audience, and also in parts too abstruse, +which latter was probably its chief fault. The idea of revising it does +not seem to have occurred to Beethoven, even after it was withdrawn; it +required the utmost diplomacy on the part of his friends, Prince +Lichnowsky in particular, to bring this about. + +Beethoven had taken extraordinary pains with it up to the time of its +representation. To make alterations now would be to acknowledge himself +in error. The opera, however, was the most ambitious work he had yet +attempted; to make it a success it was necessary that it be revised and +altered considerably. With this object in view, Beethoven was invited by +Prince Lichnowsky to meet some friends at his house to discuss the +opera. The singers, Roeke and Meyer, who appeared in the cast, were of +the party; also Stephen von Breuning and Sonnleithner. The score was +studied at the piano and freely criticised. When one of the singers +plainly stated that several pieces should be omitted entire and other +portions shortened, Beethoven's rage knew no bounds. The conflict lasted +well into the night, Beethoven at bay, with all his friends pitted +against him. He defended every attack on this child of his brain, the +latest product of his genius, and at first refused any compromise, but +better counsels finally prevailed, aided probably by the Princess +Lichnowsky, who so often assumed the part of peacemaker. Beethoven +consented to some important excisions, and an entire revision of the +opera. Stephen von Breuning, who was somewhat of a poet, and had +considerable literary ability, was commissioned to make the desired +changes in the libretto, cutting it down to two acts from three. The +conference lasted until one in the morning, when, the point being +gained, the Prince ordered supper to be brought in. Being Germans and +musicians, they finished the night in the utmost good humor, Beethoven +being the best natured of all, once his consent to the revision had been +gained. + +He immediately set about writing a new overture for it, and that +imperishable work of genius, the Third Leonore overture appeared. Here +we have an epitome of the succeeding music of the opera, foreshadowing +in dramatic language, the grief and despair, and the final deliverance +and joy of the principal actors of the drama. Wagner says of this work, +"It is no longer an overture, but the mightiest of dramas in itself." +Here Beethoven could use his accustomed freedom once more. He was back +again in the familiar realm of instrumental music, and the storm and +stress of recent experiences no doubt supplied some of the material +which went into it. It is frequently used as a concert work. + +The opera was produced the following spring in the revised form and with +the new overture. The wisdom of the revision was at once apparent, but a +quarrel between Beethoven and the intendant of the theatre led to its +final withdrawal after two representations. It did not see the light +again until 1814. + +It was about this time that Beethoven first met Cherubini, whose operas +were favorites with the Vienna public. The Italian master made a stay of +several months' duration in Vienna, and attended a performance of +Fidelio. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE ETERNAL FEMININE + + If that beauty of Shiraz would take my heart in hand, I would give + for her dark mole Samarkand and Bokhara. + --HAFIZ. + + +In Beethoven's time, Vienna was the gayest capital in Europe, the Paris +of the world. The population was 300,000, every nationality in Europe +being represented. It was cosmopolitan in the widest sense. The Germans +of course predominated; then there were Hungarians, Italians, Sclavs, +Sczechs, Magyars, Poles and Turks. The Italian element was particularly +strong, and these southern and eastern races with their tendency toward +art in any form, and the particular bias of the Italians toward music +had an important influence on the Germans, modifying their seriousness. + +The theatres were splendidly equipped and there were at least four large +orchestras. Concerts for the general public were not common, the +orchestras being required for operatic performances in private houses, +which were splendidly given, as well as for state balls and other +functions. The chief business of the well-to-do (and Vienna was a rich +city), was to gratify a love for music. The cultivated class lived a +life of elegant leisure, music being its alpha and omega. As already +stated, it was an established custom with the wealthy to maintain a +small orchestra, consisting of four or five pieces for the performance +of chamber-music in their homes. Prince Karl Lichnowsky gave concerts +every Friday evening, frequently taking a part in the orchestra. Regular +weekly concerts were given by Baron von Swieten, Prince Lobkowitz, Count +Rasoumowsky and many others. It is stated that at this period there were +ten private theatres in Vienna, each with its complement of actors. It +was a common occurrence to give operettas at these private +theatres,--the ordinary parts being taken by amateurs. + +How could they, we naturally ask, get an audience, when so many +performances were in progress, and how could the people get around to so +many places? The answer is: these performances were given daily, +including Sunday, and at all hours of the day, some concerts being given +as early as six o'clock in the morning. It was indeed a "golden age for +Beethoven," as Schindler remarks. Thayer gives a list of twenty-one +great houses open to Beethoven, nine of which belonged to princes. The +young musician was often the guest of honor at the various musical +functions given by these people, and received much attention from +illustrious persons who were attracted to him by the force of his +character as well as his genius. Not in any degree a society man, rough +in exterior and careless of appearance, he was sought after by the most +exclusive of Vienna society. + +That a man of such force and originality, such independence, should have +won the lifelong friendship of those of his own sex, goes without +saying. His very scorn for the conventions and refinements of life, the +manliness which was reflected in his every act, in the tones of his +voice and the expression of his face, all this, united to such talents, +would be sure to win the enthusiastic admiration of his fellow-men. But +that the beautiful society women of the capital should have been +attracted to a man so uncouth may at first sight seem surprising, until +we consider that he attracted them in spite of these drawbacks and on +account of other qualities, such as his sensibility, his earnestness and +devotion to his art, and the wealth of his emotional and intellectual +nature. He thoroughly enjoyed standing so well socially with these +ladies, who in family connections were above him, but who were willing +to sit at his feet in homage to his genius. Beginning with hero worship +on the part of these devotees, the sentiment usually developed into the +more intimate relation of friendship or love. The "Ewig Weibliche" +appears constantly in his music and was always in his life. He formed +many romantic attachments which may not always have been Platonic, but +they were always pure. Beethoven had as chivalrous a regard for women as +had any knight of the middle ages. + +Among those with whom he became intimate are the Baroness Ertmann, the +Countess Erdödy, the sisters of the Count of Brunswick and many others. +It is interesting to note the affectionate familiarity which these +ladies permitted him. Taking into account the extreme sensibility of the +artistic temperament and the sentimental character of the Germans, it is +still surprising to meet with a letter to the Countess Erdödy, which he +begins: "Liebe, liebe, liebe, liebe, liebe Gräfin" ("Dear, dear, dear, +dear, dear Countess"), although the letter itself is simple enough and +ends: "Ihr wahrer Freund und Verehrer." He begins another letter to this +lady in a strain courtly and dignified, in marked contrast to the +excessive warmth of the previous example: "Alles Gute und Schöne meiner +lieben, verehrten, mir theure Freundin, von ihrem wahren und verehrenden +Freund." The Countess Erdödy, who is described as being witty, +cultivated and beautiful, exercised a very strong fascination on the +susceptible heart of our master, and on her side, she seems to have been +powerfully drawn to him. The friendship lasted many years. Music, the +bond that united them, sanctified their intimacy and kept it always on a +high level. Beethoven lived at her house for a time. He used to allude +to her as his father confessor. Madame Erdödy erected in honor of +Beethoven, in the park of one of her seats in Hungary, a temple, the +entrance to which is decorated with a characteristic inscription +expressing her homage to the great composer. Later in life she was +banished and died in Munich. + +The Baroness Ertmann was also a good friend to Beethoven. He called on +her frequently and her ability to interpret his works acceptably must +have cemented the friendship between them. Others with whom he came in +contact were the Countess Babette de Keglivics (Princess Odeschalchi), +and Julia Guicciardi, who became the Countess Gallenberg, and to whom he +dedicated the Sonata Fantasia, which is called the language of +resignation. + +These people on the whole were quite democratic in their relations +toward artists. There was a very elaborate ceremonial at court, but +elsewhere, cultivated people met on common ground. Ries relates an +incident illustrating the cameraderie existing between Beethoven and the +aristocratic ladies of his circle. In this instance. Princess +Lichnowsky, who was a Countess Thun, and connected with some of the best +families in Europe, was the central figure. One evening at Count +Browne's, Ries was asked to play a sonata with which he was not +familiar. Ries preferring to play something else, begged to be excused +from playing this particular one. The company was obdurate, however, and +finally appealed to Beethoven, knowing that he, if any one, could carry +the point. Beethoven turned to Ries and asked him to play it, saying: "I +am sure you will not play it so badly that you would not want me to hear +it," whereupon Ries complied, Beethoven turning the leaves for him. He +made a break in the bass part, at which Beethoven tapped him on the head +with his finger, whether to discipline him or only in play does not +appear. Later in the evening Beethoven played a sonata (opus 21), +entirely new, with which he himself was not very familiar. Princess +Lichnowsky, who had observed Beethoven's act in disciplining Ries +earlier in the evening, stationed herself back of Beethoven's chair, +while Ries turned the pages. When Beethoven made a mistake similar to +that of Ries, the Princess playfully hit him several taps on the head +with her hand, saying: "If the scholar is punished for making a slight +mistake, the master should not escape, when making a graver one," at +which all laughed, Beethoven taking the lead. Then he began again and +fairly outdid himself, particularly in the Adagio, in which the mistake +occurred. + +The virtuosity of some of the Viennese of the period was marvellous. +Allusion has been made to the ability of the professional musicians, but +the amateur performers were in many cases equally proficient. It is +related that Beethoven's friend, Marie Bigot, played the Appassionata +Sonata at sight from the manuscript for the delectation of some friends. +Madame Bigot was the wife of the librarian of Count Rasoumowsky and +evidently took a prominent part in these entertainments. Sight-reading +before a critical audience is surely a difficult enough task under the +most favoring conditions; how much more so from the manuscript, with its +excisions and corrections and general indistinctness! It was, however, +an every-day matter especially in chamber-music. Hümmel is reported as +saying: "In Vienna there are a hundred ladies who can play the piano +better than I." Another musician, writing from Vienna in 1820, said: "In +every house there is a good instrument; at one, a banker's, there are +five." + +On one occasion, some one laid before Beethoven a quartet in manuscript +which had just been composed. The band essayed it, of course at sight, +not one of the party having seen the manuscript before. The cellist got +out in the first movement. Beethoven got up, and while he kept on +playing his own part, sang the cellist's part. When this was commented +on, he remarked that the bass part _had_ to be this way if the composer +understood his business. The composer in this instance was Förster, his +old teacher. + +On another occasion, Beethoven played at sight a new and difficult +composition which had been brought him. The composer told him that he +(Beethoven), had played the Presto so fast that it would have been +impossible to see the single notes. "That is not necessary," Beethoven +replied. "If you read rapidly, many misprints may occur; you do not heed +them, if you only know the language." Wagner in his life of Beethoven +says: "The power of the musician is not to be appreciated otherwise than +through the idea of magic." It would seem so in very fact. Consider the +million combinations of which the brain has to take cognizance while +doing so comparatively simple a thing as transposing. Not to play the +particular notes which are indicated on the staff, but some others, one +or two steps higher or lower; to play four or five at a stroke, as in +piano, and to do it quickly, sixty or eighty or a hundred in a +minute,--this is almost like magic, but it is nothing to what Beethoven +frequently did in music. At a public concert at which he played, he +asked his friend Seyfried, a distinguished composer and all-round +musician, to turn the leaves for him of a new concerto written for the +occasion. "But that was easier said than done," said Seyfried who told +the story. "I saw nothing but blank leaves with a few utterly +incomprehensible Egyptian hieroglyphics which served him as guides, for +he played nearly the whole of the solo part from memory, not having had +time to write it out in full; he always gave me a sign, when he was at +the end of one of these unintelligible passages." Seyfried, thorough +musician that he was, understood the difficulties of the position for +Beethoven, and was so apprehensive of turning a page at the wrong time, +that his nervousness was observed by the master, who afterward rallied +him about it. Extempore playing is not to be compared with this, as the +concerto was written for strings and piano, Beethoven taking the piano +part. + +The three quartets, opus 59, known as the Rasoumowsky Quartets, to which +a passing reference has been made, take their name from having been +dedicated to Count Rasoumowsky, who was the Russian ambassador. The +Count had married a sister of the Princess Lichnowsky and was a +cultivated man whose greatest delight was music. He lived in great state +in a palace, then on the outskirts of Vienna, now used as the Geological +Institute. He was closely identified with the musical life of Vienna, +and shortly after these quartets appeared, formed a string quartet of +distinguished musicians, which he maintained for many years, taking the +part of second violin himself. It is almost needless to state that +Beethoven's work took precedence in the repertoire. + +The first of the three quartets, the one in F, has an Adagio movement on +which Beethoven inscribed in the sketch-book, "Eine Trauerweide oder +Akazienbaum aufs Grab meines Bruders." [A weeping willow or acacia tree +over my brother's grave.] Beethoven had indeed lost an infant brother +twenty-three years before this event, but it is not likely that he was +thus tardily commemorating him. His brother Kaspar Karl was married the +day before this quartet was begun and it is probably a humorous allusion +to that circumstance. But if his brother's marriage was an occasion for +humor at the beginning, it lapsed afterward into the sternest tragedy in +its effect on the master's life, as will be seen further on in these +pages. + +These quartets are monuments to Beethoven's genius and are classed among +the best examples of chamber-music. The Adagio of the second one was +thought out by Beethoven one night while contemplating the stars. +Somewhat of the infinite calm and serenity of his mood is imparted to +it. The incident is related by Czerny to whom it was related by +Beethoven himself. The quartets were generally disliked and condemned by +musicians when first produced. Cherubini said that they made him sneeze. +Others said that Beethoven was music-mad, that they could not be called +music, that they were too difficult, unintelligible, and so on. That was +close onto a century ago, and they are still unintelligible to some, but +we now know that this is not the fault of the quartets as was so naively +assumed at that time. The condemnation of them by the performers has a +show of reason in it as they taxed their capacity too severely. Wagner +had the same thing to contend with for the same reason. + +After the withdrawal of Fidelio, noted in the last chapter, and with the +advent of summer, Beethoven left Vienna on a visit to Count Brunswick, +at his seat in Hungary. The Count was a man of exceptional intellectual +ability, who had the greatest reverence and admiration for Beethoven's +genius. Beethoven was also on excellent terms with the Count's sisters, +and later became engaged to one of them, the Countess Therese. It is +well known that the Countess Therese exercised a powerful fascination +over him, but so did many another of the gifted Vienna ladies in the +course of his life. + +So vast a quantity of work was accomplished by the master during this +summer, that it is likely the proximity of these friends only served to +stimulate his genius. The Appassionata Sonata was worked over, the +Rasoumowsky Quartets were finished, as well as the Fourth Symphony, +besides lesser works, so that he could not have spent much time in +social intercourse. He was in the period of his greatest productivity; +the creative instinct was strong in him and impelled him onward in his +work to the exclusion of other desires. Even friendship had to give way +in great measure to the passion for creating which had become a +necessity of his existence. + +That the life was a tranquil and contented one may be inferred by the +character of the Fourth Symphony. Beethoven loved country life, and +surrounded as he was by his friends, whose first thought was for him, he +had everything to make him satisfied. The serenity which speaks to us +through the Fourth Symphony is something for which the world should ever +be grateful. Our highest happiness often comes to us through the frame +of mind superinduced by external influences. This symphony is a song of +joy, ecstatic in its pure exuberance of spirits; again, it is a +benediction that breathes into our minds somewhat of its own spirit of +calm and content. The storm and stress of life is forgotten; all is +holiday humor. We are in the midst of a Shakespearian comedy, with its +alternations of humor and sentiment, its joyous atmosphere, its idyllic +simplicity; the forest of Arden has come to us. It was written to +celebrate his engagement to the Countess Therese. In it he is inspired +by the very genius of happiness. It is as if, having obtained his +heart's desire, he invites us to partake with him the joy that the gods +have provided. + +But it is only for once, as if to emphasize the fact that happiness is +not the object of existence and is not even our right primarily. He +gives few instances in which the element of pain or sadness does not +enter to some extent. His works abound in psychological suggestion; +they illustrate every phase of life. The philosophic import of the +Fourth Symphony is plain. He demonstrates the rarity of pure unalloyed +happiness in actual life by the few examples in his compositions in +which it reigns supreme. Joy enters incidentally into most of his works. +Often it dominates them. He recognized it as part of the scheme of life, +but it is usually qualified by other conditions and is only attained +through persistent effort; it is never our portion until earned. It does +not come unsought like pain and suffering. The Fourth Symphony is +lighter than the "Eroica" which preceded it, or the C minor which comes +next. The language of joy is always more or less superficial. The +tragedies of life have to be told in stronger language, since they go +deeper. Happiness is negative, pain positive. The comedies of +Shakespeare, in which the note is usually buoyant and felicitous, do not +stir us as do the tragedies. + +Beethoven's visit at Count Brunswick's continued throughout the summer +of 1806. He left the Brunswicks in October, but instead of returning to +Vienna as was his wont in the autumn, he turned his face toward Silesia, +on a visit to Prince Lichnowsky who had an estate there. But the idyllic +life left behind at Count Brunswick's was not to be repeated here. His +stay was destined to be short owing to a violent quarrel between the +Prince and him, which caused an estrangement lasting some years. The +circumstances leading up to it can be briefly narrated. When Beethoven +arrived at the castle of Prince Lichnowsky, he found other guests there, +uninvited but not unexpected, consisting of French officers who had been +quartered on the Prince. Napoleon had overrun Germany, and was master +wherever he went. Beethoven's rage against him for making himself +Emperor had not abated; his dislike extended to the officers as well, +and he was not there long before hostilities began in good earnest. It +all came about from a desire on the part of the officers that Beethoven +play for them. He had the penetration to know that he was regarded +simply as a curiosity, that he was called on because no better +entertainment was available. Had there been a juggler or a ballet-dancer +on hand, these latter might have been preferred. At dinner, a +staff-officer had asked him quite innocently if he could play the cello, +to which no answer was given; the frown on Beethoven's face, however, +boded ill for the evening's festivities. It had been announced that he +would play for them, and they expected it as a matter of course. + +In the nature of things it could not be expected that these men would be +able to appreciate Beethoven, or understand much of his art. His +reverence for it was great; he felt that it would be a degradation, in a +sense, to play for them under the circumstances, and refused. The +Prince, with the amiable desire of pleasing his guests, urged the +matter, but Beethoven continued obdurate; upon which he told him, +probably by way of a joke, that he must either comply or that he would +be confined in the castle as a prisoner of war for disobeying orders. +This persistence so enraged him that, although it was night, he left the +castle without the Prince's knowledge, and walked three miles to +Trappau, the nearest post-town. He remained here overnight, and, while +waiting for the post-chaise, wrote the following letter to Prince +Lichnowsky: + +"Prince! what you are you owe to chance and birth. What I am, I am +through myself. There has been, and will yet be thousands of princes, +but there is only one Beethoven."[A] + +[A] Frimmel's Beethoven. + +It was raining when he left the castle, and the manuscript of the +Appassionata Sonata, hastily packed, became water-soaked and blurred; it +bears the marks of that night's journey to the present day. + +Some difficulty was experienced in procuring his passport for Vienna. It +could readily have been obtained by having recourse to Prince +Lichnowsky, but Beethoven would not permit this. The matter was finally +arranged, and he proceeded on his journey. He nursed his wrath all the +way, and on reaching his quarters in Vienna, his first act was to smash +a bust of the Prince which stood on a bookcase. + +Although a reconciliation was effected later, the old cordial relations +were never restored. There were times when the Prince called on +Beethoven and was not received, when the latter was not in the mood for +seeing him. Through his wilfulness, Beethoven lost the annuity which the +Prince had settled on him on his coming to Vienna. The initiative in +this matter was probably taken by Beethoven himself, as may be inferred +from a letter he writes to a friend two years later: "My circumstances +are improving without having recourse to people who treat their friends +insultingly." + +The winter of 1806-7 was a period of great activity for Beethoven, +although a felon on his finger must have stopped all work for a while. +Some important works were published, notably the Eroica Symphony and +the Appassionata Sonata. Along with acceptances came commissions, so +that his finances appear to have been in a flourishing condition for the +time. + +Beethoven's engagement to the Countess Brunswick was entered into with +the consent of her brother. Count Brunswick, who was the only one +permitted to share the secret. Every precaution was taken to prevent a +knowledge of it coming to the ears of Therese's mother, who would not +for a moment have listened to an argument leading to a possible union of +her daughter with the poor musician. + +That Beethoven had marriage in mind is evident from the fact that he +once got so far as to write to Bonn for a copy of his baptismal +certificate as a necessary preliminary. He wrote in his note-book on the +subject as follows: "Oh God! Let me attain her who is destined to be +mine and who shall strengthen me in virtue." But it never got any +further. The secrecy so strictly enjoined, must have been specially +unpleasant to a man of Beethoven's temperament. The opposition that was +sure to be developed on the part of the Countess's family may have +reverted on his sense of pride to such an extent as to lead him to +sacrifice his love to it. He always had his work to fall back on. In the +end, his art took precedence of all other considerations; while it +permitted friendship, the serenity of which might aid him in his +life-work, it excluded love, which might become a rival. His concept of +life was to live simply, to entertain no project which would in any way +divert his mind from his work. No mere desires of self were to be +considered. + +The Countess Therese never married, but occupied herself with +philanthropic work on reaching middle-age. She founded a home for little +children in Vienna, the first of its kind in Austria; her own means not +being sufficient to maintain it, she enlisted the support of powerful +friends from the Empress down, in its behalf. She died in 1861, aged 83. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +VICTORY FROM DEFEAT + + To those whom heaven favors, the greatest evils turn to greatest + good. + --GIORDANO BRUNO. + + +Of the summer of 1807, the most notable achievement is the Mass in C. It +was written at Heiligenstadt, where he wrote the Heroic Symphony some +years before. He remained until autumn hard at work on this, his first +mass, as well as on some orchestral works, including, probably the +Symphony in C minor, as well as the Pastoral Symphony. + +It is rather singular that Beethoven, whose nature was on the whole +essentially religious, although he affiliated with no church, did not +take earlier to mass composition. Some of the best work of Mozart and +Haydn is in this form; as organist he must have been familiar with their +masses. One can readily believe that the emotional quality of certain +portions of Mozart's Mass in B flat, such as the Et incarnatus and the +Agnus Dei, must have strongly appealed to him. His thoughts often went +toward religious music, and it was easy for him to compose in this +style. He recognized the mass as one of the great art-forms, equal to +the oratorio or the opera. From Bach's time on, it may indeed be said to +have been regarded in this light. It is quite evident that Bach so +considered it when composing his grand mass in B minor, which in +difficulty of execution, as well as in its extraordinary length, is no +longer practicable as a church service, its range in all directions +going beyond the requirements of a congregation, or the capacity of the +choir. + +It is evident that Beethoven enjoyed working on the Mass, and was quite +at home in this form of composition. Here was plain sailing; he knew +what he wanted to do, and went at it without hesitation. There is none +of that doubt and groping which is the case with Fidelio, which was +continually being worked over, and in reality, never was finished. That +religious works had a great hold on his mind, appears from a letter to +his publisher in after years in which he states that if he had an +independent income he would write nothing but grand symphonies, church +music and perhaps quartets. In another letter dated March 29, 1823, +toward the close of his life, he stated his intention of writing three +more masses. + +In the Mass in C a new theory is developed in mass composition. It +differs radically from the style of church composition made popular by +Haydn and Mozart, beautiful as some of that is. Their music is a concord +of sweet melodies, illustrating the peace and happiness which a +contemplation of the religious life affords. Acting on the principle +that beauty is its own excuse for being, they give many examples where +the music does not even attempt to fit the sentiment of the words. The +Kyrie of Haydn's Imperial Mass would do for a Te Deum, or a Song of +Triumph rather than a cry for help. The Kyrie of Mozart's Mass in B flat +is an Italian street song which he heard on one of his tours in Italy +and worked over for this Mass, and is not at all adapted to the words. +There are ideas in the Mass in C which neither Mozart nor Haydn would +have tried to attain. Beethoven's aim here is not to please the ear by +beautiful melodies, although he does that often enough, but to stir the +soul. He bears a message to the listener, which it is greatly to his +interest to get at. The Mass in C depicts our innermost experiences. It +has a mission and is not simply an end in itself. The Symphonist here +shows his individuality as may be expected, since it was composed after +Coriolanus, the first four symphonies, Fidelio. In many places the +orchestra becomes an independent entity, abandons the choral part, and, +rising into majestic strains unattainable in choral composition, tells +the story of Christianity in its own powerful way. In Beethoven this +ascendency of the orchestra is first apparent; he has demonstrated for +all time its greater importance as a means of musical expression than +the voice. + +[Musical notation.] + +The work throughout is cast on a higher plane than any mass which had +appeared since Bach's Mass in B minor. It was written for Prince +Nicholas Esterhazy, whose grandfather was Haydn's patron, and was first +sung in the chapel of the Prince at Eisenstadt, on the name-day of his +wife, the Princess Marie. Hümmel was Kapellmeister there, but Beethoven +conducted the performance on this occasion. + +The Prince evidently was of the opinion that having ordered the work, +the master would consider his preferences and prejudices in the +composition of it, as Haydn would have done, but as Beethoven could not +have done, had he wished. The result was that Prince Esterhazy failed to +see its purport or significance and was unable to comprehend it. +Beethoven should not have been surprised at this, since he knew himself +to be in advance of his time. At the conclusion of the service the +Prince made the rather inane remark, "but my dear Beethoven, what have +you been doing now?" in allusion to the mass. Beethoven, deeply +offended, left abruptly, and returned to Vienna. It may be said in +passing that Beethoven frequently managed to disappoint the persons for +whom he wrote. This did not lead him to doubt or distrust his powers, +knowing intuitively that posterity would justify him. The Mass in C is +to-day one of the best known of all masses, and is frequently performed +at high festivals in churches having a good equipment of chorus and +orchestra. + +Another great work which was completed about this time was the Symphony +in C minor (The Fifth). Here we have a work wholly subjective. It +reflects his soul experiences. His approaching deafness brought him face +to face with the greatest trouble of his life. The malady progressed +slowly but steadily, and rendered him at times hopeless. His suffering, +his despair, his resignation and final triumph are embodied in it. It is +a subtle analysis of some of the deep problems of life. The history of +his own mental state is depicted here. If we consider his malady in its +bearing on his life, we have the story of Tantalus told again. Here was +a man whose thoughts translated themselves into splendid tone-pictures +which the orchestra was to portray. With the mental equipment to create +a new era in his art, the medium by which he could apprehend his works +was being closed to him. "Is a blind painter to be imagined?" asks +Wagner in this connection. If we can imagine a great painter painting +his masterpieces, but never being permitted to see any, an analogy may +be found in the exclusion of Beethoven from all participation in the +rendering of his works, which was the case in his later years, being +unable even to conduct them. He wanted to test his work, to ascertain +how it would sound in the concert hall, and even at this time the high +tones of the violins, which he put to such exquisite uses in later +years, and which were such an inspiration to Wagner, were lost to him. +By the aid of his philosophy, however, he accepted the situation, +resolving to make the best of it; to keep on achieving, to turn his +defeats into victories. Beethoven's symphonies mean much in their +application to the common life of humanity. Knowing them even +approximately, we often find texts which illumine them in the writings +of men who went below the surface of things, Emerson, or Carlyle, or +Schopenhauer. Thus Carlyle, writing on Dante says: "He has opened the +deep unfathomable oasis of woe that lay in the soul of man; he has +opened the living fountains of hope, also of penitence." Does not the +mind instantly revert to the C minor Symphony? + +Next in the order of Beethoven's great works comes the Pastoral +Symphony, named at first "Recollections of country life." Easily +comprehended, as any picture of country life should be, he yet deemed it +necessary to give a short explanation at each movement, illustrating the +meaning which he wished to convey, although he qualifies this with the +words, "mehr Ausdruck der Empfindung als Malerei." [An expression of +sensibility rather than painting.] In everything relating to his art +Beethoven was tentative. In the sketch-book of this Symphony there is an +inscription in his handwriting, "Man überlässt den Zuhörer sich selbst +die Situationen auszufinden." [The hearer should be left to find out the +situations for himself,] showing that, on considering the matter +carefully he changed his mind, and concluded after all, that the +explanations were permissible. In but few instances has Beethoven +vouchsafed any explanation of his musical intent, and then it seems to +have been done reluctantly. It was hardly necessary in the case of the +Pastoral Symphony as it is comparatively easy of comprehension. The +title gives the clew; the occasional bird notes of quail, cuckoo and +lark, the scene at the brook, could hardly be mistaken; while the +dance-music in Part III, as well as the storm with its forebodings of +terror, convey their meaning plainly to the average intelligence. This +poem of nature is always enjoyable, refreshing the mind, and resting the +jaded faculties, much as a trip to the country helps us physically. + +The explanations as Beethoven appended them are as follows: + +No. I. Allegro: The awakening of cheerful feelings on arriving in the +country. + +No. II. Andante: Scene at the Brook. + +No. III. Allegro: Merry meeting of country folk. + +No. IV. Allegro: Thunder-storm. + +No. V. Allegretto: Song of the Shepherds, and glad and thankful feelings +after the storm. + +Many great composers before and after Beethoven have essayed this +portrayal of a storm, Händel, Haydn (Seasons), Glück, Mozart, Rossini +(William Tell overture), Chopin, Wagner (Flying Dutchman), are a few +instances. + +The Pastoral Symphony has been dramatized so to speak, that is, it has +been put on the stage, the different situations of this nature-poem +having been portrayed by living and moving tableaux, pantomimic action +and ballet; there was scenery, and the dance of the peasants and the +thunder-storm were, no doubt, realistic enough. This representation took +place at a festival of the _Künstler Liedertafel_ of Düsseldorf in 1863, +also in London. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +MEETING WITH GOETHE + + Eine schöne Menschenseele finden ist Gewinn. + --HERDER. + +Beethoven did not have the faculty of teaching except in rare instances. +It is not in the nature of things that such a man would consider +teaching in any other light than drudgery, and would feel that time so +spent could have been much better employed in composition. This was the +case already in Bonn, when he had no income and before his creative +talent had shown itself. He was only too glad to abandon it as soon as +proper encouragement for composition came to him from his publishers. +Here and there an attractive lady would be able to cajole him into +giving a few lessons on the pianoforte--the Brunswick sisters and Madame +Ertmann are instances, but they were intermittent in character, and did +not continue long. Two prominent exceptions, however, were the Archduke +Rudolph and Ferdinand Ries. True, Czerny was a pupil also, but the +lessons did not continue long, as was the case with the Archduke and +Ries. + +Beethoven's acquaintance with the Archduke began in the winter of 1804. +Rudolph, then sixteen years of age, seems to have attached himself to +Beethoven, then thirty-four, more as a friend than as a pupil. Other +masters could have been found under whom he would have advanced more +rapidly, and it is quite likely that the Imperial family would have +preferred some other than Beethoven, whose republican principles must +have made him disliked by them. + +The Archduke was passionately devoted to music and the friendly +relations between master and pupil were maintained almost to the end of +the master's life. Rudolph had to put up with Beethoven's outbreaks of +temper much the same as if he had been a civilian. He treated this young +Prince, brother of the reigning Emperor, much the same as his other +friends, and Rudolph had to adapt himself to his master's wishes. He +ordered his chamberlain to set aside the observance of the rigid +etiquette of the Court, established by his mother, Maria Louisa of +Spain, when he learned that it was one of the things which made +Beethoven lose his temper. Some of the master's best work was written +specially for Rudolph and when the latter left Vienna in 1809, Beethoven +wrote the sonata, Les Adieux L'absence, et le Retour, to commemorate the +occasion. He inscribed it as follows: "Der Abschied am vierten Mai +gewidmet und aus dem Herzen geschrieben." Rudolph had an intuitive +perception of Beethoven's greatness and was glad to be near him, not +only to learn from him, but to enjoy his friendship. He carefully +preserved Beethoven's letters and in every way showed his regard for +him. On the high level which music made for these men, artificial +distinctions were forgotten; the Prince became the disciple. He was a +fine performer, with, as may be supposed, special reference to +Beethoven's works. Beethoven was, no doubt, impressed by Rudolph's rank, +although there is very little evidence of it in the anecdotes which we +have relating to them. He met his friends on the common ground of his +art, where he found no superior. + +As before stated Beethoven did not take to teaching. It was +_Dientschaft_ to him in the full sense of the word. He does not seem to +have interested himself as much in Rudolph as in Ferdinand Ries. In the +case of the latter an artist was being prepared for a career; some of +Beethoven's own skill as performer was being perpetuated in Ries, while +with Rudolph no amount of technical knowledge would have advanced the +art much. He not only accepted no payment from Ries for the lessons +given him, but frequently sent him money unsolicited when he had reason +to suppose he needed it. In the old Bonn days, after the death of +Beethoven's mother, when the young man was in sore straits, Ferdinand's +father, who was a member of the Elector's orchestra with Beethoven, had +helped the latter in word and deed. Ferdinand then was but four years of +age. Beethoven was famous by the time Ferdinand had reached manhood; +when he presented himself to the master with a letter from his father, +he was cordially received, and was soon on the footing of an intimate +friend. Beethoven when giving him lessons was patient to a degree that +was not natural to him. "I attribute this," he states, "as well as the +long continued friendship he maintained toward me, largely on account of +the esteem and regard he felt for my father. He often made me repeat an +exercise ten times. The lessons frequently lasted two hours. He was not +generally so particular about lapses in execution, but if I was lacking +in expression, in crescendo and diminuendo, he would make me repeat the +passage until he was satisfied." Ries made good use of his +opportunities, and became a distinguished performer on the piano, +ranking in this respect as high as any man of his time. + +An offer to Beethoven of the post of Kapellmeister by the King of +Westphalia, Napoleon's brother, in 1809 brought about one of the +inevitable quarrels that marked Beethoven's association with his +intimates. Ries was the victim this time. Beethoven's dislike of +Napoleon, and the French in general, should have been sufficient to +deter him even from considering the matter. The post carried with it a +good salary however, 600 ducats (about $1,400), and the duties were +light. It meant a comfortable maintenance with plenty of time for +composing, and from this point of view, the offer had its attractions. A +certain fixed income, through which he could be independent of his +publishers, was what he chiefly desired. From every other point of view, +however, the project must have been distasteful to him. At middle-age, +the mind of such a man, occupied almost wholly with an ideal world, +shrinks from encountering new and untried scenes. Had he accepted it, he +probably never would have remained, as his love for Vienna and the old +and tried friends left behind would have acted as a magnet irresistibly +drawing him back. He seems not to have considered it seriously. As soon +as the matter became known, however, the Archduke and two other of +Beethoven's friends, the dashing young Prince Kinsky (who for bravery at +the battle of Aspern was decorated on the field with the Maria Theresa +cross by the Archduke Charles), and Beethoven's old friend Prince +Lobkowitz--got together and made up an annuity of 4,000 florins, paper +money. Of this sum the Archduke contributed 1,500 florins, Prince +Lobkowitz 700 and Prince Kinsky 1,800. Owing to the depreciation in +paper money the amount was considerably reduced shortly after, but he +continued to draw from this source about $700 per year to his death +according to Sir George Grove. + +Beethoven delayed giving a decided answer while the negotiations for the +annuity were dragging along. When it became evident that he would not +accept the position, the offer was made to Ries. Some officious person +informed Beethoven that Ries was trying to get the post away from him in +a questionable manner. This was not true, but Beethoven broke off all +relations with him and would not see him for three weeks. The anecdote +as related by Ries is as follows: "After Beethoven had declined the +position, I at once sought him to ascertain if he really did not intend +taking the post, and to get his counsel in the matter. But whenever I +called, Beethoven was not in, and my letters to him met with no +response. Three weeks elapsed when I met him accidentally on the +Redoubte; I went up to him and told him the object of my visits. +Beethoven looked me over and said cuttingly, 'So! and do you think you +could fill a post that has been offered to me?' and left me. Determined +on having an understanding with him I again sought him the following +morning. His servant in an impudent manner told me that Beethoven was +not in, although I heard him singing and humming in an inner room, as +was his habit when composing. I attempted to enter forcibly, upon which +the servant took hold of me, with the intention of putting me out. I +grappled with him and threw him to the floor. Beethoven hearing the +noise came out in a rage. I was equally angry and heaped reproaches on +his head. The master was too astonished to answer, but stood looking at +me. Finally, explanations were offered and then I first learned of +Beethoven's grievance against me. I had no difficulty in proving my +innocence in the matter, and Beethoven, to make amends, at once left his +work and went out with me to see about the position, but it had already +been given out." Ries finally went to England where he acquired fame and +fortune. He kept up a correspondence with Beethoven to the end; some of +the master's most interesting letters are those written in his later +years to his former pupil. Ries became a very prolific composer, whose +works embrace almost every class of music, among which is to be +mentioned several operas, oratorios, symphonies, much chamber-music, and +many pianoforte sonatas, none of which, however have survived to the +present day. + +The settlement of the question about his remaining in Vienna, and the +security of the future brought about by the annuity, had the effect of +increasing the productivity of the master. The sketch-books of this +period abound in studies for orchestral, chamber and vocal studies. It +was characteristic of Beethoven to show in this manner his appreciation +of the compliment tendered him. The year 1809 was not propitious to +creative work. War raged in Vienna and vicinity. The city was bombarded +by the French in May, and was occupied by them much of the summer. +Several important battles were fought nearby. Contrary to his usual +custom, Beethoven remained in the city throughout the summer. His +residence was in an exposed position on the bastion, where he remained +the larger part of the time, occasionally visiting his brother Karl, who +also remained. He was at Karl's home while the bombardment was going on, +and, during the worst of it, sought refuge in the cellar, where he even +padded his ears to escape the noise. The terrific reports on the +inflamed tissues of his ears distressed him greatly, and must have added +permanent injury to the organs already in a bad condition. + +That the achievement of the solitary worker during the summer was more +important and far-reaching in its effects than that of the belligerents, +will hardly be gainsaid. The latter wasted a lot of ammunition, +destroyed human beings and property, and made a good deal of noise for +the time being, after which things settled down to about the same +condition as before; while Beethoven added solid wealth to the world in +its most lasting form. + +There is a falling off in his compositions the following year, which is +generally attributed to the breaking of his engagement with the Countess +Therese. That he should have suffered to such an extent on this account, +is at least open to question. His art was of more importance to him than +any other fact in life. It was only by a complete surrender of +everything else that he achieved what he did in it. He had many bitter +disappointments at different periods of his life, which, however, did +not take him away from his work. At all events, he gave no sign, +contrary to his usual habit. He was reticent on the subject of his +compositions, but was not averse to talking of his troubles. A man so +entirely given over to one idea, as was Beethoven, could hardly take +such a step as marriage at the age of forty, thereby changing his whole +course of life. The passion for creating had grown to such an extent, +that he became impatient of everything which interfered with it. It is +possible that the Countess Therese, noting this, felt that there would +be little chance for happiness in such a union, and wisely broke it off. +He could not have been considered eligible in any event by a family like +the Brunswicks, noted for extravagant living and a desire to occupy a +prominent place in society. Beethoven's income was never large. It was +at times insufficient for his simple wants, owing to his ignorance of +the value of money. That he managed to fall in love with a frequency +only equalled by his impetuosity, must be admitted. But when the +question came fairly before him, marriage or music, he had but one +course. His art was a jealous mistress which would brook no rival. If he +took the breaking of his engagement so much to heart that it interfered +with his work, how was it possible, we may ask, for him to have made +violent love to Bettina Brentano during this summer of 1810? Within two +years afterward he was as badly smitten with Amalie Seebald the singer. +We can only reiterate the former statement, music was his one passion, +in this he was supreme. His art had so strong a hold on him that nothing +else could come between. These love affairs were episodes in his social +life. They were as episodical with the ladies concerned, who later, +generally married in their own station, and, let us hope were happy ever +afterward. + +The artistic temperament will account for these rhapsodies. Ill health +in this period probably had as much to do with his lessened +productivity as anything else. Schindler states that he had been on bad +terms with his stomach for many years of his Vienna life. Confirmation +of this is to be found in Beethoven's letters in which complaints about +stomach and intestinal troubles are frequently met with in these years. +These gastro-intestinal disturbances which so afflicted him had their +origin in the chronic liver trouble to which he finally succumbed. + +In the spring of 1812 he resolved by the advice of his physician to try +the baths of Bohemia, and we find him at Töplitz, one of many +notabilities, who were spending the summer at this place. Here he made +the acquaintance of Goethe whom he held in great esteem. It was here +also that he met Amalie Seebald of whom mention has already been made. +She was a fine singer, and a beautiful, amiable woman of considerable +talent. Beethoven wrote the following in her album: + + Ludwig van Beethoven + Den Sie wenn Sie wollten + Doch nicht vergessen sollten. + + Ludwig van Beethoven + Whom if you would + Forget, you never should. + +It may be said in passing, that she was not the last to whom Beethoven +yielded his susceptible heart. It would make a long list were it +arranged chronologically, from the early Bonn days to his forty-fifth +year. + +[Illustration: Fac-simile of a letter from Beethoven to Amalie Seebald, +written by Töplitz; during the summer of 1812. The autograph, from which +the fac-simile is obtained, is in the Lenox Library, New York, and was +photographed for this work by permission of the librarian.] + +[Transcriber's note: The letter reads thus (words that I'm not sure +of are marked with asterisks) "Es geht schon liebe A. besser wenn Sie +es anständig heißen, allein zu mir zu kommen, so können Sie mir eine +große Freude machen, ist [a]ber daß Sie dieses unanständig finden, so +wißen Sie, wie ich die Frejheit aber Menschen ehre, und *wie Sie dies +*heuer hierin und in andren Fällen handeln mögen nach ihren Grund für +zueinander wie Mühe, mich finden Sie *nur gut und als + +"Ihren Freund +Beethoven"] + +An incident of his visit at Töplitz, showing Beethoven's humility and +kindliness will bear narrating, as it was characteristic of the +man. It relates to a stern parent, a lovely daughter, an ardent wooer. +The first two characters of the _dramatis personæ_, were the innkeeper, +at whose house Beethoven dined, and his daughter. The part of lover was +taken by Ludwig Löwe, an actor, while Beethoven's part in the little +drama is not much more important than that of scene-shifter. Löwe was a +man in good standing, and came from a family of some prominence, but the +father objected to him and forbade the daughter speaking to him. It +appears that Beethoven was in the habit of coming late for dinner, so +the plan was hit upon that Löwe was to take dinner late also, at which +hour, the other guests having eaten and gone, and business being over +for the time, the father was not apt to be around to interfere. "All the +world loves a lover." Beethoven was an interested spectator of the +little comedy, no doubt casting occasional friendly glances in the +direction of the young couple. The father finally appeared on the scene, +ordered the actor to leave the house, and forbade him coming there any +more. At this crisis the lovers were in despair, that is for a while. +Love laughs at locksmiths, as we know, and it had not got so far as that +yet. Löwe, with the resources of a true lover, managed to meet Beethoven +accidentally away from the inn, and looked at him so intently that he +was rewarded by an answering nod of recognition from the master. The ice +being broken, the actor disclosed his troubles. Meeting with sympathy, +he was emboldened to ask him to deliver a letter to Fräulein Therese. To +this Beethoven agreed, and, taking the letter, started to go, thus +closing the interview. But Löwe was not so easily gotten rid of. With an +embarrassed manner, he managed to convey to Beethoven the fact that +there would be an answer. "So! And you wish me to deliver it? Well, meet +me here to-morrow;" and so Beethoven became the go-between for the +lovers during the remainder of his stay in Töplitz. + +Allusion has already been made to the acquaintance which he formed with +Goethe this summer. That Beethoven had the highest esteem for the poet, +there is no doubt. In speaking of him in after years, he said, "Who can +thank sufficiently a great poet? He is the most precious jewel of the +nation" (kostbarste Kleinod einer Nation), which is much like Carlyle's +remark on the great poet. "The appearance of such a man (Goethe) at any +given era, is in my opinion the greatest thing that can happen in it. A +man who has the soul to think and be the moral guide of his own nation +and of the whole world." Goethe and Beethoven were on friendly terms and +saw a good deal of one another during this summer. The acquaintance must +have made a powerful impression on Beethoven. Goethe, the senior by many +years, whose transcendent intellect had won him a world-wide reputation, +was no doubt the cynosure of all eyes. Töplitz was full of notabilities. +Thayer gives a long list of prominent persons, from royalty down, who +sojourned there this summer. It must have been a very agreeable +experience to the younger genius, whose fame had not yet penetrated much +beyond Germany, this friendship. Had he possessed a tithe of the worldly +wisdom of the elder man, and had regulated his conduct in accordance +with the prejudices of the other, the friendship might have continued. +Much as he desired this, it does not seem to have occurred to him to +even try to make a good impression. Utterly lacking in self-control, he +remained the same headstrong impulsive creature, while in Goethe's +company, that he had always been. Whether or not the story is true of +his meeting the Imperial family while with Goethe and disdaining even to +answer their salutations, walking on and compelling the party to divide +so as to give him the middle of the walk, while Goethe stood aside +bowing low with uncovered head,--it is nevertheless more than probable +that Beethoven showed his scorn for conventionality in numerous ways, +thereby calling down on himself Goethe's disapproval. Born courtier that +he was, it must have been mortifying in the extreme to him to be with +Beethoven and witness his rudeness and contempt for appearances. + +So far as known, Goethe never had anything more to do with him after +this summer. On leaving Töplitz he writes to Zelter, Director of the +Berlin Singakademie, mentioning Beethoven casually or as an +afterthought, and alludes to him as an "entirely untamed (_ungebändigt_) +person." From this time on, he seems to have excluded him from his +thoughts. Beethoven's music was frequently performed at Goethe's house +at Weimar. We read in "Eckermann's Conversations" that on such occasions +the company would relate incidents from Beethoven's life, but Goethe +never mentioned him. + +Poet and musician were utterly dissimilar; it is not likely that either +influenced the other to any appreciable degree. "It is a great folly," +said Goethe in 1824 (Conversations with Eckermann) "to hope that other +men will harmonize with us. I have never hoped this. I have always +regarded each man as an independent individual, whom I endeavored to +study, and to understand with all his peculiarities, but from whom I +desired no further sympathy. In this way have I been enabled to converse +with every man, and thus alone is produced the knowledge of various +characters, and the dexterity necessary for the conduct of life." It was +probably in this coldly analytical frame of mind, that the great +councillor viewed the composer. But it was a momentous event to the +latter to know Goethe. He had before this set to music a number of his +ballads and had only recently composed the music to his Egmont. Many +years afterward, in 1822, in an interview with Rochlitz who made a +pilgrimage from Leipzig to make his acquaintance, he reverts to this +time. "Since the Carlsbad summer when I met Goethe, I read him every +day, that is when I do read. He has killed Klopstock for me, but Goethe +he lives and he wants us all to live. This is why it is so easy to make +music to his words." + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +OPTIMISTIC TREND + + Thus, with what has hitherto been effected, the clue to the + labyrinth of what is yet to be done is given us. + --HERDER: _Apotheosis of Humanity_. + + +Beethoven visited quite a number of places during the summer of 1812 in +quest of health. While at Carlsbad he gave a concert in aid of the +people of Baden, who had lost heavily through a disastrous fire there, +on which occasion he extemporized. It seems to have been a success +financially, but not artistically. In a letter to the Archduke he cites +it as being "a poor concert for the poor." "Es war eigentlich ein armes +Koncert für die Armen." This was owing to lack of time for rehearsals, +and to the fact that only one other person, Herr Polledro, a violinist +of Turin, took part in it. The concert was given within twelve hours +from its inception, because many noteworthy guests were on the point of +leaving town, and their presence was desired to insure a good +attendance. The necessity must have been great to induce him to +undertake it at all. His dislike for improvising for others was +deep-seated, and was increased by his deafness. + +In the fall we find him visiting his brother Johann at Linz, where he +made quite a long stay. It was not alone Johann whom he was visiting; he +had good friends there, among them Kapellmeister Glöggl, whom he saw +nearly every day. At the latter's request the master composed three +equali for trombones for All Souls' Day, then near at hand. These +equali, as it turned out, were eventually used for Beethoven's funeral. +The Kapellmeister's son, then a lad of fourteen, relates an incident of +this time with Beethoven as the central figure. A resident of Linz, a +certain Herr Graf von Dönhoff, who was a great admirer of Beethoven, +gave an entertainment in his honor. After some of his music had been +rendered by others, Beethoven was asked to extemporize, which he +declined absolutely to do. Shortly after he disappeared. Supper being +ready a search for him was instituted, but he was not to be found, so +the company, after some delay, repaired to the adjoining room. They had +hardly seated themselves at the table, when they heard some one at the +piano. Gradually, one by one, they found themselves in the other room, +where Beethoven was extemporizing. This he kept up for nearly an hour, +when, suddenly coming to a realization of the circumstances, and looking +around, he saw the entire company listening in rapt attention. He at +once got up from the instrument and hastily left the room, either +through anger or embarrassment. Such was his haste that he ran against a +table containing fine porcelain bric-a-brac, which, of course, was +shattered. The Count, with easy good nature, made some reassuring +remark, upon which they all made another essay at the supper. + +His object in going to Linz was not altogether for the purpose of making +visits. A disagreeable duty had to be performed; Johann's relations +with a young woman, whom he had taken as housekeeper, had become a +scandal; the good repute of the family was at stake, and Beethoven went +there with the express design of putting an end to the matter. Johann +was not at all amenable to argument, and contested the elder brother's +right to interfere. The dispute became so bitter that a personal combat +between the brothers occurred. It finally required the combined +ecclesiastical and secular authority of Linz (bishop, magistrate and +police), to effect the expulsion of the lady from town. At this turn of +affairs, Johann, bound to have his own way, married her. + +This year saw the completion of the Seventh and Eighth Symphonies +besides other important compositions; not so bad an achievement for a +sick man, this record of two years' work. Sick or well, at home or +abroad, his work went on; it was a part of his life, as necessary, +apparently, as eating or sleeping. In size the Seventh Symphony exceeds +any of the preceding ones. "Eine meiner vorzüglichsten" (one of my +best), is Beethoven's statement in regard to it. Here the composer's +meaning is not so readily elucidated as in the Pastoral, for instance. +It means all things to all people. He usually had a clearly defined +purpose or idea before him when composing, particularly in the case of +his large orchestral works. Of the creations of such a man, it was to be +expected that they would increase in grandeur with each succeeding one. +Every great thing achieved is only an earnest of still greater in +reserve. The fertility of his mind was exhaustless. As he penetrated +deeper into this new world of the imagination, wider vistas were +constantly being opened before his mental vision. "What I have in my +heart must come out when I write," he stated to Czerny. "I never thought +of writing for fame and honor." Grandeur and simplicity are prominent +traits in Beethoven's character and these are exemplified in the Seventh +Symphony. Wagner calls it the Apotheosis of the dance. "Der in Tönen +idealisch verkörperten Leibesbewegung," [an ideal embodiment in tones of +the movements of the human form]. This dance element is the +characteristic trait of the symphony; the dance element on a colossal +scale. Listen to Wagner's summary: "But one Hungarian peasant dance in +the final movement of his Symphony in A (the Seventh) he played for the +whole of nature; so played that who could see her dancing to it in +orbital gyrations must deem he saw a planet brought to birth before his +very eyes." In these later symphonies we see the beginnings of the +mysticism which so profoundly influenced Beethoven in his last years, +reaching its consummation in the Mass in D, the last Quartets, and the +Ninth Symphony. From this period on, the picture to be drawn of him is +of a man retiring more and more into himself as his growing experience +with the world shows him his unfitness for it. Only in his work did he +have any real reason for living. His every-day life became, for the most +part, a phantasmagoria, wherein persons and events continually changed +from grotesque to sublime, where nothing was stable or to be depended +upon. The only reality was in his art. The consciousness that he was +composing works that would go down the ages and delight many generations +to come, was probably satisfaction enough to him to compensate him for +anything he was called on to endure. With the progress of his deafness +his inability to cope with even the ordinary affairs of life increased, +and this also had the effect of withdrawing him from the world. The +spiritual insight gained by years of introspection, of communion with +the higher part of his nature enabled him to discover truths hidden to +the consciousness of the ordinary man. "That power of shaping the +incomprehensible now grows with him; the joy in exercising this power +becomes humor. All the pain of existence is wrecked upon the immense +pleasure derived from the play with it; the creator of worlds, Brahma, +laughs to himself as he perceives the illusion with reference to +himself; regained innocence plays jestingly with the thorns of expiated +guilt; the emancipated conscience banters itself with the torments it +has undergone. And all his seeing and his fashioning is steeped in that +marvellous gayety (_Heiterkeit_) which music first acquired through +him." (Wagner.) + +A peculiarity of Beethoven's work often commented on, is the extreme +simplicity of his themes as they first appear in his sketch-books. These +are usually elaborated, thus changing their character, taking on new +meaning with the growth and development of the idea in the composer's +mind; when through with it, however, the thought appears fresh and +spontaneous, such was his consummate art, as if it had never undergone +any elaboration. But sometimes the theme maintains its original +simplicity, and the masterwork appears in the orchestration which +surrounds it; at times even this maintains an archaic simplicity. Thus +in the coda of the vivace of the Seventh Symphony, a simple melody is +reiterated eleven times in succession, with no other orchestration than +the pedal-point on E by the rest of the instruments. + +The symphonies in general are the language of a buoyant, gay, blithesome +mood, as befits their design for concert use. In them, for the most +part, he addresses people in their holiday humor. His experience with +Fidelio may have impressed the fact upon his mind that sorrow and pain +should be sparingly portrayed on festive occasions. Not so with the +piano sonatas, which can be heard and studied in the privacy of one's +home. Even the quartets may be placed in the category since they do not +require an elaborate equipment and preparation for their production. + +Take him all in all optimism prevails with him, or rather, in true +philosophic spirit, he demonstrates that the sorrow, the inevitable +trouble and misery of life, is more than offset by the good things the +gods have provided. Life, after all, is a precious gift, which should be +duly appreciated. A period of enjoyment, gayety, strengthens and +fortifies the mind, and enables it better to bear the burdens when they +come. The great creative genius, must perforce, in the very nature of +things, be optimistic in his chosen work. He is more alive, more +possessed with the belief that life with its opportunities is worth +while, than is the case with the ordinary man going about his petty +concerns. In common life, the busiest man is the happiest man, that is +the most satisfied; and this contentment springs from the consciousness +of doing something worth doing, the advantage of which will remain. With +the man of genius, the feeling rises to elation, to rapture, when he +considers the transcendent, imperishable nature of his work. "Dass +Hervorbringen selbst ein Vergnügen und sein eigner Lohn ist." + +The Eighth Symphony which was brought out at the same time as the +Seventh is the shortest by a few bars, of the nine. It was completed in +about four months from the date of its inception. Here as in the +Seventh, the dance element is in the ascendant, commanding, swaying +everything, thus coming back to first principles, almost to the origin +of the art, as an art. The dance is the primordial, autochthonic form of +music; its foundation so to speak. The song had its origin in the dance +as indicated by its name "ballad." It is a comparatively simple matter +to trace its upward course in instrumental music, as such. It is +conceivable that people from remote times on, had the faculty of +originating tunes, and of humming and singing them, and dancing to them +long before such things as scales and notation were conceived of. Song +and dance must have come into being at the same time, and the earliest +dancing was done with a singing accompaniment. As people advanced in the +art and became able to manufacture instruments with which to produce +music to dance by, it is readily apparent that those persons who did not +dance, derived pleasure from listening to it. The next step was to play +these dance tunes without dancing. This naturally led to a collection of +dance tunes. By playing three or four in succession it was soon found +that a more agreeable effect was produced by selecting those differing +in rhythm. Here we have the suite, the earliest orchestral form. After a +while it was found that a change of key heightened the effect, and, when +composing purely orchestral music not intended for actual use in +dancing, the more original of the composers at times allowed the strict +dance form to fall into abeyance in one or two movements to enable them +to try their hand in another style, and also for contrast. A broadening +and augmenting of the different forms and we have the sonata. The +symphony is an enlargement of the sonata. All our intellectual progress +is an unfolding, like a flower from the bud. We have first an +impression, then an opinion, then demonstration. + +Many years were to elapse before the next and last symphony was to +appear; years in which the ripening process was to go on, and which were +to culminate in the Mass in D, the Choral Symphony and the last +quartets,--works that are in a class by themselves in the same sense +that the works from the Third Symphony on, up to, and including the +Eighth, are in a class apart from the others. His compositions prior to +the Third Symphony are in the style of Mozart and Haydn. They are the +naïve utterances of the young musician who does not yet realize that he +has a mission to perform; whose ambition was to be ranked with his great +predecessors. Of the works of the second period, it can be said that +their most prominent characteristic is gayety (_Heiterkeit_). They are +not all in this mood, and but rarely is the mood maintained throughout a +single work, but it exists to the extent that it dominates it, just as +the key-note to his later works is to be found in his mysticism. The +works of the second period are coincident with his best years physically +and when his mental powers had reached their highest maturity. When he +found out what manner of man he was and realized the place he was +destined to occupy among the great ones of earth; when he had accepted +his destiny and had made his peace with himself it is easy to understand +how a certain gayety and serenity should have spread itself over his +life and have communicated itself to his works; and though this serenity +was alternated by periods of despair, he allowed no more of this to +appear in his work than his esthetic sense approved of. Like all highly +organized people he sounded the gamut of joy and sorrow. His journal +entries tell the story. One day, exulting in life and its possibilities +he writes, "Oh, it would be glorious to live life over a thousand +times." At another time he calls upon his God in abject despair to help +him through the passing hour. At one time life is so difficult a problem +that he sees not how it can be continued at all. Then he loses himself +in his creations and soars into regions where his troubles cannot +follow. This joyousness is the portion of many extraordinary people. +Haydn and Mozart had it. "He has among other qualities that of great +joyousness," says Carlyle, in speaking of Richter. "Goethe has it to +some extent and Schiller too. It is a deep laughter, a wild laughter, +and connected with it, there is the deepest seriousness." + + + + +CHAPTER X + +AT THE ZENITH OF HIS FAME + + Fate bestoweth no gift which it taketh not back. Ask not aught of + sordid humanity; the trifle it bestoweth is a nothing. + --HAFIZ. + + +Napoleon's star, hitherto so uniformly in the ascendant, was now on the +wane. His victories at the battles of Lützen and Bautzen in May of 1813, +could not atone for the disaster of Moscow in the previous year. The +crushing defeat encountered by the French at the battle of Vittoria by +the English under Wellington, and the battle of Leipzig in October of +the same year showed the world that here was only a man after all; a man +subject to the usual limitations and mutations of mankind. The demigod +was dethroned, the pedestal knocked from under, and all Europe rejoiced. +The nightmare of fear which had so long pervaded all classes, was after +all only a bad dream; the incubus could be shaken off, and mankind again +resume its normal mode of living. Waterloo was already foreshadowed in +the events of this year, and the people were wild with joy. + +The alliance which followed Napoleon's marriage to the Austrian +Archduchess did not have the good political results which Metternich +expected from it. The war indemnity of fifteen millions of dollars, the +cession of provinces whereby three and one half millions of people were +lost to Austria, the reduction of the army to 150,000 men, exactions +made by Napoleon at the time of the marriage, did not tend to make him +popular. The alliance existed in name, not in sentiment. He was still +regarded as the conqueror, not the ally. Austria had been lukewarm all +along, and when she changed front in 1813, and joined the coalition +against him, acting in concert with England, Russia and Prussia, the +measure had the moral support of the nation. This was three years after +his marriage to the Archduchess. + +The news of the battle of Vittoria reached Vienna on July 13. Beethoven +was importuned by a clever friend, M. Maelzel, a musician, to write a +symphony in commemoration of it, and to call it "Wellington's Victory." +Maelzel was a man of remarkable mechanical ingenuity. He had before this +won his way into Beethoven's good graces by making him an ear-trumpet, +which he used for several years. He was the inventor of the metronome +and a man of considerable intelligence. He had invented a Panharmonicon, +an automaton instrument containing most of the instruments found in full +orchestra, on the principle of the modern orchestrion. Allied to his +talents as musician and inventor were those of good business ability and +a knowledge of human nature. The Battle Symphony appears to have been +written originally for the Panharmonicon. "I witnessed," says Moscheles, +"the origin and progress of this work, and remember that not only did +Maelzel induce Beethoven to write it, but even laid before him the whole +design of it; writing the drum marches and trumpet flourishes of the +French and English armies himself, giving Beethoven hints how he should +herald the English army by the tune of 'Rule Brittania;' how he should +introduce 'Malbrook' in a dismal strain; depict the horrors of the +battle, and arrange 'God Save the King,' with effects representing the +huzzas of the multitude. Even the idea of converting the melody of 'God +Save the King' into a subject of a fugue in quick movement emanates from +Maelzel." It is hardly conceivable that Beethoven, if left to himself, +would have produced anything of this sort. But it exactly suited the +popular feeling, and was such a success that Beethoven was induced to +arrange it for full orchestra. This work is never classed among his +symphonies, although it served to make him very popular with the Vienna +public. + +The presence in their midst of the composer of the Eroica Symphony in +these stirring times, was a significant fact, which was bound to be duly +exploited by the Viennese. The Battle Symphony confirmed and emphasized +Beethoven's stand as a patriot. He was consequently greatly looked up to +by the young men of the time, in particular by the student element, +already of considerable importance in Vienna, who made an idol of him. +He was now everywhere in demand, his music of necessity being a part of +the programme of every concert or important event in the City. + +It is a national characteristic with the Germans to celebrate every +issue with music. A great occasion called for a great demonstration. +When therefore, it was proposed to give a concert in aid of the Austrian +and Bavarian soldiers disabled at the battle of Hanau, where the French +were intercepted after their retreat from Leipzig on October 30, the +matter was intrusted to Beethoven as being the man best fitted for the +work. It was stipulated that Beethoven's music was to occupy the +programme exclusively, which gave him a good opportunity to produce the +Seventh Symphony, still in manuscript. + +An aggregation of eminent musicians volunteered their services for the +occasion, sinking their differences in patriotic elation. Moscheles, +already then a great pianist, played the cymbals. Meyerbeer presided at +the big drum. Spohr took a prominent part, together with Salieri, +Romberg and Hümmel. The fact that Beethoven conducted it indicates that +his deafness could not have been so bad at this time. The concert took +place on December 8, and, as may be supposed, was a brilliant success. +It was repeated four days later. At each performance, the principal +event, was, not the Seventh Symphony, but rather the Battle-piece, +which, performed by full orchestra for the first time, won loud and +frequent applause. + +After the second performance Beethoven gave a letter to the public in +which he says, "The concert was a rare assemblage of eminent performers, +each glad to contribute by his presence and talents something towards +the benefit of the country, even to the extent of taking subordinate +places in the orchestra where required. On me devolved the conduct of +the whole, because the music was composed by me. Had it been written by +any one else, I would as cheerfully have taken my place at the big drum, +for we were all actuated by the feeling of patriotism and the desire to +benefit those who had sacrificed so much for us." + +The concert had to be repeated in January and in February following, as +patriotism was still the ruling idea with the populace. At the February +concert the Eighth Symphony was on the programme, but in each case the +_pièce de résistance_ was the Battle Symphony. It was produced again in +March, when Beethoven conducted it, together with the Egmont Overture, +at the annual concert for the Theatre-Armenfonds. The symphony soon +found its way to England and enjoyed great popularity there from its +connection with Wellington. It frequently appeared on the programmes +under the name of Wellington's Victory. + +The general esteem in which Beethoven was held by the Viennese led to a +demand for another hearing of Fidelio, which had been out of sight and +mind for eight years. The libretto was again worked over (this time by +Treitschke), and submitted to Beethoven. The revised form seems to have +pleased him at once, although very important changes were made which +imposed on him a herculean task. New music had to be written for certain +portions, and the whole rearranged and adapted to the new conditions. +Everything was going Beethoven's way in these years, which may explain +his good-natured acquiescence in these demands. "Your revision suits me +so well," he wrote Treitschke, "that I have decided once more to rebuild +the desolate ruins of an ancient fortress." This time the opera was a +pronounced success, although alterations and emendations were in order +more or less during the entire season. On July 18, it was performed for +Beethoven's benefit. Moscheles made a piano arrangement of the score, +and must have considered it a great task, as he wrote at the end. + +FINIS. +WITH GOD'S HELP. + +When Beethoven saw this he wrote underneath, "Oh man, help thyself!" The +piano arrangement was dedicated to the Archduke and published in August. + +The year 1814 was a memorable one for Beethoven. Important events +crowded fast on his horizon, chief of which were those proceeding from +the meeting of the Congress of Sovereigns in Vienna in the autumn of +this year. Napoleon was in the toils; he had been forced to abdicate and +was now a prisoner on the island of Elba. When the treaty of peace was +signed at Paris on May 30, 1814, between France and the allies, it was +agreed that all the powers which had been engaged in the war on either +side, should send plenipotentiaries to Vienna in general Congress to +arrange for the conclusion of the provisions of the treaty of peace. + +The Congress met in November of the same year, and was characterized by +a degree of magnificence which renders it unique of its kind. The +Emperor and Empress of Russia, the kings of Prussia, Bavaria, Denmark +and Würtemburg were present in person. England and France were +represented by their highest nobles. Spain, Sweden and Portugal sent +representatives. The advent of a hundred great personages in Vienna +naturally brought other distinguished visitors there and the gayeties +that supervened, now that the wars were a thing of the past, occupied +the time and attention of the visitors to such an extent that for three +months nothing of a business nature was attempted by the Congress. These +were halcyon days for Vienna. Peace was restored after twenty years of +such warfare as only a Napoleon could inflict, the nervous tension +became a thing of the past, and sovereign and noble could again take up +the chief occupation of life, enjoyment. + +The city fathers, on learning that the Congress was to be convened in +Vienna, commissioned Beethoven to write a cantata of welcome to honor +the visitors. The poem "Der glorreiche Augenblick" (The Glorious +Moment), was chosen, which Beethoven set to music. As may be supposed +the new cantata served to increase his fame, although as a work of art +it is about on a par with the Battle Symphony. + +Beethoven occupied a prominent part in the many notable gatherings which +were a feature of this winter. Associated in people's minds as a +harbinger of the new era, his popularity increased in line with the ever +brightening political horizon. The Archduke enjoyed having him at his +receptions, introducing him to the sovereigns, and made much of him +generally. It was at the Archduke's apartments that Beethoven was +introduced to the Empress of Russia, who showed him much attention, both +here and when meeting him elsewhere. He met her frequently at Count +Rasoumowsky's, who as Russian Ambassador entertained lavishly in honor +of his distinguished guests. He afterward related humorously how the +crowned heads paid court to him, referring to the urbanity and courtesy +which the Empress in particular, used toward him. Beethoven is on record +as saying that he liked being with the aristocracy. He seems to have had +no difficulty in impressing on the Empress the right concept of his +importance as man and artist. In acknowledgment of the courtesies which +he received from her, the master composed for her a Grand Polonaise (in +C, opus 89) which, in company with the pianoforte arrangement of the +Seventh Symphony he dedicated to her. + +Shortly after the assembling of the Congress Beethoven gave a concert +for his own benefit, at which the new Cantata as well as the Battle +Symphony and the Seventh Symphony were performed. The Riding Hall, an +immense structure, capable of seating six thousand persons was placed at +his disposal, for which, however, a large price, one-half the receipts, +was exacted, so Frimmel states. With sublime confidence Beethoven sent +out invitations in his own name to the visiting sovereigns and other +notabilities, all of whom responded, with the result that the hall was +crowded and the concert proved to be a great success. + +As a result of the winter's activities, Beethoven's finances were +greatly improved. He displayed a degree of business ability during this +year, which was not to have been expected from a man of his temperament. +His profits from one source or another were such that he invested money +to the extent of ten thousand florins, in shares of the Bank of Austria. +It was his first and only investment, undertaken as a provision for the +future. + +That Beethoven kept his head in the face of all this adulation is +evident from a letter written at this time to a friend at Prague in +which he says, "I write nothing about our monarchs and monarchies. The +intellectual realm is the most precious in my eyes, and far above all +temporal and spiritual kingdoms." + +It was indeed a brilliant winter, but all this joy was suddenly changed +to something akin to terror by the news of Napoleon's escape from Elba +in March of 1815, and that he was assembling his forces for another +campaign. The gayeties had to be discontinued, the members of the +Congress confined themselves to the work for which it was convened, the +result being that the treaties were signed by the eight powers on June +7, upon which the Congress disbanded. This was just eleven days before +the battle of Waterloo. + +In November of this year Beethoven's brother Karl died, leaving the +composer as an heritage his son Karl, then nine years of age. With the +clairvoyance which approaching dissolution often brings, the father saw +that the uncle would be a much better guardian for the boy, than the +mother, and consigned him to Beethoven's care almost with his last +breath. It was characteristic of such a man as was Beethoven, to accept +the charge without hesitation, from an exaggerated sense of duty; to +fight for its possession even, although it revolutionized his life and +brought him face to face with all sorts of difficult and untried +conditions. + +As might have been expected, Karl's widow, who was the daughter of a +rich citizen, contested his right to the control of the boy, and began +legal proceedings to obtain possession of him. This was the +advance-guard of a series of troubles that began to close in on him at +this period, ending only with his life. Years of litigation followed, +the issue being at times in favor of one side, then of the other, the +boy meanwhile being in charge of the successful party. The new +responsibility, assumed with scarcely a thought as to consequences, not +only interfered with the bachelor habits of a lifetime, but the mental +disturbance occasioned by the lawsuits which ensued, seriously +interrupted his work, so that for some years very little was +accomplished in the way of new compositions. "The higher a man is," +said Goethe (Conversations with Eckermann), "the more he is under the +influence of dæmons, and he must take heed lest his guiding will counsel +him to a wrong path." Could he have foreseen how this adoption of the +child would interfere with his cherished work, he might have paused to +consider the matter, before binding himself irrevocably by his promise +to his brother. + +With never a fixed habitation, no sense of the value of money, giving it +away to those in need as readily as if it had no value, often enduring +privation himself in consequence; with a mode of life so simple that the +entire ménage was frequently transported elsewhere on slight +provocation, this ascetic was now to encounter housekeeping problems, +make money, save it (most difficult of all), employ servants, in short +undertake in middle-age and in impaired health, duties the nature of +which he could not even form an estimate. + +The plan of adopting the boy might not have been such a visionary one, +could Beethoven have been in entire control from the start. While the +litigation went on, discipline was out of the question. There were +occasional victories for the mother, who then had the boy under her +absolute control until such time as Beethoven was able to get the +decision of the Court reversed. Even when the boy was under the uncle's +charge, the mother managed at times to gain access to him in order to +poison his mind against the uncle. Her influence whenever she was able +to exert it was naturally adverse. That there should be a stronger +affinity between mother and son, than between uncle and nephew is not +surprising. She had had entire control of him up to his tenth year. She +was lax in discipline and saw to it that the boy had a better time while +with her than he was likely to have when under his uncle's care. That +the boy began to show a preference for being with the mother can be +easily understood, and it was a bitter trial to the master. + +It was not alone mother-love which actuated Madame Beethoven in her +extraordinary efforts to gain possession of the boy; money +considerations entered into the question to some extent, as some money +had been set aside for his support by the father, which she wanted to +get hold of. The simple straightforward Beethoven was no match for the +wiles of this woman of the world, who generally managed in one way or +another to circumvent him, even to the detriment of the child. The boy +was sharp enough to take advantage of the situation, and was spoiled +long before the uncle was privileged legally to adopt him. + +During the proceedings the case was at one time in a high court on the +assumption that the "van" in Beethoven's name indicated nobility. The +widow contested this, and brought action requesting that the case be +tried in a lower court. When Beethoven was examined on this issue, he +pointed to his head and heart, saying, "my nobility is here and here." +"van" is not a sign of nobility like the German "von," and the case was +sent to the lower court. + +Beethoven formed high hopes on the lad's account, thinking that he would +become a great musician or scholar. He had no prevision that here he was +to meet with the greatest disappointment of his life. The boy was +handsome and intelligent and soon won the affection of the master, who +became much occupied with the interesting task of guiding his mental +and spiritual development. "The heart is only for rare occasions," said +Thoreau, "the intellect affords us the most unfailing satisfaction." +This rather cynical observation was abundantly confirmed in Beethoven's +case by subsequent developments. He wasted precious years on account of +his nephew, and the anxiety occasioned by his waywardness, was no doubt +one of the factors which shortened his life. + +With the advent of the nephew into his life he finally abandoned all +idea of marriage. In conversation with Giannatasio del Rio, who kept the +school at which the nephew was placed, he stated, "I will never be able +to form a closer tie than the one which now binds me to my nephew." He +took lodgings near the school and visited Giannatasio's family +frequently. The daughter, in her journal, published after her death, +makes frequent mention of Beethoven, giving interesting glimpses into +his character. She tells of his bringing violets to her on March 17, +which he found in his walks in the fields, also of his carrying with him +on his walks a pocket edition of Shakespeare. The sarcastic, satirical +mood, which frequently took possession of Beethoven is touched on in the +journal, and is illustrated in the following incident. The father on one +occasion had remarked as if in compliment to the master, "My daughter +plays your music," upon which Beethoven laughed outright. It is hardly +necessary to say that the young lady played no more of Beethoven's +music, while he was about. On one occasion, however, she was playing his +_Kennst Du das Land?_ when he came in unexpectedly. He recognized it, +and at once went to her and stood at the piano, marking time and making +suggestions in regard to the rendering of it, thus making amends for +his former rudeness. + +His interest in his nephew led him to make friendly advances to the +father as well as to the daughters, and he spent many pleasant hours +with them. On rare occasions he assumed his old air of happy boisterous +humor, when young people were about. He greatly enjoyed singing Goethe's +"Song of the Flea," calling out as the flea is killed: "Now he'll be +smashed! Now he'll be smashed!" (_jetzt wird er gegnaxt!_) making a +crash on the instrument at the word "smashed." + +He came to them once after Karl had been placed in another school and +wept as he told them that his nephew had left him and gone to his +mother. The lad was recovered by the assistance of the police, and was +then placed with this family again. He once wrote a sharp letter to the +father criticising his methods in the teaching of Karl, but, on +reconsidering the matter sent word to the daughter asking her not to +show it to her father, as it was written in a blind rage, which he now +regretted. All this shows how carefully he looked after the young man's +welfare. It was the same with his music, which was intrusted to Czerny. +The youth inherited some musical talent and under favoring conditions +might have achieved something as a musician. When the instruction began, +Beethoven was in the habit of calling at Czerny's house nearly every day +with his nephew. On these occasions the master would frequently +improvise on the piano, to Czerny's great enjoyment. Czerny, through his +devotion to Beethoven, paid particular attention to Karl, and the boy +made rapid progress. He accompanied his uncle on visits to other houses, +by the latter's desire, with the object of forming his taste and +stimulating his ambition for the art. + +From the start Beethoven planned a fine career for his nephew. "The boy +must be an artist or a savant that he may lead a noble life," he said +once. On another occasion, when the youth was about eighteen years of +age, he said, on introducing him to a visitor, "you can ask him a riddle +in Greek if you like." "My wishes and efforts have no other aim than +that the boy may receive the best possible education," he wrote when +contending in the Court of Appeals for possession of the boy, "as his +capacity warrants the indulgence of the best hopes for his future, and +that the expectation, which his father built upon my fraternal love may +be fulfilled. The shoot is still flexible; but if more time be wasted it +will grow crooked for want of the training hand of the gardener, and +good conduct, intellect, and character, may be lost forever. I know no +more sacred duty than the superintendence of the education of a child. +The duty of guardianship can only consist in this--to appreciate what is +good, and to take such measures as are conformable with the object in +view." + +The young man cared but little for this solicitude. In his uncle's home +he had to study, listen to many a lecture perhaps, and do many a thing +that he did not like to do. When with his mother it was different; +spending-money was to be had while there and in general an easy time. No +wonder that he preferred being with her. Later, when he entered the +university he absented himself as much as possible from his uncle's +house. Beethoven had centred his affections on the young man, and, when +he remained indifferent, irresponsive, it caused him the keenest +anguish. The master's letters to him from Baden are pathetic. "In what +part of me am I not injured and torn?" "My continued solitude only still +further enfeebles me, and really my weakness often amounts to a swoon. +Oh! do not further grieve me, for the man with the scythe (_Sensenman_) +will grant me no long delay." His journal entries on this account, are +the utterances of a creature at bay; of a being in the last extremity. +"O! höre stets Unaussprechlicher, höre mich deinen unglücklichen +unglücklichsten aller Sterblichen." + +It was not alone the necessity for study and other restraints, which led +the young man to absent himself as much as possible from his uncle's +house when he grew older and had more liberty of action. Comfortable +living was not one of the factors in the Beethoven ménage. Beethoven's +requirements, so far as he himself was concerned, were simple almost to +asceticism. He believed in discipline in the rearing of youth, but his +belief in it did not extend to the point of inducing him to attempt it +with his servants. The explanation of this is not far to seek. He would +have had to conform to any rules made in the interest of discipline and +system in the household, which would have been out of the question for +him. He was wedded to an irregular mode of living and for the most part +desired nothing but to be left alone. It is not surprising that the +young man preferred his own quarters, to the haphazard mode of life, +which characterized the master's household. + +Character is never a finished product. Always it is in process of +formation, of development, advancing or retrograding according to +environment. Beethoven's influence, powerless during his lifetime on +the mind of Karl may have been potent after death in the upbuilding of +the young man's character. On arriving at years of discretion he changed +his course entirely and became an exemplary citizen. As the last +survivor of the Beethoven family he inherited the means of his two +uncles, and settled down in Vienna living the life of a gentleman of +leisure. He gave his attention to music to which he was passionately +devoted, as well as to the rearing of his family, and was by all +accounts a model family man. Like his illustrious uncle, he was in the +habit of improvising at the piano for hours at a time. + +To follow the fortunes of the posterity of great men is an interesting +subject. From the researches of Dr. Vansca of Vienna, published in _Die +Musik_ (Berlin, March, 1902), it transpires that Karl married on July +16, 1832, a Miss Karoline Naska. Five children were born to them, as +follows: Karoline, 1833; Marie, 1835; Ludwig, 1839 (named after his +famous grand-uncle); Gabrielle, 1844, and Hermine, 1852. Ludwig, the +only son, his military service over, married in 1865 Marie Nitche. To +them a son was born on May 8, 1870, at Munich, and baptized Karl. Father +and son, that is Ludwig and Karl 2d, were last heard from in 1889 in +London, when the father applied for a passport to travel in various +European countries. Ludwig's mother died in Vienna in 1891, at which +time it was announced that the whereabouts of Ludwig and the son Karl +were unknown. Efforts were then made to get news of the young Karl, who, +if living, would have been a youth of twenty, but without avail, and the +family are of the opinion that he died during his childhood. As far as +can be ascertained at this writing the family of Beethoven on the male +side is extinct. + +Of the daughters of the master's nephew, Karoline and Marie married +brothers, namely: Franz and Paul Weidinger. Gabrielle married a bank +cashier named Robert Heimler. The youngest, Hermine, remained single. +She graduated in 1889 from the conservatory at Vienna in piano and +harmonium. Of the married daughters, only one, Marie, had children; a +son and daughter. The only descendants of the Beethovens known to be +living in 1891, are Karoline Weidinger, a widow, Gabrielle Heimler, and +the son and daughter of Marie Weidinger. All these persons were at last +accounts living in Vienna. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +METHODS OF COMPOSITION + + A good painter should paint two things; man, and the thoughts of + man's soul. + --LEONARDO DA VINCI. + + +Beethoven usually had a definite idea before him when composing. The +work progressed rapidly under such conditions. Often, however, on +further consideration, a better idea would present itself in certain +places on reading the work over, and these portions would have to be +rewritten. He stated in this connection that he always had a picture in +his mind when composing, which he aimed to reproduce in his work. "Ich +habe immer ein Gemälde in meinen Gedanken wenn ich am componiren bin, +und arbeite nach demselben" (Thayer). Sometimes this picture was shadowy +and elusive, as his gropings in the sketch-books show. He would then +apply himself to the task of fixing the idea, writing and rewriting, +until it stood out clearly in accordance with the concept already formed +in his mind. + +This picture, or idea, or representation, which exists in the brain of +the artist, and to which he seeks to give expression in a tangible form +so as to communicate it to others, is a miracle which is constantly +going on in his inner consciousness. He can at will call up impressions, +which immediately become objectified on the canvas of his mind, in the +form of pictures. This mental process is the same in every form of +creative work whether it be painting, sculpture, or any of the arts. The +architect, before putting pencil to paper, will have the splendid +cathedral before him as in a vision; the sculptor, the ideal form and +facial expression. The mind of the artist is a vast canvas on which +pictures appear, remaining a longer or shorter period at his will, and, +when no longer required, giving place to others. The idea once recorded +seems never to appear again. Nature is never so prodigal as with the man +of genius. Of all her children he is the favorite; these pictures are +given him in superfluity, out of all proportion to his ability to use +them. The harder he works in the effort to catch up with his material, +the more plentiful it becomes. + +Mr. Chamberlain, in his Life of Wagner, calls attention to the curious +fact that Wagner produced his operas in pairs for the most part, up to +his fortieth year. This was true of Beethoven with his symphonies, to a +great extent. He became so fired with enthusiasm while on a great work, +his thoughts became so prolific, that another work must, perforce, come +into being to utilize the surplus material. + +This prodigality with which the artist is supplied, explains his +absorption in his work. Once fairly started on a great work, this type +of man carries it through with the force of a torrent. Nothing but +physical exhaustion can stop him. Wagner, after completing a great work, +usually had to drop all composing or writing for some months in order to +recuperate. No slave-driver with a lash ever drove his victim so +mercilessly as Wagner did himself when in the stress of composition. +Being married he had some one to look after him, and this had an +important bearing on the preservation of his health. Beethoven, with the +strenuousness that came from his Rhenish ancestry, was more intractable, +impatient of interference. His domestics were often afraid to go near +him when engaged in composition. Usually when in deep thought he was +oblivious of the outer world. He once agreed to sit for an artist, and +maintained his pose for five minutes; then he forgot all about it and +went to the piano, where he began improvising. This just suited the +artist, who got a good position and worked along until he was tired, +finally leaving the room without the master's knowledge. + +The Swedish poet, Atterbohm, and Dr. Jeitteles, distinguished literary +men of the period, called at Beethoven's house one hot afternoon. Their +knocking met with no response, although they knew the master was in, as +they heard him singing and occasionally striking a chord on the piano. +Finding the door unlocked, they entered and went in search of him, +finally discovering him in an inner room. He was in extreme dishabille, +busily noting down his thoughts on the plastered wall. He had probably +intended changing his clothes, and, while disrobing, these thoughts came +crowding in on him to the exclusion of everything else. Beethoven, +facing the wall with his back to the visitors, was unaware of their +proximity, and they left without being discovered by him, as they did +not wish to interfere with his work. This was probably in the year 1826, +as Beethoven remained in Vienna all that summer, actively engaged on the +great C sharp minor quartet. It may have been a part of this work which +was thus produced. + +Friederich Stark relates an incident that illustrates his abstraction. +He called on Beethoven early one morning, and, being a friend, was given +the privilege of looking him up. He went from room to room, and finally +found him in his bedroom. He was just beginning to dress, his face +thickly lathered with soap that had been put on the previous evening and +had dried there; he had prepared to shave, but in the process had +forgotten to go on with it. + +His sketch-books are interesting as showing his frame of mind and +temperament, while at work. In his abstraction he occasionally scribbled +beautiful thoughts on the margin of his manuscripts. Thus, in the +sketch-books of the Pastoral Symphony, we find this record of his joy in +nature, showing how thoroughly his mind was imbued with his subject. + +"Almächtiger, im Walde ich bin selig, glücklig im Wald. Jeder Baum +spricht durch dich!" + +"O Gott! Welche Herrlichkeit in einer solchen Waldgegend." + +In summer he usually resorted to one of the beautiful villages in the +environs of Vienna, since absorbed by the city. Thus he repaired to +Heiligenstadt to write his first mass. "Oh, the charm of the woods, who +can express it!" he writes, and in many of his letters from the country, +he expresses his joy at being there. "No man on earth can love the +country as I do. Thickets, trees and rocks supply the echo man longs +for." His best ideas came to him while walking through the fields and +woods. At such times his mind became serene and he would attain that +degree of abstraction from the world which enabled him to develop his +musical ideas. He always carried note-books and would jot down a thought +as it came to him. When he got home he would elaborate it and work it +into shape. He would walk for hours in all sorts of weather. Like +Thoreau, he generally preferred to be alone in his walks, the presence +of a companion preventing him from working out his thoughts. + +Very properly, he occupied himself but little with the music of other +composers. To a man of his individuality, inspiration from the outer +world was not to be had or desired. His own inner wealth was sufficient. +Curiously, he set a high value on Cherubini during the period of writing +Fidelio and the Third Symphony. His own creations however, were of +paramount interest to him. He was a slow worker, continually polishing +and improving his work up to the moment that it reached the engraver's +hands. + +"The Andante" said Wagner "is the typical German style." It was not +Beethoven's best style. Essentially a man of extremes, he delighted in +swinging the pendulum to its furthest limit either way. He early in life +acquired the irrepressible joyousness in his compositions, which was +Haydn's distinguishing trait. It is the key-note to much of Beethoven's +work up to the time of composing the Grand Mass. It figures to some +extent in his subsequent work. It is a feature which Wagner never tires +of exploiting in Beethoven's work. Whenever he mentions Beethoven's name +the word _Heiterkeit_ (joyousness) is sure to follow. The two are almost +synonymous with him. Where Beethoven is unapproachable, however, is in +his slow movements, the Adagios, solemn and portentous, in which all of +world-sorrow finds expression. It is in these scenes of terror that his +powers stand out with supernatural clearness. + +His infinitude impresses one. It is as if he had penetrated other +spheres and could speak in new tongues. He delighted in startling +contrasts. The Kyrie of the Mass in D has always presented itself to my +consciousness as a series of gigantic tone-pictures, in which the +omnipotence of God, and the impotence of humanity is brought into +juxtaposition. The Coriolanus overture is another instance among the +many at hand illustrating this point. Here we see how the forceful, +aggressive, bold, masterful genius, is subdued by the power of conjugal +and filial love, a power in this case as irresistible as that of a +glacier, which will make its way against any odds. Each side in striving +for the mastery, displays its own peculiar characteristics and mode. It +is the everlasting struggle between the evil principle and that which is +good. He ranges titanic forces in opposition and lets us see the battle. +By the magic of his art we are enabled to see these pictures as on a +canvas. + +It is frequently stated that Beethoven's music shows a deficiency in +counterpoint. His originality, the wealth of his ideas, his versatility, +will explain this. The fugue, while it is ingenious and interesting, is +artificial and, indeed often arbitrary in musical composition, sometimes +introduced merely to stop gaps or for brilliancy of effect. It is not +surprising that Beethoven should have neglected it to some extent, +although he has used it with excellent effect in some of the sonatas and +in his two masses. His fertility of imagination was great and it was +hard for him to tie himself down to the formal style in composition, +after his powers had reached maturity. The fugue, in one form or +another, seems to be almost indispensable in musical composition, but it +is always characterized by learning instead of inspiration. It is +something which has to be worked out like a problem in mathematics. +Beethoven's thought in music is marked by something higher than the +disposition to divert one's attention to his talent or skill. A definite +meaning is there; he has something to reveal. + +At the beginning of his career as composer, Beethoven was not above +taking advice on the subject of his compositions. He frequently +discussed them with Prince Lichnowsky, and adopted his suggestions when +it came to alterations. As he advanced in knowledge of his art, however, +he became reticent on the subject and would discuss them with no one. He +acted on Goethe's idea that "the greatest art after all is to limit and +isolate oneself." He did not like praise or applause. Knowing +intuitively that the character is endangered thereby, he sought by every +means to ward it off. His improvising was such that often on leaving the +instrument he would find his hearers in tears. This would embarrass him, +and he would affect anger, or would laugh at them. This does not imply +that he did not care for appreciation, which is quite a different +matter. + +He was perfectly willing to listen to censure or adverse criticism. +Trifles might anger him, but this never did, and, be it said, it never +influenced him either. True artist that he was, he seldom wrote down to +his public. Like Wagner, he knew what was best in art, and if the public +did not, he gave the matter small concern. Not for one generation are +great masterpieces born. The artist lives in the future; he is always +in advance of his time. + +Beethoven's character was a prism of many facets. Wagner views him +always as the mystic, the seer, at odds with the world. Side by side +with this characterization he constantly dwells, as just noted, on +Beethoven's uncontrollable tendency to humor, gayety (_Heiterkeit_) +which shows itself not only in his life, but still more in his works. +This may have been a device deliberately assumed to enable him to escape +mental suffering. At all events it was a prominent trait of his +character, but does not seem to have added to his enjoyment of life. No +circumstance, however painful, but that he is able to extract some jest +or pleasantry from it. The paradox is before us of a man world-weary at +the core, outwardly serene, gay. In the same ratio in which those things +which serve to make life enjoyable to the average man were diminished or +withdrawn, does his tendency to incessant humor increase. + +The consciousness of being able to achieve great things, and the joy in +accomplishing them, is what gives the artist the exultant mood, the +feeling of gayety. To be sensible of such an heritage, to participate in +this God-given wealth, to run riot in it, to know that the more of it +that is used the more will be given, to be favored of the gods in a way +that the possessor of untold wealth cannot aspire to--this is what gives +the serene and joyous mood, which characterizes the man of genius for +the most part. When he comes out of this ideal world into the +commonplace every-day life, and realizes his unfitness for it, the other +side of the picture is presented to his consciousness, and then is +exhibited that strange melancholy, _Weltschmerz_, which constantly +comes to the fore in the journals and letters of men like Wagner, or +Beethoven, or Liszt. + +The Sunday morning concerts, instituted by Czerny in the winter of 1816, +call for more than passing notice. A select company of professional +musicians and amateurs had banded themselves into an organization for +the purpose of performing and studying the best class of chamber-music +with special reference to Beethoven's compositions. Czerny was the +originator and moving spirit, as stated, and the performances were held +at his house. Beethoven attended them frequently. Czerny, whose +admiration for the master was unbounded, was brought into more intimate +relations with him through these concerts, as Beethoven was consulted in +regard to the programmes and occasionally rehearsed some of his new +compositions with him. Though a brilliant performer, Czerny did not like +public life or society, and retired from the concert stage at a time +when his powers were at their best, in order to give all his time to +composition. His ability in improvising was a marvel even for those +times. He was Beethoven's successor in Prince Lichnowsky's circle, +frequently playing at concerts at his house. He is credited with being +able to play from memory all of Beethoven's works. Like Schubert, his +one pleasure was to be with a few chosen spirits, and talk on the +subject of his art. + +In these assemblages rank was ignored. Art was a leveller, or, rather, +the devotees of the art were raised to a common plane, where social +distinctions were for the time being obliterated. No special invitations +were required. Any one interested in the art was made welcome, and found +there a congenial atmosphere. Czerny, modest and retiring, had no +thought of making social capital out of these concerts. No one not +wholly devoted to the art was wanted, no matter what his social position +was, and want of social position was no bar when the artistic +qualifications were present. It was a band of chosen spirits, and the +attrition engendered by these meetings must have been advantageous to +each. They were true Concerts Spirituels, an audience of artists from +which the performers were drawn. + +Second only to Czerny as a pianist among this company was Beethoven's +friend and pupil, the Baroness Ertmann, who frequently took part in +these concerts. Madame Ertmann's virtuosity has already been commented +on in these pages. She won new laurels at the Czerny concerts through +her admirable interpretation of Beethoven's music. + +During this winter of 1816 the master composed the fine sonata in A, +opus 101, for her. It commemorates the spiritual kinship existing +between these two gifted persons. "My dear, valued Dorothea Cäcilia," he +writes in his letter of dedication, "receive now what has long been +intended for you, and may it serve as a proof of my appreciation of your +artistic talents and of yourself; I regret not having heard you recently +at Cz--(Czerny's). My absence was owing to illness, which at last +appears to be giving way to returning health." Some years previously, +when the Baroness had lost a son by death during her husband's absence +on his military duties, Beethoven asked the stricken woman to call, and +comforted her, not with words, but in the language which both best +understood. "'We will talk in music,' said Beethoven, who remained at +the piano over an hour in which he said everything and even gave me +consolation." The incident is obtained from one of Mendelssohn's +letters. + +Among the important works produced in this period may be mentioned the +Sonata, opus 90, "A struggle between the head and the heart." It is +dedicated to Count M. Lichnowsky on the occasion of his marriage to a +singer. There was also the chorus set to Goethe's words, "A Calm Sea and +Prosperous Voyage." This was written in 1815 and seven years later +dedicated to Goethe. The two sonatas, opus 102, for piano and cello, one +of which is called the Free Sonata, are interesting, as in them is +foreshadowed the trend of Beethoven's mind toward religious music, which +controlled him almost entirely from this time on. + +The idea of writing another oratorio seems now to have taken possession +of his mind. A preference for this mode appears in his journals and +letters and was probably the subject of conversation on his part. At all +events, the newly established Society of Friends of Music of Vienna +(which Beethoven, with his usual aptitude for punning, used to refer to +as the society of _Musikfeinde_, enemies of music) made him a +proposition to write an oratorio for them, which he accepted. No +stipulations were made as to subject or treatment, and the society +agreed to pay the handsome sum of three hundred gold ducats, merely for +the use of the work for one year. So far as known, this work was never +begun. The Archduke soon after obtained his appointment as +Cardinal-Archbishop, and the work on the mass for the Installation +occupied Beethoven to the exclusion of other works. + +The loss by death of three of Beethoven's old friends must have been +greatly felt by him in these years. Prince Lichnowsky, who died in +1814, was the first, and was followed two years later by Prince +Lobkowitz. Hardest of all, however, for the master was the loss of his +friend, Wenzel Krumpholz, who died in 1817. His relations with the +latter were more intimate than with the noblemen, and had continued +without a break almost from the time of his advent in Vienna. Czerny, in +his autobiography, gives an interesting picture of the devotion of +Krumpholz, who attached himself to Beethoven much the same as did +Boswell to Dr. Johnson. He was somewhat older than Beethoven, and his +position as first violinist at the Court Theatre enabled him to be of +much practical service to Beethoven, as he was widely known among the +professional musicians, as well as the rich amateurs. He sounded +Beethoven's praises far and wide: he encouraged him to begin +composition, making propaganda for him among the wealthy dilettante, and +spent a good portion of each day in his company. Beethoven, who at a +later period said of himself that he was too strong for friendship, did +not take kindly to this intimacy at first, but Krumpholz's persistency +was not to be gainsaid. He gave him lessons on the violin, and +identified himself in many ways with Beethoven's advancement. Beethoven +finally became so accustomed to him, that the presence of the other did +not disturb him, and he would improvise before him as if he were alone. +Krumpholz though devoid of genius himself, intuitively recognized its +presence in Beethoven, and led the younger man to discuss his musical +plans and ideas with him. The compositions as they took form in the +young man's mind, were played to Krumpholz, who advised and encouraged +him. The extravagant admiration of the latter sometimes acted on +Beethoven's sense of humor to such an extent that he would make fun of +him, and call him his fool, but this did not deter Krumpholz, who seemed +to think he had a divinely appointed task set him, in aiding the +development of this young genius, and was willing to put up with some +vagaries from him. + +In truth, Beethoven needed a champion, for, from the first, a certain +originality, a strenuousness, showed itself in his work, which put the +art on a new and different footing. That the young man was reaching out +for higher things his public may have been aware of, but only a few, +here and there, kindred spirits, cared for this. The average person was +unable to recognize any higher function in music than that of simple +enjoyment; anything aside from this was irrelevant, and could but lead +to deterioration. Although at the beginning of his career as composer, +he made Mozart and Haydn his models, this originality showed itself, and +when it was continued in subsequent works, it awoke the strongest +opposition in certain quarters. The strong partisanship which Krumpholz +brought to bear on the situation, was invaluable to the young man, whose +views needed confirmation and indorsement. Krumpholz seems to have had +an affinity for discovering talent in others. He brought Czerny, at the +age of ten years, to Beethoven, who immediately recognized his genius, +and offered to give him lessons. That Beethoven deeply felt the loss of +his old friend and teacher is evidenced by his writing music to the Song +of the monks, + + Rasch tritt der Tod den Menschen an, + +from Schiller's Wilhelm Tell, in commemoration of him. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +SENSE OF HUMOR + + In tristitia hilaris, in hilaritate tristis. + --MOTTO OF GIORDANO BRUNO. + + +Beethoven did not have much in the way of enjoyment, as the word is +generally understood, to compensate him for the pain of existence. The +resources vouchsafed others in this respect, family affection, love, +friendship, generally failed him when put to the test. Out of harmony +with the general order of things in the material world, the point in +which he could best come to an understanding with his fellow-creatures +was by the exercise of his sense of humor. The circumstances of his life +tended to make a pessimist of him. He did not understand the world and +was misunderstood in return. To counteract the tendency toward +pessimism, his resource was to develop his sense of humor, to create an +atmosphere of gayety, by which he was enabled to meet people on a common +plane. But not only in the ordinary affairs of life does it stand him in +good stead, this sense of humor. It comes out finely in his creative +work in the sonatas and the Scherzo movements of his symphonies. He +originated, invented the Scherzo, developing it from the simple minuet +of the earlier composers. The primary object of the Scherzo was +recreation pure and simple. It was introduced with the object of resting +the mind. + +The evolution of humor in music is an interesting subject of study. It +is something foreign to it, an exotic, of slow growth, gaining but +little in the hands of the earlier composers from Bach on. Even with +Haydn it never advanced much beyond geniality. They had essayed it +chiefly in the minuet, but succeeded only in producing something +stately, in which the element of fun or humor, to modern ways of +thinking is hardly appreciable. It found a sudden and wonderful +expansion, an efflorescence in Beethoven, with whom every phase of the +art was developed to colossal proportions. He has made of the Scherzo a +movement of such importance that it lends a distinctive character to his +symphonies. In this form he is unapproachable. In the whole range of +music there is nothing like it elsewhere. It is peculiar to Beethoven, +and is another example of the many-sidedness of the great composer. +"Happiness is a new idea in Europe," said St. Just, speaking of the +period immediately following the French Revolution. Whether or not +Beethoven ever met with this remark, its significance at least was taken +to heart. The word Scherz--joke, sport, is sufficiently obvious. He goes +much farther at times than simply to play pranks, however. A wide range +of expression is possible in the Scherzo when manipulated by a +master-mind like that of Beethoven. The satirical, sarcastic humor which +escaped him in social intercourse at times, is vented on a colossal +scale in the Scherzo, in which he often makes sport of humanity itself, +making it the subject of his jest, his ridicule--its foibles being +shown up, its follies exposed. When projected in this mood, the movement +calls for intellectual co-operation, and is of equal importance with the +others. + +Humor has been defined as the outcome of simplicity and philosophy in +the character. It can exist independently of genius we know, but genius +is never without humor. In other words, wherever there is a work of +genius, it transpires that the author has a fund of humor with which he +occasionally enriches his work. The profoundest philosophical treatises +have it. It is a part of the stock in trade of every great novelist; +Fielding, Thackeray, George Eliot, Walter Scott. It frequently comes to +the surface in Schopenhauer pessimist though he be; it pervades +Shakespeare. Few men regarded life with greater seriousness than +Thoreau, but humor sparkles all over his works. It is only where this is +in excess that it detracts from the value of the work. Not important in +itself when separated from the deeper work which it accompanies, it is +yet, all in all, one of the infallible tests, though a minor one, of the +work of any man of genius. A sense of humor exists in the man even +though he keep it out of his work, if he is good for anything. + +Beethoven's humor was titanic, heroic, on a grand scale, always with +what might be called a certain seriousness about it like that of a lion +at play. Mozart gives many instances of humor in his compositions, but +with a great difference in the character. His disposition was all +gentleness and sweetness, and his humor is characterized by these +attributes. It is on a small scale, and though enjoyable, has nothing +commanding about it. The musician, more than any artist, reflects his +character and trend of life in his work. + +This sense of humor, inherent in the mental equipment of Beethoven, +enabled him to enjoy a joke as well as give it, to perceive a ridiculous +situation and extract due amusement from it, to appropriate it wherever +he found it. But singularly enough, when the point of a joke was turned +against himself, his sense of humor failed him utterly. He would often +become angry in such cases and the perpetrator would come in for a round +of abuse which made him chary of attempting it again. + +Very bad music of which there was a sufficiency already in those times, +gave him great amusement, which he manifested by roars of laughter, we +are informed by Seyfried, who saw more or less of him during a period +covering a quarter of a century. "All his friends," says Seyfried, +"recognized that in the art of laughter, Beethoven was a virtuoso of the +first rank." He often laughed aloud when nothing had occurred to excite +laughter, and would in such case ascribe his own thoughts and fancies as +the cause. Naïve and simple as a child himself, he could only see the +naïveté in the worthless compositions above referred to, and could not +understand the small ambition back of the pitiful effort. He often +unintentionally afforded equally great amusement to others by his own +naïveté. Thus he once told Stein, of the noted family of pianoforte +makers that some of the strings in his Broadwood were out of order or +lacking, and to illustrate it, caught up a bootjack and struck the keys +with it. Ries states that Beethoven several times in his awkwardness +emptied the contents of the ink-stand into the piano. On this same piano +the master was often begged to improvise. The instrument was a present +from the manufacturers, and when made, was probably the best example of +its kind extant. It later came into the possession of Liszt. + +Beethoven's love of a joke was such that it appears in the title to one +of his works, the opus 129. It is a rondo a capriccio for piano, with +the title, Die Wuth über den verlorenen Groschen (fury over a lost +penny), of which Schumann says "it would be difficult to find anything +merrier than this whim. It is the most harmless amiable anger." + +Beethoven was ready in repartee, and full of resources, with a wit that +was spontaneous and equal to any emergency. One New-year's day, as he +and Schindler were sitting down to dinner, a card was brought in + + JOHANN VAN BEETHOVEN + _Gutsbesitzer_ (Landed proprietor). + +Beethoven took the card and wrote on the back of it-- + + L. VAN BEETHOVEN + _Hirnbesitzer_ (Brain proprietor). + +and sent it back to Johann. Cold-blooded, selfish, always ready to +profit by his talented brother, and never caring how he compromised him, +it was not to be expected that Johann would have the master's approval, +or that there could be any accord between them. In any encounter, the +composer generally managed to be master of the situation, through the +exercise of his wit, something which the duller Johann could neither +appreciate nor imitate. It may be said in passing, that the master +supplied the funds which enabled Johann to start in business. This was +in 1809. He made money rapidly in army contracts, a business for which +he was well qualified, and finally bought an estate and set up for a +landed proprietor. + +Beethoven's waggishness was frequently vented on a young friend, +Zmeskall, who was court secretary. Zmeskall undertook the task of +keeping the master supplied with pens, which he cut from goose-quills. +Beethoven used up large quantities of them and was incessant in his +demands on him. A certain drollery characterizes all his letters to him. +He knew how to hit the vulnerable points in the other, and they were +often made the subject of attack. Zmeskall being a member of the +nobility, is often addressed by him, "Most high-born of men." He was +useful to Beethoven not alone on the subject of pens, but was appealed +to by him for advice and assistance on all sorts of matters. Zmeskall, +though a bachelor, lived in fine state, and maintained several servants. +He was thus in a position to procure the right sort of one for +Beethoven. Many of the letters are either on this theme or in regard to +securing him another lodging. Zmeskall is his resource in many of the +small matters of every-day life, perplexing to him, but simple enough to +the practical man. The master's helplessness is shown with pathos and +unconscious humor in the following note: + + LIEBER ZMESKALL,-- + + Schicken sie mir doch ihrem spiegel, der nächts ihrem fenster hängt + auf ein paar stunden der meinige ist gebrochen, haben sie zugleich + die Güte haben wolten mir noch heute einen solchen zu kaufen so + erzeigten sie mir einen grossen Gefallen. Ihre Auslage sollen sie + sogleich zurük erhalten. Verzeien sie lieber Z meiner + zudringlichkeit. Ich hoffe sie bald zu sehen. + + Ihr, + BTHVN. + + DEAR ZMESKALL,-- + + Won't you kindly send me the mirror that hangs next to your window + for a few hours. Mine is broken. If you will at the same time have + the goodness to buy me such another you will do me a great favor. + Your outlay will be immediately returned to you. + + Pardon dear Z my importunity. I hope soon to see you. + + Your, + BTHVN. + +Beethoven's lapses from grammar (untranslatable into English), indicate +his impatience at the trivial wants and necessities which interrupt his +creative work and take his thoughts from his compositions. Instances of +bad grammar in his letters are frequent, when dealing with ordinary +topics. In no sense a polished man, he could, however, when the occasion +required it, assume in his grammar and diction the grace and elegance of +the scholar, but it does not often come to the front. He was too rugged, +too headstrong, to pay much attention to the little niceties of life. + +In common with his contemporaries, Zmeskall found his principal +enjoyment in music. He gave musical parties at his quarters, playing the +cello himself, and gathered about him many of the most distinguished +artists and amateurs of the day. Beethoven was always interested in +feats of virtuosity, but he cared little for the compositions of +others. He occupied himself with his own work to the exclusion of that +of his contemporaries. His musical library was scant, consisting of a +small collection of the works of the early Italian masters, bound in one +volume, some of Mozart's sonatas--which must have seemed to him +curiously stunted and commonplace in comparison with his own--and a +portion of Don Giovanni. In addition, he possessed all of Clementi's +sonatas, which he greatly admired and which formed the basis of the +musical studies of his nephew for several years. Lastly there were a few +works of Bach, consisting of the Well-tempered Clavichord, some motets, +three volumes of exercises, some inventions, symphonies and a toccato. + +In speaking of Weber he said that he began to learn too late, and makes +the curious criticism that Weber's only apparent effort was to attain +the reputation of geniality. In reading Freischutz, he said he could +hardly help smiling at certain parts, but afterward qualified this by +saying that he could judge it better if he could hear it. Schindler +says, that when Rossini came to Vienna in 1822, and endeavored to call +on Beethoven, the master succeeded in escaping his visits. His opinion +of Händel is high. He once remarked to a friend who called on him, +"Händel is the greatest composer that ever lived." Continuing the +narrative this friend, J.A. Stumpf of London, says, "I cannot describe +the pathos and sublimity with which he spoke of the Messiah of that +immortal genius. We all felt moved when he said, 'Ich würde mein Haupt +entblössen und auf seinem Grabe niederknieen.' (I would kneel at his +grave with uncovered head.)" + +Of Mozart, he said, near the end of his life, in a letter to the Abbe +Stadler, "All my life I have been esteemed one of the greatest admirers +of Mozart's genius and will remain so until my latest breath." Czerny +said that he was at times inexhaustible in praise of Mozart, although he +cared nothing for his piano works and he makes a severe criticism on Don +Giovanni. "In this opera Mozart still retained the complete Italian cut +and style. Moreover, the sacred art should never be degraded to the +foolery of so scandalous a subject. The Zauberflöte will ever remain his +greatest work, for in this he showed himself the true German composer." +Of Cherubini's Requiem he said, "as regards his conception of it, my +ideas are in perfect accord with his and sometime I mean to compose a +Requiem in that style." (Later in life his opinion of Cherubini was +greatly modified). He seldom spoke of Haydn, and had nothing of that +master's compositions in his library. + +Beethoven's collections in literature were far more extensive and +interesting than in music. He was essentially a student. His +predilections and thoughts all tended toward the acquisition of +knowledge. This was a veritable passion with him. His mind ranged +through almost every department of literature. In the intervals of his +work, worn by fatigue, he was in the habit of resting his mind by +reading the classics, or Persian literature. Schindler, who was near him +for the last ten years of his life says in relation to Beethoven's love +of the Greek classics. "He could recite long passages from them. If any +one asked him where this or that quotation was to be found he could find +it as readily as a motive from his own works." Elsewhere he says, +"Plato's Republic was transfused into his very flesh and blood." He was +an insatiable reader of history. As may be supposed Shakespeare was an +especial favorite with him. There is a curious little work published +called Beethoven's Brevier, made up of those portions of Shakespeare and +the classics for which he had a particular regard. Here, Shakespeare is +first on the list. There are also many selections from the Greek, and +from Schiller, Goethe, Herder and others. + +Although a man of considerable culture, he was not an educated man, all +his available time and strength having been required for his musical +training. He was, however, the equal or superior in mental attainments +of any of the great musicians, with the exception of Wagner. He had the +strongest faith in his own powers. It was his belief that almost +anything could be accomplished by trying. Side by side with this belief +was the ineradicable conviction that intellectual culture was of more +importance than anything else in the universe. He stated his views +finely on this subject in a letter to a young girl, unknown to him, who +had sent him a present with a letter expressing her appreciation of his +music. "Do more than simply practice the art (of music), penetrate +rather, into the heart and soul of it. It will be found well worth +while, for art and knowledge alone have the power to elevate mankind up +to Deity itself. Should you want anything of me at any time, write me +with entire confidence. The true artist is never arrogant; rather he +sees with regret how illimitable all art is, and how far from the goal +he remains. While he may be admired, he only grieves that he cannot +reach the point toward which his better genius beckons him." + +We read of his ordering complete sets of Schiller and Goethe in the +summer of 1809. The study of these authors carried on under most +unfavorable conditions, bore good fruit subsequently, as some good work +was inspired by them. The Egmont music, which appeared the following +year, the Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, Bundeslied, the different +settings of Erlkönig, the four settings of Sehnsucht are instances, +although this does not by any means complete the list of his settings +from the works of the authors just named. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +MISSA SOLEMNIS + + Christianity is the doctrine of the deep guilt of the human race + through its existence alone, and the longing of the heart for + deliverance from it. + --SCHOPENHAUER. + + +To Christianity and the spirit of religion in man we are indebted for +some of the finest arts which adorn our civilization. It was the +religious principle which brought into being the temples and statuary of +ancient Greece, as well as the splendid examples of Gothic architecture, +which have come down to us from the middle ages. It is this which has +given us those masterpieces in painting and sculpture, which have so +enriched the world; but above all it has given us music, highest of all +the arts. Here its influence has been most potent. Originating outside +the church, it found its best development within it. Religious fervor +had inspired some imperishable works of genius at a period when nothing +much had yet been done in secular music. The Masses of Palestrina, the +entire life-work of Sebastian Bach, the oratorios of Händel, are cases +in point. The old masters with hardly an exception gave their best +thought to sacred music. Bach has been mentioned. Haydn's important work +comes under this classification. Of the works of Händel, only those of +a religious nature have survived to the present day, although he +composed many operas. + +The Masses and Passion-music of the old composers were often written +without hope of reward, entirely from love of the subject; they were +impelled to it, either through religious ardor, or from the force of +their artistic perceptions. The stateliness and solemnity of the Mass, +the tragic possibilities of the Passion, appealed to them, and satisfied +the tendency toward mysticism, which is so often a part of the artistic +nature. + +As an art, music finds its best development when of a religious +character. While operatic and even orchestral music in general, is +written more for the sake of giving pleasure than with any clearly +defined ethical purpose, the music of the Mass and Passion, religious +ceremonies, entering into man's profoundest experiences, is given for +spiritual enlightenment, and, being a part of the soul's needs, demands +and receives higher treatment and more serious consideration than +secular music. The very frame of mind which takes possession of a person +while listening to music of a religious character, is favorable to a +true appreciation of it. The listener is more in earnest, and the +emotions called up by the subject impress him more strongly than when +listening to secular music. These considerations have their influence on +the composer also. We usually find in religious music of the best class, +depth and earnestness of purpose commensurate with the expectation of +the listener. + +These few words are preliminary to a consideration of the Mass in D, the +work in which Beethoven reached his culmination as an artist. He himself +so regarded it, declaring it to be his greatest and best work. It is +certain that he spent more time on it, and gave it a larger share of his +attention than was devoted to any other of his works. + +For several years prior to this, Beethoven's muse had been silent for +the most part. No important work since the completion of the Eighth +Symphony had been achieved, with the exception of the sonatas mentioned +in a previous chapter. This was owing to the various lawsuits in which +he found himself involved. His troubles had now been adjusted, however, +to such an extent as to enable him to again turn his attention to large +works. The pension which had been settled on him in 1809 had been +imperilled by the death of Prince Kinsky and the bankruptcy of Prince +Lobkowitz. The portion of it which had been pledged to him by these +gentlemen had been discontinued or greatly reduced, and Beethoven had to +have recourse to the law to protect his rights. A compromise was finally +effected, which resulted in the pension being paid in part. Although the +litigation, in regard to his nephew was still on, it was becoming more +and more apparent that the outcome of it would be in his favor. His mind +at rest on these points, we find him once more in good health and +spirits, with creative energy not only unimpaired but greater than ever. +"In general, every evil to which we do not succumb is a benefactor," +said Emerson. + +The announcement of the Archduke's appointment as Archbishop of Olmütz, +had been definitely made during the summer of 1818. It was well known +for years previously that he would receive this appointment, and it is +quite likely that Beethoven had always intended writing a mass to +commemorate it. Considering the close relations existing between master +and pupil for so many years, and Beethoven's obligations to Rudolph in +money matters, he could hardly have let so momentous an event go by, +without writing a mass for it. A mass was probably always intended, but +not such a one as eventually grew out of his original idea, which, +expanding, augmenting in force and grandeur as the significance of the +work took possession of his mind, finally became an apotheosis of +friendship, a message to the world. + +That the Archduke appreciated Beethoven and valued his friendship is +plain. He carefully preserved the letters written him by the master and +dedicated to him some of his own compositions. He had as complete a +library of Beethoven's works as was attainable, and was thoroughly +familiar with the master's music. That Beethoven responded to this to an +equal degree is not likely. He lived too abstracted a life for that. He +valued this friendship as much as such a man could, considering the +disparity in rank and the difference in mode of thought of the two men. +In dedicating so many of his compositions to him, and in consenting to +teach him for so long a period, he showed the esteem in which he held +him. Probably no other person, man or woman received the deference and +consideration from Beethoven, which he accorded the Archduke. The +republican, socialistic Beethoven was not specially influenced by his +rank; rather, it was his personality and devotion to music, which won +the regard of the master and formed the bond between them. + +In the composition of the mass, Beethoven was on familiar ground; the +work was congenial to him. The emotions called up by the subject swayed +him to such an extent that he had difficulty in keeping it within +bounds. The mass was a form of music with which he had been associated +from childhood. It will be remembered that he played the organ at the +age of twelve years at church services, a practice which was kept up for +some years. His earliest impressions on the subject of music were in +this style. He was, in addition, inclined to it by temperament. + +The beautiful text appealed to him strongly. It is related that when the +German version of his first Mass (in C) was brought him, he quickly +opened the manuscript and ran over a few pages. When he came to the Qui +tollis, the tears trickled from his eyes and he was obliged to desist, +saying with the deepest emotion, "Yes, that was precisely my feeling +when I composed it." + +His journal entries at the time of beginning work on the Mass in D show +how completely the subject had taken possession of him. "To compose true +religious music, consult the old chorals in use in monasteries," he +wrote, which gives the clew to his frequent lapses into the ancient +ecclesiastical modes, the Lydian and Dorian, in this mass, a practice +for which Bach furnished a precedent. "Drop operas and everything else, +write only in your own style," is another entry of this time, showing +his predilection for church music. + +The summer of 1818 was spent at Mödling. He was in the best of health +and spirits as stated, and began the work with great energy and +enthusiasm. His whole nature seemed to change, Schindler states, when he +began the great work. His interest and absorption in it was +extraordinary, as is shown by the sketch-books from the beginning. +Enthusiasm carried him on to the consummation of a greater work than +any he had yet accomplished. Hitherto, every achievement was merely a +resting-place up the mountainside, the prospect acting as a spur to him +to go yet higher, well knowing what Emerson finely stated, and was +putting into practice at this very time, that new gifts will be supplied +in proportion as we make use of those we have. _Dem Muthigen hilft +Gott!_ said Schiller. Beethoven seemed to have some prevision that only +a few more years would be allotted him for work; when he began on the +mass his inspiration was like a river that had broken its bounds. Every +nerve and fibre of his being called him to his work. He was like a +war-horse that scents the battle. He now abandoned himself more than +ever to the impulse for creating. For the next few years he lived the +abstracted life of the enthusiast to whom every-day concerns are but +incidental and unimportant things, and his art the one great matter. The +gigantic tone-pictures which were constantly forming themselves in his +inner consciousness were of so much greater importance than the events +of his external life, that the latter were dwarfed by comparison and +lost their significance. He now made a greater surrender of the ties +connecting him with every-day life than ever before. His industry was +phenomenal, but it soon became apparent that the work would not be ready +for the Installation, the date of which was set for March 20, 1820. It +was in reality not completed until nearly two years after this event. + +We have a good description of the master at this time by the artist +Klober, who had been commissioned by a wealthy relative who was forming +a gallery of famous Vienna artists, to paint a portrait of Beethoven. + +"Beethoven had a very earnest look; his vivacious eyes were for the most +part turned upwards, with a thoughtful and rather a gloomy expression, +which I have tried to represent. His lips were closed, but the mouth was +not an unkindly one. He was ready enough to expatiate on the arrogant +vanity and depraved taste of the Viennese aristocracy, by whom he feels +himself neglected, or at least underrated." + + * * * * * + +"Beethoven sat to me for nearly an hour every morning. When he saw my +picture, he observed that the style of hair pleased him very much; other +painters had always dressed it up as if he were going to court, not at +all as he generally wore it." + + * * * * * + +"His house at Mödling was extremely simple; so, indeed, was his whole +manner of life. His dress consisted of a light-blue coat with yellow +buttons, white waistcoat and neckcloth, such as were then worn, but +everything about him was very negligee. His complexion was florid, the +skin rather pock-marked, his hair the color of blue steel, for the black +was already changing to grey. His eyes were a bluish-grey and +exceedingly vivacious. When his hair streamed in the breeze there was a +sort of Ossian-like dæmonism about him. But, when talking in a friendly +way, he would assume a good-natured, gentle expression, particularly if +the conversation was agreeable to him." + +As we have seen, it had been a favorite project of Beethoven for years +to write a mass. When he started to carry out his ideas, one course only +seems to have been possible to him. This was, to project it on the +principle of his Symphonies, in which the orchestra should take the +commanding part in interpreting the emotional and dramatic possibilities +of the text. His experience with his first mass had confirmed him in the +belief that he could give the best expression to his ideas by the use of +the orchestra, on account of its greater range, its mobility, the +variety of its tones. The idea of making it of more importance than the +voice, upset all preconceived theories on the subject. The orchestra was +emphatically the tool best adapted to Beethoven's powers; he developed +it into something wholly different from what it was when he found it. He +put it to exquisite uses. His effects are the happiest imaginable and +they are introduced with a prodigality and lavishness suggesting a +reserve as of oceans from which to draw. Much of his vocal music is +dominated by the orchestra. + +It took a long while to make people understand that music instead of +being the handmaid of poetry, whose function is merely to reflect the +ideas of our spoken language, has a language of its own, which can +convey ideas in itself, and that there are subtilties that can be +expressed in this manner, which evade one when we come to use our +coarser mode of expression. This is specially in evidence in Beethoven's +later work, particularly in the mass we are now considering. Wagner +frequently compares it to a symphony. In _Zukunftsmusik_, he says: "In +his Great Mass Beethoven has employed the choir and orchestra almost +exactly as in the symphony;" and elsewhere he cites it as being a +"strictly symphonic work of the truest Beethovenian spirit." + +In this work, however, he reaches out toward the infinite to a degree +not attempted in the symphonies; his spirit takes a bolder flight; more +of the inner nature of the artist is revealed; for the limits which +bound him in the symphony were not operative in the mass. The very mode +of projecting the first movement, the Kyrie, shows the splendor of the +conception as it took form in his consciousness. The scheme of the +movement can be summed up by the antithesis being presented of humanity, +weak and sinful on the one side, and the overwhelming majesty of a just +God on the other. It is a prayer for mercy, the cry of the soul in its +extremity; the underlying thought being repentance. Here we have the +embodiment of prayer, of supplication. A devotional feeling of the most +exalted kind pervades it. The first of the three parts comprising the +movement is storm and stress, a knocking on the gates, a De Profundus, +an accusing conscience arraigning humanity. He works out of this vein to +some extent in the second part, the Christe eleison, in which the appeal +is made directly to the human element of the Godhead. In the third part, +the themes of the first are again taken up, but by modulation they are +made to take on a new significance, and bring peace in the end. Although +the movement is cast for double chorus as regards the vocal part, the +voices are given a subordinate place, the portrayal being carried on by +the orchestra in true symphonic style. Notable in this movement is the +rhythm. In all the storm and stress, a rhythmic motion, a systole and +diastole, a surging to and fro, as of vast masses of beings in the last +extremity of peril, is apparent. + +To read meanings and design into the work of such a composer as +Beethoven is the inevitable result of the transcendent nature of it. It +was seldom that he vouchsafed any explanation of his musical intent in +his compositions. Schindler, who thoroughly appreciated his genius, and +who was eager for enlightenment on this phase of his art, was in the +habit of drawing Beethoven out, as occasion offered, but it was always a +difficult process. Simple and childlike in most matters, the master was +wary and suspicious to an incredible degree when the conversation +touched on the subject of his compositions. At times, however, this +reserve gave way to Schindler's persistency. When he asked him about the +opening bars of the C minor Symphony (the Fifth) it brought out the +well-known remark, "thus fate knocks at the door." At another time, he +asked him for an elucidation of the Sonatas in F minor (opus 57) and D +minor (opus 29), and received the answer "read Shakespeare's Tempest," +which was only half an answer. More definite is his meaning in the two +Sonatas (opus 14), which represents the entreating and resisting +principle in the conversation of a pair of lovers. + +[Musical notation.] + +Men of genius seldom care to explain their utterances. "The spirit gives +it to me and I write it down" is a remark attributed to Beethoven, and +this stated the case sufficiently from his point of view. + +Zelter, director of the Singakademie of Berlin wrote Beethoven on +completion of the Mass, asking him to arrange it for voices only, as +nothing but _a capella_ music was permitted by the institution. To this +Beethoven gave a favorable reply, saying that with some modifications +the project was feasible. It, however, was not carried out. + +It is significant that Beethoven gives the German direction throughout +in this Mass. At the Kyrie the direction is Mit Andacht. At the soli of +the Agnus Dei he writes Aengstlich, denoting great agitation or anxiety. +It may have been done as a kind of protest to the Italian cult in music, +which had at this period taken complete possession of the Vienna public. +The more solid German music was neglected in favor of Rossini, and +Beethoven felt this change of front keenly, making it the subject of +remark to Rochlitz and to others. + +It can readily be supposed that works like the Mass in D are not easily +produced. To get his materials for it Beethoven penetrated deeply the +mystery surrounding life. The ideas which he voices seem always to have +existed, like other great forces in the universe; he impresses one as +being the discoverer, rather than the creator of them. + +Schindler, who saw much of him during these years, says of his +absorption in this work: "He actually seemed possessed, especially +during the composition of the Credo." It was while he was at work on +this portion of the Mass, notably the great fugue, et vitam venturi (the +life everlasting), that Schindler called on him one afternoon, but could +not gain admission. He knew the master was at home as he could hear him +stamping and shouting, singing the different parts as if mad. Finally +the door was opened and Beethoven appeared. He was faint from hunger and +overwork, having eaten nothing since the previous noon. His servants +had, indeed, prepared some food for him the previous day, but he was too +much interested in his work to think of it, and they were afraid to +urge it on him, or indeed, go near him, while in the stress of +composition. He had worked the previous night until overtaken by +exhaustion and on awaking in the morning had at once resumed his work, +continuing it until interrupted by Schindler's arrival. + +A work so transcendental in character as is this, calls for close and +sympathetic study even to get an approximate understanding of its +marvels. It is a characteristic of works of this nature, that although +not easily comprehended, they are likewise not readily exhausted. Much +study, many renderings only serve to bring out new values. Only by +bringing to them of our best will they be revealed. + +It must have been with a feeling of relief that he finally delivered a +copy of the Mass complete into the Archduke's hands in March of 1822, +just two years after the Installation. + +Beethoven wrote the sovereigns of Russia, France, Prussia and Saxony, +proposing a subscription of fifty ducats, about $115 each, for the Mass. +The first acceptance came from Prussia. One of the minor officials in +Vienna was commissioned by Prince von Hatzfeld, the Prussian Ambassador, +to ask Beethoven if he would not prefer a royal order instead of the +fifty ducats. Beethoven's reply was characteristic. Without a moment's +hesitation he said with emphasis, "fifty ducats!" showing the slight +value he placed on distinctions of this kind. A reply that must have +gratified him very much was that received from the King of France. In +his letter to him, Beethoven refers to the Mass as "_L'oeuvre le plus +accompli_." Louis XVIII, not only forwarded his acceptance (and the +fifty ducats), but had also a gold medal struck off, containing his +portrait on one side, and on the other, the following inscription: +"_Donné par le Roi à monsieur Beethoven_." The King of Saxony delayed +his remittance for a long while, and Beethoven was greatly irritated +thereby. + +But little other work was undertaken during the four years he was +occupied on the Mass unless we except the three grand piano sonatas, +opus 109, 110 and 111, which were composed during the intervals. A mere +by-product so to speak, undertaken with the object of resting his +faculties jaded by the strain of the greater work, his mind +notwithstanding was keyed up to a high pitch, while engaged on them. The +lofty imaginings which occupied his thoughts while on the Mass are +reflected in them, rendering them unapproachable as piano sonatas. The +master himself, set a great value on them. + +Now that the Mass was completed he began to give his attention to other +works. To celebrate the opening of the rehabilitated Josephstadt theatre +which occurred in the autumn of 1822, Beethoven wrote a new overture, +Weihe des Hauses. He also worked over for this occasion his Ruins of +Athens, written in 1812, for which the text was altered to suit the new +conditions and several new numbers added. Another representation of the +almost forgotten Fidelio, which was selected by Fräulein +Schroeder-Devrient for her benefit, and which was a pronounced success +through the genius of this remarkable woman, led to a commission for a +new opera from a Vienna manager. This was followed shortly after by a +similar order from Berlin on his own terms. There had also been some +talk before this about an opera on an American subject, the Founding of +Pennsylvania. It was suggested by a minor poet and government official, +Johann Ruprecht, whose poem, Merkenstein, Beethoven had set to music +previous to 1816. In 1820 Beethoven had planned an Italian tour and had +intended taking Ruprecht with him. They must have quarrelled later, as +in a letter to Schindler in 1823 Beethoven refers to Ruprecht in the +most abusive terms. + +A commission that must have gratified Beethoven exceedingly, but which, +however, was not acted upon, was that which emanated from Breitkopf and +Härtel, who sent the famous critic Friederich Rochlitz to Vienna in +July, 1822, with a proposition that he write some Faust music in the +style of the Egmont music. It is narrated that Beethoven received the +proposition with joy, but gave only a qualified assent. There is no +doubt that he would have found inspiration in the text, and that a noble +work would have resulted, but he feared the nervous strain of such an +undertaking. "I should enjoy it," he said to Rochlitz, "but I shudder at +the thought of beginning works of such magnitude. Once engaged on them, +however, I have no difficulty." His labors on the Mass aged him. In his +prime on its inception, he emerged from his seclusion on completing it, +infirm and broken in health. The idea of the Faust music attracted him, +as it would have been strictly symphonic in character. He occasionally +refers to it subsequently, but never got so far as to enter themes for +it in his note-books. Wagner essayed it, but went no further than to +write the overture. The subject of Faust still awaits a capable +interpreter. + +His next commission was a simple one, consisting of an order early in +the spring of 1823 from Diabelli, composer and head of a large +publishing house in Vienna, for six variations on a waltz by him +(Diabelli). The dance was always a favorite musical form with Beethoven +in his lighter moments, and the variation form,--capable of a degree of +sprightliness, vivacity and originality in the right hands which give it +an entrancing effect, to which we come again and again with pleasure, +was something peculiarly his own at every stage of his artistic career. +His earliest essays in composition are in this form. Variations occupy a +prominent part in all his works, whether chamber-music, sonatas or +symphonies. They are introduced perhaps with best effect in the works of +his last years, in the Ninth Symphony, and in the last quartets. + +He accepted the order with pleasure and began work on it at once on +reaching his summer quarters. This was congenial work, affording him +relief from the mental strain imposed on him by his labors on the Ninth +Symphony, which was then under way. A price of eighty ducats ($180) was +fixed by the publisher at the outset for the set, but the master enjoyed +his work so much, that the six, when completed, were increased to ten, +then to twenty, and twenty-five, and so on until the number grew to +thirty-three. These variations are extremely elaborate and difficult, a +characteristic of most of his work in these years. + +Wagner never tired of exploiting the variation form in his operas, +particularly in the Tetralogy. He frequently refers to Beethoven's +masterly use of it. "Haydn first, Beethoven last, have conferred +artistic value on this form," he says in the article on conducting; +later on in the same work, he says, "the wondrous second movement of +Beethoven's great C minor Sonata" (opus 111), "and the last movement of +the Eroica Symphony should be grasped as an infinitely magnified +Variation section." Bach also excelled in it, the Variation form being +constantly met with throughout his works. + +The summer of 1823 was spent at Hetzendorf, a village of which Beethoven +was always fond. He had secured large and comfortable quarters in the +house of a Baron Pronay, which, from Schindler's account was a fine old +mansion in the centre of a large park. It suited Beethoven admirably. +There was a fine view of the surrounding country from his windows, the +situation was healthful, and he delighted in walking about when not at +work. But he gave up this comfortable home before the summer was ended, +simply on account of the extravagant politeness of his landlord, who, +conscious of the value of so distinguished a tenant, always greeted him +with "profound obeisances" when they met. This opera bouffe deportment +though undertaken with the best of motives on the Baron's part, became +so embarrassing that Beethoven finally fled to Baden with all his +belongings, including the grand piano, although his rent had been paid +in advance for the entire summer. Schindler assisted in this migration, +joining him at five o'clock one morning. + +The year 1823 in which Beethoven practically completed his life-work +(with the exception of the last quartets) is the dawn of a new musical +genius, versatile, accomplished, many-sided, who as performer was +qualified to rank with the older master. On New-year's day of this year, +Franz Liszt, who had been studying under Czerny for two years past, +made his first appearance in Vienna in concert, in which he took the +public by storm. Beethoven seems not to have been present, and +strangely, when we reflect on his intimacy with Czerny, seems to have +been unaware of the existence of this talented youth. During the autumn +of this year, the elder Liszt called on Beethoven, bringing with him the +young Franz. Beethoven held himself aloof at first, receiving his +visitors coldly. He unbent however, on hearing the youth perform, and +stooped and kissed him. During this autumn he also received a visit from +Weber and young Julius Benedict, his pupil. Weber was preparing his +recently completed opera Euryanthe, for a first production in Vienna. He +had produced Fidelio in the foregoing spring season at Dresden, where he +was officially stationed, and had made a success of it with Frau +Schroeder-Devrient. Considerable correspondence must have passed between +the two composers on this matter, and Weber could hardly have omitted +calling when coming to Vienna, although the memory of his former +strictures on Beethoven's music must have embarrassed him. Weber had +stated on hearing the Seventh Symphony for the first time that Beethoven +was now fit for the madhouse, and his criticisms in general had been +adverse. This, however, was something which Beethoven had never objected +to; moreover, time had amply vindicated him as to the symphonies, so he +could afford to be generous to his youthful critic. Beethoven was genial +and kindly, and the younger man was deeply impressed by the master's +reception of him. Euryanthe proved a failure and Weber called again to +ask Beethoven's advice as to remodelling the work. + +The libretto Melusina, which was submitted to him by Grillparzer found +such favor in his eyes as to lead to its acceptance, but when he came +face to face with the project, his former experience with opera was +sufficient to deter him, and he abandoned the idea, giving as an excuse +the inferiority of the German singers. That this was only an excuse, is +plain, since only a short time afterward Mlle. Sontag was intrusted with +the exceedingly difficult soprano parts of the Mass in D and the Ninth +Symphony. He was hard at work on this Symphony at the time, which will +serve to explain and accentuate his reluctance to again attempt operatic +composition, a style of work diametrically opposed to that which had +engaged his attention for many years previously. It would too, have +necessitated shelving the Symphony indefinitely, and, although he needed +the money which the opera would have yielded, his interest in the +Symphony was paramount; he could not bring himself to abandon it. With +failing powers superinduced by his excessive labors on the Mass, it was +being borne in on him that he was nearing the end of his life-work. +Under such circumstances the Symphony was sure to have the preference. +The long cherished plans for another oratorio, and for a Requiem Mass +also insistently came up for consideration, crowding out all serious +intention of an opera. + +The project of a Requiem Mass was of particular interest to him; it +comes to the fore frequently. He mentioned it shortly after the +completion of the Mass in C. Then, when his brother Karl died it is +again considered. It is also mentioned on the occasion of the tragic +death of Prince Kinsky, who had acted so liberally by him in the matter +of the pension. It is probable that the work of writing a Requiem Mass +would have proved congenial to him. He was in the right mood for it on +completion of the Mass in D, and it is rather singular that he did not +undertake it instead of the Symphony. Religious questions were occupying +his mind more and more in these years. It must be admitted that his +religion was as peculiar to himself as was his music. He affiliated with +no church, although baptized as a Catholic, and brought up in that +church; but the frequent appeals to the Divinity in his journals, show +his belief in, and reliance on, a higher power. He formulated his own +religion as did Thoreau. The man who could write, "Socrates and Jesus +were patterns to me" lived a correct life in its essentials. His +asceticism, his unselfishness, the sympathy which he continually showed +for others, his unworldliness,--what else is this but the gist of New +Testament teaching? Like a tree nourished on alien soil, which yet +produces fairer and better fruit than the native ones, and becomes the +parent of a new variety, this man achieved his high development of +character by being a law unto himself like the anchorites of old. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +NINTH SYMPHONY + + We stand to-day before the Beethovenian Symphony as before the + landmark of an entirely new period in the history of universal art, + for through it there came into the world a phenomenon not even + remotely approached by anything the art of any age or any people + has to show us. + --WAGNER. + + +During the period of his work on the Mass, and for some time before, +Beethoven's thoughts were occupied more or less with that stupendous +work, the Ninth Symphony, sketches for which began to appear already in +1813, shortly after his meeting with Goethe. That Beethoven looked up to +Goethe ever after as to a spiritual mentor, studying his works, +absorbing his thought, is plain. In projecting this symphony he may very +well have designed it as a counterpart to Faust, as has been suggested. +Actually begun in 1817, it had to be laid aside before much had been +accomplished on it, in favor of the Mass in D. This gave him plenty of +time to mature his conception of the work; and this ripening process, +covering a period of ten years from its first inception, was one of the +factors which helped him achieve his wondrous result. His work on the +Mass was a good preparation for the psychological problems expounded in +the Symphony. + +Here is a work so interwoven into Beethoven's very life and spirit, that +the mention of his name at once calls to mind the Ninth Symphony. It is +the work of the seer approaching the end of his life-drama, giving with +photographic clearness a résumé of it. Here are revelations of the inner +nature of a man who had delved deeply into the mysteries surrounding +life, learning this lesson in its fullest significance, that no great +spiritual height is ever attained without renunciation. The world must +be left behind. Asking and getting but little from it, giving it of his +best, counting as nothing its material advantages, realizing always that +contact with it had for him but little joy, the separation from it was +nevertheless a hard task. This mystery constantly confronted Beethoven, +that, even when obeying the finer behests of his nature, peace was not +readily attained thereby; often there was instead, an accession of +unhappiness for the time being. Paradoxically peace was made the +occasion for a struggle; it had to be wrested from life. No victory is +such unless well fought for and dearly bought. + +This eternal struggle with fate, this conflict forever raging in the +heart, runs through all the Symphonies, but nowhere is it so strongly +depicted as in this, his last. We have here in new picturing, humanity +at bay, as in the recently completed Kyrie of the grand mass. The +apparently uneven battle of the individual with fate,--the plight of the +human being who finds himself a denizen of a world with which he is +entirely out of harmony, who, wrought up to despair, finds life +impossible yet fears to die,--is here portrayed in dramatic language. To +Wagner the first movement pictured to him "the idea of the world in its +most terrible of lights," something to recoil from. "Beethoven in the +Ninth Symphony," he says, "leads us through the torment of the world +relentlessly until the ode to joy is reached." + +Great souls have always taught that the only relief for this +_Weltschmerz_ is through the power of love; that universal love alone +can transform and redeem the world. This is the central teaching of +Jesus, of Buddha, of all who have the welfare of humanity at heart. It +was Beethoven's solution of the problem of existence. Through this magic +power, sorrows are transmuted into gifts of peace and happiness. +Beethoven loved his kind. Love for humanity, pity for its misfortunes, +hope for its final deliverance, largely occupied his mind. With scarcely +an exception Beethoven's works end happily. Among the sketches of the +last movement of the Mass in D, he makes the memorandum, "Stärke der +Gesinnungen des innern Friedens. Über alles ... Sieg." (Strengthen the +conviction of inward peace. Above all--Victory). The effect of the +Choral Finale is that of an outburst of joy at deliverance, a +celebration of victory. It is as if Beethoven, with prophetic eye, had +been able to pierce the future and foresee a golden age for humanity, an +age where altruism was to bring about cessation from strife, and where +happiness was to be general. Such happiness as is here celebrated in the +Ode to Joy, can indeed, only exist in the world through altruism. +Pity,[B] that sentiment which allies man to the divine, comes first. +From this proceeds love, and through these and by these only is +happiness possible. This was the gist of Beethoven's thought. He had +occupied himself much with sociological questions all his life, always +taking the part of the oppressed. + +[B] The German rendering _Mitleid_ has a higher significance than its +English equivalent. Literally it means sharing the sorrow of the +afflicted one. It may be said in passing that this sentiment is the +central idea in Parsifal. + +Schindler, who was almost constantly with Beethoven at this time, tells +of the difficulty the master experienced in finding a suitable way of +introducing the choral part. He finally hit upon the naïve device of +adding words of his own in the form of a recitative, which first appears +in the sketch-book as, "Let us sing the immortal Schiller's Song, +'Freude schöner Götterfunken.'" This was afterward changed to the much +better form as now appears, "O Freunde, nicht diese Töne! sondern lasst +uns angenehmere anstimmen, und freudenvollere." (O friends, not these +tones. Let us sing a strain more cheerful, more joyous.) + +The whole character and design of the Ode to Joy will be better +apprehended when it is stated that it is in reality an Ode to Freedom. +With its revolutionary spirit Beethoven was entirely in accord. Already +in his twenty-third year he contemplated setting it to music. Later, in +the note-book of 1812, the first line of the poem appears, in connection +with a scheme for an overture. It is worthy of remark that the Symphony +was well under way before he decided on incorporating the Ode in it. + +The Ninth Symphony was first performed in this country in 1846 in Castle +Garden, by the New York Philharmonic Society, which had been organized +four years previously. George Loder conducted it. When we consider the +herculean efforts Wagner was obliged to make to get permission to +perform it in Dresden in this selfsame year, it speaks well for "North +America." Subsequent performances of it in New York by this Society are +as follows: + +PERFORMANCE CONDUCTOR + +Second April 28, 1860 Theo. Eisfeld. +Third April 29, 1865 " " +Fourth February 1, 1868 C. Bergmann. +Fifth April 28, 1877 Dr. L. Damrosch. +Sixth February 12, 1881 Theo. Thomas. +Seventh April 10, 1886 " " +Eighth April 12, 1890 " " +Ninth April 23, 1892 Anton Seidl. +Tenth April 11, 1896 " " +Eleventh April 2, 1898 Vander Stucken. +Twelfth April 7, 1900 E. Paur. +Thirteenth April 4, 1902 " " + +It was not performed in New York during the years 1903 and 1904. + +Beethoven's correspondence with Count Brühl of the Berlin Theatre in the +matter of an opera for that city, led him, owing to the apathy of the +Vienna public at this time toward his works, to offer the new Symphony +and the Mass for a first hearing in Berlin. At this time, and for some +years previously, Rossini's music had captured the Vienna public so +completely that no other was desired. That this light evanescent work +should be preferred to his own, was resented by the master. He decided +to offer the new works to Count Brühl, the Italian craze not having yet +penetrated Berlin. As soon as this became known however, a reaction +followed, and a memorial was addressed to Beethoven by his friends, +begging him to reconsider the matter, and produce the new works in +Vienna, as well as write a new opera for them. The appeal was signed by +thirty of the most prominent men of affairs in the city. The list of +names is a noble one, each being prominently connected in some way with +music. Among composers and performers may be mentioned Czerny and the +Abbe Stadler. Artario & Co., Diabelli and Leidersdorf, were music +publishers. Count Palfy and Sonnleithner were operatic managers, while +counselor Kiesewetter and J.F. Costelli were authors of libretti and +songs. The others were prominent in court circles, and their devotion to +music was such as to give weight to the communication. The memorial +itself is discursive to a point which taxes one's patience, but the +expressions of appreciation and friendship are genuine, and must have +gratified Beethoven extremely. Naturally but one outcome was probable as +a result of this memorial. Shortly after receiving it, he announced to +his friends that the initial performance of these works would be held in +Vienna. Strangely, a difficulty at once arose, in the matter of +selecting a suitable place for the performance. Had Beethoven left the +management of the affair in the hands of his friends, and given his +attention to securing sufficient rehearsals for the new Symphony, which +finally had to be produced after being rehearsed twice only, it would +have been better all around. With the vacillating disposition which +characterized him in all business matters, he was not only of no aid, +but so complicated matters by his indecision on every point, that the +arrangements finally came to a standstill, his friends who were +assisting him being at their wits' end. These were Schindler, Count +Lichnowsky, and the violinist Schuppanzich. At this juncture, these old +and tried friends, thinking that strategy might succeed where diplomacy +had failed, hit upon the following plan to bring matters to a focus. +Schindler was at this time living at Beethoven's house, and the plan +decided on was to have Count Lichnowsky and Schuppanzich call there as +if by accident. The conversation would naturally turn to the approaching +concert and leading questions were to be asked Beethoven. His answers in +these years were usually in writing. The gist of these was to be written +out by one of the party, who would then carelessly, or as if in jest, +ask Beethoven to sign the paper, thus committing him to a definite +course. These praise-worthy intentions were carried out with so much +tact and skill that Beethoven not only saw through their innocent ruse, +but discovered in the whole proceeding a deep-laid plot on the part of +these arch-conspirators, whereof he was to be the victim of villainy and +treachery. This dawned on him shortly after the friends had taken their +departure, upon which he wrote the following notes, leaving them on the +piano as was his custom, for Schindler to deliver. + + TO THE COUNT MORITZ VON LICHNOWSKY,-- + I despise these artifices, visit me no more. Academy (the concert) + will not take place. + BEETHOVEN. + + TO M. SCHINDLER,-- + Do not come near me again until I send for you. No Academy. + BEETHOVEN. + + TO M. SCHUPPANZICH,-- + Do not visit me again. No concert. + BEETHOVEN. + +From the above it will readily be seen, as Schindler plaintively +asserts, that the office of friend to Beethoven was no sinecure. But he +appreciated the advantage of living in the reflected glory of the great +master, and such tact as he possessed was brought to bear, to continue +the relations of friend, counsellor and general factotum, which were +maintained to the end. Beethoven at times spoke slightingly in his +letters of his humble follower, but there is no doubt that Schindler was +of great service to him, and that this was appreciated by the master is +equally true. Schindler did not deliver the letters just quoted, and the +affair did not sever the relations of the parties concerned. + +Beethoven's contention all along was for an advance in price of +admission to the concert, owing to the heavy expense for theatre hire, +copying, etc. As the works to be performed had not yet been published, +it was necessary to copy out the separate parts for the members of the +orchestra and chorus,--an immense task. The manager objected to any +advance in prices, and insisted also that the concert be held on a +subscription night--a good arrangement for the patrons of the theatre +who would thus have free admission, but a bad one for the master. He +finally had to submit, however. "After these six weeks' squabbling," he +writes to Schindler toward the end of April, "I feel absolutely boiled, +stewed and roasted," a state of mind brought about by his conflict with +copyists, managers and performers. + +The concert which took place on May 7, 1824, was the occasion for great +enthusiasm. The programme consisted of the Overture Weihe des Hauses, as +well as the Kyrie, Credo and Agnus Dei of the Mass in D, and the Ninth +Symphony. The solo parts were taken by Madame Sontag and Fräulein Unger, +who protested more than once at the unsingable nature of some of the +parts in the Choral Finale when practising them at Beethoven's house. + +The applause from the very beginning was phenomenal. The people became +vociferous on seeing him, and this enthusiasm was continued throughout +the evening. At the close of the performance the demonstrations became, +if possible, more forcible than before, owing, perhaps, to the fact that +Beethoven maintained his former position, facing the orchestra and with +his back to the audience, as if unaware of the applause. At last +Fräulein Unger turned him about so that he could see the demonstrations +of the audience. The picture is presented of excited masses of people +carried away by the emotions of the moment, rending the air with +boisterous applause, and in the midst this great one, unresponsive to +the homage showered on him, unconscious, seeing visions, perhaps +planning a Tenth Symphony. + +Beethoven's deafness was not total. He was no doubt able to hear some of +this extraordinary applause, and, in any event, must have known that it +would be forthcoming. He had probably become wearied with it all, and +let his thoughts go far afield. The utter vanity of this kind of thing +must often occur to great minds at such a time. These frenzied people by +their very actions showed their inability to comprehend his work, and +could not confer honor in this manner. + +But the enthusiasm of the audience had the practical effect of leading +the manager to make an offer to Beethoven for another concert, +guaranteeing him five hundred florins ($250). It was held on May 23, at +noon. On this occasion all of the Mass but the Kyrie was omitted, some +Italian music being substituted. The house was only half filled at the +second concert and the management lost money. Beethoven's apprehensions +as to the profits from the first concert were well founded. He made less +than two hundred dollars from the undertaking, and was so disappointed +with this pitiful result after all the work of preparation, that he +refused to eat any supper, and would not go to bed, but remained on a +couch with his clothes on for the night. When he learned that the +management lost eight hundred florins on the occasion of the second +concert, it was with difficulty that he could be prevailed on to accept +the amount guaranteed him. It is not likely that this reluctance was +owing to any consideration for the manager, but rather to umbrage at the +course of things in general. His temper was not improved by these +disappointments, and he even charged Schindler with having conspired +with the manager to cheat him. This led to a rupture between the two of +several months' duration. Beethoven at length called on Schindler and +apologized for the offence, begging him to forget it, upon which the old +relations were restored. + +Notwithstanding that Beethoven had personally solicited the attendance +of the members of the Imperial family, and had promises from some of +them, not one came, the Emperor's box being the only empty space in the +theatre. The slight was no doubt intentional, and affords the last +instance of which there is record, of the lifelong contest waged between +Beethoven and the court. He was usually the aggressor, making it +impossible for the Imperial family to favor him, or even to show him +much attention. They could not have been insensible to the historical +importance of having in their midst such a man; they must have had the +prescience to know that Beethoven's achievements, if furthered by them, +would place them in the lime-light for the admiration of future ages; +but they were thwarted by the man himself, who went out of his way more +than once, most unjustifiably, to offend them. + +There is a letter from Count Dietrichstein, court chamberlain, on the +subject of a mass which Beethoven was invited to write for the Emperor, +which is unintentionally humorous. In it, all sorts of suggestions are +made as to the style of the music, the length of the mass (it being +enjoined on him that the Emperor did not like long church services) and +other like stipulations. Beethoven's remarks in answer to this letter +are not recorded, but the mass was not written. Here was a case where +kingly prerogative did not avail. + +Simultaneously with the appearance in the sketch-books of motives for +the Ninth Symphony, another is projected, as was the case when composing +his previous ones, which generally appeared in pairs, as already noted. +A wealth of ideas flowed in on him while engaged on any great work, much +of which, when not available for the one, could be utilized on the +other. While working on the Mass in D, he had in mind composing another +mass, as is evidenced by the following memorandum in the sketches of the +Agnus Dei: "Das Kyrie in der neuen Messe bloss mit blasenden +Instrumenten und Orgel." (The Kyrie in the new Mass only with wind +instruments and organ.) The new Symphony was to be religious in +character, and was projected on a broader scale even than the Ninth. A +memorandum on the subject of the Tenth Symphony appears in the +sketch-books of the latter part of the year 1818. It is as follows: "The +orchestra (violins, etc.) to be increased tenfold, for the last +movements, the voices to enter one by one. Or the Adagio to be in some +manner repeated in the last movements. In the Allegro, a Bacchic +festival."[C] His labors, however, on the Mass and Ninth Symphony had so +exhausted him that no strength was left for this great work, and no part +of it was even drafted. Later he thought to substitute a shorter work, +something which would not have taxed him so much physically. He then +makes the memorandum, "also instead of a new Symphony, an overture on +Bach." Sehr fugirt (greatly fugued.) + +[C] Nottebohm's _Zweite Beethoveniana_. + +Now that the concerts were over and summer approaching, Beethoven's +thoughts turned to the country. A comfortable house was secured for him +at Schoenbrun on the bank of the river, but his stay here was short. A +bridge near the house made it possible to obtain a good view of the +master, and it soon got to be the custom for people to station +themselves on it and watch for his appearance. He stood the ordeal for +three weeks, and then fled to his beloved Baden, where he appears to +have been safe from such annoyances. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +CAPACITY FOR FRIENDSHIP + + Genius lives essentially alone. It is too rare to find its like + with ease, and too different from the rest of men to be their + companion. + --SCHOPENHAUER. + + +For many years Beethoven had not been on speaking terms with the friend +of his youth, Stephen von Breuning. The year 1815, which had cost him +his brother Karl, also deprived him of Stephen's friendship. Two +versions are given as to the cause of the quarrel which estranged them. +One is that Stephen had warned him not to trust his brother Karl in +money matters. Another, and probably the correct one, is that Stephen +endeavored to dissuade the master from adopting the young Karl in event +of his brother's death. In either case Von Breuning acted entirely in +Beethoven's interest without considering the possible consequences to +himself; his disinterestedness was poorly rewarded however. Beethoven +was bound by every obligation of friendship to him, but, with his usual +want of tact, told his brother just what Stephen had said. Naturally +Karl resented this interference in their family affairs, and succeeded +in inflaming his brother's mind against Von Breuning. The estrangement +resulted. Karl died shortly after, and a mistaken sense of loyalty +toward his dead brother helped to keep alive Beethoven's anger against +his former friend. There is no record of his having so much as mentioned +the latter's name in the following ten years, although he and Von +Breuning lived in the same city and had many friends in common. + +As time passed, and one after another of Beethoven's friends were lost +to him--through death or otherwise--his thoughts no doubt often reverted +to this old friend. It must often have occurred to him that Breuning's +companionship would be more enjoyable than that of some of the friends +of these years. An accidental meeting with him on the bastion one +evening in August of 1825, happily led to a reconciliation. Beethoven's +eyes were at last opened to the injustice done Von Breuning, upon which +he wrote him a letter, so imbued with penitence, so fraught with the +desire of obliterating his past unkindness, so filled with yearning and +tenderness, that it must have compensated Stephen for all the pain of +the past years. + +Accompanying the letter was his portrait painted many years before. The +letter has been frequently published. It is so characteristic of the man +that it can hardly be omitted: + +"Behind this portrait, dear, good Stephen, may all be forever buried +which has for so long kept us apart. I have torn your heart I know. The +agitation that you must constantly have noticed in me has punished me +enough. It was not malice that prompted my behavior toward you. No! I +should then be no longer worthy of your friendship. I was led to doubt +you by people who were unworthy of you and of me. My portrait has long +ago been intended for you. You know that I had always intended it for +some one. To whom could I give it so with warmest love as to you, true, +faithful, noble Stephen. Forgive me for causing you suffering. My own +sufferings have equaled yours. It was not until after our separation +that I realized how dear you are and always will be to my heart." + +All this in English sounds cold and stunted when compared with the fire +of the original. Beethoven never spared himself when making amends for +past misconduct. + +From this time on the name of Von Breuning appears again in his letters +and he found much comfort in intercourse with his family. He was always +a welcome guest at Breuning's house. A friendship was soon inaugurated +between the master and Stephen's son, a bright lad of twelve years. He +nicknamed him Ariel, when sending him on errands, probably with +reference to his agility. + +Such incidents as the quarrels with Breuning, his dismissal of +Schindler, Schuppanzich, and Count Lichnowsky during the preliminary +work of the testimonial concert, his suspicions of his friends at the +second concert when he invited them to a dinner, and then charged them +with an attempt to defraud him,--these at first glance, especially if +considered apart, lead to the conclusion that Beethoven was not intended +for friendship. This was not the case however. His deafness and +preoccupation with his work, led him to keep aloof to some extent from +others, but it is undeniable that he greatly valued this sentiment and +actively fostered it. Perhaps, like Thoreau, he expected too much from +it, and could find no one to respond to the measure of his +anticipations. He was probably disappointed one way or another, with +every friend that came to him, but to the end kept alive his faith in +humankind, and managed always to maintain intimate and friendly +relations with one or more persons. There is no interval from his +twentieth year up to his death, of which this cannot be said. He was +essentially gregarious and recognized the need of friendship. That he +was unlike his fellow human beings--essentially different--he knew. He +often sought to bridge these differences, in order to make friendly +intercourse with others possible. + +Among the friends of this period may be mentioned Hüttenbrenner, +Schubert's friend. Schubert himself would have prized Beethoven's +friendship in the highest degree, but he was too modest to bring it +about. The junior by twenty years, and in Beethoven's lifetime unknown +to fame, it devolved on him to take the initiative in this matter. A +meeting could easily have been arranged as both dined at the same +restaurant, and Hüttenbrenner could have managed to bring them together. +Beethoven was generally approachable when not at work, and was always +well disposed toward young musicians of talent, but the habitually +modest estimate which Schubert placed on himself, coupled with the +regard amounting to reverence which he entertained for Beethoven, was +sufficient to deter the younger man. He indeed attempted a meeting in +1822, but the result was a fiasco owing to his extreme diffidence. +Having composed some variations on a French air (opus 10) he desired to +dedicate them to Beethoven and prevailed on Diabelli to arrange a +meeting, as well as call with him on the master, since he feared to go +alone. Beethoven's demeanor toward him was genial and friendly. When +Schubert attempted conversation the master handed him a pencil and +paper. He was too nervous to write in reply, but managed to produce his +composition, which Beethoven examined with some appearance of interest. +The master finally came upon some incorrect harmonization (Schubert had +never received a proper technical training) and in mild terms called the +young composer's attention to it. This so disconcerted him that he fled +to the street, regardless of consequences. The incident is related by +Schindler, but is called into question by Kreissle, who wrote an +exhaustive biography of Schubert. Kreissle says that Beethoven was not +at home when Schubert called. + +Excessive diffidence was not the distinguishing trait of another young +man, Karl Holz, who had ingratiated himself into the master's favor in +these years. Holz had a post under government, was of good social +position, possessed fine conversational powers, and was an all-round +entertaining and agreeable person. He was a musician of first-rate +attainments, a member of the Schuppanzich Quartet, and occasionally +acted as director of the Concert Spirituel of Vienna. + +Holz's gayety and light-heartedness helped to dispel the melancholy +which had become habitual with Beethoven at this time. He had the +discernment to see that such an atmosphere was unsuited to a young man +of Karl's temperament, and may very well have encouraged Holz's visits +on his nephew's account. The situation had its defects however, as +Holz's convivial habits were communicated to Beethoven, who was led at +times to drink more wine than was good for him. Beethoven, in one of his +letters to his nephew, reproached him with being a thorough Viennese, to +which the young man retorted in kind, alluding to the master's +friendship with Holz. This was before the reconciliation with Von +Breuning had been effected. After that event he saw him less frequently. +The young man however, retained his hold on the master's regard and +maintained the footing of an intimate friend for the remainder of his +life. Flashes of the old humor constantly appear in his letters to Holz, +which, though tinctured somewhat with coarseness, make pleasanter +reading than his remark to Fanny del Rio--"My life is of no worth to +myself. I only wish to live for the boy's sake." Holz took him out of +this mood. + +In the last year of his life Beethoven, at Holz's request appointed him +his biographer as follows: + + VIENNA, _Aug. 30, 1826_. + I am happy to give my friend, Karl Holz, the testimonial he + desires, namely,--that I consider him well qualified to write my + biography if indeed, I may presume to think this will be desired. I + place the utmost confidence in his faithfully transmitting to + posterity what I have imparted to him for this purpose. + LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN. + +Holz, however, was not equal to the requirements, and this duty was +relegated to Schindler. + +A curious change affected Beethoven in his later years on the subject of +money. It was not avarice, that "good old-gentlemanly vice" of Byron's +which influenced him, but it resembled it at times. With his nephew as +the inciting cause, money, to which he had hitherto been indifferent, +now assumed a new value to him. This is evidenced by absurd economies +(alternated it is true by occasional extravagances), which are a feature +of this time. The diminution of his pension, the nature of the +compositions of these years from which for the most part no money was +available, the cessation of his teaching (Von Frimmel mentions a pupil, +Hirsch, who had a few lessons from him in 1817, which was probably the +last of Beethoven's sporadic attempts in this direction, as his deafness +must have made teaching extremely difficult), were all factors which +rendered money a scarce article with him. In the same ratio in which his +income had been diminished, his expenses were increased by the +maintenance and education of his nephew, which in large part was borne +by Beethoven. + +This new estimate of the value of money was strengthened by the +conviction that Karl would never do anything for himself, and that +provision must be made for his future. To this must be attributed his +solicitude for money which is constantly in evidence in his letters to +his friends, as well as to his publishers, in which latter the +disposition to drive a good bargain comes to the fore now for the first +time. His letters to Ries are full of the subject of making money. "Wäre +ich nicht noch immer der arme Beethoven," he says with unconscious +humor, in one of the letters. "If I could but get to London, what would +I not write for the Philharmonic Society. If it please God to restore my +health, which is already improved, I may yet avail myself of the several +propositions made me, not only from Europe, but even North America, and +thus my finances might again prosper." + +His naïve reference to this country[D] refers to the offer made him by +the Händel and Haydn Society of Boston for an oratorio, the text of +which was to be furnished by them. His work on the Ninth Symphony +prevented him from accepting it, but it is something that will always +redound to the credit of the society. That the critical faculty should, +already at that time, have been sufficiently well developed in this +country as to lead to such a commission, augurs well for its future +art-history. While one portion were engaged in subduing the wilderness, +fighting Indians, extending the frontier, others were already reaching +out for the highest and best in art and literature.[E] It is a pleasant +reflection that this country is no longer the terra incognita in musical +matters that it was in Beethoven's time. The ready recognition extended +Wagner from the first here, has, no doubt, helped to bring this about. + +[D] When writing this letter Beethoven could have had no prevision that +in this aboriginal North America, in a little village called Natick, +there was then living a five-year-old boy, answering to the name of +Alexander W. Thayer, who was eventually to furnish a biography of the +master, so painstaking, exact and voluminous, that it is unique in its +class. The Beethoven biography was Thayer's life-work, to which he +gladly sacrificed his means as well, and was then only brought down to +the year 1816. Thayer's name will always be associated with that of +Beethoven, it is such a record-making work. It is published only in +German at this writing (1904), but an English translation is promised on +completion of the second edition, one volume of which has appeared in +1902. Mr. Thayer died in 1897. + +[E] That Beethoven's genius had at an early date impressed itself on the +minds of Americans, was commented on by Margaret Fuller in 1841. She +says: + +"It is observable as an earnest of the great future which opens for this +country, that such a genius (Beethoven) is so easily and so much +appreciated here, by those who have not gone through the steps that +prepared the way for him in Europe. He is felt because he expressed in +full tones the thoughts that lie at the heart of our own existence, +though we have not found means to stammer them as yet." + +Meanwhile Ries, in London, was making active propaganda for him, with +the result that an offer had come to him from Charles Neate asking him +to come to London with a symphony and a concerto for the Philharmonic +Society. Neate was a great admirer of Beethoven. He had spent eight +months in Vienna some years previously, and the two became good friends +during this sojourn. Three hundred guineas, and a benefit concert in +which five hundred pounds more was to be guaranteed him, was the +inducement held out for coming. This large sum tempted him strongly, +placing him, so to speak, between two fires. The character of his nephew +was such that he could not be left behind, while his education would be +interrupted if he took him along. His entries in his journal show with +what dread and apprehension he faced the ordeal of going among +strangers. The project never would have been considered but for his +desire to provide for Karl's future. The journey was never undertaken, +but the project was never abandoned. It occupied his thoughts even in +his last illness. + +The scores of the Mass and Symphony were sold to Messrs. Schott of +Mayence, one thousand florins having been obtained for the Mass, and six +hundred for the Symphony. This put him in easy circumstances for a +while, although the money question was a source of anxiety to him, more +or less, for the remainder of his life. The ten thousand florins +invested in Bank of Austria shares in 1815 was almost intact. He had +drawn on it once or twice when matters had come to an extremity with +him, but to touch it in any other case seemed to him like betraying a +trust, since it had been set aside as a provision for his nephew. Just +before the testimonial concert, he was at times absolutely without +funds, his housekeeper being occasionally required to advance money from +her savings to tide him over until a windfall should happen. The +proceeds from the seven subscriptions to the Mass in D, amounting to +three hundred and fifty ducats (about eight hundred dollars) helped him +out to some extent, and something must have been coming in all the while +from his previous publications. With good management there would have +been sufficient for a man of his simple requirements, but in nothing was +he so deficient as in business ability, or the faculty of looking after +his worldly concerns. He was probably cheated right and left in his +household matters. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE DAY'S TRIALS + + Those who are furthest removed from us really believe that we are + constituted just like themselves, for they understand exactly so + much of us as we have in common with them, but they do not know how + little, how infinitesimally little this is. + --WAGNER: _Letter to Liszt_. + + +Beethoven was in no sense a hero to his servants. In their eyes he was +not the great artist, whose achievement was to go ringing down the ages; +he was simply a crank or madman, who did not know his own mind half the +time, from whom abuse was as likely to be predicated as gratuities, who +could be ridiculed, neglected, circumvented with impunity. When the +dereliction became glaring enough to arrest his attention, he would +deliver himself of a volley of abuse which sometimes had to be made good +by presents of money. At other times, he desired nothing so much as to +be left alone. + +That he found the world a more difficult problem than ever in these +later years, goes without saying. "Have you been patient with every one +to-day?" he asks himself in one of the note-books of this period, +indicating the dawn of a perception that fate is too much for him, that +it can be defied no longer, but rather must be propitiated. Had he +answered his question, it would no doubt have been in the negative; but +this attitude, so new to him, is significant. It comes up also in his +letters to Zmeskall, in which he speaks of his patience in enduring the +insolence of a butler, who had been sent him by Zmeskall. + +Complaints about servants appear frequently in his correspondence. +Peppe, the "elephant-footed," and Nanny, who seems to have had a +particular faculty for making trouble, are specially in evidence. "I +have endured much from N. (Nanny) to-day," he writes in a letter to his +good friend Madame Streicher, who was very helpful to him in his +domestic matters. On one occasion, when her conduct became unbearable, +he threw books at her head. Strangely, this method of disciplining the +refractory Nanny produced better results than could have been expected. +He reports soon after to Madame Streicher, "Miss Nanny is a changed +creature since I threw the half dozen books at her head. Possibly, by +chance some of their contents may have entered her brain, or her bad +heart. At all events we now have a repentant deceiver." + +In another letter of this time he writes to the same lady, "Yesterday +morning the devilry began again, but I made short work of it, and threw +the heavy settle at B (another servant), after which we had peace for +the remainder of the day." "Come Friday or Sunday," he writes Holz. +"Better come on Friday, as Satanas in the kitchen is more endurable on +that day." This advice to come on Friday when purposing to dine with +him, is repeated in a subsequent letter to Holz. "If I could but rid +myself of these _canaille_," he writes to another person, when +complaining of the hostility and insolence of his servants. + +That his own mode of life helped largely to bring about this state of +things, did not make it any easier to bear. As stated, system was out of +the question in this household. There was no regular time for meals, +often no meals were thought of by the master while occupied with his +work. When hungry, if nothing were forthcoming at home, he sought a +restaurant. Careless in general as regards his food, abstemious to a +degree in this respect, he was particular only on one matter, his +coffee. He delighted in making it himself, often counting the beans that +were required for each cup. + +"My house resembles very much a shipwreck" is a remark attributed to him +by Nohl. Even under favoring conditions, discipline was not to be +expected, but matters were further complicated by Karl's mother, who +made a practice of bribing the servants to get information about the +young man. There is no doubt her influence tended to increase the +discomfort and disorder that would have existed in any event. "Some +devils of people have again played me such a trick that it is almost +impossible for me to mix with human beings any more," he said in a +letter to Madame Streicher, which remark Mr. Kalischer (_Neue +Beethovenbriefe_, Berlin, 1902), attributes to intrigues against him by +his sister-in-law. + +To illustrate the slight regard his servants had for Beethoven and their +absolute ignorance of the value of his work, an incident related by +Schindler about the loss of the manuscript of the Kyrie of the Mass in D +is in point. On reaching Döbling in 1821 on his annual summer migration, +he missed this work and the most diligent search failed to bring it to +light. Finally the cook produced it; she had used the separate sheets +for wrapping kitchen utensils. Some of them were torn, but no part was +lost. No copy had yet been made, and its loss would have been +irreparable. + +The difficulties which he experienced with the world in general existed +with his copyists and engravers to an exaggerated degree as may be +supposed, since proofreading was a matter on which he was extremely +particular. He was apt to make unreasonable demands on them, not +understanding human nature. He wanted them to work quickly and +accurately and they were very often slow and careless; they tried his +patience more than his servants did. A little deftness on his part when +in contact with them, would have made things easier all around. As it +was, they received little consideration from him, and gave but little in +return. He was so deeply interested in his compositions that he +frequently recalled them after they were in the engraver's hands, in +order to make alterations and additions. The Sonata, opus 111 was +withdrawn twice, after the engraver had actually begun work on it. It +had been sold to Diabelli, who finally refused to return it again, as +the engraver's work in each case was thrown away. This called out a +sarcastic letter from Beethoven to Schindler, in which he refers to +Diabelli as an arch-churl (_Erzflegel_), and threatens him (Diabelli), +if he is not more amenable. + +"I have passed the forenoon to-day, and all yesterday afternoon in +correcting these two pieces and am actually hoarse with stamping and +swearing," he wrote the copyist in reference to the A minor Quartet. +Elsewhere he complains about the carelessness of the publishers of his +earlier quartets, which are "full of mistakes and errata great and +small. They swarm like fish in the sea, innumerable." + +When referring to the testimonial concert, allusion was made to the +enormous labor involved in copying out all the parts required for the +occasion, in which over one hundred persons participated. To examine and +correct each copy before placing it in the hands of the performers was +in itself no slight task. The labor of making the seven subscription +copies of the Mass, was probably a still greater one. In these days of +cheap publications, one can hardly form an estimate of what it really +meant. Many months elapsed after the Mass was completed, before a clean +copy could be gotten for the Archduke even. + +No doubt the copyists often misunderstood the master's instructions, +always given in writing in his later years. He was so careless with his +handwriting that some of his letters are undecipherable in part, to this +day. Schindler, with good common-sense made a practice of transcribing +Beethoven's words on the back of any letter received from him before +filing it away. The master's extraordinary carefulness in proof-reading +has already been mentioned. This was to him a matter of the utmost +importance, second to none. Press of work, illness even, was not allowed +to interfere with the careful revision of his work. + +He might write about patience in his note book, but it was exercised +very little when dealing with his copyists. There were times in this +connection in which the situation became so strained that they refused +to work for him. In one such instance a man, Wolanck by name, returned +the manuscript which the master had sent him, writing him at the same +time an impertinent letter. This copyist was evidently of a literary +turn, with a talent for satire. He begins by begging to be permitted to +express his gratitude for the honor which Beethoven has done him in +being allowed to drudge for him, but states that he wants no more of it. +He then proceeds to philosophize on the situation, saying that the +dissonances which have marked their intercourse in the past have been +regarded by him with amused toleration. "Are there not" asks this +Junius, "in the ideal world of tones many dissonances? Why should these +not also exist in the actual world?" In conclusion he ventures the +opinion that if Mozart or Haydn had served as copyist for Beethoven, a +fate similar to his own would have befallen them. + +A wild Berserker rage took possession of Beethoven on receipt of this +letter which he appeased characteristically by writing all sorts of +sarcastic comments over the sheet, and by inventing compound invectives +to suit the case. He heavily criss-crossed the whole letter, and across +it in heavy lines wrote, "Dummer Kerl" (foolish fellow), "Eselhafter +Kerl" (asinine fellow), "Schreibsudler" (slovenly writer). On the edges +at the right: "Mozart and Haydn you will do the honor not to mention"; +at the left: "It was decided yesterday, and even before, that you were +not to write for me any more." On another spot he writes: "correct your +blunders that occur through your fatuity, presumption, ignorance and +foolishness." (Unwissenheit, Übermuth, Eigendünkel, und Dummheit). "That +will become you better than to try to teach me." + +In better vein is a letter from Beethoven to the copyist Rampel, who had +worked for him during a period of many years. He had Beethoven's favor +more than any other copyist, on account of a peculiar faculty he +possessed for deciphering the master's handwriting. + + _Bestes Ramperl,-- + + Komme um morgen früh. Gehe aber zum Teufel mit deinem Gnädiger + Herr. Gott allein kann nur gnädig geheissen werden._ + + BEST RAMPEL,-- + + You can come to-morrow morning, but go to the devil with your + "Gracious Sir," (Gnädiger Herr). God alone should be addressed as + "Gracious Lord." + +This letter was published in the Beethoven number of _Die Musik_, +February, 1902. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +LAST QUARTETS + + Every extraordinary man has a certain mission, which he is called + upon to accomplish. If he has fulfilled it he is no longer needed + on earth, in the same form, and Providence uses him for something + else. But as everything here below happens in a natural way, the + dæmons keep tripping him up until he falls at last. Thus it was + with Napoleon, and many others. Mozart died in his thirty-sixth + year. Raphael at the same age. Byron a little older. But all these + had perfectly fulfilled their missions, and it was time for them to + depart that others might still have something to do in a world made + to last a long while. + --GOETHE, _Conversations with Eckermann_. + + +In the midst of these ironies of fate, this satyr-play of the nether +forces with the master, in which he occupies at times so undignified a +position, it is gratifying to note that the artist-life goes on apace. +In the last quartets which now come up for consideration, the labors of +the tone-poet are brought to a close. + +The quartet was a favorite musical form with the master. Here the more +intimate side of his nature is revealed. A more personal relation is +established between composer and audience than is the case in the other +forms in which he worked. As we have seen, the quartet, in the time of +which we write, was universally in use at informal gatherings for the +delectation of friends in the privacy of the home, and was not intended +for concert use. The stateliness which characterizes the large +symphonic forms is absent in chamber-music, but it has qualities of its +own which we value as much. + +The last quartets owe their existence to Prince Galitzin, a Russian +nobleman, who had spent some time in Vienna in 1805, and became +acquainted with Beethoven at the house of the Russian Ambassador, Count +Rasoumowsky, for whom it will be remembered Beethoven composed three +quartets, opus 59. In November of 1822 the Prince wrote Beethoven in the +most flattering terms, asking him to compose three quartets at his own +price, which were to be dedicated to him. The master accepted the +commission gladly, fixing the modest sum of one hundred and fifty ducats +(about $330) for the three, reserving, however, the right to sell the +quartets to a publisher. Prince Galitzin was then living in state in St. +Petersburg. His wife was a fine pianist, he himself a first-rate +performer on the cello. They occupied a prominent position in the +musical life of the city. The Prince was one of the original subscribers +to the Mass in D, and has the credit of having brought about the first +complete performance of this colossal work ever given. + +When we consider the enormous expense of this undertaking, the copying +of the many parts, as well as the sums paid for soloists, chorus and +orchestra, most of which was probably borne by the Prince, and reflect +that this is only an instance among many of his extravagant mode of +living, it is not surprising to find that he became financially +embarrassed, and was unable to carry out in full his obligation to +Beethoven as regards paying for these works. + +The Oratorio, "The Victory of the Cross," which had already been begun, +was laid aside in favor of the quartets; it was never resumed. +Notwithstanding his enthusiasm, work on the new commission made but slow +progress. Ill health and preoccupation in his nephew's concerns took up +much of his attention. Occasional sketches were made, but it was more +than a year and a half before the first one was actually begun. It was +outlined at Baden in the autumn of 1824, and finished on his return to +Vienna. Mention is made of this quartet by the master in an interesting +letter to Messrs. Schott of Mayence, who had bought the mass and +symphony, and had also purchased the quartet, paying fifty ducats for +it. Cordial relations had been established with these gentlemen, dating +from the time of selling them the two great works just mentioned. Some +of Beethoven's best letters are those written to his publishers. An +extract from the letter above referred to follows: + +"The quartet you shall also receive by the middle of October. +Overburdened by work, and suffering from bad health, I really have some +claim on the indulgence of others. I am here on account of my health, or +rather to the want of it, although I already feel better. + +"Apollo and the Muses do not yet intend me to become the prey of the +bony scytheman, as I have yet much to do for you, and much to bequeath, +which my spirit dictates and calls on me to complete before I depart +hence for the Elysian Fields; I feel as if I had written scarcely more +than a few notes." + +The initial performance of the first of the Galitzin Quartets took place +in the spring of 1825. Beethoven regarded the event as a momentous +occurrence and required the four performers, Schuppanzich, Weiss, Linke +and Holz, to sign a compact, each to "pledge his honor to do his best +to distinguish himself and vie with the other in zeal." + +The quartets once begun were carried on with ardor in the midst of most +distressing occurrences, chief of which were ill health and its twin +demon, poverty, as well as the waywardness of his nephew, all of which +tended to draw him to the spiritual life. The character of Beethoven's +work changed from the period of the Mass in D. An altered condition, an +altogether new, different strain is apparent thenceforth. The deeply +religious, mystical character of the first movement of the Ninth +Symphony can be attributed to his previous absorption on the Mass. He +worked out of this vein somewhat in the other movements as not being +adapted to the uses for which the symphony is designed, but it reappears +again in the quartets to the extent of dominating them. + +The one in B Flat, opus 130, completes the three for Prince Galitzin. Of +the Cavatina of this quartet, Holz is authority for saying that +Beethoven composed it with tears, and confessed that never before had +his own music made such an impression on him; that even the repetition +of it always cost him tears. In this movement Beethoven used the word +_Beklemmt_ (_Beklommen_) (oppressed, anxious) at a point where it +modulates into another key. His loneliness, superinduced by his life of +celibacy, by his deafness, his disappointment in his nephew, all had the +effect of separating him from the world. The spiritual side of his +nature, always active, had been brought into new life during his work on +the Mass, as we have seen. It was never thenceforth allowed to fall into +abeyance, but was developed in direct ratio with his withdrawal from +the world. An atavism from some remote Aryan ancestry inclined him, as +in the case of so many Germans, to mysticism and the occult. It was a +condition which had its compensations. That there were periods when he +saw visions may be conjectured by the character of the last quartets. +When they were written, Beethoven was in the shadow of death, on the +border-land of the other world, and from that proximity he relates his +experience. These works receive the reverence of all musicians for their +spirituality, their mysticism, their psychological qualities. They are +the revelations of the seer, awe-inspiring mementos of states and +conditions of mind which transcend the experiences of ordinary life. In +these last impassioned utterances of the master, we find a strain +holier, more profound, different from anything which the art of music +has yet produced. + +The Cavatina on its first performance, on March 21, 1826, was received +with indifference, and the finale, which was an exceedingly long and +difficult fugue, fared even worse. Self-sufficient as Beethoven was on +all matters connected with the working out of his musical thoughts, he +coincided for once with his friends and the publisher on the matter of +the fugue. He wrote a new finale for the quartet, and published the +fugue separately as opus 133. Joseph Boehm, the noted violinist, then in +his twenty-eighth year, rehearsed this fugue under Beethoven's +direction, and often played the violin part subsequently. + +The great C sharp minor Quartet opus 131, is the next one to claim our +attention. Beethoven characterized it as a piece of work worthy of him. +This colossal work was one which Wagner continually held up for the +commendation of mankind. It occupies among quartets a position +analogous to that of the Ninth Symphony in its own class. The summer of +1826 in which it was composed, was a period fraught with momentous +occurrences to the master, chief of which was the attempted suicide of +his nephew. The circumstances which led up to this catastrophe can be +briefly narrated. Beethoven had been disappointed in any and every plan +formed for the future of the young man. He at first looked for great +things from him; by gradual stages his expectations were so modified +that at last he began to fear that he would never be able to provide for +his own maintenance. + +The musical education of the young man had first engaged the master's +attention, in the hope that some of the family talent might have been +transmitted to him. When it became plain that nothing could be achieved +by him in a musical career, he was entered at the university of Vienna +with a view of making a scholar of him. Here he was unable to keep up +with his studies, owing to inattention. He failed to pass his +examination and left the school in consequence. Literature being closed +to him, he entered the Polytechnic school, intending to fit himself for +business life, but failed here also. That Karl's conduct caused the +master much anxiety appears in his letters to him. In some of them he +entreats him to do better, in others he upbraids him. Both lines of +reasoning seem to have been equally obnoxious to this careless, +indifferent young man, who objected to being taken to task for his +misdeeds, and hated "rows" and "scenes" with his uncle. When he failed +the second time he was at his wits' end in dread of his uncle's +reproaches. Many a stormy scene had occurred between them during the +two preceding years. So violent had these become, that the master was on +one occasion requested to find another apartment on account of the +complaints that came from other occupants of the house. It may very well +be that Beethoven expected too much from this carelessly reared youth, +whose mother lost no opportunity of embittering him against the master. +The young man probably never seriously contemplated suicide, but wanted +to give his uncle a scare. By working on his fears he reasoned that he +would be able to have his own way for a long while to come. He +threatened suicide, and the day following this threat actually went so +far as to shoot himself. He was not severely injured, but the attempt on +his life rendered him amenable to the laws of his country, and a short +confinement in the government hospital followed. + +Beethoven was greatly agitated on learning of the rash act. He had some +difficulty in finding him, as the young man had left his quarters and +went to another part of the city before carrying out his threat. With +the aid of friends he was finally located and an affecting scene +followed in which the master loaded him with kindness, treating him very +much as that other prodigal son was treated by his father. + +Beethoven's personal intervention with the magistrate eased the +situation for the nephew. Two very interesting letters from the master +in this connection were published some years ago in the Neuen Freien +Presse of Vienna, and are included in Herr Kalischer's Beethovenbriefe +published in Berlin in 1902. The following one shows Beethoven's ethical +character in strong light: + +To the Magistrate Czapka: + + DEAR SIR: + + Hofrath von Breuning and I have carefully considered what is best + to be done. We think for the time being no other course is + practicable than that Karl should remain with me a few days (during + the interval until he can enter the military service). His language + is still excitable under the impression that I would reprimand him + since he was capable of making an attempt on his life. He has, + however, shown himself quite affectionate toward me. Be assured + that to me fallen humanity is still holy. A warning from you would + probably have good results. It would do no harm to let him know + that unobserved he will be watched while with me. Accept my highest + esteem for yourself, and consider me as one who loves his kind, who + desires only good wherever possible. + Yours respectfully, + BEETHOVEN. + +In accordance with the English custom of putting the fool of the family +into the army, Stephen von Breuning had hit upon the plan of a military +career for Karl since all others seemed closed to him. Von Breuning, who +always had a faculty of being of service to Beethoven, was a counsellor +in the war-office. He urged on Beethoven the feasibility of procuring an +appointment for Karl in the army, and interested his superior, +Field-marshal Lieutenant von Stutterheim, in the matter. Beethoven was +not greatly in favor of a military career for the young man. "Übrigens +bin ich gar nicht für den Militärstandt," he says in a letter to Holz of +September 9, when the subject was first broached. He opposed it for a +while, but finally bowed to the inevitable. + +Toward the end of October, and before the negotiations in regard to the +army appointment were concluded, the young man was released from the +hospital, and placed under the control of the master, with the +injunction that he be removed from Vienna at once. At this juncture +brother Johann placed his country house at Gneixendorf at the disposal +of the master and nephew, and thither the two repaired, the elder, +stricken, bowed with grief; the youth, sullen and indifferent. The +master had never entered Johann's house since the summer of 1812, when +he had tried so ineffectually, as noted in a previous chapter, to break +up the relations existing between the pair while the lady was as yet +only the housekeeper. It must have been with great reluctance that he +considered visiting him at all. The sacrifice, if such there was, was +made in the interest of Karl; where this young scapegrace was concerned, +the master was generally willing to sink his own preferences. The +situation must have been embarrassing for all concerned, less so in +reality for the master than for the others. Absorbed in the composition +of the new finale, and also in the finishing up of the great C sharp +minor Quartet, he was for the most part oblivious to anything unusual in +his surroundings. Johann's wife, with the policy of her class, bore no +resentment, or at least showed none outwardly. A pleasant room on the +ground floor was fitted up for him, but the welcome must have been a +cold one at best. + +No doubt the Gutsbesitzer took much pleasure in showing off his +possessions to the brother whom he knew had little esteem for him at +heart. He paraded his own importance in the neighborhood, taking the +composer on business visits to prominent people. On these occasions he +would not usually introduce his brother, treating him as a kind of +appendage. The master, deep in the thought of creative work, was, no +doubt, to a great extent unconscious of this sordidness. At all events +he gave no sign. But he contributed very little to the social well-being +of the family. Two aims only seem to have occupied his mind at this +time: the welfare of his nephew, and the carrying to completion of a few +great works already sketched or begun. These included a Tenth Symphony, +(for the Philharmonic Society of London), the Oratorio, The Victory of +the Cross, for the Vienna Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, music to +Goethe's Faust, which latter he must have been in good mood for,--as +well as an overture on Bach. "I hope yet," he writes from Johann's home, +"to bring some great works into the world, and then like an old child, +to close my earthly career somewhere among good people." He worked with +feverish haste in the latter years of his life, whenever his health +permitted, even abandoning his books in favor of his work. Failing +health prevented him from forcing it ahead as in former years, but he +worked up to the limit of his powers. + +His habits while composing have been referred to in a previous chapter, +namely, that he was in the habit of singing, stamping, gesticulating, +while under the spell of his inspiration. This kind of thing was new to +the maid who looked after his room, and she managed to extract amusement +from it. Beethoven finally discovered her laughing at him, and forthwith +bundled her out of the room, giving orders that no female would be +admitted again. One of the men about the place, Michael Kren, was then +engaged, who performed his duties faithfully, and helped materially to +establish a more comfortable existence for the sick, helpless man. He +has narrated circumstantially the master's mode of life while at +Gneixendorf. He was up and at work at half-past five, beating time with +hands and feet, singing, humming. This went on until breakfast time, +half-past seven. This meal over he would hurry out of doors, (the +weather was fine that particular autumn) spending the morning going +about the fields, note-book in hand, his mind intent on his musical +thoughts, occasionally singing or calling out, going now slowly, then +very fast, at times stopping still to write out his ideas. This would go +on until noon, when he would return to the house for dinner. This was +served at half-past twelve, after which he would go to his room for +about two hours, then again to the fields until sunset. He was never out +in the evening as night air was considered bad for him. Supper was +served at half-past seven. His evenings were spent in his room, and at +ten o'clock he went to bed. + +This simple, regular life, with the healthful country air, should have +restored Beethoven's health in some measure could it have been continued +longer. His letters from here indicate that he expected some improvement +in this respect. Had not some untoward circumstances intervened, the +master's life might have been spared long enough to enable him to carry +to completion the list of works outlined above. + +That Johann had an ulterior object in asking his brother to visit him is +quite probable. The growing fame of the composer and the ever-increasing +value of his copyrights was well known to him. He had made money in his +dealings between composer and publisher in the past, and could have +made still more had he possessed his brother's confidence in a greater +degree. His cupidity however, prevented him from keeping up for long +even the semblance of kindness or hospitality. Fuel was so scantily +provided the sick guest that he suffered from cold, and he was told that +a charge would be made for the room. Other circumstances may have +contributed to bring about a climax. At all events the situation became +so unpleasant that he suddenly decided to return to Vienna. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +IN THE SHADOWS + + As a day well spent gives joyful sleep, + So does a life well spent give joyful death. + --LEONARDO DA VINCI. + + +The C sharp minor Quartet and the one in F, opus 135, which rounds out +this wonderful series, were all but completed before leaving Vienna on +the visit to Johann. That there was some polishing still to be done on +the latter is apparent from the fact that it has the superscription in +the master's handwriting, "Gneixendorf am 30 Oktober 1826." The finale +has these curious sentences: "Der schwergefasste Entschluss. Muss es +sein? Es muss sein." Question and answer turn on the subject of paying +his room rent according to Schindler, the dialogue being a reminiscence +of previous times. Beethoven often made some discussion when his rent +was demanded, either from the desire to extract some sport from the +situation, or from fear of being cheated. It often had to be +demonstrated to him by the aid of an almanac that the time was up and +the money really due. + +The only work begun and completed by the master while at Gneixendorf was +the new finale, which replaced the long fugue of the B flat Quartet. It +proved to be his last work. The series of unpleasant events referred to +in the last chapter ensued, and, without considering consequences, he +returned to Vienna. + +It is not likely that Johann or his wife exerted themselves much to keep +him longer. They intended spending the winter in Vienna themselves, and +were probably relieved to have the visit ended so that they could make +their preparations for the journey. With his usual impatience, he must +needs take the first conveyance which was to be had. Johann had a closed +carriage, but would not let him have it, and the journey was made in a +light open wagon. December had arrived and the weather, which had been +fine all the fall, was now bad. He was insufficiently clothed for the +two days' drive in such weather. He contracted inflammation of the lungs +on the way, and reached his quarters in the house of the Black +Spaniards, a very sick man. + +This house, his last earthly abiding-place, had been his home for the +past year. It was a disused monastery, which had been established in +1633 by the daughter of Philip III of Spain on taking up her residence +in Vienna after her marriage. The original building was destroyed in one +of the wars of that turbulent time, but was rebuilt at the end of the +seventeenth century. The building was demolished in 1904. It was +situated on the glacis, in a part of the city where Beethoven had lived +much of the time since coming to Vienna. + +The fates seem to have been against him from the beginning of his +journey. His sleeping-room was an enormous one on the second floor, +which, with two small anterooms, composed the apartment. The facilities +for heating a room of that size, in those times must have been wholly +inadequate. Several days elapsed before a physician could be found to +attend him. He had quarrelled with two of his former physicians and each +refused his aid. Finally, a professor from the medical college, a Dr. +Wawruch, was summoned, who took the case in hand. Schindler states that +it was several days before he or any of the master's friends knew of his +arrival in Vienna, and leaves the inference that he was unattended +during this interval except by his nephew. When they learned of his +return, Schindler and Stephen von Breuning were unremitting in their +attentions. + +As Beethoven had taken a violent prejudice against Dr. Wawruch, another +physician, Dr. Malfatti, was engaged, who acted in conjunction with the +former. The treatment was now changed, large quantities of iced punch +being administered, probably with the view of relieving the congestion +of the stomach. This mode of treatment exactly suited the sick man, a +result which was probably foreseen by the astute Dr. Malfatti, who had +prescribed for Beethoven during previous illnesses and knew his +patient's idiosyncrasies. Beethoven's childlike simplicity is +illustrated in the difference of his demeanor toward his two physicians. +He always had a warm welcome for the one who had administered the iced +punch, remembering no doubt its immediately alleviating and beneficial +results, but Dr. Wawruch fared poorly at his hands, especially when he +was in a bad humor. On more than one occasion when the latter appeared +the patient turned his face to the wall with the remark, "Ach der Esel." + +Everything possible was now done to add to his comfort. Two servants +were engaged to attend him. His friends cheered him by their visits. +Hümmel called, bringing his young pupil Ferdinand Hiller. Some of +Schubert's songs were brought him, probably by Hüttenbrenner. They +consisted of Die Junge Nonne, Der Taucher, the Ossian songs, Die +Bürgschaft. Schindler states they awakened the master's surprise and +delight, eliciting from him the remark, "Truly, Schubert has the divine +fire." + +Beethoven was so eager for work that he attempted composition again in +the intervals of his illness, but his strength was not sufficient to +enable him to go on with it. Hitherto his one resource in every +difficulty had been his work. The injunction of Saint-Simon, to lead +during the whole of the vigorous portion of manhood the most original +and active life possible, had been perforce carried out by him. Now that +his one resource, work, failed him, he was bereft. He sought to pass the +time by reading, and began with Kenilworth in a German translation, but +soon threw it down saying: "The man writes only for money." + +The volatile Holz did not fail him in his need, but manifested his +friendship by many kind acts. His former publishers the Haslingers, +Tobias and Karl, as well as Diabelli, called occasionally. The Archduke +at Olmütz could hardly have been expected to come, especially as a fatal +termination was not for some time considered probable. We hear nothing +of Czerny, of Schuppanzich, of Linke, or of Zmeskall, which to say the +least, is singular. Schindler's omission of these names, however, has no +particular significance; he wrote many years after the event, and forgot +or omitted the mention of circumstances of greater importance than +this. It is not like what we know of the character of Czerny, or +Zmeskall, to neglect Beethoven in his extremity. The master's old +friend, Stumpf, of London, sent him a splendid edition of Händel's works +in forty volumes, with which he occupied himself a good deal. They +afforded him much enjoyment. + +Anxiety on account of money, so prevalent all through these latter +years, was increased by his enforced abstinence from work. What he +chiefly desired now was sufficient ready money to carry him through, so +that he would not have to break into the little hoard put by for Karl +many years before. At this juncture the Philharmonic Society of London +sent him one hundred pounds, being an advance payment on account of a +concert they intended giving for his benefit. The initiative in this +matter was taken by Beethoven himself, and it is safe to say that +nothing that was done for him during this period was so appreciated, or +gave him so much pleasure, as this act of kindness from the Society. The +money reached him about ten days after an operation had been performed +on him for the relief of the dropsical accumulations incidental to his +liver trouble. Four such operations had been found necessary during this +illness. They were at best only palliative. His joy on receiving the +letter and money from London was such that the wound, not yet healed, +opened, and a great discharge followed. A letter of thanks was sent to +the Society, dictated by the master, but he was too weak even to sign +it. + +Schindler relates that Beethoven on nearing middle-age, was wont to +indulge himself in day-dreams of a prosperous future, in which he could +have sufficient means to enable him to live in comfort, keep his +carriage like brother Johann, and have leisure for the refinements of +life. This illusion, maintained by most workers, no doubt brightened his +prosaic, solitary life. Pity that he could not have realized it in some +measure: after the heat and burden of the day, in which he had so well +acquitted himself, it would seem fitting, had he had an evening of life +such as was vouchsafed Wagner, with opportunity for completing his +life-work in peace and contentment. + +One result achieved by the master as a consequence of his visit to +Gneixendorf would have afforded him great satisfaction could he have +known it. The matter of making suitable provision for Karl in event of +his own death had lain on his conscience for some time before this +visit, as already stated. While there, he begged his brother Johann to +make a will in Karl's favor, which eventually came to pass. + +The army appointment, of which mention has been made, became an +established fact early in December, and the young man soon after left +Vienna to join his regiment. Beethoven never saw him again. He by this +time concurred with his friends in the opinion that the discipline of +military life might be beneficial to him, and was resigned to the +separation. + +The great C sharp minor Quartet is indelibly associated with Karl, +through its dedication to Baron von Stutterheim, through whom the +appointment came. The decision to dedicate this work to the Baron, was +arrived at only two weeks before the master's death. The work had been +for some time in the hands of the publishers, Messrs. Schott of Mayence. +Beethoven, finally becoming aware that no more works could be produced +by him, and wishing to reward the Baron in the only way possible, +dictated an urgent letter to Messrs. Schott on the subject. "The +Quartet," he said, "must be dedicated to Field-marshal von Stutterheim, +to whom I am under great obligations. Should the first dedication by any +possibility be already engraved, I beg of you, on every account, to make +this alteration. I will gladly pay any extra expense connected with it." + +The last Quartet, opus 135, is dedicated to Johann Wolfmayer, a merchant +of Vienna with whom he had much friendly intercourse. Wolfmayer showed +his interest in the master's work in many ways. It may be mentioned that +he offered him a sum equal to several hundreds of dollars to carry out +his project of writing a Requiem Mass. "Write to Stumpf and Smart," he +said to Schindler a few days before his death, when already too weak to +speak above a whisper. His consideration for others was paramount even +in the face of approaching death. + +Notwithstanding the hopeful tone which characterized the letters written +during his last illness, there were times when he knew that he was +making a losing fight. Already on January 3, a month after his return +from Gneixendorf, he wrote a letter to his attorney, Dr. Bach, in the +form of a will, in which as may be supposed, his nephew is his sole +heir. No conditions were imposed on the young man, who, had the will +remained in this form, might have squandered the entire amount. (The +estate netted $5000). This was pointed out to Beethoven by his +counsellor, Dr. Bach, and also Von Breuning, who urged on him the +necessity of adding a codicil to the will, in which the principal would +be tied up for life, leaving only the income available. This he resisted +to within a few days before the end, but finally gave in, and, not +without great difficulty, wrote with his own hand a codicil, consisting +of but three lines, in which the income only was to be enjoyed by the +nephew, the principal to revert to his natural or testamentary heirs, +after Karl's death. Breuning, true to his sense of duty, not satisfied +with having gained his point, endeavored, at the risk of antagonizing +the master, to change the words "natural or testamentary heirs," to +"legitimate heirs." Beethoven was obdurate on the point, however, +saying, "the one term is as good as the other." Von Breuning, good +faithful friend that he was, survived Beethoven but one year. + +Schindler dwells on the perfect tranquillity of Beethoven in the face of +approaching death. "Plaudite amici, comoedia finita est," he said on +the day when the codicil was written. On the following day at noon, he +received the last rites of the church. The event was no doubt a solemn +one. Soon after, the death-struggle began, and continued without +interruption for two days. Hüttenbrenner was a faithful attendant during +these last days. His friend Schubert also called, at least once, and, it +is said, was recognized by Beethoven, although he was unable to speak to +him. + +The nervous strain on his friends in witnessing this struggle between +life and death, in which but the one issue was possible, must have been +great. It was, no doubt, a relief to Schindler and Von Breuning to leave +the master in Hüttenbrenner's charge on the afternoon of the 26th of +March, and go to Wahring in order to secure a burial-place. While on +this necessary errand, a terrific storm arose, which prevented their +return until night. Meanwhile, Hüttenbrenner, left alone with the +master, endeavored to ease his position by sustaining his head, holding +it up with his right arm. His breathing had been growing perceptibly +weaker, carrying the conviction that the end was near. The storm was of +unusual severity, covering the glacis with snow and sleet. The situation +of the building was such that it was exposed to the full fury of the +tempest. No sign was given by the master that he was conscious of this +commotion of the elements. With the subsidence of the storm at dusk, the +watcher was startled by a flash of lightning, which illumined +everything. This was succeeded by a terrific peal of thunder which +penetrated even Beethoven's ears. Startled into consciousness by the +unusual event, the dying man suddenly raised his head from +Hüttenbrenner's embrace, threw out his right arm with the fist doubled, +remained in this position a moment as if in defiance, and fell back +dead. + +The two friends returned some hours after all was over. The master died +at a quarter before six o'clock on the evening of March 26, 1826. He was +in his fifty-seventh year. + +The funeral took place on March 29 at 3 P.M. from the church of the +Minorites and was attended by many of the most prominent people of the +city. Eight musicians bore the coffin from the house to the church, +while thirty-two torch-bearers followed it, among the number being +Czerny and Schubert. This was followed by a choir of sixteen male +singers, and four trombones, which alternated in singing and playing. +The music consisted of two equali composed by Beethoven many years +before, arranged for this occasion by Seyfried, to the words of the +_Miserere_ and _Amplius_. + +Notwithstanding the immense concourse of people assembled at the +obsequies, estimated at twenty thousand, there was but one relative to +occupy the position of mourner, and that was Johann. + +On April 3, Mozart's Requiem was sung at the church of the Augustines, +and shortly thereafter, Cherubini's Requiem was sung for him at the +Karlskirche. + +The magnificence of his funeral, when compared with his simple mode of +life, calls to mind the great contrasts which he was always producing in +his music. Equally great contrasts had always come up in his life. +Living in the proudest most exclusive and bigoted monarchy in Europe, at +a time when feudal authority had not yet been entirely abolished, he +held himself to be as good or better than Emperor or Cardinal. On +receiving a request one morning from the Empress of Austria to call on +her, he sent back word that he would be busy all that day, but would +endeavor to call on the following day. There is no record of his having +gone at all. His unjustifiable conduct toward the Imperial family, while +at Töplitz with Goethe, has been touched on in a previous chapter. +Frimmel states that something similar occurred at Baden, but does not +give his authority. Beethoven arraigned the Judiciary, even when writing +conciliatory letters to the judges. In his letters to the different +magistrates during the litigation over his nephew, he is often satirical +and sarcastic in spite of himself. His criticisms of other judges, his +references to the manner in which justice is administered in Austria, +illustrate his temerity and independence. His scorn of the King of +Saxony, on account of being dilatory in paying the subscription for the +Grand Mass, was pronounced. He alludes to him as "the poor Dresdener" in +his letters, and he even went so far as to talk about suing him when the +payment was still longer withheld.[F] All this from a man who at times +did not have a decent coat to wear, or a second pair of shoes; who +sometimes accepted advances from his housekeeper for the necessaries of +life. His life was so simple and circumscribed that he never saw the +ocean, or a snow-covered mountain, although living within sight of the +foothills of the Alps. He never returned to his native city though +living not a great distance from it. + +[F] Kalischer. _Neue Beethovenbriefe_. Berlin, 1902. + +The immediate cause of death, as demonstrated by the post-mortem held +the day after his decease, was cirrhosis of the liver, the dropsy, of +which Schindler makes such frequent mention, being an outcome of, and +connected with, the liver trouble. The organ showed every indication of +chronic disease. It was greatly shrunken, its very texture being changed +into a hard substance. That alcoholism is the commonest cause of +cirrhosis is well known, but in Beethoven's case some other cause for +the disease must be found. He was in the habit of taking wine with his +meals, a practice so common in Vienna at that time that not to have done +so would have been regarded as an eccentricity, but he never indulged in +it to excess, except possibly on a few occasions when in the company of +Holz. It can hardly be brought about by the use of wines, but is +produced by the inordinate use of spirituous liquors, something for +which Beethoven did not care. Cirrhosis was probably the cause of his +father's death, as he was a confirmed inebriate; but this cannot be +connected with the cirrhosis of the son; the disease is not +transmissible. + +Beethoven's deafness probably began with a "cold in the head" which was +neglected. The inflammatory process then extended to the Eustachian +tubes. When it reached this point it was considered out of the reach of +treatment in his time, and for long after. Even in our own time, in the +light of advanced medical science, such a condition is serious and is +not always amenable to treatment, some impairment of the hearing +frequently occurring even with the best of care and under conditions +precluding the thought of a congenital tendency. The difficulty as +revealed by the post-mortem, lay in a thickening of the membrane of the +Eustachian tubes. The office of these tubes is to supply air to the +cavity on the inner side of the drum-membrane, known as the middle ear. +As is well known, a passage exists from the outer ear to the drum. The +Eustachian tubes connect the middle ear with the upper portion of the +throat from whence the air supply to the middle ear is obtained. We +cannot imagine a drum to be such unless there is air on both sides of +the membrane. Exhaust the air of an ordinary drum, and its resonance +would be gone. A similar condition obtained with Beethoven. With the +closure of the Eustachian tubes the air supply to the middle ear was cut +off; the air in the cavity finally became absorbed, and a retraction and +thickening of the drum-membrane with consequent inability to transmit +sound vibrations followed. + +The hypothesis of heredity, sometimes brought forward to account for +his deafness, would have more weight had the lesion shown itself in the +case of either of his other brothers. As it is, there is no hint to be +found of even a tendency to deafness in any other of the Beethovens, +whether Johann, Karl, or the nephew. In any event a congenital tendency +of this kind would have been more likely to develop itself in Karl, the +weakling, than in the sturdy Ludwig. + +The master's known impulsiveness and carelessness in matters connected +with the preservation of his health, lead to the conclusion that he +himself contributed much to his deafness. He was fond of pure air +outside, but sometimes had for a sleeping room an alcove wholly without +ventilation, so dark that he had to dress in another room. We hear much +of his practice of taking brisk walks on the ramparts or in the suburbs, +in the intervals of his work. There is at least one instance on +record,--there were probably many such cases,--of his coming in after a +walk, overheated, perspiring, and seating himself before an open window +in a draught. Another hygienic measure which he abused was his custom of +frequently bathing his head in cold water while at work, probably to +counteract the excessive circulation of the blood in the head brought +about by his brain-work. A chilling of the body, particularly in the +neck and the back of the head when overheated is a frequent cause of +inflammation of the middle ear. Von Frimmel calls attention to the +dust-storms which are a feature of Vienna. They were probably worse in +Beethoven's time than now, as but little attention was paid to hygienic +measures in those days. This no doubt aggravated the trouble. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +LIFE'S PURPORT + + Das Grenzenlose braust um mich. Weit hinaus glänzt mir Raum und + Zeit. Wohlan! Wohlauf! altes Herz. + --FRIEDERICH NIETZSCHE. + + +Beethoven's life in its devotion to the attainment of a single end, the +perfection of his art, affords an object lesson, which cannot fail to +encourage and stimulate every one engaged in creative work of any kind. +His earnestness and industry is the key-note to his achievement. He +worked harder than any composer we have any record of, with the possible +exception of Wagner. If we consider how the compositions improved in his +hands, while being worked over, as is shown by the sketch-books, a +simple process of reasoning will convince the reader that any man's +work, in any line, can be improved by adopting the same methods. +Beethoven's own words in this connection are, "the boundary does not yet +exist, of which it can be said to talent cooperating with industry, +'Thus far shalt thou go and no farther.'" The more he worked over his +compositions the better they became. When he required a theme for a +particular purpose, if the right thought did not at once come to mind, +his practice was to write as near it as possible. By the time this was +done an improvement would suggest itself. He would then write it again, +and before the ink was dry, would start at it yet again, each effort +bringing him nearer the goal, and this progress was the incentive that +led him to continue until the idea he was reaching for became a reality. +His intuitive faculties were highly developed, and he had Goethe's +"heavenly gift" of imagination, but this would have been as nothing +without his power of concentration. All his abilities were focused on +his art. He made everything else subservient to the one idea of +attaining perfection in it. He succeeded too, by giving his genius free +play, by allowing his individuality to shape itself in accordance with +its own laws. The circumstances of his life favored this action. +Responsible to no one for years before reaching maturity, he was nowhere +hampered or repressed as might have been the case had he had a home +life. Strong characters are best left alone to work out their own +development. It is only the weak ones that have to be supported. He met +every demand that his art made on him. It was only by a complete +surrender, by a concentration of all his forces into one channel, that +he attained his results. By losing the world, he gained it. The great +ones in every age, in every art or calling,--those who attained to +saintship,--seers,--prophets,--all went this road. + +He had absolute confidence in his judgment. He seldom considered what +his audience would like. The best that was in him was what he gave to +the world. He knew its value, and if others could not understand it, he +knew the time would come when it would be appreciated. In art as in +religion, faith is a necessary preliminary to all great achievements. + +In going so far beyond us, in pushing the art to the limit of its +possibilities, Beethoven has made portions of his work inaccessible to +the large body of people who look upon music as an art for enjoyment +only. The same kind of problem that is presented to this generation in +the works of his last years, confronted his contemporaries in those of +his middle life, which were as far beyond the comprehension of his own +generation as the more abstruse works of his last years are beyond the +ability of the present. To a future age, seemingly, has been relegated, +as an heritage of the past, the best fruit of Beethoven's genius. When +the Mass in D and the last Quartets can be heard frequently, a new era +in the art will have been inaugurated. + +It would be a mistake to suppose that Beethoven was a pessimist, or a +misanthrope. Placed here to live and suffer, not knowing why it should +be so, he yet teaches that relentless fate cannot prevail against those +who make a good fight. "I did not wish to find when I came to die that I +had not lived," said Thoreau, paraphrasing from Voltaire, (most men die +without having lived). "I did not wish to live what was not life, living +is so dear." Beethoven's idea of the purport of life was similar. He +believed, and put his theory into practice, that each man has within +himself the potentialities with which he shapes his own destiny. Fate +and Destiny are verities that have to be faced, but they do not have all +their own way with us. Each of us has the power to control his destiny +to some extent. By willing it so the tendency is toward betterment. +Always the highest powers are on our side. Life, after all, is worth +while. This was the gist of his philosophy. He sought to establish an +optimistic view of life, with the object of making the problem easier to +solve. + +Fichte, in his work "Über das Wesen des Gelehrten", gives the literary +man the place of priest in the world, continually unfolding the Godlike +to man. This was also Beethoven's aim. Haydn charged him with being an +atheist, but his works as well as his life refute this charge. The Kyrie +and the Agnus Dei of the Mass in D, could never have been produced had +he been other than a devout, religious man. In his journals he +continually addresses the Godhead. Outwardly, however, he gave no sign. +"Religion and general-bass," he said once, with a touch of humor, "are +in themselves two inscrutable things (_abgeschlossene Dinge_) about +which one should not argue." + +He was solicitous that his nephew should receive proper religious +instruction, and made this a point in his letters to the magistrates +while the lawsuit over him was in progress. After giving his ideas as to +the proper education of the young man, in which French, Greek, music and +drawing take a prominent place, he adds, "I have found a holy father who +has undertaken to instruct him in his duties as a Christian, as well as +a man, for only on this foundation can we bring up genuine people." +Again, "It is for his soul's welfare that I am concerned. Wealth can be +achieved, but morality must early in life be inoculated" (_eingeimpft_). +He saw the necessity of religion; that it has been called forth through +the consciousness of utter helplessness in the individual. Man is +encompassed on all sides by inexorable laws, produced and perpetuated by +a power beyond and outside the comprehension. The expression of the +religious sentiment is his effort at propitiation, and is his one +resource. This is the point of view on which Beethoven projected the +grand mass. It is what governed his life. + +An inner pressure led him to choose a life of self-abnegation and +rectitude. He saw through and over and beyond the illusions and +allurements of the senses, and so was enabled to live entirely in +harmony with the moral order of the world, in an age, and among a +people, largely given over to the pursuit of pleasure. + +A long life is generally considered the best gift which the Fates have +to bestow. In the summary of a man's life it is usually treated of as +implying special virtues in the subject. But a long life in itself is as +nothing in comparison to the quality of the life that is lived. It is by +achievement only that its value can be determined. + + + + +WAGNER'S INDEBTEDNESS TO BEETHOVEN + + +FOREWORD + +Beethoven, in Wagner's estimation, is a landmark in music, just as +Shakespeare is in literature, as Jesus or Buddha in religion. He is the +central figure; all others are but radii emanating from him. To +Beethoven was it given to express clearly what the others could but +dimly perceive. The relation of men like Bach or Händel toward +Beethoven, Wagner held to be analogous to that of the prophets toward +Jesus, namely, one of expectancy. The art reached its culmination in +Beethoven. This is Wagner's summary of the significance of Beethoven's +work, and he proclaimed it continually, from the housetops. It was in +some sort a religious exercise to him to make propaganda for the master +to whom he felt himself so deeply indebted. The burden of his utterances +on the subject of the musician's art is, "A greater than I exists. It is +Beethoven." + + + + + Chiefly, perhaps, of the philosopher and the poet must we needs + feel that if any genius reaches out into an interpenetrating + spiritual world, _theirs_ must do so.--F.W.H. MYERS, + Human Personality, Chapter on Genius. + + In art the best of all is too spiritual to be given directly to the + senses; it must be born in the imagination of the beholder, + although begotten by the work of art.--SCHOPENHAUER. + +Wagner's achievement can be attributed, in part, to a certain quality of +intellectual receptivity, by virtue of which he was enabled to +appropriate to himself the genius of two of his predecessors for whom he +had a special affinity. His epoch-making work was rendered possible +through Shakespeare and Beethoven, who served him as models all his +life. + +Every great achievement is referable to some preceding one often quite +as great but more obscure. No man stands alone in his deed. The doer of +every great work has been helped thereto by his predecessors working the +same soil. The greater the performance, the more prominently this comes +out sometimes, as in the case of Shakespeare whose indebtedness to +Christopher Marlowe and others will at once come to mind. + +To Beethoven and to Shakespeare, Wagner paid tribute on all occasions. +Especially is this true in his relation to Beethoven, to whom he readily +yields the palm in the realm of music. In the eight volumes of his +_Gesammelte Schriften_, no single fact stands out more clearly than his +recognition of Beethoven as his chief, his master, from whom proceeds +all wisdom and knowledge and truth. One can hardly read any of Wagner's +prose writings without seeing how readily he falls into the place of +disciple of Beethoven. "I knew no other pleasure," he says in A +Pilgrimage to Beethoven, "than to plunge so deeply into his genius that +at last I fancied myself become a portion thereof." The Pilgrimage, +though an imaginative work, is the medium he employed to give utterance +to his regard for Beethoven. His letters to musical friends, to Liszt, +to Fischer, especially those to Ulig, are filled with praise of the +older master. In a letter to Meyerbeer, in 1887, he states how he came +to be a musician. "A passionate admiration of Beethoven impelled me to +this step." The only one who was good enough in Wagner's eyes to be +compared with Beethoven, was Shakespeare. These two names are frequently +brought into juxtaposition in his works. No musician is worthy of +comparison with his demigod. "Mozart died when he was just piercing into +the mystery. Beethoven was the first to enter in," he says in his +Sketches. As if even this praise were too great, he severely criticises +Mozart's operas and symphonies elsewhere. + +The deferential attitude which Wagner assumes toward Beethoven is not +accorded any other musician. Consciously or not, when he talks about +other musicians (except Bach) he, for the most part, assumes the rôle of +censor. But Beethoven comes in for unstinted praise. "It is impossible," +he says, "to discuss the essential nature of Beethoven's music without +at once falling into the tone of rhapsody." + +Wagner seems hardly to have been able, when writing about music, to +refrain from mention of Beethoven, he is so full of the subject. It has +a bearing on every important event in his life. At the ceremonies +attending the laying of the foundation-stone of the Festival Play House +at Bayreuth, the Ninth Symphony was performed, and in a little speech he +says: "I wish to see the Ninth Symphony regarded as the foundation-stone +of my own artistic structure." In "Religion and Art" we find these +words: "to whom the unspeakable bliss has been vouchsafed of taking one +of the last four symphonies of Beethoven into his heart and soul." + +Many enthusiasts have worked in Wagner's cause from Liszt down, but none +have equalled Wagner in this respect--in enthusiasm for _his_ master. He +pays tribute to Beethoven in all conceivable places. He first heard of +him when told of his death. His first acquaintance with Beethoven's +music was a year after the master's death, on his arrival at Leipzig at +the Gewandhaus concerts. Wagner was then in his sixteenth year. "Its +impression on me was overpowering," he says. "The music to his Egmont so +inspired me that I determined not to allow my own completed tragedy to +be launched until provided with such like music. Without the slightest +diffidence I believed that I could write this needful music." He had up +to this time no special leaning toward music. He had not previously +entertained a thought of it as a career, but his first hearing of +Beethoven's music decided him to adopt it, such was the kinship between +these two minds. Through Beethoven he discovered that "music," to use +his own words, "is a new language in which that which is boundless can +express itself with a certainty impossible to be misunderstood."[G] + +[G] Thoreau, in 1840, expressed himself similarly. We quote from the +recently published Service. "Music is a language, a mother tongue, a +more mellifluous and articulate language than words, in comparison with +which speech is recent and temporary. There is as much music in the +world as virtue. In a world of peace and love music would be the +universal language and men greet each other in the fields in such +accents as a Beethoven now utters at rare intervals at a distance." + +The episode made a turning-point in his life. Hitherto his whole mind +and thought had been placed on literature, the drama in particular, as a +career. Through Beethoven he first learned what a power music possesses +in the portrayal of the emotions and passions. He had, as he says, an +intimate love and knowledge of Mozart without apparently being much +influenced thereby. Up to this time Shakespeare had been his archetype. +Now, with a fine discriminating intelligence, marvellous in a youth of +sixteen, Beethoven is to be included in this hero-worship, and is +eventually to supplant his former ideal. "It was Beethoven who opened up +the boundless faculty of instrumental music for expressing elemental +storm and stress," he says in the "Art-Work of the Future," and +elsewhere in the same article, "the deed of the one and only +Shakespeare, which made of him a universal man, a very god, is yet but +the kindred deed of the solitary Beethoven, who found the language of +the artist-manhood of the future." + +Wagner's criticisms on music are admirable. Here he expresses his +thoughts as plainly as in his compositions. His disquisitions on music +as an art and on Beethoven in particular, are always lucid and forcible. +He may be misty in his philosophical speculations, but when he speaks +on music it is in the authoritative tone of the master, familiar with +every phase of his subject. He always contributes something of value, +and his thoughts are an illumination. + +Had Wagner never written a line of music, had he elected to be a +literary man, a poet, a dramatist, philosopher, his fame to-day would +still be world-wide. Had he confined his genius into this one channel of +literary expression, as was his original intention, with his mental +equipment, and a Napoleonic ambition that balked at nothing, the product +would have been as original and extraordinary, we may be sure, as is his +art-product in music. Wagner, the musician, is so commanding a figure +that the literary man is obscured; but when we consider the magnitude of +his literary achievement, the dramas Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, Flying +Dutchman, Tristan, Parsifal, the stupendous Ring of the Nibelung, the +essays on music, philosophy, criticism and sociology, and reflect that +it is, so to speak, a by-product, it becomes apparent that, had he made +literature his chief aim in life, the result would have been notable in +the annals of the century. + +Wagner seriously contemplated writing a biography of Beethoven at one +time, and devoted several months to collecting materials for it. But his +finances were still in bad shape, and he was unable to undertake it +without an order from some publisher, who would have been required to +advance money. He was unable to find such a party, and the project was +abandoned, most unfortunately, as he would have made a valuable +contribution to the subject. The short biographical sketch he wrote on +Beethoven on the centenary anniversary of the master's birth, shows +marvellous insight, especially in relation to the critical and +analytical parts of it. This work, instinct with worship of the master, +is a product of Wagner's mature years. Here, as in his earliest +utterances on Beethoven, he is the disciple glad to do homage to his +master. + +"A century may pass," said Schopenhauer in a letter to the publishers of +the (English) Foreign Review and Continental Miscellany, offering to +translate Kant for them, in response to a wish he had seen expressed in +their journal that England might ere long have a translation of Kant, "a +century may pass ere there shall again meet in the same head so much +Kantian Philosophy, with so much English, as happen to dwell together in +mine." Likewise centuries may elapse before another such musician will +appear possessing the literary ability, critical faculty, ardor and +enthusiasm that Wagner had for this work. + +There is an affinity between them in which mind speaks to mind. When +writing on Bach's influence on Beethoven, he says:[H] "If Haydn passed +as teacher of the youth, for the mightily unfolding art-life of the man, +our great Sebastian Bach became his leader. Bach's wonder-work became +his Bible; in it he read, and clean forgot that world of clangor heard +no longer." This describes Wagner's own spiritual relationship to +Beethoven, and the exaltation that must have been his on reading the +symphonies, the Mass in D, the overtures. He exhausts himself in praise +of each. He makes the Third Leonore Overture of as much account as the +entire opera; he continually refers to the Egmont and the Coriolanus +Overtures, and says that in the latter and in the Third Leonore, +Beethoven stands alone and beyond all imitation. + +[H] Mr. Ellis's translation. + +An evidence of Wagner's overpowering genius exists in the originality +and unique character of his work, while giving himself up so +unreservedly to this spiritual guidance. The two, however, were quite +unlike in many respects. Neither could have done the work of the other. +Beethoven, almost a failure in operatic composition, undertook it no +more after one trial, while Wagner was irresistibly drawn to this style +from the beginning. He felt that with Beethoven the last word had been +said in pure instrumental music, while his literary talents also served +to draw him into this field of operatic composition where they could +find their proper outlet. With that unerring poetic sense which guided +him in the selection of his subjects, he always has the romantic element +to the fore. The atmosphere of romanticism which invests all his works, +is what gives them much of their value. Through the force and purity of +his literary instinct, he was enabled to select topics of supreme +interest, so that his imagination was kept at white heat while +composing. His originality and absolute confidence in himself prevented +him from following Beethoven to any marked extent. He was forced to hew +out a new path for himself. He was, however, not averse to occasionally +taking a hint from him when it would serve his purpose. It is the +prerogative of genius to take its material wherever it can be found. +"Plato," said Emerson, "plays sad havoc with our originalities." +Beethoven's influence is plainly discernible in the preludes and +overtures of the Wagner dramas, which are symphonic throughout. The +frequent use Wagner makes of the trombones, when he wishes to be +particularly impressive, recalls Beethoven. Each had a high opinion of +the trombone where solemnity was required, and made constant use of it. +Beethoven applied it with peculiar effect in the Benedictus of the Mass +in D, and in the Ninth Symphony, which is paralleled by Wagner's use of +it in Parsifal, and in the Funeral march in Siegfried. The extraordinary +uses to which he puts the pedal-point, as well as the variation form, +are instances which show the influence of the older master. + +When, however, he takes an idea from Beethoven, he improves on it, +broadening and amplifying it, in general putting it to a better use than +it was where he found it. A great dramatic work admits of fuller and +longer treatment of an idea than is possible in the other forms in which +music can be embodied. The instances just quoted are minor ones of +general application. Of the conceptions in which he is specially +indebted to Beethoven, the most important come from the Mass in D. Here +the older master, by the very form in which the ideas are cast, had to +hold himself in. He was not able to give them the significance in the +Mass, which is perfectly proper in great music dramas; and this +enlarging and widening of the poetic conception,--this splendor in which +it is portrayed,--not only justifies the course of his follower in +adopting it, but also calls attention anew to the commanding genius to +whom such things are possible. + +Some of Wagner's most entrancing effects have their origin in Beethoven. +His method of using the violins and flutes in the highest register in +prolonged notes, as in the Lohengrin Prelude, and in general when +portraying celestial music, are obtained from this source. The Mass in D +gives several instances where this idea is presented, not by harp (the +customary way), but as Wagner has done in Lohengrin, by the violins and +wood-winds in the highest register, beginning pianissimo, gradually +descending and augmenting in volume and sonority as the picturing merges +from spiritual to worldly concerns. Beethoven's work abounds in +intellectual subtleties of this kind. Wagner is sometimes credited with +having originated this method for the portrayal of celestial music. Mr. +Louis C. Elson says: "Wagner, alone, of all the great masters, does not +use the harp for celestial tone coloring, but violins and wood-winds, in +prolonged notes in the highest positions. Schumann, Berlioz, +Saint-Saens, in fact all the modern tone colorists who have given +celestial pictures, use the harp in them, purely because of the +association of ideas which come to us from the Scriptures, and this +association of the harp with heaven and the angels, only came about +because the instrument was the most developed possessed by man at the +time the sacred book was written. Wagner's tone coloring is +intrinsically the more ecstatic.... Wagner is the first who has broken +through this harp conventionality." + +In the Wagner-Liszt correspondence, Wagner states that the Lohengrin +Prelude typifies choirs of angels bearing the Holy Grail to earth. This +idea and the method of its development can be found in the symphonic +thought which follows the Preludium to the Benedictus of the Beethoven +Mass. + +It will be necessary to make a short digression and explain a portion of +the canon of the Mass to enable the reader to understand what follows. +During the office of the Eucharist the celebrant repeats certain prayers +inaudible to the congregation. These begin during the latter part of the +Sanctus, which immediately precedes the Benedictus, and are connected +with the ceremony of the consecration of the Host. A part of them are +conducted in absolute silence. The choir is not required to be silent +during all the prayers said by the celebrant, and the occasion is +frequently utilized, particularly at high festivals, by the introduction +of orchestral music or a brilliant chorus. The choir is silent during +the elevation of the Host and chalice, which takes place immediately +after the consecration. It is a period of peculiar solemnity, the +congregation kneeling in silent prayer at the signal of a gong. After +the consecration the priest elevates the Host and chalice, and with the +people still kneeling, offers up a prayer silently, the conclusion of +which is as follows: "We most humbly beseech Thee, Almighty God, command +these things to be carried by the hands of Thy holy angels to Thy altar +on high, in the sight of Thy Divine Majesty, that as many as shall +partake of the most sacred body and blood of Thy Son at this altar may +be filled with every heavenly grace and blessing." The central thought +of this prayer is that the sacred elements are borne to heaven by +invisible hands. + +In the Beethoven Mass a Preludium for orchestra is introduced, to fill +in the interval while the celebrant is occupied with these silent +prayers. It is an innovation, showing how thoroughly alive Beethoven was +to the development of every phase of his subject. Ordinarily, no +provision is made for this by the composer, the organist being permitted +the privilege of interpolating hymns like the O Salutaris or the Tantum +ergo. The Preludium is so timed that it ends at the conclusion of the +prayer we have quoted, when the sacred elements are in heaven and are +about being returned to earth. It is at this point that the symphonic +thought begins, which at the first bar calls to mind celestial +harmonies. Here we have the tone-figure, as in the Lohengrin Prelude, +given by the violins and flutes in the highest register, beginning in +faintest pianissimo. At the second bar the melody begins to descend, +being augmented in force by the gradual addition of the more powerful +instruments as well as voices when the elements are again on earth. The +Lohengrin Prelude has the same idea, but it is developed to a greater +extent, with a richer orchestration, the idea being carried to greater +length, and rendered more significant in every way, as befits its +dramatic character. In both cases, however, the orchestral figure is +introduced by the same instruments, and in much the same manner. + +The Mass in D furnishes another instance where the celestial harmonies +are introduced to still better purpose than in the Benedictus. It is in +that portion of the Credo, beginning with the Et incarnatus. The +delicate ethereal nature of this music, as indicated by the violins and +flutes in the highest positions, is so transcendental, so imbued with +spirituality, as almost to evade analysis. By the magic of Beethoven's +art the impression is conveyed that the listener overhears far-off angel +voices from other spheres, when the heavens were opened for the descent +of the Son of God to earth. The instruments give out the merest +intimations of sound, scintillations that suggest it rather. In the +opening bars of the movement, just before the introduction of this +tone-figure, he uses an ancient ecclesiastical style, the Plagal, a mode +that obtained centuries before Palestrina. Harsh and strident, +inharmonious, are the tones, which in the opening Adagio typify the +dread, the foreboding and dismay, that can be supposed to have been felt +by the Son of God when the time came to give up a beatific state and +enter on the actualities of earthly existence. The sin of the world is +already being borne in anticipation. Suddenly we are in the midst of +celestial harmonies, delicate gradations and mergings of tones, +subtleties of expression, ethereal, evanescent, that come faintly at +first on the senses, giving us revelations of spiritual heights, of +transcendent states and conditions of the soul. Mankind is here afforded +a glimpse beyond the veil. These strains continue until the words _et +homo factus est_ (and was made man) are reached. At this point the +melodies are suddenly cut off, the doors are closed, and we are excluded +from further participation in things not meant for mortal ears. A change +of tonality and time further accentuates the changed conditions that +prevail as the story goes through the events of the crucifixion, death +and burial of Christ.[I] + +[I] Beethoven's love of strongly defined contrasts is nowhere better +illustrated than here. The sharp discordant tones, which characterize +the opening bars of the movement, are simply pushed aside by the new. It +is the subjugation of the worldly by the spiritual, of suffering by +happiness. + +The Mass in D can be said to be the parent of some of the Parsifal +music. Wagner had the discernment to seize on the intellectual +subtleties he found there, and to put them to happiest uses. If we +compare the instrumental effects just noted with the exquisitely +delicate music that opens the Parsifal Prelude after the introductory +_leit motif_, we find a solution to each, as well as an affinity, in the +religious mysticism in which each is enveloped. There is a central +theme, but so shadowy and unreal as to be hardly apparent. Like a nimbus +these shimmerings of sound from the violins surround and permeate it, so +that one is not aware of any particular melody, but rather it is +perceived that the atmosphere is full of a divine melody, as if by +spiritual insight the listener had attained to a state of mind akin to +that of the seer, and had, for the time being, become one with the +composer. The effect is produced of being in the presence of something +holy. + +The _Naturlangsamkeit_ necessary to the birth of any great art-work +sometimes extends to its recognition and appreciation by the public. +Beethoven considered the Mass in D his greatest achievement, but it +gains ground very slowly. It is rarely mentioned, and seldom performed. +Similarly Bach's greatest works slumbered nearly a century until brought +to light by Mendelssohn. + +It is significant that Wagner was as world-weary from middle-age on as +was Beethoven. Like him he took refuge in creative work. Both were +pioneers, always in advance of their time, cheerfully making the +sacrifices which this position entails, diverging ever more and more +with advancing years from beaten paths and the ideas of others on the +subject of their art. Resignation and asceticism, the goal of mankind, +was Wagner's solution of the problem of existence, a conclusion arrived +at after reading Schopenhauer. Beethoven had also come to it long before +reaching middle-age. Wagner was, in his later years, a mystic, as was +Beethoven; and like Beethoven his most congenial work in those years was +of a religious character. + + + + +INDEX + +Adagio, the, 62. +Adversity, school of, 6. +Altruism, 43, 164. +American Revolution, 3, 4. +Andante, the, 123. +Antwerp, 4. +Appassionata Sonata, 14, 44, 63, 66, 70, 71. +Archduke Rudolph, 80 et seq., 84, 93, 107, 108, 129, 188, 206, + Appointed Archbishop, 145-146, + Disciple of Beethoven, 81, + Installation of, 148, 154, + as performer, 81, + regard for Beethoven, 146. +Aristocracy, of Vienna, 41. +Art, office of, 4. +Art-history (this country), 181. +Artist-manhood, of Beethoven, 227. +Artistic temperament, 87. +Art-work, 236. +Art-workers, 39. +Aryan ancestry, 195. +Aspern, battle of, 83. +Atterbohm, 121. +Attrition, of mind on mind, 15. +Augustines, church of, 212. +Austria, Emperor of, 42, 81, 172. +Austria, Empress of, 5. +Austrians in Italy, 42. + +Bach, Dr., Beethoven's attorney, 209. +Bach, J.S., 8, 20, 27, 28, 32, 73, 75, 147, 173, 220, 225, + Beethoven's regard for, 20, + and humor, 133, + Leader of Beethoven, 236, + Life-work of, 143, + Mathematician of music, 1, + Mass in B minor, 51, 74, + Overture on name of, 172, + Protestant, 52, + and old ecclesiastical modes, 147, + and Variation form, 158, + Well-tempered clavichord, 139, + "Wonder-work," 229. +Baden, 116, 158, 173, 193. +Battle Symphony, 103 et seq. +Bautzen, battle of, 102. +Bavarian soldiers, 104. +Bayreuth, 226. +Beautiful in music, 4. +Beethoven: Altruism of, 40, 164, + Adagios, 123, + Aim, 219, + Age of, 211, + Absorption in his work, 18, 121, + Art-life of, 229, + Artist-life, 191, + Artistic instinct, 34, + Approachable, 177, + Asceticism, 111, 116, 161, + Adopts nephew, 110, + Awkwardness, 134, + Bach's influence on, 229, + Brevier, 141, + Catholic, in religion, 161, + Creative talent, 27, + Conduct of life, 39, + Court suit, buys a, 38, + Concert for Philharmonic Society of London, 182, + Copyrights, 201, + Consideration for others, 209, + Copyists, his, 187, 188, + Church music, predilection for, 147, + Concept of life, 7, + Drama, and the, 14, + Dancing, and, 39, + Destiny, accepts his, 100, + Deafness, progress of, 96, + Ethical character of, 126, 197, + Every-day life, 96, + Father, his, 4, + Favorite authors, 13, + Failing health, 200, + Forecasts his future, 37, + Friendship, need of, 177, + and Goethe, 90-92, + Gastro-intestinal disturbances, 88, + Grandfather, 4, 5, + Grammar, lapses from in letters, 138, + Habits, at Johann's, 201, + and Happiness, 38, + Helplessness, his, 137, + Humor, 126, 133, 135, + History, insatiable reader of, 140, + Intellectual bias, 14, 28, 141, + Infinitude, 124, + Introspection, 37, 97, + Illnesses of, 88, 204, 207, + Individuality, 27, + Intuitive faculties, 41, 217, + Improvising: in Allegro movements, 29. + Improvising: in Variations, 29, + Improvising at a charity concert, 93, + Journal, his, 101, 116, 147, 161, 182, 184, 219 (note-book), 71, + 123, 165, + Kindliness and humility, 88, + Lawsuits, 145, + Line extinct on male side, 118, + Laughter, virtuoso in, 135, + Last words of, 210, + Library, 140, + Life-work of, 71, 160, + Life-drama, 162, + Letters to publishers, 193, + Litigation over nephew, 111, + Life, a difficult problem, 101, + Love affairs of, 60, 87-88, + "Last five symphonies," 226, + Landmark in music, 223, + Ménage, the, 111, 116, + Mother, his, 6; death of, 9, + Muse, his, 145, + Musical library, 139, + Mental processes of, 15, + Mysticism, his, 96, 195, + Nature, love of, 122, + Naïveté of, 135, + Optimism, his, 98, + Opera, early familiarity with, 14, + Orchestra, and the, 3, 14, 75, + Organist, as, 7, + the Philosopher, 52, + as Patriot, 104-105, + Philosophy, gist of, 218, + and Persian literature, 140, + Quartets, his, 98, + Republicanism, his, 41, 81, 146, + Repartee, ready in, 136, + Religion, his, 219, + Rhenish ancestry, 121, + Servants, difficulties with, 184, 186, 188, + Seer, the, 163, 195, 217, 236, + Scherzo, and the, 33, 34, + Sarcastic moods, his, 187, + Spiritual insight, 97, 194, + Strenuousness, his, 121, + Sonatas, 98, 145, + Social successes, 27, + Symphonies of, language of buoyant mood, 98, + Sociological questions, 165, + Solitary life, 86, 208, + Subtleties, in works of, 232, + Sketch-books, 18, 27, 32, 49, 85, 97, 122, 123, 147, + the Symphonist, 49, 75, + Two masses, 124, + Teaching, dislike of, 80, + Tone-poet, 191, + Unique work of, 38, + Virtuosity of, 63-64, + Works, happy ending to, 164, + Work, his one resource, 206, + Work, significance of his, 220, + Will, codicil added, 209, + World, a difficult problem to, 184, + World-weary, 236, + World, at odds with the, 24, + World, withdrawing from, 97, + World, "the play with it," 97. +Beethoven, Johann van, 93, 94, 199, 204, 208, 215, + marries his housekeeper, 95, + as Landed proprietor, 136, + Sordidness of, 200, + his cupidity, 202, + his wife, 199, 204. +Beethoven, Karl van, brother of composer, 86, + marriage of, 65, + dies, 110, + his widow, 110, 186. +Beethoven, Karl van, nephew of composer, 110, et seq., 116, 180, 182, + 198, 199, 207-208, 210, 215, 219, + after career of, 117, + Posterity of, 117, + Waywardness of, 196-197. +Beklemmt, cavatina B quartet, 194. +Bergman, C., 166. +Berlioz, 232. +Bernadotte, Gen., 43, 45; king of Sweden, 43. +Bigot, Marie, virtuosity of, 63. +Black Spaniards, house of, 204. +Boehm, J., violinist, 195. +Boehme, Madame, 13. +Bohemia, Baths of, 88. +Bonn, 13, 16, 17, 18, 23, 31, 37, 80, 82, 88, + University, 10, + Old Roman city, 4. +Boswell, 130. +Bouilly, 49. +Brahma, 97. +Brentano, Bettina, 87. +Breuning, Stephen von, 11, 13, 56, 174 et seq., 198, 205, 209, 210, + Madame von, 11-13, + family, 17. +British Museum, 27. +Broadwood piano, Beethoven's, 135-136. +Brotherhood of man, 40. +Browne, Count, 26, 62. +Bruno, Giordano, 73, 132. +Brunswick, Count, 27, 44, 68, 71, + Therese, 60, 66, 67, 86-87, + engaged to Beethoven, 71-72, + founds home for children, 72. +Buddha, 164, 223. +Bundeslied, 142. + +C minor Symphony (see Fifth Symphony). +Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, 141. +Carlsbad, 92, 93. +Carlyle on Goethe, 90, + on Jean Paul, 101. +Castle Garden, 165. +Celestial music, 232, 235. +Chamberlain, H.S., 120. +Chamber-music, 46, 63, 65, 85, 192, + Variations in, 157. +Character, and environment, 116. +Cherubini, 57, 66, 123; Requiem, 140, 212. +Chopin, Improvising, 28. +Choral Fantasia, 29. +Christianity, 4, 143. +Cirrhosis, 213, + Dropsical accumulations in, 207, + Cause of, 213, + not transmissible, 214. +Clementi, Sonatas, 139. +Cologne, 17. +Concert, Spirituel, of Vienna, 178, 179, + of Paris, 14. +Congress of Vienna, 107 et seq. +Coriolanus overture, 14, 75, 124, 229. +Corsican, the young, 41. +Critics on Second Symphony, 36, + Seventh Symphony, 159. +Czerny, 29, 66, 80, 96, 127, 128, 130, 131, 140, 159, 167, 207, 211, + Teacher of young Karl, 110. + +Dance, the, 99, + the, favorite musical form, 157. +Dante, 77. +Damrosch, Dr. Leopold, 166. +De Profundus, 151. +Diabelli, 157, 167, 187. +Dietrichstein, Count, 172. +Dignity, of the artist, 2. +Don Giovanni, 9, 48, 139, 140. +Dönhoff, Graf von, 94. + +Egmont music, 92, 106, 142, 156, 226, 229. +Eighth Symphony, 95, 98, 100, 106, 145, + Dance element in, 99. +Eisfeld, Theo, 166. +Elector of Cologne, 4, 5, 13, 24, + his Orchestra, 15, 16, 18, 82. +Eliot, George, 134. +Elysian Fields, 193. +Emerson, 77, 145, 147, 148, 228. +England, 103, 106, 107. +Erdödy, Countess, 60, 61. +Erlkönig, Beethoven's setting of, 142. +Eroica Symphony (see Third Symphony). +Ertmann, Baroness, 60, 61, 80, 128. +Esterhazy, Prince, 75-76, + Princess Marie, 76, + the Princes, 51. +Eucharist, 232. +Euryanthe, 159, 160. +Eustachian tubes, office of, 214. + +Fate, struggle with, 163, + Relentless, 218, + Propitiated, 184, + and Destiny, 218. +Fates, the, 204, 220. +Fatherland, Poets of, 14. +Faust, 38, 156, 157, 162, 200. +Fichte (quoted), 219. +Fidelio, 11, 48, 98, 155, + libretto of, 49-50, + First production of, 54, 55, + revision of, 56, 74, 75, 98, 106, 123, 155, 159, + dedication of piano score, 107, + its Spanish background, 49. +Fielding and humor, 134. +Fifth Symphony (C minor), 14, 68, 73, 76, 77, 152. +First Symphony, 33, 34, 37. +Fischer, 225. +Förster, teacher of Beethoven, 63. +Fourth Symphony, 66-68, + Serenity of, 67, + Philosophic import of, 68. +France, 42, 43, 107. +France, King of (Louis XVIII), 45, 154, 155. +Freemasonry, among musicians, 10. +Freischütz, 139. +French Revolution, 3, 4, 41, 133. +Friends of music, Society of, 129. +Friendship, 176. +Frimmel von, 180, 215. +Fugue, the, 124, 125, 129, + of the C# minor quartet, 121, + Credo of Mass in D, 153. +Fuller, Margaret (footnote), 181. + +Gayety, 100. +Galaxy of virtuosi, 17. +Galitzin, Prince, and last quartets, 192-194, + and Mass in D, 192. +Genius, prerogative of, 230. +Germanic Order, 10. +Germans, the, 104. +Gewandhaus Concerts, 226. +Glacis, the, 204, 210. +Glück, 79. +Goethe, 13, 38, 80, 88, 90, 101, 111, 125, 129, 141, 191, 212, 217, + Worldly wisdom of, 90, + as Courtier, 91, + Councillor, 92, + Spiritual mentor, 162. +Gothic architecture, 143. +Greece, 143. +Greek Classics, 140-141. +Grillparzer, 160. + +Hafiz (quoted), 102. +Hanau, battle of, 104. +Händel, 27, 79, 139, 143, 223, + Beethoven's opinion of, 20, + Oratorios of, 143, 144, + works of, 207. +Händel and Haydn Society of Boston, 181. +Happiness, and Beethoven, 38. +Hatzfeld, Prince von, 154. +Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 18. +Haydn, 4, 17, 18, 19, 29, 30, 33, 43, 46, 73, 76, 79, 100, 101, 123, + 140, 219, 229, + Important work of, 143, + Distinguishing trait, 123, + Kyrie of Imperial Mass, 74, + and the Minuet, 34, + Humor in music, 34, 133, + Sonatas, 34, + Teacher of Beethoven, 19-20, + Visits Bonn, 17. +Haydn and Mozart, 4, 20. +Haydn and Beethoven, life-work of, 20. +Heiligenstadt, 73. +Herder, 141, + quoted, 80, 93. +Higher law, the, 38. +Hiller, Ferdinand, 205. +Hirsch, Beethoven's last pupil, 180. +Holy Grail, 232. +Holz, 178, 185, 194, 198, 206, 213. +Homer, 13. +Host, the, elevation of, 233, + Consecration of, 233. +Humanity, 43, + at bay, 163, + Golden age for, 164. +Humor, in music, evolution of, 133, + a test of genius, 134. +Hümmel, 22, 29, 31, 63, 76, 105, 206. +Hüttenbrenner, 8, 177, 210, 211. + +Imperial family (of Austria), 5, 41, 81, 91, 170, 171, 212. +Impedimenta, 39. +Improvising, 28, 125, + Bach, excelled in it, 28, + Chopin, last to exercise it in public, 28, + Beethoven, genius in, 28-29, + by Karl, 117. +Instrumental music, 227, 230. +Intellect of mankind, 2. +Intuition, 2. +Italian vocalism, 4. + +Jeitteles, 121. +Jesus, teaching of, 164. +Johnson, Dr., 130. +Joy, language of, 68. +Joyousness (quoted), 101. +Judiciary, the, of Austria, 212. + +Kalischer, 186, 197. +Kantian Philosophy, 229. +Karlskirche, 212. +Kenilworth, 209. +Keyboard, of piano, 3. +Kiel University, 16. +Kinsky, Prince, 26, 83, 84, + death of, 145, 160. +Klober, 148. +Klopstock, 92. +Kren, Michael, 200. +Kreutzer, R., 45, + Sonata, 44, 45. +Krumpholz, 38, + death of, 130-131. + +Leipzig, 92, + battle of, 102, 105. +Leonore overtures, 49, 56, + the Third, 56, 57, 229. +Lessing, 13. +Letter to a young girl, 141, + Holz, appointing him his biographer, 179, + Breuning, Stephen von, 175, + Czapka, a magistrate, 198, + Rampel, his copyist, 190, + Lichnowsky, Prince, 70, + Messrs. Schott, 193, + Zmeskall, 137-138. +Lichnowsky, Prince von, 23, 25, 26, 35, 55, 56, 59, 127, + Settles annuity on Beethoven, 24, + Beethoven visits him, in Silesia, 68, + quarrels with him, 69, + death of, 130. +Lichnowsky, Princess von, 62, 65, + as peacemaker, 25, 56. +Lichnowsky, Count Moritz von, 26, 43, 129, 168, 176. +Life, a precious gift, 98. +Life's problem, 4, 218. +Life's tragedy, 36. +Liszt, 5, 29, 52, 127, 136, 225, 226, + advent of, in concert, 159, + pupil of Czerny, 29. +Liszt's father, 159. +Lobkowitz, Prince von, 26, 44, 45, 59, 84, + bankruptcy of, 145, + death of, 130. +Loder, George, 165. +Lohengrin, Prelude, 231, 232, 234. +London, 117. +Louis, Ferdinand of Prussia, 44. +Love, 165, + Magic power of, 164. +Lützen, battle of, 102. + +Man of genius, elation of, 98. +Mantua, Mozart at, 28. +Maria Louisa, of Spain, 81. +Marie Antoinette, 45. +Marengo, battle of, 42. +Marlowe, Christopher, 224. +Mass, the, a great art-form, 73, + Stateliness of, 144, + Canon of, 232, + Sanctus of, 232, + Benedictus of, 232. +Mass in C, Beethoven's, 73 et seq., 160, + German version of, 147. +Mass in D, Beethoven's (or Grand Mass), 39, 47, 51, 96, 100, 123, 144, + 147, 150, 160, 161, 162, 163-164, 166, 172, 183, 234, 236, + Agnus Dei, 169, 219, + Apotheosis of friendship, 146, + Benedictus, trombones in, 231, + Credo, 153, 169, 234, + Soli of, 153, + Celestial harmonies in, 235, + Congenial work to Beethoven, 146, + and the copyist, 188, + Beethoven's absorption in, 147, 160, + Christe eleison, 151, + Et incarnatus of, 234, + Interpretation by the orchestra, 150, + Lydian and Dorian modes in, 147, + Marvels of, 154, + Mysticism of, 96, + a Symphony to Wagner's view, 150, + Subscription price of, 154, + Sale of score, 182, + proceeds from, 183, + First production by Prince Galitzin, 192, + Preludium in, 232, 233, + Kyrie of, 101, 124, 151, 153, 163, 169, 171, 186, 219, + Splendor of conception of, 151, + its symphonic style, 151, + German direction in, 153, + Loss of manuscript of, 186, + its rhythm, 151. +Melusina, 160. +Mendelssohn, 232, 236. +Messiah, The, 139. +Metaphysical, 2. +Metronome, inventor of, 104. +Metternich, Prince, 102. +Meyerbeer, 105, 225. +Minorites, church of, 7, 211. +Minuet, the, 133. +Mödling, 147. +Monasteries, old chorales of, 147. +"Moonlight" Sonata, 35-36. +Moscheles, 103, 105, + and piano arrangement of Fidelio, 106. +Mount of Olives, 35. +Mozart, 9, 20, 22, 28, 33, 46, 48, 50-51, 79, 100, 134, 139, 225, 227, + Early death of, 191, + Genius of, 140, + his precocity, 8, + praised by Beethoven, 140, + Requiem, 51, 212, + Sonatas, 34, 139, + his widow, 31, + his operas at Bonn, 14. +Mozart's Mass in Bb, 51, 73, + Agnus Dei of, 73, + Et incarnatus of, 73, + Kyrie of, 75. +Mozart and Haydn, 11, 20, 33, 73, 74, 75, 131. +Music, its function, 4, + outward expression of, 39, + dramas, great, 231, + a language, 226, 227, + Religious, 144, + Origin in the dance, 99. +Musician, the, social obligations of, 39. +Mystery in life, 153, 225. +Mysticism, and the artistic nature, 144. + +Napoleon, 41, 44, 54, 83, 103, 191, + Arch-enemy of Austria, 42, + Campaign against Austria, 41, 42, + escapes from Elba, 109, + declared emperor, 44, + Greatest military achievement, 42, + In the toils, 107, + Marriage to Archduchess Maria Louisa, 102, + Marriage to Josephine, 43, + overruns Germany, 69, + takes Vienna, 54. +National opera at Bonn, 13. +Neate, Charles, 182. +Neefe, Beethoven's teacher, 6, 7, 17. +New Testament, 161. +Nietzsche, Friederich, 40, 216. +Ninth Symphony (choral), 29, 96, 100, 166, 167, 172, 181, 196, 226, + Choral finale, 170, + an outburst of joy at deliverance, 164, + First movement of, 163, + First performance in this country, 165, + Psychological problems in, 162, + Sontag, and soprano part of, 160, + Trombones in, 230, + Variations in, 157. +Nohl, 186. +North America, 166, 180. + +Ode to Joy, revolutionary spirit of, 165. +Odeschalchi, Princess, 61. +Opera, the, an alien soil to Beethoven, 49, + as a work of art, 50, + a combination of arts, 51. +Operatic composition, 52. +Orchestra, range and mobility of, 150, + More important than voices, 150, + its resources increased through Beethoven, 3. +Orchestral forms, development of, 99. +Ossian-like dæmonism, 149. +Ossian Songs (Schubert), 206. + +Pain of existence, 132. +Palestrina, 234, + Masses of, 143. +Paris Conservatoire, 16. +Parsifal, 164 (footnote), 231, 235, + mysticism of, Prelude to, 235. +Passion music, 35, 144. +Pastoral Sonata, 35. +Pastoral Symphony (see Sixth Symphony). +Patriotism and altruism, 43. +Paur, Emil, 166. +Pedal-point, 231. +Pennsylvania, Founding of, libretto, 156. +Persian literature, 140. +Pessimism, 132. +Pinnacle of greatness, 40. +Pity, and the divine in man, 164. +Plagal mode, 234. +Plato, 230, + Republic, 140. +Playing from manuscript, 10. +Philharmonic Society of New York, 166. +Philharmonic Society of London 200, 207. +Philip III, of Spain, daughter of, 204. +Prague, 9, 109. +Problem of life, 77, 164. +Prometheus, Ballet, 33, 34, 35. +Prussia, King of, 154. +Psychological element, the, 27. + +Quartet, the, 98, 191, 194, + Last quartets, 96, 100, 158, 191-192, 194, 195, + Mysticism of, 96, 195, + Psychological qualities of, 195, 218, + Spirituality of, 195, + Variations in, 157, + Written in great mental trouble, 194. +Quartet, in A minor, 187, + in C# minor, 195, 199, 203, + its dedication, 208, + in Bb, cavatina of, 194, + new finale of, 203, + see chamber-music, also Rasoumowsky quartets. + +Rasoumowsky, Count, 59, 63, 65, 108, 192, + Entertains Empress of Russia, 108. +Rasoumowsky quartets, 65-66, 192, + Adagio of the second, 65. +Religion and General-bass, 219. +Religious sentiment, the, 219. +Renunciation, 163. +Requiem Mass, 140, 160, 161, 209. +Ries, Ferdinand, 44, 62, 82, 83, 84, 135, 180, + Pupil of Beethoven, 80, + Prolific composer, 85, + efforts for Beethoven while in London, 181-182. +Ries, Franz, 12, 17, 82. +Rochlitz, 92, 153, 156. +Romberg, 16, 105. +Rossini, 79, 153, 166, + calls on Beethoven, 139. +Ruins of Athens, 155. +Russia, Emperor of, 36, 107, 108, 154, + Empress of, 107, 108. + +Saint-Saens, 232. +Saint-Simon, and the strenuous life, 206. +Salieri, 105. +Satanas in the kitchen, 185. +Saxony, King of, 154, 213. +Second period, works of, 40, + characterized by gayety, 100. +Second Symphony, 26, 36, 37, + Larghetto of, 36. +Seebald, Amalie, 87, 88, + facsimile of letter to her, opp. page 88. +Sehnsucht (Goethe's), 142. +Seidl, Anton, 166. +Sensenman, the, 116. +Seventh Symphony, 95, 96, 109, + Dance element in, 99, + First performance of, 105, + Coda of Vivace of, 97, + Hungarian peasant dance in, 96, + Weber's strictures on, 159. +Scherzo, 33, 34, 132, 133, + Peculiar to Beethoven, 133, + developed by Beethoven, 132, + makes sport of humanity in, 133-134. +Schiller, 16, 131, 141, 148, 165. +Schindler, 59, 88, 127, 136, 152, 154, 156-158, 168, 169, 171, 176, + 186, 188, 203, 205, 206, 207, 209, 210, 213, + Beethoven's biographer, 179. +Schroeder-Devrient, 155, 159. +Schopenhauer, 22, 77, 143, 174, 229, 236, + and humor, 134. +Schubert, 8, 127, 177, 206, 210, 211, + Reverence of, for Beethoven, 178, + Calls on Beethoven, 178, + Songs of, 206. +Schuman, 136, 232. +Schuppanzich, 168, 176, 206. +Schott, music publishers, 208, 209. +Scott, Walter, 134, + Kenilworth, 209. +Seyfried, 22, 64, 135, 212. +Shakespeare, 13, 68, 134, 139, 141, 223, 225, + Comedies of, 68, + the Tempest, 152, + a Universal man, 227, + Wagner's archetype in youth, 227. +Siegfried, 231. +Sight playing, from Ms., 63, 64. +Sixth Symphony (Pastoral), 14, 73, 78-79, 95, 122, + Dance tunes in, 78, + Dramatization of, 79, + Nature-poem, a, 78, 79, + Storm in, 78, 79. +Socrates, 161. +Solitary, Beethoven, the (quoted), 227. +Sonata in Ab, 35, + Fantasia, language of Resignation, 61, + Kreutzer, 44, + "Moonlight," 35, + opus 111, 187, + Pathetique, 26, + Pastorale, 35, + Waldstein, 11, 18, 44, + opus, 102, 129. +Sonata, the (form), 100. +Sonatas, 33, 36, 39, + Last (opus 109, 110, 111), 155, + Lofty imaginings of, 155, + Wondrous second movement of op. 111, 158, + F minor and D minor, 152. +Sonnleithner, 49, 56. +Sontag, 160, 170. +Spohr, 105. +Stadler, Abbe, 139, 167. +St. Just, 133. +St. Stephen's, Vienna, 22. +Streicher, Madame, 185, 186. +Stumpf, 139, 207, 209. +Stutterheim, Field-marshal von, 198, 208, 209. +Suite, the, earliest orchestral form, 99. +Süsmayer, 31. +Swieten, Baron von, 27, 59. + +Tacitus, 4, 46. +Tact, woman's, 12. +Tenth Symphony (proposed), 170, 200, + Adagio of, 173, + Allegro of, a Bacchic festival, 173, + Religious in character, 172. +Tetralogy, variations in, 157. +Thackeray, 134. +Thayer, A.W., 59, 90. +Third Leonore overture, 56, 229. +Third Mass (proposed), Kyrie of, 172 +Third period, mysticism of, 100. +Third Symphony (Eroica), 11, 40 et seq., 68, 71, 73, 100, 104, 123, + Composed in spirit of altruism, 43, + First dedicated to Napoleon, 43-44, + Last movement of, 158, + Unique as a Symphony, 43. +Thomas, Theodore, 166. +Thoreau, 3, 113, 123, 161, 176, 218, 227. +Thun, Countess, 62. +Tolstoy, 45. +Tone-figure, 234. +Tone-pictures, 148. +Transposing, 31. +Treitschke, 106. +Trombones, 211, + for Solemnity, 230. +Turin, 93. + +Unger, Fräulein, 170. +Unrest, 4. + +Vander Stucken, 166. +Variation form, 231, + in the Diabelli Waltzes, 157, + in Beethoven's Symphonies, 157, + in Beethoven's Sonatas, 157. +Vienna, bombarded by French, 85, + Conservatory of, 118, + Italian element in, 58, + Population in Beethoven's time, 58, + Musical atmosphere of, 9, 10, 65, + Society, attitude toward Beethoven, 60, + its student element, 104. +Viennese, virtuosity of, 62-63, + aristocracy, 149. +Vittoria, battle of, 102, 103. +Voltaire, 218. + +Wagner, 4, 30, 50, 51, 56-57, 64, 66, 77, 79, 96, 120, 123, 125, 126, + 127, 141, 150, 156, 157, 223, + Art-product of, 228, + biographical sketch of Beethoven, his, 228, + C# minor quartet, 195, + Criticisms on music, his, 227, + Disciple of Beethoven, 225, 229, + Early recognition of, in this country, 181, + Evening of life, 208, + Flying Dutchman, 79, + Industry of, 216, + Is influenced by Beethoven, 230, 231, + Literary achievement, his, 228, + Life's Problem, solution of, 236, + Life-work of, 208, + Mystic, a, 236, + Napoleonic ambition, 228, + Ninth Symphony, 163, 165, + Originality of, 230, + Poetic temperament, 52, 53, + Romanticism, his, 53, 230, + Seventh Symphony, and the, 96, + Tribute to Beethoven, 224, + Tribute to Shakespeare, 224, + Unerring poetic sense, 230, + Variation form, and the, 157, 158. +Wagner and Beethoven, Affinity between, 229, + Pioneers, 236, + their Spiritual relationship, 229, + World-weary, 236. +Wagner-Liszt correspondence, 232. +Waldstein, Count, 10, 11, 12, 28, 44. +Waterloo, battle of, 102, 110. +Weber, 139, 159, 160. +Wegeler, Dr., 12, 37. +Weihe des Hauses, 155, 169. +Weimar, 91. +Wellington, Duke of, 102, 106. +Weltschmertz, 126, 164. +Westphalia, King of, 83. +Wolfmayer, 29. +World's stage, 3. +World, torment of, 164, + and Beethoven's influence on it, 15, + ideal of, 15, + in transition, 3. + +Zauberflöte, 137, 185, 206. +Zehrgarten, at Bonn, 10. +Zeitgeist, the, 4. +Zelter, 91, 152. +Zmeskall, 137, 185, 206. +Zukunftsmusik, 150. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BEETHOVEN*** + + +******* This file should be named 15141-8.txt or 15141-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/1/4/15141 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: Beethoven</p> +<p>Author: George Alexander Fischer</p> +<p>Release Date: February 22, 2005 [eBook #15141]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BEETHOVEN***</p> +<p> </p> +<h4>E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Karina Aleksandrova, Ralph Janke,<br /> + and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team</h4> +<p> </p> +<table border="0" style="background-color: #ccccff;" cellpadding="10"> + <tr> + <td> + Transcriber's Notes + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 1. Corrected spelling of Maelzel's invention in one + place from 'Panharmonican' to 'Panharmonicon'. + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + 2. In the index, corrected 'Krumpholtz' to + 'Krumpholz', 'Origen of the dance' to 'Origin of + the dance', and 'Neafe' to 'Neefe'. + </td> + </tr> +</table> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<div class="center"> +<a name="Page_-6" id="Page_-6"></a> + <img src="images/image1-th.jpg" width="500" height="644" + alt="BEETHOVEN." + title="BEETHOVEN." /> + <p class="caption">BEETHOVEN</p> +</div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h1><a name="Page_-5" id="Page_-5"></a>BEETHOVEN</h1> + +<h4>A CHARACTER STUDY</h4> + +<h5>TOGETHER WITH</h5> + +<h4>WAGNER'S INDEBTEDNESS TO BEETHOVEN</h4> + +<hr /> + +<h3>BY</h3> + +<h2>GEORGE ALEXANDER FISCHER</h2> + +<div class="blockquot" style="margin-top: 4em;"><p>Es kann die Spur von meinen Erdentagen Nicht in Aeonen untergehn.</p></div> + +<p class="citation"><span class="smcap">Goethe.</span></p> + +<hr /> + +<h6>NEW YORK<br /> +DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY<br /> +1905</h6> + +<h6><a name="Page_-4" id="Page_-4"></a>THE TROW PRESS, NEW YORK</h6> + +<hr /> + +<h4><a name="Page_-3" id="Page_-3"></a>TO THE MEMORY OF<br /> +My father</h4> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a><a name="Page_-2" id="Page_-2"></a><a name="Page_-1" id="Page_-1"></a>CONTENTS</h3> + +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> +<tr><td align='right'>CHAPTER</td><td></td><td align='right'>PAGE</td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>I.</td><td> Early Promise</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>II.</td><td> The Morning of Life</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_19">19</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>III.</td><td> The New Path</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_30">30</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>IV.</td><td> Heroic Symphony</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_40">40</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>V.</td><td> Fidelio</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_46">46</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>VI.</td><td> The Eternal Feminine</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_58">58</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>VII.</td><td> Victory from Defeat</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_73">73</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>VIII.</td><td> Meeting with Goethe</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_80">80</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>IX.</td><td> Optimistic Trend</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_93">93</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>X.</td><td> At the Zenith of His Fame</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_102">102</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XI.</td><td> Methods of Composition</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_119">119</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XII.</td><td> Sense of Humor</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_132">132</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XIII.</td><td> Missa Solemnis</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_143">143</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XIV.</td><td> Ninth Symphony</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_162">162</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XV.</td><td> Capacity for Friendship</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_174">174</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XVI.</td><td> The Day's Trials</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_184">184</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XVII.</td><td> Last Quartets</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_191">191</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XVIII.</td><td> In the Shadows</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_203">203</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='right'>XIX.</td><td> Life's Purport</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_216">216</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td colspan='2'><div style="margin-top: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 1.25em;">WAGNER'S INDEBTEDNESS TO BEETHOVEN</div></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_224">224</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td colspan='2'>INDEX</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_237">237</a></td></tr></table> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h2><a name="Page_0" id="Page_0"></a><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1"></a>BEETHOVEN</h2> + + + + +<h3>CHAPTER I</h3> +<h4>EARLY PROMISE</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>God acts upon earth only by means of superior chosen men.</p></div> + +<p class="citation"><span class="smcap">—Herder: </span><em>Ideas Toward a History of Mankind</em>.</p> + + +<div class="figleft"> +<img src="images/a.png" width="100" height="100" alt="A" title="A" /> +</div> +<p class="noindent">s life broadens with advancing culture, and people are able to +appropriate to themselves more of the various forms of art, the artist +himself attains to greater power, his abilities increase in direct ratio +with the progress in culture made by the people and their ability to +comprehend him. When one side or phase of an art comes to be received, +new and more difficult problems are invariably presented, the +elucidation of which can only be effected by a higher development of the +faculties. There is never an approach to equilibrium between the artist +and his public. As it advances in knowledge of his art, he maintains the +want of balance, the disproportion that always exists between the genius +and the ordinary man, by rising ever to greater heights.</p> + +<p>If Bach is the mathematician of music, as has been asserted, Beethoven +is its philosopher. In his work the <a name="Page_2" id="Page_2"></a>philosophic spirit comes to the +fore. To the genius of the musician is added in Beethoven a wide mental +grasp, an altruistic spirit, that seeks to help humanity on the upward +path. He addresses the intellect of mankind.</p> + +<p>Up to Beethoven's time musicians in general (Bach is always an +exception) performed their work without the aid of an intellect for the +most part; they worked by intuition. In everything outside their art +they were like children. Beethoven was the first one having the +independence to think for himself—the first to have ideas on subjects +unconnected with his art. He it was who established the dignity of the +artist over that of the simply well-born. His entire life was a protest +against the pretensions of birth over mind. His predecessors, to a great +extent subjugated by their social superiors, sought only to please. +Nothing further was expected of them. This mental attitude is apparent +in their work. The language of the courtier is usually polished, but +will never have the virility that characterizes the speech of the free +man.</p> + +<p>As with all valuable things, however, Beethoven's music is not to be +enjoyed for nothing. We must on our side contribute something to the +enterprise, something more than simply buying a ticket to the +performance. We must study his work in the right spirit, and place +ourselves in a receptive attitude when listening to it to understand his +message. Often metaphysical, particularly in the work of his later +years, his meaning will be revealed only when we devote to it earnest +and sympathetic study. No other composer demands so much of one; no +other rewards the student so richly for the effort required. The making +a fact the subject of thought vitalizes it. It is as if the <a name="Page_3" id="Page_3"></a>master had +said to the aspirant: "I will admit you into the ranks of my disciples, +but you must first prove yourself worthy." An initiation is necessary; +somewhat of the intense mental activity which characterized Beethoven in +the composition of his works is required of the student also. There is a +tax imposed for the enjoyment of them.</p> + +<p>Like Thoreau, Beethoven came on the world's stage "just in the nick of +time," and almost immediately had to begin hewing out a path for +himself. He was born in the workshop, as was Mozart, and learned music +simultaneously with speaking. Stirring times they were in which he first +saw the light, and so indeed continued with ever-increasing intensity, +like a good drama, until nearly his end. The American Revolution became +an accomplished fact during his boyhood. Nearer home, events were fast +coming to a focus, which culminated in the French Revolution. The magic +words, Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, and the ideas for which they +stood, were everywhere in the minds of the people. The age called for +enlightenment, spiritual growth.</p> + +<p>On reaching manhood, he found a world in transition; he realized that he +was on the threshold of a new order of things, and with ready prescience +took advantage of such as could be utilized in his art. Through +Beethoven the resources of the orchestra were increased, an added range +was given the keyboard of the piano, the human voice was given tasks +that at the time seemed impossible of achievement. He established the +precedent, which Wagner acted on later, of employing the human voice as +a tool, an instrument, to be used in the exigencies of his art, as if it +were a part of the orchestra.</p> + +<p><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4"></a>Beethoven's birthplace, Bonn, no doubt proved a favorable soil for the +propagation of the new ideas. The unrest pervading all classes, an +outcome of the Revolution, showed itself among the more serious-minded +in increased intellectuality, and a reaching after higher things. This +<em>Zeitgeist</em> is clearly reflected in his compositions, in particular the +symphonies and sonatas. "Under the lead of Italian vocalism," said +Wagner, speaking of the period just preceding the time of which we +write, "music had become an art of sheer agreeableness." The beautiful +in music had been sufficiently exploited by Mozart and Haydn. Beethoven +demonstrated that music has a higher function than that of mere beauty, +or the simple act of giving pleasure. The beautiful in literature is not +its best part. To the earnest thinker, the seeker after truth, the +student who looks for illumination on life's problem, beauty in itself +is insufficient. It is the best office of art, of Beethoven's art in +particular, that it leads ever onward and upward; that it acts not only +on the esthetic and moral sense, but develops the mental faculties as +well, enabling the individual to find a purpose and meaning in life.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>Ludwig van Beethoven was born at Bonn, December 16, 1770. He came of a +musical family. His father and grandfather were both musicians at Bonn, +at the Court of the Elector of Cologne. The family originally came from +Louvain, and settled in Antwerp in 1650, from which place they moved to +Bonn.</p> + +<p>This old city on the Rhine, frequently mentioned by Tacitus, older than +Christianity, the scene of innumerable battles from Roman times up to +the beginning of the <a name="Page_5" id="Page_5"></a>nineteenth century, has much that is interesting +about it, but is distinguished chiefly on account of having been +Beethoven's birthplace. It was for five centuries (from 1268 to 1794) in +the possession of the Electors of Cologne. The last one of all, Max +Franz, who succeeded to the Electorate when Beethoven was fourteen years +of age, and who befriended him in various ways was, in common with the +entire Imperial family, a highly cultivated person, especially in music. +He was the youngest son of Maria Therese, Empress of Austria, herself a +fine singer and well versed in the music of the time. The Elector played +the viola and his chief interest in life seems to have been music. In +Beethoven's time and long before, the aristocracy led lives of easy, +complacent enjoyment, dabbling in art, patronizing music and the +composers, seemingly with no prevision that the musicians whom they +attached to their train, and who in the cases of Mozart and Haydn were +at times treated but little better than lackeys, were destined by the +irony of fate to occupy places in the temple of fame, which would be +denied themselves.</p> + +<p>Ludwig van Beethoven, the grandfather of the composer, received his +appointment as Kapellmeister at Bonn in March of 1733, then twenty-one +years of age. A little more than a century afterward a statue was +erected there in the Münster Platz to his illustrious grandson, Liszt +being the moving spirit in the matter. The grandfather was in every way +a worthy man, but he died when our composer was three years of age, and +from that time poverty and hardship of all kinds was the portion of the +family. Beethoven's father was careless and improvident. His salary of +300 florins, about $145, was all they had upon <a name="Page_6" id="Page_6"></a>which to live. The +mother was the daughter of a cook and the widow of a <em>valet de chambre</em> +to one of the Electors. She was kind-hearted, of pleasant temper and +lovable disposition, and the affection between mother and son was deep +and lasting. The father was stern, and a strict disciplinarian, as so +often happens in such cases. He was determined that the son should do +better than himself, being willing to furnish the precept, if not the +example.</p> + +<p>Reared in this school of adversity the boy had a hard life. His father +was his first teacher, teaching him both violin and clavier. He began +with him as early as his fourth year; he seems to have been aware of the +boy's ability, but had no consideration, and was a hard taskmaster. +Before he was nine years of age, however, the boy's progress was so +great that the father had no more to teach him.</p> + +<p>In those times the musical life centered about the Court. Beethoven +studied the organ under the court organist, Van den Eeden, an old friend +of his grandfather's. Van den Eeden was succeeded shortly after by +Christian Neefe, and Beethoven, then eleven years of age, was +transferred to him. Neefe had an important bearing on Beethoven's life. +He was in his best years, thirty-three, when he began teaching him, and +was a thorough musician, who had had a varied experience before assuming +this post. He was a university man as well, and it was fortunate for +Beethoven in every way that he was brought in childhood under the +influence of so cultivated and enthusiastic a musician. Neefe saw the +boy's talent and became his friend. On one occasion the Elector took his +musicians to Münster where he had a palace, Neefe's duties requiring +that he go with them.<a name="Page_7" id="Page_7"></a> Beethoven, then under twelve years of age, was +left behind as organist. Frimmel states that Neefe, on assuming the +position, reserved the privilege of absenting himself frequently from +his post, on condition that he provide a substitute. After the Münster +episode, the twelve-year-old Beethoven became the regular substitute. +When we consider the important rôle that church music played in those +times, such precocity is remarkable. This connection with church music +bore good fruit in later years.</p> + +<p>Neefe was soon after promoted, the Elector giving him charge of the +secular as well as the sacred music of the Court, upon which Beethoven +received his first appointment, that of cembalist of the orchestra. The +duty of the cembalist is to preside at the piano. Only a good musician +would be capable of filling such a position, as all the accompaniments +were played from the score. He held this for two years, afterward +playing viol in the orchestra for several years more. This work in the +orchestra was later of the greatest possible benefit to him in +composing. There was no salary at first, but the post had an important +bearing on his life, as he was obliged to attend all the rehearsals as +well as the performances of the opera, always taking an active part. +Before he reached the age of fifteen he was appointed second court +organist. During this year he studied the violin with Franz Ries, which +enabled him a few years later to play in the band.</p> + +<p>It was in Beethoven's fifteenth year that he played the organ every +morning at the six o'clock mass in the Minorite church. For some years +before and during this period he was busy trying his hand at musical +composition, but nothing which he composed during his youth amounts to +much.<a name="Page_8" id="Page_8"></a> He could improvise in a marvelous manner and he attracted much +attention by the exercise of this talent, becoming famous in this +connection long before he was known as a composer.</p> + +<p>His creative talent unfolded itself slowly. He had high ideals and +worked faithfully toward their attainment. Failure to reach the level of +his aspirations did not dishearten him; rather it spurred him on to +greater effort.</p> + +<p>The discerning intellect is always in advance of the creative. His +delight in Bach was great; he studied him to such purpose that, at +twelve years, he was able to play the greater part of the Well-tempered +Clavichord. His wonderful interpretation of Bach, later, on his arrival +in Vienna, immediately placed him in the front rank of <em>virtuosi</em>, +according to Hüttenbrenner, Schubert's friend.</p> + +<p>As a boy he was docile, shy and reserved, caring nothing for the +ordinary games of boys, or at least not participating in them to any +extent. At an age when other boys begin learning their games, he began +in composition, being forced to it, no doubt, by his father. He is said +to have written a cantata at the age of ten to the memory of an English +friend of the family, who died early in the year 1781. Some variations +on a march in C minor bear the following statement: <em>Composées par un +jeune amateur L v B age de dix ans</em>.</p> + +<p>From year to year he kept on in musical composition, feeling his way, +not discouraged by his inability to produce anything great, although +Mozart's precocity and genius were no doubt frequently held up to him by +others as an example to profit by. When he was seventeen he went to +Vienna, the funds for the trip probably being furnished by <a name="Page_9" id="Page_9"></a>the Elector. +Here he met Mozart, then at the height of his fame, whose operas were +frequently produced in Bonn and throughout Germany. He probably had some +lessons from him. Mozart was very much occupied with the approaching +production of Don Giovanni, which took place in Prague shortly after the +young man's arrival. As Beethoven's visit terminated in three months, it +is not likely that he derived much benefit from these lessons. On his +first meeting with the master he extemporized for him on a subject given +him by Mozart. That this was a momentous occasion to the impressionable +Beethoven is certain. The emotions called up by the meeting enabled him +to play with such effect that when he had finished, the well-known +remark was elicited from Mozart: "Pay attention to him. He will make a +noise in the world some day."</p> + +<p>Beethoven, however, was compelled to return to Bonn, owing to the +serious illness of his mother, who died of consumption July 17, 1787. He +now took charge of the family and had a hard life from almost every +point of view, his one enjoyment probably being in the exercise of his +art. The affection between mother and son was one of the few bright +spots in a boyhood of toil and privation. The father's harshness served +to accentuate the kindness of the mother, and he felt her death keenly. +He gave a few lessons, most unwillingly, the money from which, together +with his salary as assistant organist and a portion of the father's +salary, kept the family together, affording them some degree of comfort.</p> + +<p>His return, no doubt, retarded his artistic development. The musical +atmosphere of Vienna would have been much <a name="Page_10" id="Page_10"></a>better for him, especially at +this period, when he was entering manhood and eager to get at the works +of contemporary composers. In those times only a small amount of the +music that was written, was published. Many of the lesser works were +composed merely to grace some social function, with but little thought +given them as to their ultimate fate. It was customary to play from +manuscript, copies of which were not readily attainable. In a city like +Vienna new music was constantly being produced, occasionally at public +concerts, but most often at social gatherings. The freemasonry existing +among musicians and the wealthy amateurs was such that a musician of any +talent was sure to be received, and put on a friendly footing. No other +city in Europe afforded such opportunities for musical culture as did +Vienna. It was the home of Mozart and Haydn and a host of lesser +composers, as well as instrumentalists and singers. Music in one form or +another was the chief diversion of the better classes, the wealthier of +whom maintained their private orchestra. Many of these latter were fine +performers, taking part regularly in the concerts given by their +orchestras.</p> + +<p>The next year we find Beethoven taking his meals at the Zehrgarten, +where artists, professors from the university, and other notable people +congregated. It was at this period that he made the acquaintance of +Count Ferdinand Waldstein, the first of the aristocratic circle of +friends which surrounded him all his life. Count Waldstein at +twenty-four, on coming of age, entered the Germanic order, passing the +year of his novitiate at the Court of the Elector at Bonn. The senior by +eight years, his in<a name="Page_11" id="Page_11"></a>fluence over Beethoven was considerable, as is +evidenced in many ways. The Count was an enthusiastic amateur, visiting +him frequently. He gave him a piano, and was useful to him in many ways. +The social position of Count Waldstein was such that his friendly +attitude toward Beethoven at once attracted the attention of others to +the young musician. From this time on he was able to choose his friends +from among the best people of his native city. The young man +commemorated the friendship by taking an air of the Count's, who was +somewhat of a composer, and composing twelve variations for four hands +for the piano from it. Later, in 1805, after the Eroica Symphony and +Fidelio, when the master had become famous, he composed the great +Waldstein Sonata, opus 58, and dedicated it to him. The Waldstein family +became extinct with Ferdinand, but the name will live for centuries +through these compositions.</p> + +<p>About the time of his first meeting with Count Waldstein, Beethoven made +another acquaintance, which had an important bearing on his subsequent +life. This was Von Breuning. He and Beethoven took violin lessons of +Franz Ries. Stephen von Breuning liked Beethoven from the start and +introduced him at his mother's house. The Breunings were in good +circumstances, cultivated, good-natured and hospitable. They delighted +in having him about, and treated him with the utmost consideration. +Madame von Breuning formed a sincere, motherly affection for him; he was +soon on a footing in their house almost equal to that of a member of the +family. He went with them about this time on a visit to some of their +relations in another city. They were instrumental in shaping <a name="Page_12" id="Page_12"></a>his +destiny in various ways, and their friendship was of great moment to him +throughout life. Beethoven, then in his eighteenth year, gave lessons to +the daughter Eleonore, as well as to the youngest son, Lenz. Eleonore +afterward married Dr. Wegeler, who was in the same circle. Many years +later he collaborated with Ries's son Ferdinand in writing reminiscences +of the master.</p> + +<p>The names of Count Waldstein and the Von Breunings are indelibly +associated with Beethoven's name as friends from the beginning. When we +consider how every circumstance of Beethoven's family and mode of life +tended against his forming desirable friendships, how rough in exterior +and careless of his appearance he was, we can ascribe it only to the +force of his character that he should have the friendship of such +people. He had done nothing as yet to lead people to believe that he +would ever become a great composer. As has been stated, however, he was +a pianist of great originality, with a remarkable talent for +improvising, which, no doubt, had much to do in making him a welcome +guest wherever he went.</p> + +<p>Madame von Breuning, with her woman's tact, and the fine intuitive +perceptions that were characteristic of her, looked after his +intellectual development, and was helpful to him in various ways, +encouraging him as well in his musical studies. But Beethoven was by no +means an easy person to get along with, as she soon found out. He was +fiery and headstrong, disliking all restraint, being especially +impatient of anything that savored of patronage. She seems to have known +that in Beethoven she had before her that rarest product of humanity, a +man of genius, and had infinite patience with him. His dislike for +<a name="Page_13" id="Page_13"></a>teaching was pronounced, then, as in after years, and she was often at +her wits' end to get him to keep his engagements in this respect. She, +in short, did for Beethoven what Madame Boehme did for Goethe many years +before, when the poet left his native Frankfort and came to Leipsic. He +was but sixteen, and found in her a friend, counsellor, almost a mother, +who not only instructed him about dress and deportment, which soon +enabled him to obliterate his provincialism, but showed a motherly +solicitude for him, which must have been of great help to him in many +ways.</p> + +<p>Madame von Breuning interested Beethoven in the classics, as well as in +contemporary philosophical literature. Lessing, Goethe and Schiller +became favorite authors with him. A much-thumbed translation of +Shakespeare was a valued part of his small library in after years. He +devoted much study to Homer and to Plato. Beethoven left school at the +age of thirteen, and could not have given much time to his studies even +when at school, as so much was required of him in his music. He learned +a little—a very little, of French, also some Latin and Italian, and +made up for his deficiencies by studying at home. Intellectual gifts +were valued by the Von Breunings; to the youth, in his formative period, +association with people like these was an education in itself.</p> + +<p>About this time the Elector enlarged the sphere of his musical +operations by establishing a national opera at Bonn, modeled after the +one maintained by his imperial brother at Vienna. The works were +produced on a good scale, and some excellent singers were engaged. +Beethoven was appointed to play the viola, and this connection with <a name="Page_14" id="Page_14"></a>the +orchestra was of inestimable value to him in many ways. It not only gave +him a knowledge of orchestration; it also made him familiar with the +noted operas, which must have been greatly enjoyed by him. Mozart's +operas were given a prominent place in the <em>répertoire</em>, and many others +that were noteworthy were introduced. But it was not opera alone which +was being performed; the drama was also represented, and his connection +with the orchestra gave him an intimate acquaintance with the +masterpieces of literature, which greatly influenced his subsequent +career. The tragedies of Shakespeare were occasionally produced, special +prominence, however, being given to the works of the great Germans, +Lessing, Schiller and other philosophers and poets of the Fatherland, +the exalted sentiments and pure intellectuality of which are unmatched +by any people. This early acquaintance with the best literature of his +time gave him an intellectual bias which served him well all his life. +It is fortunate that his opportunity came so early in life, when the +activity of the brain is at its highest and when lasting impressions are +produced. The mental pictures called up by the portrayal of these +tragedies came to the surface again in after years sublimated, refined, +in symphony and sonata, in mass and opera. Every one of his works has +its own story to tell; sometimes it is just the record of the events of +a day as in the Pastoral Symphony, but told with a glamour of poetry and +romance, that for the time gives us back our own youth in listening to +it; sometimes it is a tragedy which is unfolded, as in the Appassionata +Sonata or the Fifth Symphony; or it will be a Coriolanus Overture, that +seething, boiling ferment of emotion and passion, the most diverse, +contradic<a name="Page_15" id="Page_15"></a>tory, unlike, that can be imagined. From these impressions, +acquired in the ardor of youth, when the intellect grasps at knowledge +and experience with avidity, when its capacity is at its greatest, and +the whole world is laid under contribution, came a rich harvest which +untold generations may enjoy. No one of the many that made up the +audiences night after night, probably ever formed a guess at what was +going on in the brain of this quiet reserved youth during the progress +of these plays. The keen discriminating intelligence which was always +sifting and sorting these pictures and stowing them away for use in +after years,—the flashes of enthusiasm,—the intuitive discernment of +intellectual subtleties that brought him into <em>rapport</em> with the author +and gave him the perception of being on an equality with the great ones +of the earth, here were forces already in operation which were destined +to influence the world for generations to come. To fall from this ideal +world of the intellect and the emotions, at the cue of the conductor, +back to the cognitions of ordinary life, and a realization of its +limitations, must have been as tragic an experience to this youth, who +said of himself: "I live only in my art," as any he had seen depicted on +the stage. Mental processes like these write their lines deeply on the +faces of gifted people.</p> + +<p>Of the thirty-one members of the orchestra some had already attained +fame, and others achieved it in after years. In this collection of +geniuses the attrition of mind on mind must have been of benefit to +each. The conductor, Joseph Reicha, had a nephew, Anton Reicha, whom he +adopted, who played the flute in the orchestra. He and Beethoven were +intimate, and the prominence which Beethoven gives <a name="Page_16" id="Page_16"></a>to the flute in his +orchestral works may in part be explained by this intimacy. Reicha +afterward joined Beethoven at Vienna, remaining there until 1808, when +he took up his residence in Paris. He was a prolific composer and the +author of numerous theoretical works. Many of his operas were produced +in Paris during his lifetime. He taught at the Paris Conservatoire, and +was a member of the Institute. Then there was Bernhard Romberg, and his +cousin Andreas Romberg. The latter was a musical prodigy, having played +the violin in concerts as early as his seventh year. At seventeen, his +virtuosity was such that he was engaged for the Concerts Spirituels at +Paris. Some years later he journeyed to Bonn to be near his cousin +Bernhard, with whom he was intimate, and accepted a position in the +Elector's orchestra as violinist. He later went to Vienna, then Hamburg, +and afterward became Kapellmeister at Gotha. He composed all kinds of +music, instrumental and vocal, symphonies, operas, etc. His setting of +Schiller's "Song of the Bell" is well known at the present day, as well +as the oratorio, "The Transient and the Eternal." He was made Doctor of +Music by Kiel University. Bernhard Romberg was a distinguished +violoncellist. When his connection with the Elector's orchestra ceased, +he made a professional tour to Italy and Spain with his more famous +cousin Andreas and was very successful. In 1796 they came to Vienna and +gave a concert at which Beethoven assisted. Bernhard afterward was a +professor in the Paris Conservatoire and later became Kapellmeister at +Berlin. He was a composer of operas, concertos, etc. While he and +Beethoven were not in accord on the subject of musical composition, each +disliking the other's works, there is no <a name="Page_17" id="Page_17"></a>question but that his +proximity to him at Bonn, was one of the forces that had much to do with +Beethoven's artistic development.</p> + +<p>Then there was Franz Ries, pupil of Salomon, the distinguished +violinist. Ries had already achieved fame in Vienna as soloist, and had +been before the public since childhood. He was Beethoven's teacher, as +stated. We must not forget Neefe, Beethoven's former teacher, who was +pianist, or Simrock, all of whom formed a galaxy of <em>virtuosi</em> and +composers unequalled by any similar organization. Beethoven greatly +profited by his association with these chosen spirits, assimilating +their experiences and endeavoring to emulate them.</p> + +<p>Thus passed a few years pleasantly enough during this formative period +at Bonn, music in one form or another taking up most of his waking +moments. He fell in love a few times, first with a Mlle. de Honrath of +Cologne, who visited the Von Breunings frequently and was their intimate +friend. She had a bright, lively disposition, and like a true daughter +of Eve, took great pleasure in bantering him. There was also a Miss +Westerhold who made a deep impression on him. Both were the subject of +conversation by him in after years.</p> + +<p>The visit of Haydn, who with Salomon made a short sojourn at Bonn, on +their return from London to Vienna in July of 1792, gave Beethoven an +opportunity for an interview with the great master, which had an +important bearing on the young man's career. Salomon was acquainted with +the Beethovens as he was a native of Bonn. The fame of the young +musician had reached his ears, and he brought about the meeting with +Haydn. Beethoven at <a name="Page_18" id="Page_18"></a>twenty-two, had, unlike so many promising children, +fulfilled the promise of his youth. He was not only a distinguished +performer: his compositions were also attracting attention in his +circle. In honor of the distinguished guests, a breakfast was arranged +at Godesburg, a resort near Bonn, at which some compositions of +Beethoven's were performed by the Elector's orchestra. Some of this +music had been submitted to the master previously. Haydn, who was in +holiday humor, seems to have been specially attracted to it, and +encouraged Beethoven to continue.</p> + +<p>Some of the sketch-books of the Bonn period are in the British Museum, +and an examination of them is of interest as it shows his method of +composing. Beethoven all through life was a hard worker and a hard +taskmaster to himself. He elaborated and worked over his first +inspiration, polishing, cutting down, altering, making additions, never +satisfied, always aiming after the attainment of his highest ideals, +never considering himself, always placing his art first and personal +comfort and convenience afterward. This is apparent in the sketch-books +of this early date. His industry was extraordinary, although his work +grew but slowly. It was elaborated bit by bit in much the same way in +which Nathaniel Hawthorne built up his romances.</p> + +<p>Haydn's approbation was an important link in the chain of circumstances +that was soon to enable Beethoven to leave for Vienna. Count Waldstein +was the moving spirit in this matter, the Elector furnishing the funds. +He knew that the artistic atmosphere of Vienna would be of incalculable +benefit to Beethoven and encouraged him in the project. Accordingly we +find him setting out for Vienna in 1792, leaving Bonn never to return to +it even for a visit.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19"></a>CHAPTER II</h3> +<div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">ToC</a></div> +<h4>THE MORNING OF LIFE</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Thou, O God! who sellest us all good things at the price of labor.</p></div> + +<p class="citation"><span class="smcap">—Leonardo da Vinci.</span></p> + + +<div class="figleft"> +<img src="images/c.png" width="84" height="100" alt="C" title="C" /> +</div> +<p class="noindent">losely following his arrival in Vienna, Beethoven began studying +composition with Haydn, applying himself with great diligence to the +work in hand; but master and pupil did not get along together very well. +There were many dissonances from the start. It was not in the nature of +things that two beings so entirely dissimilar in their point of view +should work together harmoniously. Beethoven, original, independent, +iconoclastic, acknowledged no superior, without having as yet achieved +anything to demonstrate his superiority; Haydn, tied down to established +forms, subservient, meek, was only happy when sure of the approbation of +his superiors. His attitude toward those above him in rank was +characterized by respect and deference; he probably expected something +similar from Beethoven toward himself. Haydn was then at the height of +his fame, courted and admired by all, and his patience was sorely tried +by the insolence of his fiery young pupil. He <a name="Page_20" id="Page_20"></a>nicknamed Beethoven the +Grand Mogul, and did not have much good to say of him to others. The +pittance which he received for these lessons was no inducement to him, +as he was in receipt of an income much beyond his requirements. The time +given up to these lessons could have been better employed in composing.</p> + +<p>Haydn and Beethoven, however, were in a measure supplementary to one +another as regards the life-work of each. Haydn paved the way for +Beethoven, who was his successor in the large orchestral forms. He and +also Mozart were pioneers in the field which Beethoven made peculiarly +his own. Haydn also directed Beethoven's attention to the study of +Händel and Bach, whose works Beethoven always held most highly in +esteem. It is true that Beethoven, even in the old Bonn days, was +familiar to some extent with the works of these masters; but his +opportunity for getting at this kind of music was limited in Bonn. +Vienna, the musical center of the world at that time, was, as may be +supposed, a much better field in this respect. The study of these +profound works of genius under the leadership and eulogy of so prominent +a musician as Haydn had much to do with shaping Beethoven's ideals. +These masters gave an example of solidity and earnestness which is +characteristic of their work. Haydn and Mozart, on the other hand, +appealed to him in his lighter moods, in the play of fancy, in the +capricious and humorous conceits of which he has given such fine +examples in the symphonies and sonatas.</p> + +<p>The lessons to Beethoven continued for a little over a year, or until +Haydn left on another visit to England in January of 1794. So eager was +he for advancement, that he took lessons from another teacher at the +same time, <a name="Page_21" id="Page_21"></a>carefully concealing the fact from Haydn. Beethoven always +maintained that he had not learned much from him.</p> + +<p>Strangely, Haydn had no idea at this time or for some years after that +his pupil would ever amount to much in musical composition. He lived +long enough to find Beethoven's position as a musician firmly +established, but not long enough to witness his greatest triumphs.</p> + +<p>On the departure of Haydn he began with Albrechtsberger in composition, +also having violin, and even vocal lessons from other masters. Beethoven +realized, on coming to Vienna, more fully than before, the necessity for +close application to his studies. Though a finished performer, he knew +but little of counterpoint, and the more purely scientific side of his +art had been neglected. That he applied himself with all the ardor of +his nature to his studies we know. They were given precedence over +everything else. He even delayed for a long while writing a rondo which +he had promised to Eleonore von Breuning and when he finally sent it, it +was with an apology for not sending a sonata, which had also been +promised.</p> + +<p>It is characteristic of Beethoven that his teachers in general were not +greatly impressed by him. We have seen how it was in the case of Haydn. +Albrechtsberger was more pronounced in his disapproval. "He has learned +nothing; he never will learn anything," was his verdict regarding +Beethoven. This was surely small encouragement. Beethoven's original and +independent way of treating musical forms brought on this censure. As he +advanced in musical knowledge he took the liberty to think for himself; +a very culpable proceeding with teachers of <a name="Page_22" id="Page_22"></a>the stamp of +Albrechtsberger. The young man's intuitive faculties, the surest source +of all knowledge according to Schopenhauer, were developed to an +abnormal degree. By the aid of this inner light he was able to see truer +and farther than his pedantic old master, with the result that the pupil +would argue out questions with him on subjects connected with his +lessons which subverted all discipline, and well-nigh reversed their +relative positions. Beethoven's audacity—his self-confidence, is +brought out still more strongly when we reflect on the distinguished +position held by Albrechtsberger, both as teacher and composer. He was +director of music at St. Stephen's and was in great demand as a teacher. +Some of his pupils became distinguished musicians, among them Hümmel, +Seyfried and Weigl. He excelled in counterpoint, and was a prolific +composer, although his works are but little known at the present day. He +was set in his ways, a strict disciplinarian, conservative to the +backbone, and upward of sixty years of age. We can readily believe there +were stormy times during these lessons. There is no doubt however, that +Beethoven learned a great deal from him, as is evident from the +exercises still in existence from this period, embracing the various +forms of fugue and counterpoint, simple, double, and triple, canon and +imitation. He was thorough in his teaching and Beethoven was eager to +learn, so they had at least one point in common, and the pupil made +rapid headway. But his originality and fertility in ideas, which showed +itself at times in a disregard for established forms when his genius was +hampered thereby—qualities which even in Albrechtsberger's lifetime +were to place his pupil on a pinnacle above all <a name="Page_23" id="Page_23"></a>other composers of the +period, were neither understood nor approved by the teacher. Under the +circumstances, it is not surprising that the lessons continued but +little over a year. His studies in theory and composition seem to have +come to an end with Albrechtsberger; we hear of no other teacher having +been engaged thereafter.</p> + +<p>Shortly after Beethoven came to Vienna, his father died, and soon after +the two brothers Johann and Caspar, having no ties to keep them in Bonn, +followed the elder brother, who kept a fatherly watch over them. They +gave him no end of trouble for the rest of his life, but Beethoven bore +the burden willingly and was sincerely attached to them. All the honor +and nobility of the family seems to have centered in him.</p> + +<p>On his arrival in Vienna he carried letters of introduction from Count +Waldstein and from the Elector, which opened to him the doors of the +best houses. His intrinsic worth did the rest. One of his earliest +Vienna friends was Prince Lichnowsky, a person who seems to have +possessed a combination of all those noble qualities that go to make up +the character of a gentleman. Highly cultivated and enthusiastic on the +subject of music, he had the penetration to see that in Beethoven he had +before him one of the elect of all time. The Prince had been a pupil of +Mozart and an ardent admirer of the deceased master. Providentially, +Beethoven appeared on the scene soon after Mozart's decease, and +received the devotion and admiration that had formerly been given +Mozart. In this he was ably seconded by his wife, who shared with him +the admiration and reverential wonder which such highly endowed people +would be apt to accord to a man of genius. One <a name="Page_24" id="Page_24"></a>of the first acts of +this princely couple was to give Beethoven a pension of 600 florins per +year. This was but the beginning of unexampled kindness on their part. +They followed this by giving him a home in their residence on the +Schotten bastion, and we find him well launched in the social life of +the gayest capital in Europe.</p> + +<p>This practical help was invaluable to Beethoven, for with the aid which +he had from the Elector, it was almost enough to assure him +independence. It not only increased his opportunities for study, but, +his mind being free from care, he was enabled to profit more by his +studies. The Lichnowskys were older than Beethoven and were childless. +He was allowed to do as he pleased; a privilege of which he availed +himself without hesitation. They entertained considerably and their +social position was unexceptionable. They maintained a small orchestra +for the performance of the music he liked and for his own compositions. +He was always the honored guest, and met the best people of Vienna. The +devotion of the Princess, in particular, was always in evidence.</p> + +<p>It can be readily understood that with such an original character as +Beethoven, headstrong and impatient of restraint, a pleasant smooth life +was not to be expected. The arrangement would seem to have been an +excellent one for him, but he did not so regard it. Already at odds with +the world, misunderstanding people and being misunderstood, he soon came +to realize that a life of solitude was the only resource for a man +constituted as he was. He never considered himself under any obligation +to the Prince, or rather, he acted as though he felt the obligation to +be the other way. He acted independently from <a name="Page_25" id="Page_25"></a>the start, taking his +meals at a restaurant whenever it suited his convenience, and showing an +ungovernable temper when interfered with in any way. But the kindness +and patience of the Princess never failed her; after any trouble it was +she who smoothed the difficulty and restored harmony. She was like an +indulgent mother to him; in her eyes he could do no wrong.</p> + +<p>Prince Lichnowsky was wholly unaccustomed to this sort of thing. It is +certain that he never met with anything of the kind from Mozart, and +there were times when his patience was sorely tried by Beethoven. The +Princess, with a sweetness and graciousness which Beethoven appreciated, +always made peace between them. He afterward said that her solicitude +was carried to such a length that she wished to put him under a glass +shade, "that no unworthy person might touch or breathe on me."</p> + +<p>Of course this kind of thing only confirmed the young man in his course. +It was kindness, but it was not wisdom. Few people are so constituted as +to be able to stand praise and adulation without the character suffering +thereby. Censure would have been much better for him. When the +individual is attacked, when he is made to assume the defensive, he +first discovers the vulnerable points in his armor, and as opportunity +offers strengthens them. Beethoven's ungovernable temper and apparent +ingratitude are frequently commented on, but the ingratitude was only +apparent. When he came to a knowledge of himself and discovered that he +was in the wrong in any controversy or quarrel, and it must be admitted +they were frequent enough all through his life, he would make amends for +it <a name="Page_26" id="Page_26"></a>so earnestly, with such vehement self-denunciation, and show such +contrition, that it would be impossible for any of his friends to hold +out against him. Then there would be a short love-feast, during which +the offended party would possibly be the recipient of a dedication from +the master, and things would go on smoothly until the next break. The +Prince soon learned to make all sorts of concessions to his headstrong +guest, and even went so far as to order his servant to give Beethoven +the precedence, in case he and Beethoven were to ring at the same time.</p> + +<p>But Beethoven did not like the new life. Even the little restraint that +it imposed was irksome to him, and the arrangement came to an end in +about two years. But the friendship continued for many years. +Beethoven's opus 1 is dedicated to the Prince, as well as the grand +Sonata Pathetique, and the Second Symphony, also the opus 179, +consisting of nine variations, and the grand Sonata in A Flat. To the +Princess Lichnowsky he dedicated opus 157, variations on "See the +Conquering Hero Comes." He also dedicated several of his compositions to +Count Moritz Lichnowsky, a younger brother of the Prince.</p> + +<p>Among the other friends of this period may be mentioned Prince +Lobkowitz, who was an ardent admirer of Beethoven, Prince Kinski, and +also Count Browne to whose wife Beethoven dedicated the set of Russian +variations. In acknowledgment of this honor, the Count presented +Beethoven with a horse. He accepted it thankfully and then forgot all +about it until some months after, when a large bill came in for its +keep. There was also Count Brunswick and the Baron von Swieten, and most +<a name="Page_27" id="Page_27"></a>of the music-loving aristocracy of Vienna, who it appears could not see +enough of him. His music and his individuality charmed them and he was +beset with invitations. Baron von Swieten was one of his earliest and +staunchest friends. His love and devotion to music knew no bounds. He +gave concerts at his residence with a full band, and produced music of +the highest order, Händel and Sebastian Bach being his favorites, the +music being interpreted in the best manner. It is related that the old +Baron would keep Beethoven after the others had left, making him play +far into the night and would sometimes put him up at his own house so +that he might keep him a little longer. A note from the Baron to +Beethoven is preserved, in which he says, "If you can call next +Wednesday I shall be glad to see you. Come at half-past eight in the +evening with your nightcap in your pocket."</p> + +<p>These social successes, however, did not lead to idleness. He kept up +the practise all his life of recording his musical thoughts in +sketch-books, which latter are an object lesson to those engaged in +creative work as showing the extraordinary industry of the man and his +absorption in his work. Many of these are preserved in the different +museums, those in the British Museum being a notable collection. Some of +the work of this period was afterwards utilized by being incorporated +into the work of his riper years.</p> + +<p>Beethoven's talents as a performer were freely acknowledged by all with +whom he came in contact. When we come to the question of his creative +talent, we can only marvel at the slowness with which his powers +unfolded themselves. His opus 1 appeared in 1795, when he was +twenty-four years old. There was nothing of the prodigy <a name="Page_28" id="Page_28"></a>about him in +composition. At twenty-four, Mozart had achieved some of his greatest +triumphs.</p> + +<p>Beethoven's work however, shows intellectuality of the highest kind, and +this, whether in music or literature, is not produced easily or +spontaneously; it is of slow growth, the product of a ripened mind, +attained only by infinite labor and constant striving after perfection, +with the highest ideals before one.</p> + +<p>He had been trying his hand at composition for many years, but was +always up to this time known as a performer rather than as a composer, +although he frequently played his own compositions, and had as we have +seen, great talent at improvising, which in itself is a species of +composition, and an indication of musical abilities of the highest +order.</p> + +<p>All the great masters of music delighted in the exercise of this talent, +although it is now rarely attempted in public, Chopin having been one of +the last to exercise it. Bach excelled in it, sometimes developing +themes in the form of a fugue at a public performance. No preparation +would be possible under these circumstances, as in many cases the theme +would be given by one of the audience.</p> + +<p>This art of improvising, as these masters practised it,—who can explain +it or tell how it is done? All we know is that the brain conceives the +thought, and on the instant the fingers execute it in ready obedience to +the impulse sent out by the brain, the result being a finished +performance, not only so far as the melody is concerned, but in harmony +and counterpoint as well. Mozart, at the age of fourteen, at Mantua, on +his second Italian tour, improvised a sonata <a name="Page_29" id="Page_29"></a>and fugue at a public +concert, taking the impressionable Italians by storm, and such +performances he repeated frequently in after years. Beethoven excelled +in this direction as greatly as he afterward did in composition, +towering high over his contemporaries. Czerny, pupil of Beethoven and +afterward teacher of Liszt, states that Beethoven's improvisations +created the greatest sensation during the first few years of his stay in +Vienna. The theme was sometimes original, sometimes given by the +auditors. In Allegro movements there would be bravura passages, often +more difficult than anything in his published works. Sometimes it would +be in the form of variations after the manner of his Choral Fantasia, +op. 80, or the last movement of the Choral Symphony. All authorities +agree as to Beethoven's genius in improvising. His playing was better +under these circumstances than when playing a written composition, even +when it was written by himself.</p> + +<p>Once Hümmel undertook a contest with Beethoven in improvising. After he +had been playing for some time Beethoven interrupted him with the +question, "When are you going to begin?" It is needless to say that +Beethoven, when his turn came to play, distanced the other so entirely +that there was no room for comparison.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30"></a>CHAPTER III</h3> +<div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">ToC</a></div> +<h4>THE NEW PATH</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>I tremble to the depths of my soul and ask my dæmon: "Why this cup + to me?"</p></div> + +<p class="citation"><span class="smcap">—Wagner.</span></p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Life at last has found a meaning.</p></div> + +<p class="citation"><span class="smcap">—Wagner: </span><em>Letter to Frau Wille</em>.</p> + + +<div class="figleft"> +<img src="images/r.png" width="100" height="100" alt="R" title="R" /> +</div> +<p class="noindent">eference has already been made to the fact that Beethoven's opus 1 was +published in 1795, something like three years after taking up his +residence in Vienna, and when he was twenty-four years of age. It +consists of three Trios for piano and strings. When Haydn returned from +London and heard these Trios, the master criticised one of them and +advised him not to publish it. Beethoven thought this particular one the +best of the three, and others concur with him in this opinion. Shortly +after, he published his opus 2, consisting of three sonatas dedicated to +Haydn, besides variations and smaller pieces. But this does not by any +means give the amount of his compositions for this period, some of which +were not published until many years afterward.</p> + +<p>All this time, Beethoven, though playing frequently at the houses of his +aristocratic friends, had not yet made his appearance in public, but +about the time that his opus<a name="Page_31" id="Page_31"></a> 1 appeared, he played at a concert given +in aid of the Widow's Fund of the Artists' Society. He composed for this +occasion a Grand Concerto (opus 15) in C major for piano and orchestra, +taking the piano part himself. It was finished on the day preceding that +on which the concert was held, the copyists waiting in another room for +their parts. At the rehearsal, the piano being one-half note out of +tune, he transposed it into C sharp, playing it without the notes. Very +soon after, he appeared again in public, at a concert given for the +benefit of Mozart's widow, when he played one of Mozart's concertos. The +beginning once made, he appeared rather frequently as a performer, not +only in Vienna, but extended his trips the next year as far as Berlin, +where he encountered Hümmel.</p> + +<p>But Beethoven's mind was always turned toward composition. It had been +the aim of his life, even at Bonn, to become a great creative artist. +For this he had left his native city, and the larger opportunities for +musical culture afforded by his life in Vienna must have directed his +thoughts still more strongly into this channel. An important social +event of the period was the annual ball of the Artists' Society of +Vienna. Süsmayer, pupil and intimate friend of Mozart, the composer of +several of the "Mozart Masses," had composed music for this ball and +Beethoven was asked to contribute something likewise, with the result +that he composed twelve waltzes and twelve minuets for it. He also had +in hand at the same time piano music, songs, and studies in orchestral +composition. Nothing which he produced in these years, however, gave any +forecast of what he would eventually attain to. This <a name="Page_32" id="Page_32"></a>is paralleled in +the case of Bach, who, up to his thirtieth year was more famous as a +performer than as composer.</p> + +<p>Beethoven's earlier compositions were regarded as the clever product of +an ambitious young musician. Although later in life, he all but +repudiated the published work of these years, some of the thoughts from +the sketch-books of this period were utilized in the work of his best +years.</p> + +<p>He acquired a habit early in life of carrying a note-book when away from +his rooms, in which he recorded musical ideas as they came to him. His +brain teemed with them; these he entered indiscriminately, good and bad, +assorting them later, discarding some, altering others, seldom retaining +a musical thought exactly as it was first presented to his +consciousness. Music became the one absorbing passion of his life. It +took the place of wife and children; it was of more importance to him +than home or any other consideration. His compositions show continual +progress toward artistic perfection to the end of his life, and this was +attained only by infinite labor.</p> + +<p>It may not be out of place here to reflect on the essentially unselfish +character of the man of genius. He lives and strives, not for himself, +but for others; he pursues an objective end only. Among the forces +making for the regeneration of mankind, he is foremost.</p> + +<p>There is little of importance to record concerning Beethoven for the few +years following the publication of his opus 1. He continued to perform +occasionally in public, and also gave a few lessons, but his time was +taken up with study and composition for the most part. It was a period +of earnest endeavor, the compositions of which consist of the better +class of piano music, as well as trios, <a name="Page_33" id="Page_33"></a>quartets and occasional songs, +his work being much in the style of Mozart and Haydn; the quality of +emotional power and intellectuality not yet having appeared to any +extent.</p> + +<p>His great productions, those that show his genius well developed, are +coincident with the beginning of the nineteenth century. The years 1800 +and 1801 were an epoch with him as a composer. He was now thirty, and +was beginning to show of what stuff he was made. These two years saw the +production of some of the imperishable works of the master, namely: the +First Symphony, the Oratorio <em>Christus am Oelberg</em>, and the Prometheus +Ballet Music. It is probable that he had given earnest thought to these +works for some years previously, and had had them in hand for two years +or more before their appearance. The First Symphony calls for special +mention as in it the future Symphonist is already foreshadowed. He was +almost a beginner at orchestral work, but it marks an epoch in this +class of composition, raising it far beyond anything of the kind that +had yet appeared. Viewed in the light of later ones it is apparent that +he held himself in; that he was tentative compared with his subsequent +ones. Considered as a symphony and compared with what had been produced +in this class up to that time, it is a daring innovation and was +regarded as such by the critics. He broadened and enlarged the form and +gave it a dignity that was unknown to it before this time.</p> + +<p>Beethoven's sonatas are as superior to those that had preceded them as +are his symphonies. He enlarged them, developed the Scherzo from the +Minuet and made them of more importance in every way. With Haydn the<a name="Page_34" id="Page_34"></a> +Minuet was gay and lively, a style of music well adapted to Haydn's +particular temperament and character; but Beethoven in the Scherzo +carried the idea further than anything of which Haydn had dreamed. +Before Beethoven's First Symphony appeared, he had composed a dozen or +more sonatas and was in a position to profit by the experience gained +thereby. He felt his way in these, the innovations all turning out to be +improvements.</p> + +<p>One has only to compare the sonatas of Mozart and Haydn with those of +Beethoven to be at once impressed with the enormous importance of the +latter. As has been stated, the experience gained with the sonata was +utilized in the First Symphony, each succeeding one showing growth. +Beethoven's artistic instinct was correct, but he did not trust to this +alone. He proceeded carefully, weighing the matter well, and his +judgment was usually right. There is evidence from his exercise books +that he had this Symphony in mind as early as 1795. It was first +produced on April 2, 1800, at a concert which he gave for his own +benefit at the Burg theatre. On this occasion he improvised on the theme +of the Austrian National Hymn, recently composed by Haydn, well known in +this country through its insertion in the Hymnal of the Protestant +Episcopal Church, under the title of Austria. Beethoven's hearing was +sufficiently intact at this time to enable him to hear his symphonies +performed, an important matter while his judgment was being formed.</p> + +<p>The Prometheus Ballet Music, opus 43, consisting of overture, +introduction and sixteen numbers, was first performed early in 1801, and +achieved immediate success, so much so that it was published at once as +pianoforte <a name="Page_35" id="Page_35"></a>music. In addition to the Prometheus, there is to be +credited to this period the C minor concerto, opus 37, a septet for +strings and wind, opus 20, a number of quartets, and other compositions. +The <em>Christus am Oelberg</em> (The Mount of Olives), opus 85, Beethoven's +first great choral work, has already been mentioned. In this oratorio +Jesus appears as one of the characters, for which he has been severely +criticised. His judgment was at fault in another respect also in having +the concert stage too much in mind. The composition at times is operatic +in character, while the text calls for a mode of treatment solemn and +religious, as in Passion-music. If set to some other text, this work +would be well nigh faultless; the recitatives are singularly good, and +there is a rich orchestration. It is reminiscent of Händel and prophetic +of Wagner. The Hallelujah Chorus in particular is a magnificent piece of +work. As is the case with the Messiah, its beauties as well as its +defects are so apparent, so pronounced, that the latter serve as a foil +to bring out its good qualities in the strongest relief. It was first +performed in the spring of 1803, in Vienna, on which occasion Beethoven +played some of his other compositions. It was repeated three times +within the year.</p> + +<p>Other contributions of 1801 are two grand sonatas, the "Pastorale" in D, +opus 28, the Andante of which is said to have been a favorite of +Beethoven's and was often played by him, and the one in A flat, opus 26, +dedicated to Prince Karl Lichnowsky and containing a grand funeral +march. Then there are the sonatas in E flat and C sharp minor, published +together as opus 27, and designated Quasi una Fantasia. The latter is +famous as the "Moon<a name="Page_36" id="Page_36"></a>light" sonata, dedicated to Julia Guicciardi. +Neither of these names were authorized by Beethoven. Besides these, +there are the two violin sonatas, A minor, and F, dedicated to Count +Fries, and lesser compositions. The Second Symphony (in D) is the chief +production of 1802. In addition there are the two piano sonatas in G, +and D minor, opus 31, and three sonatas for violin and piano, opus 30, +the latter dedicated to the Emperor of Russia. They form a striking +example of Beethoven's originality and the force of his genius, and must +have been caviar to his public.</p> + +<p>The Second Symphony is a great advance on the first, and consequently a +greater departure from the advice laid down to him by others. His +independence and absolute faith in himself and the soundness of his +judgment are clearly illustrated here. The composition is genial and in +marked contrast to the gloomy forebodings that filled his mind at this +time. The second movement, the Larghetto, is interesting on account of +the introduction of conversation among the groups of instruments, an +innovation which he exploited to a much greater extent in subsequent +works. In the Larghetto one group occasionally interrupts the other, +giving it piquancy. There is a rhythm and swing to it which makes it the +most enjoyable of the four movements. The critics hacked it again as +might have been expected, the result being that the next one diverged +still more from their idea of what a good symphony should be.</p> + +<p>It was at this period that life's tragedy began to press down on him. He +had left youth behind, and had entered on a glorious manhood. He was the +idol of his friends, <a name="Page_37" id="Page_37"></a>although his fame as a great composer had yet to +be established. The affirmations of his genius were plainly apparent to +him, if not to others, and he knew that he was on the threshold of +creating imperishable masterpieces. A great future was opening out +before him, which, however, was in great part to be nullified by his +approaching deafness and other physical ailments. His letters at this +time to his friend Dr. Wegeler, at Bonn, and to others, are full of +misgivings.</p> + +<p>But not alone is this unhappy frame of mind to be attributed to +approaching deafness or any mere physical ailment. The psychological +element also enters into the account and largely dominates it. The +extraordinary character of the First and Second Symphonies seem to have +had a powerful effect on his trend of thought making him introspective +and morbidly conscientious. In a mind constituted as was his, it is +quite within bounds to assume that the revelation of his genius was +largely the cause of the morbid self-consciousness which appears in his +letters of the period, and in the "Will." He recognized to the full how +greatly superior this work was to anything of the kind that had yet +appeared; singularly the knowledge made him humble. What he had +accomplished thus far was only an earnest of the great work he was +capable of, but to achieve it meant a surrender of nearly all the ties +that bound him to life. The human qualities in him rebelled at the +prospect. With the clairvoyance superinduced by much self-examination, +he was able to forecast the vast scope of his powers, and the task that +was set him. The whole future of the unapproachable artist that he was +destined to become, was mirrored out <a name="Page_38" id="Page_38"></a>to him almost at the beginning of +his career, but he saw it only with apprehension and dread. There were +periods when a narrower destiny would have pleased him more. "Unto +whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required." He at times +recoiled from the task, and would have preferred death instead. This was +probably the most unhappy period of his life. He had yet to learn the +hardest lesson of all, resignation, renunciation. That harsh mandate +enunciated by Goethe in Faust: "Entbären sollst du, sollst entbären," +had been thrust on him with a force not to be gainsaid or evaded.</p> + +<p>With such a man but one issue to the conflict was possible: obedience to +the higher law. In a conversation held with his friend Krumpholz, he +expressed doubts as to the value of his work hitherto. "From now on I +shall strike out on a new road," he said. He is now dominated by a +greater seriousness; his mission has been shown him. Adieu now to the +light-hearted mode of life characteristic of his friends and of the +time. His new road led him into regions where they could not follow; +from now on he was more and more unlike his fellows, more misunderstood, +isolated, a prophet in the wilderness. Placed here by Providence +specially for a unique work, he at first does not seem to have +understood it in this light, and reached out, the spirit of the man, +after happiness, occasional glimpses of which came to him, as it does to +all sooner or later. He soon found, however, that happiness was not +intended for him, or rather, that he was not intended for it. Something +higher and better he could have, but not this. On coming to Vienna, and +while living with Prince Lichnowsky, he made so much of a concession to +public opinion <a name="Page_39" id="Page_39"></a>as to buy a court suit, and he even took dancing +lessons, but he never learned dancing, never even learned how to wear +the court suit properly, and soon gave up both in disgust. The principle +on which he now conducted his life was to give his genius full play, to +obey its every mandate, to allow no obstacle to come in the way of its +fullest development. That this idea controlled him throughout life, is +apparent in many ways, but most of all in his journal. "Make once more +the sacrifice of all the petty necessities of life for the glory of thy +art. God before all," he wrote in 1818, when beginning the Mass in D. +All sorts of circumstances and influences were required to isolate him +from the world to enable him the better to do his appointed work. +Probably no other musician ever made so complete a surrender of all +impedimenta for the sake of his art as did Beethoven.</p> + +<p>Music as an art does not conduce to renunciation, since its outward +expression always partakes more or less of the nature of a festival. The +claims of society come more insistently into the life of the musician +than in that of other art-workers, the painter or literary man, for +instance, whose work is completed in the isolation of his study. The +musician, on the contrary, completes his work on the stage. He must +participate in its rendering. He is, more than any other, beset by +social obligations; he perforce becomes to a certain extent gregarious, +all of which has a tendency to dissipate time and energy. It is only by +a great effort that he can isolate himself; that he can retain his +individuality. Beethoven's reward on these lines was great in proportion +to his victory over himself.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40"></a>CHAPTER IV</h3> +<div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">ToC</a></div> +<h4>HEROIC SYMPHONY</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Ach, der menschliche Intellekt! Ach "Genie"! Es ist nicht so gar + viel einen "Faust" eine Schopenhauerische Philosophie, eine Eroika + gemacht zu haben.</p></div> + +<p class="citation"><span class="smcap">—Friederich Nietzshe.</span></p> + + +<div class="figleft"> +<img src="images/t.png" width="154" height="100" alt="T" title="T" /> +</div> +<p class="noindent">he immediate fruit of this mental travail was a sudden growth or +expansion of his creative powers. This is apparent in his work, marking +the beginning of the second period. His compositions now suggest +thought. There is a fecundating power in them which generates thought, +and it is in the moral nature that this force is most apparent. His work +now begins to be a vital part of himself, the spiritual essence, +communicating to his followers somewhat of his own strength and force of +character. Once having entered on the new path, he reached, in the Third +Symphony, the pinnacle of greatness almost at a bound. He was now, at +thirty-four, at the height of his colossal powers. His titanic genius in +its swift development showed an ability almost preternatural. One +immortal work of genius succeeded another with marvelous rapidity.</p> + +<p>The Third Symphony calls for more than passing notice. Beethoven's +altruism is well known. The brotherhood of man was a favorite theme with +him. By the aid <a name="Page_41" id="Page_41"></a>of his mighty intellect and his intuitional powers, he +saw more clearly than others the world's great need. The inequalities in +social conditions were more clearly marked in those times than now. The +French Revolution had set people thinking. Liberty and equality was what +they were demanding. Beethoven personally had nothing to gain and +everything to risk by siding with the people. All his personal friends +were of the aristocracy. It was this class which fostered the arts, +music in particular. From the time that Beethoven came to Vienna as a +young man, up to the end of his life, he enjoyed one or more pensions +given him by members of the upper classes. But his sympathies were with +the people. By honoring Napoleon with the dedication of the Third +Symphony, he would have antagonized the Imperial family, and perhaps +many of the aristocracy, but this phase of the question may not have +occurred to him, and if it had, it would not have deterred him.</p> + +<p>Beethoven's attitude toward Napoleon could have had no other +construction placed upon it than that of strong partisanship, since +there was no artistic bond to unite them. The arch-enemy of Imperialism, +as he was considered at this time, the mightiest efforts of the young +Corsican had hitherto been directed specially against Austria. Beethoven +did not approve of war; he expressed himself plainly on this point in +after years, but at this period considered it justifiable and necessary +as a means of abolishing what remained of feudal authority.</p> + +<p>Austria had been the first to feel the iron hand of Napoleon. His first +important military achievement, and what is generally conceded to be the +greatest in his entire <a name="Page_42" id="Page_42"></a>military career, was his campaign against the +Austrians in Italy, which took place in the spring of 1796, shortly +after his marriage. His victories over them first gave him fame, not +only in France, but throughout Europe. Within a month from the time that +he took command in the Italian campaign, he won six victories over them, +giving the French army the command of the whole range of the Alps. +Within a year he had driven the Austrians out of Italy, many thousands +of prisoners were taken, ten thousand men had been killed or wounded, +fifty-five pieces of cannon had been taken, besides rich provinces, +which he looted to enrich France. He pursued his campaign into Austria, +getting to within ninety miles of Vienna with his army, where he +dictated terms of peace to the Emperor, which were highly advantageous +to France. Appalled by these catastrophies, the court was even preparing +to flee from Vienna and was arranging for the safe carriage of the +treasure, when the Emperor accepted Napoleon's terms. The humiliation to +Austria was accentuated by the fact that her armies were nearly twice +that of France. They were also in good condition, while the French +armies were ragged and half starved. With this inferior equipment +Bonaparte humbled the most haughty nation in Europe in the space of a +year. He defeated them again in 1800, at Marengo, and was at all times +their arch-enemy.</p> + +<p>All this happened some years before the period of which we are writing. +Beethoven regarded Napoleon as a liberator, a savior, on account of his +success in restoring order out of chaos in France. It showed +considerable moral courage on his part to come out so plainly for +Napoleon. A broader question than <a name="Page_43" id="Page_43"></a>patriotism, however, was here +involved. Patriotism seeks the good of a small section. Altruism +embraces the good of all, thus including patriotism.</p> + +<p>The idea of writing the symphony to Napoleon may have been suggested to +Beethoven by General Bernadotte, who was then the Ambassador of the +French at Vienna. He and Count Moritz Lichnowsky were intimate friends +and saw a good deal of Beethoven at that time. The three young men no +doubt discussed social conditions and politics, as well as music, and it +would have been an easy task for the General, who had served under +Napoleon, to excite Beethoven's enthusiasm for the Liberator of France. +In after years, when General Bernadotte became King of Sweden, he still +retained his interest in the events of this period.</p> + +<p>This Symphony was the best work which Beethoven had yet accomplished; a +work the grandeur and sublimity of which must have been a surprise to +himself. It was conceived in the spirit of altruism, to show his +appreciation of the man whom he believed was destined more than any +other to uplift humanity. In the quality of its emotional expression, +and also in its dimensions, it far exceeded anything of the kind that +had yet appeared. Beethoven himself advised, on account of its great +length, that it be placed at the beginning of a program rather than at +its end. It is unique as a symphony, just as Napoleon was unique as a +man. On finishing the work he put the name of Bonaparte on the +title-page.</p> + +<p class="center"> +BONAPARTE<br /> +LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN.</p> + +<p><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44"></a>With perfect propriety the concept is here established that two great +men are before the world, Napoleon and Beethoven, and that the latter is +as great in his own province as was Napoleon in his, each being the +exponent of a new order of things, co-equal in the achievement of great +deeds. Posterity, in exalting the one and debasing the other, shows how +modest Beethoven was in the matter.</p> + +<p>He was on the point of sending it to Paris when the news was brought him +by his pupil Ries, that Napoleon was declared Emperor. In a rage +Beethoven tore off the title-page containing the dedication, and threw +it to the floor. "The man will become a tyrant and will trample all +human rights under foot. He is no more than an ordinary man!" was +Beethoven's exclamation. He finally gave it the name of Sinfonia Eroica, +in memory of a great man. It is dedicated to Prince Lobkowitz, who had +it performed before Prince Louis Ferdinand. The Prince was greatly taken +with it, at once recognizing its worth and insisting on hearing it three +times in succession the same evening.</p> + +<p>This year saw the production of two of Beethoven's most famous +pianoforte sonatas, the Waldstein, already referred to in this work, +dedicated to the friend of his youth, Count Waldstein, and the +Appassionata, dedicated to Count von Brunswick, sublime conceptions that +glow with the fire of genius.</p> + +<p>Mention must also be made of the famous Kreutzer Sonata, opus 47, for +piano and violin, which was completed prior to the Third Symphony. This +great work was originally intended for an English violinist resident at +Vienna by the name of Bridgetower, and was first per<a name="Page_45" id="Page_45"></a>formed at a morning +concert at the Augarten in May of 1803. Beethoven was at the piano and +Bridgetower played the violin part. Beethoven had completed a portion of +the work the previous year, but the violin part had to be played almost +before the ink was dry, the piano accompaniment being made up by +Beethoven as he went along. Notwithstanding this entire want of +preparation, the value of the work was so apparent that it produced an +encore.</p> + +<p>Beethoven changed his mind about the dedication, and a year or two later +this distinction was conferred on a friend, Rudolph Kreutzer, violinist +and composer, who had come to Vienna in 1798 with Bernadotte, and as a +matter of course, became acquainted with Beethoven. Kreutzer had been a +protégé of Marie Antoinette; afterward he was taken up by Napoleon, and +still later by Louis XVIII, each of whom he served in his musical +capacity. The Kreutzer Sonata has had a wide notoriety given it through +Tolstoy's work of that name.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46"></a>CHAPTER V</h3> +<div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">ToC</a></div> +<h4>FIDELIO</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>In the mind as in a field, some things may be sown and carefully + brought up, yet that which springs naturally is most pleasing.</p></div> + +<p class="citation"><span class="smcap">—Tacitus.</span></p> + + +<div class="figleft"> +<img src="images/t.png" width="154" height="100" alt="T" title="T" /> +</div> +<p class="noindent">he year 1805 saw Beethoven hard at work in a field new to +him,—operatic composition. It had probably been in his mind for some +years to write an opera. In those days almost every composer wrote +operas, and to have written a successful one carried with it, not only a +certain prestige, but substantial rewards in a financial sense. Outside +of the church but little opportunity was afforded the general public to +gratify its love for music other than in opera. Orchestral concerts were +comparatively rare,—song recitals unknown. The development of the +orchestra was just beginning, through the genius of Beethoven, and the +Viennese were to a great extent, still unconscious of its importance, as +a means of musical expression. The many symphonies, quartets, and other +forms of chamber-music of Haydn, Mozart and contemporaneous composers, +were for the most part written for private performance at musical +functions <a name="Page_47" id="Page_47"></a>in the houses of the nobility, or for friends of the +composers.</p> + +<p>Beethoven believed that if he were to write one or two operas, his +income would be reinforced to such an extent as to enable him to give +his attention wholly to the production of symphonies and masses, a style +of composition to which he was inclined by temperament. In the early +symphonies we already have a foreshadowing of what he could do in the +production of great orchestral music, the desire for which in later +years controlled him wholly. Like most men of genius Beethoven had +little regard for money, and until middle age was reached, never thought +of saving any. He valued it only in so far as he could use it for +himself or others. It may be said in passing that he gave it away +freely, glad to be of service to others. His income, augmented by his +copyrights, did not keep pace with his expenditures; when a friend +needed money and he had none, he would give him a composition instead, +which the other would turn into cash.</p> + +<p>The manager of the theatre, An der Wien, had, before this, made +overtures to Beethoven to write an opera, and he went so far as to take +up his quarters in the theatre, preparatory to this work; but a change +in the management made it necessary to give up the idea for the time +being. In 1804, the offer in regard to the opera was renewed, and work +was begun upon it. It took up a large part of his time until its +production in November of 1805. It is probable that he took more pains +with this work than was devoted to any other of his compositions with +the exception of the Mass in D. His capacity for work was extraordinary, +particularly at this time, and <a name="Page_48" id="Page_48"></a>the delight that he experienced in +producing these masterpieces was still new to him, which in itself was +an incentive to great exertion. His approaching deafness also had a good +deal to do with his great activity. The ailment had progressed steadily +from the time of its first appearance; at the time of which we write he +had abandoned all hope of any aid from medical treatment; by throwing +himself heart and soul into his work, he could forget for the time the +misfortune which was closing in on him. He feared that a period of +absolute deafness might set in when he would be unable to hear any of +his works, and the desire must have been great to accomplish as much as +possible before that time should come.</p> + +<p>Beethoven does not seem to have been very hard to suit in the way of a +libretto at this time. He probably gave the matter very little +consideration except on one point,—its morality. His high ideals, and +his innate purity of mind, caused him to dislike and condemn the sort of +story which was usually worked up into operatic libretti in those days, +in which intrigue and illicit love formed the staple material. He +expressed himself strongly on this subject, even criticising Mozart for +having set Don Giovanni to music, saying that it degraded the art. So +strongly did he feel about it that he seems to have thought almost any +libretto would do, provided the moral sentiment contained in it were +sufficiently prominent. Later, the experience which he gained with +Fidelio showed him that the libretto of an opera is indeed a very +important matter; then he went to the other extreme, and was unable to +find anything which would satisfy him, although many libretti were +submitted to him at various times dur<a name="Page_49" id="Page_49"></a>ing the remainder of his life. A +quantity of them were found among his papers after his death. Bouilly's +libretto Leonore, which had been set to music by two different composers +before Beethoven took it in hand, was finally selected, and Sonnleithner +was employed to translate it from the French. The name of the opera was +changed to Fidelio, but the various overtures written for it are still +known as the Leonore overtures.</p> + +<p>Beethoven took up his quarters in the theatre again as soon as the +libretto was ready for him and went to work at it with a will. But he +was not at his best in operatic writing,—this symphonist, this creator +of great orchestral forms. The opera was an alien soil to him; +composition—never an easy matter to Beethoven, was more difficult than +ever in the case of Fidelio. The sketch-books show the many attempts and +alterations in the work, at its every stage. In addition, he was +handicapped at the outset by an unsuitable libretto. The Spanish +background, for one thing, was a clog, as his trend of thought and +sympathies were thoroughly German. But this is a slight matter compared +with the forbidding nature of the drama itself, with its prison scenes, +its dungeons and general atmosphere of gloom. One dreary scene after +another is unfolded, and the action never reaches the dignity of tragedy +nor the depth of pathos which should be awakened by the portrayal of +suffering. We are unable to feel that the two principal characters are +martyrs; as one tiresome scene succeeds another, we come to care nothing +whatever about them and are unable to sympathize with them in their +suffering or rejoice in their deliverance. The first requisite in opera, +it would appear, is that it be per<a name="Page_50" id="Page_50"></a>vaded by an atmosphere of +romanticism. Other things are necessary; the libretto must have dramatic +situations; but above all, the romantic element must prevail. If it is +difficult for the listener to become interested in an opera with such a +libretto as is Fidelio, it must be doubly so for the composer who +undertakes the task of writing music for it. A dull story hinders the +play of fancy; the imagination remains dormant, and the product under +such conditions has the air of being forced. The musician is in bonds.</p> + +<p>Musically, it is a work of surpassing beauty; but there is a dissonance +between music and libretto which gives the impression of something +lacking; there is not the harmony which we expect in a work of this +kind. Wagner has taught us better on these points. The music of Fidelio +has force and grandeur; some of it has a sensuous beauty that reminds us +of Mozart at his best. Had Beethoven's choice fallen to a better +libretto, the result might have been an altogether better opera.</p> + +<p>Fidelio affords a good instance of the fact that operatic composition, +considered strictly as music, is not the highest form in which the art +can be portrayed, and that, in itself, it is not so strictly confined to +the domain of music as is the symphony, or the various forms of sacred +music (the oratorio or the mass, for instance). It may, in the right +hands, come to be a greater work of art, viewed in its entirety, than +either of the forms just mentioned. In the hands of a man like Wagner, +it undoubtedly is, but in such a case the result is achieved by means +other than those obtained through the domain of music. Much is +contributed by the literary quality of <a name="Page_51" id="Page_51"></a>the libretto, its poetic and +romantic qualities, its dramatic possibilities, as well as its stage +setting and the ability of the singers to act well their parts. An opera +is a combination of several arts, in which music is often sub-ordinated. +Not so in the case of sacred music, in which the entire portrayal rests +absolutely on the musician's art. Of the works of the great composers +who wrote both classes of music, those which are devoted to religious +subjects will be found vastly superior in almost every instance, with +the one exception of Mozart's and in the case of this composer, his Mass +in B flat and the Requiem will bear comparison with any of his operas. +With no regular income, Mozart was compelled to write operas in order to +live, but his preference was for sacred music. Haydn, on the other hand, +spent no time on grand opera. Through his connection with the Princes +Esterhazy, which gave him an assured income from his twenty-ninth year +to the end of his life, he was in a position to write only the style of +music to which he was best adapted by his talents and preference.</p> + +<p>Above all other considerations, the opera must be made to pay. The +composers expected to make money from it, and its presentation was +always accompanied by enormous expense. Everything conspired to get them +to write what their audience would like, without considering too closely +whether this was the best they were capable of producing. In those times +all that people required of an opera was that it should entertain. If we +compare the best opera before Wagner's time with such works as Bach's +Grand Mass in B minor, or Beethoven's Mass in D, we will readily see +that the composers of those times put their best thought <a name="Page_52" id="Page_52"></a>into their +sacred compositions. Bach, Protestant that he was, but with the vein of +religious mysticism strong in him, which is usually to be found in +highly endowed artistic natures (Wagner is an instance, also Liszt), was +attracted by the beautiful text of the Mass, its stateliness and +solemnity, and the world is enriched by an imperishable work of genius. +It is significant that he wrote no opera, and Beethoven only one. Both +composers probably regarded the opera as being less important +artistically than the other great forms in which music is embodied.</p> + +<p>In operatic composition, as we have seen, the musicians of those times +were too apt to write down to their public. No such temptation came to +them in their religious works, as no income was expected from this +source. Here the composer could be independent of his public, so this +branch of the art was developed to a much greater degree than the other. +A high standard was thus reached and maintained in religious music.</p> + +<p>Beethoven by temperament was not adapted to operatic composition. He was +too much the philosopher, his aims being higher than were desired by an +operatic audience of that time. He could best express himself in +orchestral music, and his genius drew him irresistibly in this +direction. This predilection appears throughout his works. In his purely +orchestral compositions, his genius has absolute freedom. When he came +to opera he found himself constantly hampered by new and untried +conditions. He soon found that opera has to do with something besides +music. Having once begun, however, he carried it through, perforce, by +almost superhuman efforts.</p> + +<p>Wagner, poet that he was, builded better. He had <a name="Page_53" id="Page_53"></a>the temperament for +opera. He was adapted to operatic composition as if he had been +specially created for the purpose. Here was the union of the poet and +the musician in the same individual. Knowing the importance of the +drama, and aided by his literary instinct, he was able to select +interesting subjects which were well adapted to musical treatment. It +was the spirit of romanticism pervading these dramas of Wagner's which +enabled him to weave such music about them. We cannot imagine him making +good music to a poor libretto,—with Wagner the libretto and the music +were of equal importance, the two usually having been produced +simultaneously; his music fits the words so well that no other would be +desired.</p> + +<p>Early in the summer, Beethoven left his quarters in the theatre and went +into the country nearby, where he could work with more freedom than in +the city. No labor seems to have been too great for him in the +composition of this work. The opera was finished early in the fall of +1805, and as soon as he returned to town he began with the rehearsals. +Then he had almost as much work as in writing the opera, everything +possible having been done to worry him. His simplicity and want of tact +seem to have been very much in evidence at this time; he was like a +child compared with the astute men of affairs with whom he now came in +contact. His greatest difficulty, however, was with his singers. A man +following so faithfully the intimations of his genius as did Beethoven, +withal a man of such striking individuality and force of character, +would be sure to disregard to some extent the capacity of his +performers. His singers made no end of trouble, stating that their parts +were unsingable and asking for altera<a name="Page_54" id="Page_54"></a>tions. Some of the members of the +orchestra also complained about technical difficulties, but the master +was obdurate, refusing to make any changes. Instead of placating them, +by which means only, a good performance was possible as things went at +that time, he overrode their wishes and would make no concessions +whether in large or in small matters. To Beethoven, music as an art was +the most serious fact in his existence; to the others, it was no more +than a means of enjoyment or of subsistence. His point of view being so +different from that of the others, it is not surprising that he was +always at odds with them. Trifles often annoyed him more than gross +derelictions. At one of the rehearsals the third bassoon player was +absent and Beethoven was enraged. That anything short of illness or +disaster should keep this man from his post was a piece of insolence, an +insult to the art. Prince Lobkowitz was present, and in the effort to +pacify him, made light of the affair; he told him that this man's +absence did not matter much, as the first and second bassoonists were +present, a line of argument that served to include the Prince in +Beethoven's wrath. Hofsekretär Mahler relates the dénouement of the +incident. On the way home, after the rehearsal, as he and Beethoven came +in sight of the Lobkowitz Platz, Beethoven, with the delinquent third +bassoonist still in his mind, could not resist crossing the Platz, and +shouting into the great gateway of the palace, "Lobkowitzscher Esel" +(ass of a Lobkowitz).</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, the French army, with Napoleon at its head, was advancing on +Vienna and almost at the time that the opera was ready for presentation, +took possession of <a name="Page_55" id="Page_55"></a>the city. This was on November 13, 1805. The +imperial family, the members of the nobility and every one else who +could do so, had left the city on the approach of the French forces, but +this did not discourage Beethoven. The opera was ready and must be +presented. He could not have expected much of an audience as the very +people who were interested in the subject had left the city. It was +actually put on the stage on November 20, the audience consisting, it +appears, mainly of French officers. It is not to be supposed that such a +work would appeal to them, as there was no ballet, and the melodrama, +instead of containing good jokes and risque anecdotes, was simply the +tale of a wife's devotion. No doubt the intendant of the theatre, as +well as Beethoven and the whole company were anathematized freely. It +was continued for three nights and then withdrawn.</p> + +<p>The work involved was enormous, both in the composition and in getting +it ready for the stage. The rewards during Beethoven's lifetime were +always slow. In its original form the opera was considered too long for +the patience of the average audience, and also in parts too abstruse, +which latter was probably its chief fault. The idea of revising it does +not seem to have occurred to Beethoven, even after it was withdrawn; it +required the utmost diplomacy on the part of his friends, Prince +Lichnowsky in particular, to bring this about.</p> + +<p>Beethoven had taken extraordinary pains with it up to the time of its +representation. To make alterations now would be to acknowledge himself +in error. The opera, however, was the most ambitious work he had yet +attempted; to make it a success it was necessary that it be <a name="Page_56" id="Page_56"></a>revised and +altered considerably. With this object in view, Beethoven was invited by +Prince Lichnowsky to meet some friends at his house to discuss the +opera. The singers, Roeke and Meyer, who appeared in the cast, were of +the party; also Stephen von Breuning and Sonnleithner. The score was +studied at the piano and freely criticised. When one of the singers +plainly stated that several pieces should be omitted entire and other +portions shortened, Beethoven's rage knew no bounds. The conflict lasted +well into the night, Beethoven at bay, with all his friends pitted +against him. He defended every attack on this child of his brain, the +latest product of his genius, and at first refused any compromise, but +better counsels finally prevailed, aided probably by the Princess +Lichnowsky, who so often assumed the part of peacemaker. Beethoven +consented to some important excisions, and an entire revision of the +opera. Stephen von Breuning, who was somewhat of a poet, and had +considerable literary ability, was commissioned to make the desired +changes in the libretto, cutting it down to two acts from three. The +conference lasted until one in the morning, when, the point being +gained, the Prince ordered supper to be brought in. Being Germans and +musicians, they finished the night in the utmost good humor, Beethoven +being the best natured of all, once his consent to the revision had been +gained.</p> + +<p>He immediately set about writing a new overture for it, and that +imperishable work of genius, the Third Leonore overture appeared. Here +we have an epitome of the succeeding music of the opera, foreshadowing +in dramatic language, the grief and despair, and the final deliverance +and joy of the principal actors of the drama. Wagner <a name="Page_57" id="Page_57"></a>says of this work, +"It is no longer an overture, but the mightiest of dramas in itself." +Here Beethoven could use his accustomed freedom once more. He was back +again in the familiar realm of instrumental music, and the storm and +stress of recent experiences no doubt supplied some of the material +which went into it. It is frequently used as a concert work.</p> + +<p>The opera was produced the following spring in the revised form and with +the new overture. The wisdom of the revision was at once apparent, but a +quarrel between Beethoven and the intendant of the theatre led to its +final withdrawal after two representations. It did not see the light +again until 1814.</p> + +<p>It was about this time that Beethoven first met Cherubini, whose operas +were favorites with the Vienna public. The Italian master made a stay of +several months' duration in Vienna, and attended a performance of +Fidelio.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58"></a>CHAPTER VI</h3> +<div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">ToC</a></div> +<h4>THE ETERNAL FEMININE</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>If that beauty of Shiraz would take my heart in hand, I would give + for her dark mole Samarkand and Bokhara.</p></div> + +<p class="citation"><span class="smcap">—Hafiz.</span></p> + + +<div class="figleft"> +<img src="images/i.png" width="91" height="100" alt="I" title="I" /> +</div> +<p class="noindent">n Beethoven's time, Vienna was the gayest capital in Europe, the Paris +of the world. The population was 300,000, every nationality in Europe +being represented. It was cosmopolitan in the widest sense. The Germans +of course predominated; then there were Hungarians, Italians, Sclavs, +Sczechs, Magyars, Poles and Turks. The Italian element was particularly +strong, and these southern and eastern races with their tendency toward +art in any form, and the particular bias of the Italians toward music +had an important influence on the Germans, modifying their seriousness.</p> + +<p>The theatres were splendidly equipped and there were at least four large +orchestras. Concerts for the general public were not common, the +orchestras being required for operatic performances in private houses, +which were splendidly given, as well as for state balls and other +functions. The chief business of the well-to-do (and Vienna was a rich +city), was to gratify a love for music. The cultivated class lived a +life of elegant leisure, music being <a name="Page_59" id="Page_59"></a>its alpha and omega. As already +stated, it was an established custom with the wealthy to maintain a +small orchestra, consisting of four or five pieces for the performance +of chamber-music in their homes. Prince Karl Lichnowsky gave concerts +every Friday evening, frequently taking a part in the orchestra. Regular +weekly concerts were given by Baron von Swieten, Prince Lobkowitz, Count +Rasoumowsky and many others. It is stated that at this period there were +ten private theatres in Vienna, each with its complement of actors. It +was a common occurrence to give operettas at these private +theatres,—the ordinary parts being taken by amateurs.</p> + +<p>How could they, we naturally ask, get an audience, when so many +performances were in progress, and how could the people get around to so +many places? The answer is: these performances were given daily, +including Sunday, and at all hours of the day, some concerts being given +as early as six o'clock in the morning. It was indeed a "golden age for +Beethoven," as Schindler remarks. Thayer gives a list of twenty-one +great houses open to Beethoven, nine of which belonged to princes. The +young musician was often the guest of honor at the various musical +functions given by these people, and received much attention from +illustrious persons who were attracted to him by the force of his +character as well as his genius. Not in any degree a society man, rough +in exterior and careless of appearance, he was sought after by the most +exclusive of Vienna society.</p> + +<p>That a man of such force and originality, such independence, should have +won the lifelong friendship of those of his own sex, goes without +saying. His very scorn for <a name="Page_60" id="Page_60"></a>the conventions and refinements of life, the +manliness which was reflected in his every act, in the tones of his +voice and the expression of his face, all this, united to such talents, +would be sure to win the enthusiastic admiration of his fellow-men. But +that the beautiful society women of the capital should have been +attracted to a man so uncouth may at first sight seem surprising, until +we consider that he attracted them in spite of these drawbacks and on +account of other qualities, such as his sensibility, his earnestness and +devotion to his art, and the wealth of his emotional and intellectual +nature. He thoroughly enjoyed standing so well socially with these +ladies, who in family connections were above him, but who were willing +to sit at his feet in homage to his genius. Beginning with hero worship +on the part of these devotees, the sentiment usually developed into the +more intimate relation of friendship or love. The "Ewig Weibliche" +appears constantly in his music and was always in his life. He formed +many romantic attachments which may not always have been Platonic, but +they were always pure. Beethoven had as chivalrous a regard for women as +had any knight of the middle ages.</p> + +<p>Among those with whom he became intimate are the Baroness Ertmann, the +Countess Erdödy, the sisters of the Count of Brunswick and many others. +It is interesting to note the affectionate familiarity which these +ladies permitted him. Taking into account the extreme sensibility of the +artistic temperament and the sentimental character of the Germans, it is +still surprising to meet with a letter to the Countess Erdödy, which he +begins: "Liebe, liebe, liebe, liebe, liebe Gräfin" ("Dear, dear, dear, +dear, dear<a name="Page_61" id="Page_61"></a> Countess"), although the letter itself is simple enough and +ends: "Ihr wahrer Freund und Verehrer." He begins another letter to this +lady in a strain courtly and dignified, in marked contrast to the +excessive warmth of the previous example: "Alles Gute und Schöne meiner +lieben, verehrten, mir theure Freundin, von ihrem wahren und verehrenden +Freund." The Countess Erdödy, who is described as being witty, +cultivated and beautiful, exercised a very strong fascination on the +susceptible heart of our master, and on her side, she seems to have been +powerfully drawn to him. The friendship lasted many years. Music, the +bond that united them, sanctified their intimacy and kept it always on a +high level. Beethoven lived at her house for a time. He used to allude +to her as his father confessor. Madame Erdödy erected in honor of +Beethoven, in the park of one of her seats in Hungary, a temple, the +entrance to which is decorated with a characteristic inscription +expressing her homage to the great composer. Later in life she was +banished and died in Munich.</p> + +<p>The Baroness Ertmann was also a good friend to Beethoven. He called on +her frequently and her ability to interpret his works acceptably must +have cemented the friendship between them. Others with whom he came in +contact were the Countess Babette de Keglivics (Princess Odeschalchi), +and Julia Guicciardi, who became the Countess Gallenberg, and to whom he +dedicated the Sonata Fantasia, which is called the language of +resignation.</p> + +<p>These people on the whole were quite democratic in their relations +toward artists. There was a very elaborate ceremonial at court, but +elsewhere, cultivated people met <a name="Page_62" id="Page_62"></a>on common ground. Ries relates an +incident illustrating the cameraderie existing between Beethoven and the +aristocratic ladies of his circle. In this instance. Princess +Lichnowsky, who was a Countess Thun, and connected with some of the best +families in Europe, was the central figure. One evening at Count +Browne's, Ries was asked to play a sonata with which he was not +familiar. Ries preferring to play something else, begged to be excused +from playing this particular one. The company was obdurate, however, and +finally appealed to Beethoven, knowing that he, if any one, could carry +the point. Beethoven turned to Ries and asked him to play it, saying: "I +am sure you will not play it so badly that you would not want me to hear +it," whereupon Ries complied, Beethoven turning the leaves for him. He +made a break in the bass part, at which Beethoven tapped him on the head +with his finger, whether to discipline him or only in play does not +appear. Later in the evening Beethoven played a sonata (opus 21), +entirely new, with which he himself was not very familiar. Princess +Lichnowsky, who had observed Beethoven's act in disciplining Ries +earlier in the evening, stationed herself back of Beethoven's chair, +while Ries turned the pages. When Beethoven made a mistake similar to +that of Ries, the Princess playfully hit him several taps on the head +with her hand, saying: "If the scholar is punished for making a slight +mistake, the master should not escape, when making a graver one," at +which all laughed, Beethoven taking the lead. Then he began again and +fairly outdid himself, particularly in the Adagio, in which the mistake +occurred.</p> + +<p>The virtuosity of some of the Viennese of the period <a name="Page_63" id="Page_63"></a>was marvellous. +Allusion has been made to the ability of the professional musicians, but +the amateur performers were in many cases equally proficient. It is +related that Beethoven's friend, Marie Bigot, played the Appassionata +Sonata at sight from the manuscript for the delectation of some friends. +Madame Bigot was the wife of the librarian of Count Rasoumowsky and +evidently took a prominent part in these entertainments. Sight-reading +before a critical audience is surely a difficult enough task under the +most favoring conditions; how much more so from the manuscript, with its +excisions and corrections and general indistinctness! It was, however, +an every-day matter especially in chamber-music. Hümmel is reported as +saying: "In Vienna there are a hundred ladies who can play the piano +better than I." Another musician, writing from Vienna in 1820, said: "In +every house there is a good instrument; at one, a banker's, there are +five."</p> + +<p>On one occasion, some one laid before Beethoven a quartet in manuscript +which had just been composed. The band essayed it, of course at sight, +not one of the party having seen the manuscript before. The cellist got +out in the first movement. Beethoven got up, and while he kept on +playing his own part, sang the cellist's part. When this was commented +on, he remarked that the bass part <em>had</em> to be this way if the composer +understood his business. The composer in this instance was Förster, his +old teacher.</p> + +<p>On another occasion, Beethoven played at sight a new and difficult +composition which had been brought him. The composer told him that he +(Beethoven), had played the Presto so fast that it would have been +impossible to see <a name="Page_64" id="Page_64"></a>the single notes. "That is not necessary," Beethoven +replied. "If you read rapidly, many misprints may occur; you do not heed +them, if you only know the language." Wagner in his life of Beethoven +says: "The power of the musician is not to be appreciated otherwise than +through the idea of magic." It would seem so in very fact. Consider the +million combinations of which the brain has to take cognizance while +doing so comparatively simple a thing as transposing. Not to play the +particular notes which are indicated on the staff, but some others, one +or two steps higher or lower; to play four or five at a stroke, as in +piano, and to do it quickly, sixty or eighty or a hundred in a +minute,—this is almost like magic, but it is nothing to what Beethoven +frequently did in music. At a public concert at which he played, he +asked his friend Seyfried, a distinguished composer and all-round +musician, to turn the leaves for him of a new concerto written for the +occasion. "But that was easier said than done," said Seyfried who told +the story. "I saw nothing but blank leaves with a few utterly +incomprehensible Egyptian hieroglyphics which served him as guides, for +he played nearly the whole of the solo part from memory, not having had +time to write it out in full; he always gave me a sign, when he was at +the end of one of these unintelligible passages." Seyfried, thorough +musician that he was, understood the difficulties of the position for +Beethoven, and was so apprehensive of turning a page at the wrong time, +that his nervousness was observed by the master, who afterward rallied +him about it. Extempore playing is not to be compared with this, as the +concerto was written for strings and piano, Beethoven taking the piano +part.</p> + +<p><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65"></a>The three quartets, opus 59, known as the Rasoumowsky Quartets, to which +a passing reference has been made, take their name from having been +dedicated to Count Rasoumowsky, who was the Russian ambassador. The +Count had married a sister of the Princess Lichnowsky and was a +cultivated man whose greatest delight was music. He lived in great state +in a palace, then on the outskirts of Vienna, now used as the Geological +Institute. He was closely identified with the musical life of Vienna, +and shortly after these quartets appeared, formed a string quartet of +distinguished musicians, which he maintained for many years, taking the +part of second violin himself. It is almost needless to state that +Beethoven's work took precedence in the repertoire.</p> + +<p>The first of the three quartets, the one in F, has an Adagio movement on +which Beethoven inscribed in the sketch-book, "Eine Trauerweide oder +Akazienbaum aufs Grab meines Bruders." [A weeping willow or acacia tree +over my brother's grave.] Beethoven had indeed lost an infant brother +twenty-three years before this event, but it is not likely that he was +thus tardily commemorating him. His brother Kaspar Karl was married the +day before this quartet was begun and it is probably a humorous allusion +to that circumstance. But if his brother's marriage was an occasion for +humor at the beginning, it lapsed afterward into the sternest tragedy in +its effect on the master's life, as will be seen further on in these +pages.</p> + +<p>These quartets are monuments to Beethoven's genius and are classed among +the best examples of chamber-music. The Adagio of the second one was +thought out by Beethoven one night while contemplating the stars. +Somewhat <a name="Page_66" id="Page_66"></a>of the infinite calm and serenity of his mood is imparted to +it. The incident is related by Czerny to whom it was related by +Beethoven himself. The quartets were generally disliked and condemned by +musicians when first produced. Cherubini said that they made him sneeze. +Others said that Beethoven was music-mad, that they could not be called +music, that they were too difficult, unintelligible, and so on. That was +close onto a century ago, and they are still unintelligible to some, but +we now know that this is not the fault of the quartets as was so naively +assumed at that time. The condemnation of them by the performers has a +show of reason in it as they taxed their capacity too severely. Wagner +had the same thing to contend with for the same reason.</p> + +<p>After the withdrawal of Fidelio, noted in the last chapter, and with the +advent of summer, Beethoven left Vienna on a visit to Count Brunswick, +at his seat in Hungary. The Count was a man of exceptional intellectual +ability, who had the greatest reverence and admiration for Beethoven's +genius. Beethoven was also on excellent terms with the Count's sisters, +and later became engaged to one of them, the Countess Therese. It is +well known that the Countess Therese exercised a powerful fascination +over him, but so did many another of the gifted Vienna ladies in the +course of his life.</p> + +<p>So vast a quantity of work was accomplished by the master during this +summer, that it is likely the proximity of these friends only served to +stimulate his genius. The Appassionata Sonata was worked over, the +Rasoumowsky Quartets were finished, as well as the Fourth Symphony, +besides lesser works, so that he could not have spent much <a name="Page_67" id="Page_67"></a>time in +social intercourse. He was in the period of his greatest productivity; +the creative instinct was strong in him and impelled him onward in his +work to the exclusion of other desires. Even friendship had to give way +in great measure to the passion for creating which had become a +necessity of his existence.</p> + +<p>That the life was a tranquil and contented one may be inferred by the +character of the Fourth Symphony. Beethoven loved country life, and +surrounded as he was by his friends, whose first thought was for him, he +had everything to make him satisfied. The serenity which speaks to us +through the Fourth Symphony is something for which the world should ever +be grateful. Our highest happiness often comes to us through the frame +of mind superinduced by external influences. This symphony is a song of +joy, ecstatic in its pure exuberance of spirits; again, it is a +benediction that breathes into our minds somewhat of its own spirit of +calm and content. The storm and stress of life is forgotten; all is +holiday humor. We are in the midst of a Shakespearian comedy, with its +alternations of humor and sentiment, its joyous atmosphere, its idyllic +simplicity; the forest of Arden has come to us. It was written to +celebrate his engagement to the Countess Therese. In it he is inspired +by the very genius of happiness. It is as if, having obtained his +heart's desire, he invites us to partake with him the joy that the gods +have provided.</p> + +<p>But it is only for once, as if to emphasize the fact that happiness is +not the object of existence and is not even our right primarily. He +gives few instances in which the element of pain or sadness does not +enter to some extent.<a name="Page_68" id="Page_68"></a> His works abound in psychological suggestion; +they illustrate every phase of life. The philosophic import of the +Fourth Symphony is plain. He demonstrates the rarity of pure unalloyed +happiness in actual life by the few examples in his compositions in +which it reigns supreme. Joy enters incidentally into most of his works. +Often it dominates them. He recognized it as part of the scheme of life, +but it is usually qualified by other conditions and is only attained +through persistent effort; it is never our portion until earned. It does +not come unsought like pain and suffering. The Fourth Symphony is +lighter than the "Eroica" which preceded it, or the C minor which comes +next. The language of joy is always more or less superficial. The +tragedies of life have to be told in stronger language, since they go +deeper. Happiness is negative, pain positive. The comedies of +Shakespeare, in which the note is usually buoyant and felicitous, do not +stir us as do the tragedies.</p> + +<p>Beethoven's visit at Count Brunswick's continued throughout the summer +of 1806. He left the Brunswicks in October, but instead of returning to +Vienna as was his wont in the autumn, he turned his face toward Silesia, +on a visit to Prince Lichnowsky who had an estate there. But the idyllic +life left behind at Count Brunswick's was not to be repeated here. His +stay was destined to be short owing to a violent quarrel between the +Prince and him, which caused an estrangement lasting some years. The +circumstances leading up to it can be briefly narrated. When Beethoven +arrived at the castle of Prince Lichnowsky, he found other guests there, +uninvited but not unexpected, consisting of French officers who had been +quartered on the<a name="Page_69" id="Page_69"></a> Prince. Napoleon had overrun Germany, and was master +wherever he went. Beethoven's rage against him for making himself +Emperor had not abated; his dislike extended to the officers as well, +and he was not there long before hostilities began in good earnest. It +all came about from a desire on the part of the officers that Beethoven +play for them. He had the penetration to know that he was regarded +simply as a curiosity, that he was called on because no better +entertainment was available. Had there been a juggler or a ballet-dancer +on hand, these latter might have been preferred. At dinner, a +staff-officer had asked him quite innocently if he could play the cello, +to which no answer was given; the frown on Beethoven's face, however, +boded ill for the evening's festivities. It had been announced that he +would play for them, and they expected it as a matter of course.</p> + +<p>In the nature of things it could not be expected that these men would be +able to appreciate Beethoven, or understand much of his art. His +reverence for it was great; he felt that it would be a degradation, in a +sense, to play for them under the circumstances, and refused. The +Prince, with the amiable desire of pleasing his guests, urged the +matter, but Beethoven continued obdurate; upon which he told him, +probably by way of a joke, that he must either comply or that he would +be confined in the castle as a prisoner of war for disobeying orders. +This persistence so enraged him that, although it was night, he left the +castle without the Prince's knowledge, and walked three miles to +Trappau, the nearest post-town. He remained here overnight, and, while +waiting for the post-chaise, wrote the following letter to Prince +Lichnowsky:</p> + +<p>"<a name="Page_70" id="Page_70"></a>Prince! what you are you owe to chance and birth. What I am, I am +through myself. There has been, and will yet be thousands of princes, +but there is only one Beethoven."<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a></p> + +<div class="footnotes"><div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> Frimmel's Beethoven.</p></div></div> + +<p>It was raining when he left the castle, and the manuscript of the +Appassionata Sonata, hastily packed, became water-soaked and blurred; it +bears the marks of that night's journey to the present day.</p> + +<p>Some difficulty was experienced in procuring his passport for Vienna. It +could readily have been obtained by having recourse to Prince +Lichnowsky, but Beethoven would not permit this. The matter was finally +arranged, and he proceeded on his journey. He nursed his wrath all the +way, and on reaching his quarters in Vienna, his first act was to smash +a bust of the Prince which stood on a bookcase.</p> + +<p>Although a reconciliation was effected later, the old cordial relations +were never restored. There were times when the Prince called on +Beethoven and was not received, when the latter was not in the mood for +seeing him. Through his wilfulness, Beethoven lost the annuity which the +Prince had settled on him on his coming to Vienna. The initiative in +this matter was probably taken by Beethoven himself, as may be inferred +from a letter he writes to a friend two years later: "My circumstances +are improving without having recourse to people who treat their friends +insultingly."</p> + +<p>The winter of 1806-7 was a period of great activity for Beethoven, +although a felon on his finger must have stopped all work for a while. +Some important works <a name="Page_71" id="Page_71"></a>were published, notably the Eroica Symphony and +the Appassionata Sonata. Along with acceptances came commissions, so +that his finances appear to have been in a flourishing condition for the +time.</p> + +<p>Beethoven's engagement to the Countess Brunswick was entered into with +the consent of her brother. Count Brunswick, who was the only one +permitted to share the secret. Every precaution was taken to prevent a +knowledge of it coming to the ears of Therese's mother, who would not +for a moment have listened to an argument leading to a possible union of +her daughter with the poor musician.</p> + +<p>That Beethoven had marriage in mind is evident from the fact that he +once got so far as to write to Bonn for a copy of his baptismal +certificate as a necessary preliminary. He wrote in his note-book on the +subject as follows: "Oh God! Let me attain her who is destined to be +mine and who shall strengthen me in virtue." But it never got any +further. The secrecy so strictly enjoined, must have been specially +unpleasant to a man of Beethoven's temperament. The opposition that was +sure to be developed on the part of the Countess's family may have +reverted on his sense of pride to such an extent as to lead him to +sacrifice his love to it. He always had his work to fall back on. In the +end, his art took precedence of all other considerations; while it +permitted friendship, the serenity of which might aid him in his +life-work, it excluded love, which might become a rival. His concept of +life was to live simply, to entertain no project which would in any way +divert his mind from his work. No mere desires of self were to be +considered.</p> + +<p><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72"></a>The Countess Therese never married, but occupied herself with +philanthropic work on reaching middle-age. She founded a home for little +children in Vienna, the first of its kind in Austria; her own means not +being sufficient to maintain it, she enlisted the support of powerful +friends from the Empress down, in its behalf. She died in 1861, aged 83.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73"></a>CHAPTER VII</h3> + +<h4>VICTORY FROM DEFEAT</h4> +<div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">ToC</a></div> +<div class="blockquot"><p>To those whom heaven favors, the greatest evils turn to greatest + good.</p></div> + +<p class="citation"><span class="smcap">—Giordano Bruno.</span></p> + + +<div class="figleft"> +<img src="images/o.png" width="85" height="100" alt="O" title="O" /> +</div> +<p class="noindent">f the summer of 1807, the most notable achievement is the Mass in C. It +was written at Heiligenstadt, where he wrote the Heroic Symphony some +years before. He remained until autumn hard at work on this, his first +mass, as well as on some orchestral works, including, probably the +Symphony in C minor, as well as the Pastoral Symphony.</p> + +<p>It is rather singular that Beethoven, whose nature was on the whole +essentially religious, although he affiliated with no church, did not +take earlier to mass composition. Some of the best work of Mozart and +Haydn is in this form; as organist he must have been familiar with their +masses. One can readily believe that the emotional quality of certain +portions of Mozart's Mass in B flat, such as the Et incarnatus and the +Agnus Dei, must have strongly appealed to him. His thoughts often went +toward religious music, and it was easy for him to compose in this +style. He recognized the mass as one of the great art-forms, <a name="Page_74" id="Page_74"></a>equal to +the oratorio or the opera. From Bach's time on, it may indeed be said to +have been regarded in this light. It is quite evident that Bach so +considered it when composing his grand mass in B minor, which in +difficulty of execution, as well as in its extraordinary length, is no +longer practicable as a church service, its range in all directions +going beyond the requirements of a congregation, or the capacity of the +choir.</p> + +<p>It is evident that Beethoven enjoyed working on the Mass, and was quite +at home in this form of composition. Here was plain sailing; he knew +what he wanted to do, and went at it without hesitation. There is none +of that doubt and groping which is the case with Fidelio, which was +continually being worked over, and in reality, never was finished. That +religious works had a great hold on his mind, appears from a letter to +his publisher in after years in which he states that if he had an +independent income he would write nothing but grand symphonies, church +music and perhaps quartets. In another letter dated March 29, 1823, +toward the close of his life, he stated his intention of writing three +more masses.</p> + +<p>In the Mass in C a new theory is developed in mass composition. It +differs radically from the style of church composition made popular by +Haydn and Mozart, beautiful as some of that is. Their music is a concord +of sweet melodies, illustrating the peace and happiness which a +contemplation of the religious life affords. Acting on the principle +that beauty is its own excuse for being, they give many examples where +the music does not even attempt to fit the sentiment of the words. The +Kyrie of Haydn's Imperial Mass would do for a Te Deum, or a Song of<a name="Page_75" id="Page_75"></a> +Triumph rather than a cry for help. The Kyrie of Mozart's Mass in B flat +is an Italian street song which he heard on one of his tours in Italy +and worked over for this Mass, and is not at all adapted to the words. +There are ideas in the Mass in C which neither Mozart nor Haydn would +have tried to attain. Beethoven's aim here is not to please the ear by +beautiful melodies, although he does that often enough, but to stir the +soul. He bears a message to the listener, which it is greatly to his +interest to get at. The Mass in C depicts our innermost experiences. It +has a mission and is not simply an end in itself. The Symphonist here +shows his individuality as may be expected, since it was composed after +Coriolanus, the first four symphonies, Fidelio. In many places the +orchestra becomes an independent entity, abandons the choral part, and, +rising into majestic strains unattainable in choral composition, tells +the story of Christianity in its own powerful way. In Beethoven this +ascendency of the orchestra is first apparent; he has demonstrated for +all time its greater importance as a means of musical expression than +the voice.</p> + +<!-- Start of Lilypond musical notation + +\version "2.4.2" + +melody = \relative c'' +{ + \key es \major + \time 2/4 + + \override TextScript #'padding = #5 + + r8^\ff^\markup { + \large "ALLEGRO CONBRIO" + } + g[ g g] + ees2\fermata + r8 f[ f f] + d2~ d\fermata + +} + +\score { + + \new Staff \melody + \layout { } + \midi {\tempo 4 = 180} +} + +End of Lilypond musical notation --> + +<div class="center"> +<img src="images/piece1.png" + width="629" height="96" + alt="Musical notation." /> +<p class="caption">[To listen to this music (MIDI file) <a href="music/piece1.midi">click here</a>.<br /> +To view the Lilypond data file for this music <a href="music/piece1.ly">click here</a>.<br /> +To view the original image of this music <a href="images/image3.png">click here</a>.]</p> +</div> + +<p>The work throughout is cast on a higher plane than any mass which had +appeared since Bach's Mass in B minor. It was written for Prince +Nicholas Esterhazy, whose grandfather was Haydn's patron, and was first +sung in the chapel of the Prince at Eisenstadt, on the name-day of his +wife, the Princess Marie. Hümmel was Kapellm<a name="Page_76" id="Page_76"></a>eister there, but Beethoven +conducted the performance on this occasion.</p> + +<p>The Prince evidently was of the opinion that having ordered the work, +the master would consider his preferences and prejudices in the +composition of it, as Haydn would have done, but as Beethoven could not +have done, had he wished. The result was that Prince Esterhazy failed to +see its purport or significance and was unable to comprehend it. +Beethoven should not have been surprised at this, since he knew himself +to be in advance of his time. At the conclusion of the service the +Prince made the rather inane remark, "but my dear Beethoven, what have +you been doing now?" in allusion to the mass. Beethoven, deeply +offended, left abruptly, and returned to Vienna. It may be said in +passing that Beethoven frequently managed to disappoint the persons for +whom he wrote. This did not lead him to doubt or distrust his powers, +knowing intuitively that posterity would justify him. The Mass in C is +to-day one of the best known of all masses, and is frequently performed +at high festivals in churches having a good equipment of chorus and +orchestra.</p> + +<p>Another great work which was completed about this time was the Symphony +in C minor (The Fifth). Here we have a work wholly subjective. It +reflects his soul experiences. His approaching deafness brought him face +to face with the greatest trouble of his life. The malady progressed +slowly but steadily, and rendered him at times hopeless. His suffering, +his despair, his resignation and final triumph are embodied in it. It is +a subtle analysis of some of the deep problems of life. The history of +his own mental state is depicted here. If we consider his malady <a name="Page_77" id="Page_77"></a>in its +bearing on his life, we have the story of Tantalus told again. Here was +a man whose thoughts translated themselves into splendid tone-pictures +which the orchestra was to portray. With the mental equipment to create +a new era in his art, the medium by which he could apprehend his works +was being closed to him. "Is a blind painter to be imagined?" asks +Wagner in this connection. If we can imagine a great painter painting +his masterpieces, but never being permitted to see any, an analogy may +be found in the exclusion of Beethoven from all participation in the +rendering of his works, which was the case in his later years, being +unable even to conduct them. He wanted to test his work, to ascertain +how it would sound in the concert hall, and even at this time the high +tones of the violins, which he put to such exquisite uses in later +years, and which were such an inspiration to Wagner, were lost to him. +By the aid of his philosophy, however, he accepted the situation, +resolving to make the best of it; to keep on achieving, to turn his +defeats into victories. Beethoven's symphonies mean much in their +application to the common life of humanity. Knowing them even +approximately, we often find texts which illumine them in the writings +of men who went below the surface of things, Emerson, or Carlyle, or +Schopenhauer. Thus Carlyle, writing on Dante says: "He has opened the +deep unfathomable oasis of woe that lay in the soul of man; he has +opened the living fountains of hope, also of penitence." Does not the +mind instantly revert to the C minor Symphony?</p> + +<p>Next in the order of Beethoven's great works comes the Pastoral +Symphony, named at first "Recollections of coun<a name="Page_78" id="Page_78"></a>try life." Easily +comprehended, as any picture of country life should be, he yet deemed it +necessary to give a short explanation at each movement, illustrating the +meaning which he wished to convey, although he qualifies this with the +words, "mehr Ausdruck der Empfindung als Malerei." [An expression of +sensibility rather than painting.] In everything relating to his art +Beethoven was tentative. In the sketch-book of this Symphony there is an +inscription in his handwriting, "Man überlässt den Zuhörer sich selbst +die Situationen auszufinden." [The hearer should be left to find out the +situations for himself,] showing that, on considering the matter +carefully he changed his mind, and concluded after all, that the +explanations were permissible. In but few instances has Beethoven +vouchsafed any explanation of his musical intent, and then it seems to +have been done reluctantly. It was hardly necessary in the case of the +Pastoral Symphony as it is comparatively easy of comprehension. The +title gives the clew; the occasional bird notes of quail, cuckoo and +lark, the scene at the brook, could hardly be mistaken; while the +dance-music in Part III, as well as the storm with its forebodings of +terror, convey their meaning plainly to the average intelligence. This +poem of nature is always enjoyable, refreshing the mind, and resting the +jaded faculties, much as a trip to the country helps us physically.</p> + +<p>The explanations as Beethoven appended them are as follows:</p> + +<p>No. I. Allegro: The awakening of cheerful feelings on arriving in the +country.</p> + +<p>No. II. Andante: Scene at the Brook.</p> + +<p>No. III. Allegro: Merry meeting of country folk.</p> + +<p><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79"></a>No. IV. Allegro: Thunder-storm.</p> + +<p>No. V. Allegretto: Song of the Shepherds, and glad and thankful feelings +after the storm.</p> + +<p>Many great composers before and after Beethoven have essayed this +portrayal of a storm, Händel, Haydn (Seasons), Glück, Mozart, Rossini +(William Tell overture), Chopin, Wagner (Flying Dutchman), are a few +instances.</p> + +<p>The Pastoral Symphony has been dramatized so to speak, that is, it has +been put on the stage, the different situations of this nature-poem +having been portrayed by living and moving tableaux, pantomimic action +and ballet; there was scenery, and the dance of the peasants and the +thunder-storm were, no doubt, realistic enough. This representation took +place at a festival of the <em>Künstler Liedertafel</em> of Düsseldorf in 1863, +also in London.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h3> +<div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">ToC</a></div> +<h4>MEETING WITH GOETHE</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Eine schöne Menschenseele finden ist Gewinn.</p></div> + +<p class="citation"><span class="smcap">—Herder.</span></p> + +<div class="figleft"> +<img src="images/b1.png" width="101" height="100" alt="B" title="B" /> +</div> +<p class="noindent">eethoven did not have the faculty of teaching except in rare instances. +It is not in the nature of things that such a man would consider +teaching in any other light than drudgery, and would feel that time so +spent could have been much better employed in composition. This was the +case already in Bonn, when he had no income and before his creative +talent had shown itself. He was only too glad to abandon it as soon as +proper encouragement for composition came to him from his publishers. +Here and there an attractive lady would be able to cajole him into +giving a few lessons on the pianoforte—the Brunswick sisters and Madame +Ertmann are instances, but they were intermittent in character, and did +not continue long. Two prominent exceptions, however, were the Archduke +Rudolph and Ferdinand Ries. True, Czerny was a pupil also, but the +lessons did not continue long, as was the case with the Archduke and +Ries.</p> + +<p>Beethoven's acquaintance with the Archduke began in the winter of 1804. +Rudolph, then sixteen years of age, <a name="Page_81" id="Page_81"></a>seems to have attached himself to +Beethoven, then thirty-four, more as a friend than as a pupil. Other +masters could have been found under whom he would have advanced more +rapidly, and it is quite likely that the Imperial family would have +preferred some other than Beethoven, whose republican principles must +have made him disliked by them.</p> + +<p>The Archduke was passionately devoted to music and the friendly +relations between master and pupil were maintained almost to the end of +the master's life. Rudolph had to put up with Beethoven's outbreaks of +temper much the same as if he had been a civilian. He treated this young +Prince, brother of the reigning Emperor, much the same as his other +friends, and Rudolph had to adapt himself to his master's wishes. He +ordered his chamberlain to set aside the observance of the rigid +etiquette of the Court, established by his mother, Maria Louisa of +Spain, when he learned that it was one of the things which made +Beethoven lose his temper. Some of the master's best work was written +specially for Rudolph and when the latter left Vienna in 1809, Beethoven +wrote the sonata, Les Adieux L'absence, et le Retour, to commemorate the +occasion. He inscribed it as follows: "Der Abschied am vierten Mai +gewidmet und aus dem Herzen geschrieben." Rudolph had an intuitive +perception of Beethoven's greatness and was glad to be near him, not +only to learn from him, but to enjoy his friendship. He carefully +preserved Beethoven's letters and in every way showed his regard for +him. On the high level which music made for these men, artificial +distinctions were forgotten; the Prince became the disciple. He was a +fine performer, with, as may be supposed, special <a name="Page_82" id="Page_82"></a>reference to +Beethoven's works. Beethoven was, no doubt, impressed by Rudolph's rank, +although there is very little evidence of it in the anecdotes which we +have relating to them. He met his friends on the common ground of his +art, where he found no superior.</p> + +<p>As before stated Beethoven did not take to teaching. It was +<em>Dientschaft</em> to him in the full sense of the word. He does not seem to +have interested himself as much in Rudolph as in Ferdinand Ries. In the +case of the latter an artist was being prepared for a career; some of +Beethoven's own skill as performer was being perpetuated in Ries, while +with Rudolph no amount of technical knowledge would have advanced the +art much. He not only accepted no payment from Ries for the lessons +given him, but frequently sent him money unsolicited when he had reason +to suppose he needed it. In the old Bonn days, after the death of +Beethoven's mother, when the young man was in sore straits, Ferdinand's +father, who was a member of the Elector's orchestra with Beethoven, had +helped the latter in word and deed. Ferdinand then was but four years of +age. Beethoven was famous by the time Ferdinand had reached manhood; +when he presented himself to the master with a letter from his father, +he was cordially received, and was soon on the footing of an intimate +friend. Beethoven when giving him lessons was patient to a degree that +was not natural to him. "I attribute this," he states, "as well as the +long continued friendship he maintained toward me, largely on account of +the esteem and regard he felt for my father. He often made me repeat an +exercise ten times. The lessons frequently lasted two hours. He was not +generally so particu<a name="Page_83" id="Page_83"></a>lar about lapses in execution, but if I was lacking +in expression, in crescendo and diminuendo, he would make me repeat the +passage until he was satisfied." Ries made good use of his +opportunities, and became a distinguished performer on the piano, +ranking in this respect as high as any man of his time.</p> + +<p>An offer to Beethoven of the post of Kapellmeister by the King of +Westphalia, Napoleon's brother, in 1809 brought about one of the +inevitable quarrels that marked Beethoven's association with his +intimates. Ries was the victim this time. Beethoven's dislike of +Napoleon, and the French in general, should have been sufficient to +deter him even from considering the matter. The post carried with it a +good salary however, 600 ducats (about $1,400), and the duties were +light. It meant a comfortable maintenance with plenty of time for +composing, and from this point of view, the offer had its attractions. A +certain fixed income, through which he could be independent of his +publishers, was what he chiefly desired. From every other point of view, +however, the project must have been distasteful to him. At middle-age, +the mind of such a man, occupied almost wholly with an ideal world, +shrinks from encountering new and untried scenes. Had he accepted it, he +probably never would have remained, as his love for Vienna and the old +and tried friends left behind would have acted as a magnet irresistibly +drawing him back. He seems not to have considered it seriously. As soon +as the matter became known, however, the Archduke and two other of +Beethoven's friends, the dashing young Prince Kinsky (who for bravery at +the battle of Aspern was decorated on the field with the Maria Theresa +cross by <a name="Page_84" id="Page_84"></a>the Archduke Charles), and Beethoven's old friend Prince +Lobkowitz—got together and made up an annuity of 4,000 florins, paper +money. Of this sum the Archduke contributed 1,500 florins, Prince +Lobkowitz 700 and Prince Kinsky 1,800. Owing to the depreciation in +paper money the amount was considerably reduced shortly after, but he +continued to draw from this source about $700 per year to his death +according to Sir George Grove.</p> + +<p>Beethoven delayed giving a decided answer while the negotiations for the +annuity were dragging along. When it became evident that he would not +accept the position, the offer was made to Ries. Some officious person +informed Beethoven that Ries was trying to get the post away from him in +a questionable manner. This was not true, but Beethoven broke off all +relations with him and would not see him for three weeks. The anecdote +as related by Ries is as follows: "After Beethoven had declined the +position, I at once sought him to ascertain if he really did not intend +taking the post, and to get his counsel in the matter. But whenever I +called, Beethoven was not in, and my letters to him met with no +response. Three weeks elapsed when I met him accidentally on the +Redoubte; I went up to him and told him the object of my visits. +Beethoven looked me over and said cuttingly, 'So! and do you think you +could fill a post that has been offered to me?' and left me. Determined +on having an understanding with him I again sought him the following +morning. His servant in an impudent manner told me that Beethoven was +not in, although I heard him singing and humming in an inner room, as +was his habit when composing. I attempted to enter forcibly, upon which +the servant took hold of me, <a name="Page_85" id="Page_85"></a>with the intention of putting me out. I +grappled with him and threw him to the floor. Beethoven hearing the +noise came out in a rage. I was equally angry and heaped reproaches on +his head. The master was too astonished to answer, but stood looking at +me. Finally, explanations were offered and then I first learned of +Beethoven's grievance against me. I had no difficulty in proving my +innocence in the matter, and Beethoven, to make amends, at once left his +work and went out with me to see about the position, but it had already +been given out." Ries finally went to England where he acquired fame and +fortune. He kept up a correspondence with Beethoven to the end; some of +the master's most interesting letters are those written in his later +years to his former pupil. Ries became a very prolific composer, whose +works embrace almost every class of music, among which is to be +mentioned several operas, oratorios, symphonies, much chamber-music, and +many pianoforte sonatas, none of which, however have survived to the +present day.</p> + +<p>The settlement of the question about his remaining in Vienna, and the +security of the future brought about by the annuity, had the effect of +increasing the productivity of the master. The sketch-books of this +period abound in studies for orchestral, chamber and vocal studies. It +was characteristic of Beethoven to show in this manner his appreciation +of the compliment tendered him. The year 1809 was not propitious to +creative work. War raged in Vienna and vicinity. The city was bombarded +by the French in May, and was occupied by them much of the summer. +Several important battles were fought nearby. Contrary to his usual +custom, Beethoven remained in the <a name="Page_86" id="Page_86"></a>city throughout the summer. His +residence was in an exposed position on the bastion, where he remained +the larger part of the time, occasionally visiting his brother Karl, who +also remained. He was at Karl's home while the bombardment was going on, +and, during the worst of it, sought refuge in the cellar, where he even +padded his ears to escape the noise. The terrific reports on the +inflamed tissues of his ears distressed him greatly, and must have added +permanent injury to the organs already in a bad condition.</p> + +<p>That the achievement of the solitary worker during the summer was more +important and far-reaching in its effects than that of the belligerents, +will hardly be gainsaid. The latter wasted a lot of ammunition, +destroyed human beings and property, and made a good deal of noise for +the time being, after which things settled down to about the same +condition as before; while Beethoven added solid wealth to the world in +its most lasting form.</p> + +<p>There is a falling off in his compositions the following year, which is +generally attributed to the breaking of his engagement with the Countess +Therese. That he should have suffered to such an extent on this account, +is at least open to question. His art was of more importance to him than +any other fact in life. It was only by a complete surrender of +everything else that he achieved what he did in it. He had many bitter +disappointments at different periods of his life, which, however, did +not take him away from his work. At all events, he gave no sign, +contrary to his usual habit. He was reticent on the subject of his +compositions, but was not averse to talking of his troubles. A man so +entirely given over to one idea, as was<a name="Page_87" id="Page_87"></a> Beethoven, could hardly take +such a step as marriage at the age of forty, thereby changing his whole +course of life. The passion for creating had grown to such an extent, +that he became impatient of everything which interfered with it. It is +possible that the Countess Therese, noting this, felt that there would +be little chance for happiness in such a union, and wisely broke it off. +He could not have been considered eligible in any event by a family like +the Brunswicks, noted for extravagant living and a desire to occupy a +prominent place in society. Beethoven's income was never large. It was +at times insufficient for his simple wants, owing to his ignorance of +the value of money. That he managed to fall in love with a frequency +only equalled by his impetuosity, must be admitted. But when the +question came fairly before him, marriage or music, he had but one +course. His art was a jealous mistress which would brook no rival. If he +took the breaking of his engagement so much to heart that it interfered +with his work, how was it possible, we may ask, for him to have made +violent love to Bettina Brentano during this summer of 1810? Within two +years afterward he was as badly smitten with Amalie Seebald the singer. +We can only reiterate the former statement, music was his one passion, +in this he was supreme. His art had so strong a hold on him that nothing +else could come between. These love affairs were episodes in his social +life. They were as episodical with the ladies concerned, who later, +generally married in their own station, and, let us hope were happy ever +afterward.</p> + +<p>The artistic temperament will account for these rhapsodies. Ill health +in this period probably had as <a name="Page_88" id="Page_88"></a>much to do with his lessened +productivity as anything else. Schindler states that he had been on bad +terms with his stomach for many years of his Vienna life. Confirmation +of this is to be found in Beethoven's letters in which complaints about +stomach and intestinal troubles are frequently met with in these years. +These gastro-intestinal disturbances which so afflicted him had their +origin in the chronic liver trouble to which he finally succumbed.</p> + +<p>In the spring of 1812 he resolved by the advice of his physician to try +the baths of Bohemia, and we find him at Töplitz, one of many +notabilities, who were spending the summer at this place. Here he made +the acquaintance of Goethe whom he held in great esteem. It was here +also that he met Amalie Seebald of whom mention has already been made. +She was a fine singer, and a beautiful, amiable woman of considerable +talent. Beethoven wrote the following in her album:</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>Ludwig van Beethoven</p> +<p>Den Sie wenn Sie wollten</p> +<p>Doch nicht vergessen sollten.</p> +</div><div class="stanza"> +<p>Ludwig van Beethoven</p> +<p>Whom if you would</p> +<p>Forget, you never should.</p> +</div></div> + +<p>It may be said in passing, that she was not the last to whom Beethoven +yielded his susceptible heart. It would make a long list were it +arranged chronologically, from the early Bonn days to his forty-fifth +year.</p> + +<div class="center"> + <a href="images/image2.png"> + <img src="images/image2-th.png" width="600" height="397" + alt="[Transcriber's note: the words I'm not sure of are marked with asterisks.] + +Es geht schon liebe A. besser wenn Sie es anständig heißen, +allein zu mir zu kommen, so können Sie mir eine +große Freude machen, ist [a]ber daß Sie dieses unan= +ständig finden, so wißen Sie, wie ich die +Frejheit aber Menschen ehre, und wie Sie dies +*heuer hierin und in andren Fällen handeln mögen +nach ihren Grund für zueinander *wie Mühe, mich +finden Sie *nur gut und als + +Ihren Freund +Beethoven" + title="[Transcriber's note: the words I'm not sure of are marked with asterisks.] + +Es geht schon liebe A. besser wenn Sie es anständig heißen, +allein zu mir zu kommen, so können Sie mir eine +große Freude machen, ist [a]ber daß Sie dieses unan= +ständig finden, so wißen Sie, wie ich die +Frejheit aber Menschen ehre, und wie Sie dies +*heuer hierin und in andren Fällen handeln mögen +nach ihren Grund für zueinander *wie Mühe, mich +finden Sie *nur gut und als + +Ihren Freund +Beethoven" + style="border: 1px solid black;" /></a> + <p class="caption">Fac-simile of a letter from Beethoven to Amalie Seebald, +written by Töplitz; during the summer of 1812. The autograph, from which +the fac-simile is obtained, is in the Lenox Library, New York, and was +photographed for this work by permission of the librarian.</p> +</div> + +<p>An incident of his visit at Töplitz, showing Beethoven's humility and +kindliness will bear narrating, as it was char<a name="Page_89" id="Page_89"></a>acteristic of the +man. It relates to a stern parent, a lovely daughter, an ardent wooer. +The first two characters of the <em>dramatis personæ</em>, were the innkeeper, +at whose house Beethoven dined, and his daughter. The part of lover was +taken by Ludwig Löwe, an actor, while Beethoven's part in the little +drama is not much more important than that of scene-shifter. Löwe was a +man in good standing, and came from a family of some prominence, but the +father objected to him and forbade the daughter speaking to him. It +appears that Beethoven was in the habit of coming late for dinner, so +the plan was hit upon that Löwe was to take dinner late also, at which +hour, the other guests having eaten and gone, and business being over +for the time, the father was not apt to be around to interfere. "All the +world loves a lover." Beethoven was an interested spectator of the +little comedy, no doubt casting occasional friendly glances in the +direction of the young couple. The father finally appeared on the scene, +ordered the actor to leave the house, and forbade him coming there any +more. At this crisis the lovers were in despair, that is for a while. +Love laughs at locksmiths, as we know, and it had not got so far as that +yet. Löwe, with the resources of a true lover, managed to meet Beethoven +accidentally away from the inn, and looked at him so intently that he +was rewarded by an answering nod of recognition from the master. The ice +being broken, the actor disclosed his troubles. Meeting with sympathy, +he was emboldened to ask him to deliver a letter to Fräulein Therese. To +this Beethoven agreed, and, taking the letter, started to go, thus +closing the interview. But Löwe was not so easily gotten rid of. With an +embarrassed manner, he managed to convey to Beethoven the <a name="Page_90" id="Page_90"></a>fact that +there would be an answer. "So! And you wish me to deliver it? Well, meet +me here to-morrow;" and so Beethoven became the go-between for the +lovers during the remainder of his stay in Töplitz.</p> + +<p>Allusion has already been made to the acquaintance which he formed with +Goethe this summer. That Beethoven had the highest esteem for the poet, +there is no doubt. In speaking of him in after years, he said, "Who can +thank sufficiently a great poet? He is the most precious jewel of the +nation" (kostbarste Kleinod einer Nation), which is much like Carlyle's +remark on the great poet. "The appearance of such a man (Goethe) at any +given era, is in my opinion the greatest thing that can happen in it. A +man who has the soul to think and be the moral guide of his own nation +and of the whole world." Goethe and Beethoven were on friendly terms and +saw a good deal of one another during this summer. The acquaintance must +have made a powerful impression on Beethoven. Goethe, the senior by many +years, whose transcendent intellect had won him a world-wide reputation, +was no doubt the cynosure of all eyes. Töplitz was full of notabilities. +Thayer gives a long list of prominent persons, from royalty down, who +sojourned there this summer. It must have been a very agreeable +experience to the younger genius, whose fame had not yet penetrated much +beyond Germany, this friendship. Had he possessed a tithe of the worldly +wisdom of the elder man, and had regulated his conduct in accordance +with the prejudices of the other, the friendship might have continued. +Much as he desired this, it does not seem to have occurred to him to +even try to make a good impression. Utterly lacking in self-control, he +remained the <a name="Page_91" id="Page_91"></a>same headstrong impulsive creature, while in Goethe's +company, that he had always been. Whether or not the story is true of +his meeting the Imperial family while with Goethe and disdaining even to +answer their salutations, walking on and compelling the party to divide +so as to give him the middle of the walk, while Goethe stood aside +bowing low with uncovered head,—it is nevertheless more than probable +that Beethoven showed his scorn for conventionality in numerous ways, +thereby calling down on himself Goethe's disapproval. Born courtier that +he was, it must have been mortifying in the extreme to him to be with +Beethoven and witness his rudeness and contempt for appearances.</p> + +<p>So far as known, Goethe never had anything more to do with him after +this summer. On leaving Töplitz he writes to Zelter, Director of the +Berlin Singakademie, mentioning Beethoven casually or as an +afterthought, and alludes to him as an "entirely untamed (<em>ungebändigt</em>) +person." From this time on, he seems to have excluded him from his +thoughts. Beethoven's music was frequently performed at Goethe's house +at Weimar. We read in "Eckermann's Conversations" that on such occasions +the company would relate incidents from Beethoven's life, but Goethe +never mentioned him.</p> + +<p>Poet and musician were utterly dissimilar; it is not likely that either +influenced the other to any appreciable degree. "It is a great folly," +said Goethe in 1824 (Conversations with Eckermann) "to hope that other +men will harmonize with us. I have never hoped this. I have always +regarded each man as an independent individual, whom I endeavored to +study, and to understand with all his <a name="Page_92" id="Page_92"></a>peculiarities, but from whom I +desired no further sympathy. In this way have I been enabled to converse +with every man, and thus alone is produced the knowledge of various +characters, and the dexterity necessary for the conduct of life." It was +probably in this coldly analytical frame of mind, that the great +councillor viewed the composer. But it was a momentous event to the +latter to know Goethe. He had before this set to music a number of his +ballads and had only recently composed the music to his Egmont. Many +years afterward, in 1822, in an interview with Rochlitz who made a +pilgrimage from Leipzig to make his acquaintance, he reverts to this +time. "Since the Carlsbad summer when I met Goethe, I read him every +day, that is when I do read. He has killed Klopstock for me, but Goethe +he lives and he wants us all to live. This is why it is so easy to make +music to his words."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93"></a>CHAPTER IX</h3> +<div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">ToC</a></div> +<h4>OPTIMISTIC TREND</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Thus, with what has hitherto been effected, the clue to the + labyrinth of what is yet to be done is given us.</p></div> + +<p class="citation"><span class="smcap">—Herder: </span><em>Apotheosis of Humanity</em>.</p> + + +<div class="figleft"> +<img src="images/b2.png" width="99" height="100" alt="B" title="B" /> +</div> +<p class="noindent">eethoven visited quite a number of places during the summer of 1812 in +quest of health. While at Carlsbad he gave a concert in aid of the +people of Baden, who had lost heavily through a disastrous fire there, +on which occasion he extemporized. It seems to have been a success +financially, but not artistically. In a letter to the Archduke he cites +it as being "a poor concert for the poor." "Es war eigentlich ein armes +Koncert für die Armen." This was owing to lack of time for rehearsals, +and to the fact that only one other person, Herr Polledro, a violinist +of Turin, took part in it. The concert was given within twelve hours +from its inception, because many noteworthy guests were on the point of +leaving town, and their presence was desired to insure a good +attendance. The necessity must have been great to induce him to +undertake it at all. His dislike for improvising for others was +deep-seated, and was increased by his deafness.</p> + +<p>In the fall we find him visiting his brother Johann at<a name="Page_94" id="Page_94"></a> Linz, where he +made quite a long stay. It was not alone Johann whom he was visiting; he +had good friends there, among them Kapellmeister Glöggl, whom he saw +nearly every day. At the latter's request the master composed three +equali for trombones for All Souls' Day, then near at hand. These +equali, as it turned out, were eventually used for Beethoven's funeral. +The Kapellmeister's son, then a lad of fourteen, relates an incident of +this time with Beethoven as the central figure. A resident of Linz, a +certain Herr Graf von Dönhoff, who was a great admirer of Beethoven, +gave an entertainment in his honor. After some of his music had been +rendered by others, Beethoven was asked to extemporize, which he +declined absolutely to do. Shortly after he disappeared. Supper being +ready a search for him was instituted, but he was not to be found, so +the company, after some delay, repaired to the adjoining room. They had +hardly seated themselves at the table, when they heard some one at the +piano. Gradually, one by one, they found themselves in the other room, +where Beethoven was extemporizing. This he kept up for nearly an hour, +when, suddenly coming to a realization of the circumstances, and looking +around, he saw the entire company listening in rapt attention. He at +once got up from the instrument and hastily left the room, either +through anger or embarrassment. Such was his haste that he ran against a +table containing fine porcelain bric-a-brac, which, of course, was +shattered. The Count, with easy good nature, made some reassuring +remark, upon which they all made another essay at the supper.</p> + +<p>His object in going to Linz was not altogether for the purpose of making +visits. A disagreeable duty had to be <a name="Page_95" id="Page_95"></a>performed; Johann's relations +with a young woman, whom he had taken as housekeeper, had become a +scandal; the good repute of the family was at stake, and Beethoven went +there with the express design of putting an end to the matter. Johann +was not at all amenable to argument, and contested the elder brother's +right to interfere. The dispute became so bitter that a personal combat +between the brothers occurred. It finally required the combined +ecclesiastical and secular authority of Linz (bishop, magistrate and +police), to effect the expulsion of the lady from town. At this turn of +affairs, Johann, bound to have his own way, married her.</p> + +<p>This year saw the completion of the Seventh and Eighth Symphonies +besides other important compositions; not so bad an achievement for a +sick man, this record of two years' work. Sick or well, at home or +abroad, his work went on; it was a part of his life, as necessary, +apparently, as eating or sleeping. In size the Seventh Symphony exceeds +any of the preceding ones. "Eine meiner vorzüglichsten" (one of my +best), is Beethoven's statement in regard to it. Here the composer's +meaning is not so readily elucidated as in the Pastoral, for instance. +It means all things to all people. He usually had a clearly defined +purpose or idea before him when composing, particularly in the case of +his large orchestral works. Of the creations of such a man, it was to be +expected that they would increase in grandeur with each succeeding one. +Every great thing achieved is only an earnest of still greater in +reserve. The fertility of his mind was exhaustless. As he penetrated +deeper into this new world of the imagination, wider vistas were +constantly being opened before his mental vision.<a name="Page_96" id="Page_96"></a> "What I have in my +heart must come out when I write," he stated to Czerny. "I never thought +of writing for fame and honor." Grandeur and simplicity are prominent +traits in Beethoven's character and these are exemplified in the Seventh +Symphony. Wagner calls it the Apotheosis of the dance. "Der in Tönen +idealisch verkörperten Leibesbewegung," [an ideal embodiment in tones of +the movements of the human form]. This dance element is the +characteristic trait of the symphony; the dance element on a colossal +scale. Listen to Wagner's summary: "But one Hungarian peasant dance in +the final movement of his Symphony in A (the Seventh) he played for the +whole of nature; so played that who could see her dancing to it in +orbital gyrations must deem he saw a planet brought to birth before his +very eyes." In these later symphonies we see the beginnings of the +mysticism which so profoundly influenced Beethoven in his last years, +reaching its consummation in the Mass in D, the last Quartets, and the +Ninth Symphony. From this period on, the picture to be drawn of him is +of a man retiring more and more into himself as his growing experience +with the world shows him his unfitness for it. Only in his work did he +have any real reason for living. His every-day life became, for the most +part, a phantasmagoria, wherein persons and events continually changed +from grotesque to sublime, where nothing was stable or to be depended +upon. The only reality was in his art. The consciousness that he was +composing works that would go down the ages and delight many generations +to come, was probably satisfaction enough to him to compensate him for +anything he was called on to endure. With the progress of his deafness +his inability to <a name="Page_97" id="Page_97"></a>cope with even the ordinary affairs of life increased, +and this also had the effect of withdrawing him from the world. The +spiritual insight gained by years of introspection, of communion with +the higher part of his nature enabled him to discover truths hidden to +the consciousness of the ordinary man. "That power of shaping the +incomprehensible now grows with him; the joy in exercising this power +becomes humor. All the pain of existence is wrecked upon the immense +pleasure derived from the play with it; the creator of worlds, Brahma, +laughs to himself as he perceives the illusion with reference to +himself; regained innocence plays jestingly with the thorns of expiated +guilt; the emancipated conscience banters itself with the torments it +has undergone. And all his seeing and his fashioning is steeped in that +marvellous gayety (<em>Heiterkeit</em>) which music first acquired through +him." (Wagner.)</p> + +<p>A peculiarity of Beethoven's work often commented on, is the extreme +simplicity of his themes as they first appear in his sketch-books. These +are usually elaborated, thus changing their character, taking on new +meaning with the growth and development of the idea in the composer's +mind; when through with it, however, the thought appears fresh and +spontaneous, such was his consummate art, as if it had never undergone +any elaboration. But sometimes the theme maintains its original +simplicity, and the masterwork appears in the orchestration which +surrounds it; at times even this maintains an archaic simplicity. Thus +in the coda of the vivace of the Seventh Symphony, a simple melody is +reiterated eleven times in succession, with no other orchestration than +the pedal-point on E by the rest of the instruments.</p> + +<p><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98"></a>The symphonies in general are the language of a buoyant, gay, blithesome +mood, as befits their design for concert use. In them, for the most +part, he addresses people in their holiday humor. His experience with +Fidelio may have impressed the fact upon his mind that sorrow and pain +should be sparingly portrayed on festive occasions. Not so with the +piano sonatas, which can be heard and studied in the privacy of one's +home. Even the quartets may be placed in the category since they do not +require an elaborate equipment and preparation for their production.</p> + +<p>Take him all in all optimism prevails with him, or rather, in true +philosophic spirit, he demonstrates that the sorrow, the inevitable +trouble and misery of life, is more than offset by the good things the +gods have provided. Life, after all, is a precious gift, which should be +duly appreciated. A period of enjoyment, gayety, strengthens and +fortifies the mind, and enables it better to bear the burdens when they +come. The great creative genius, must perforce, in the very nature of +things, be optimistic in his chosen work. He is more alive, more +possessed with the belief that life with its opportunities is worth +while, than is the case with the ordinary man going about his petty +concerns. In common life, the busiest man is the happiest man, that is +the most satisfied; and this contentment springs from the consciousness +of doing something worth doing, the advantage of which will remain. With +the man of genius, the feeling rises to elation, to rapture, when he +considers the transcendent, imperishable nature of his work. "Dass +Hervorbringen selbst ein Vergnügen und sein eigner Lohn ist."</p> + +<p>The Eighth Symphony which was brought out at the <a name="Page_99" id="Page_99"></a>same time as the +Seventh is the shortest by a few bars, of the nine. It was completed in +about four months from the date of its inception. Here as in the +Seventh, the dance element is in the ascendant, commanding, swaying +everything, thus coming back to first principles, almost to the origin +of the art, as an art. The dance is the primordial, autochthonic form of +music; its foundation so to speak. The song had its origin in the dance +as indicated by its name "ballad." It is a comparatively simple matter +to trace its upward course in instrumental music, as such. It is +conceivable that people from remote times on, had the faculty of +originating tunes, and of humming and singing them, and dancing to them +long before such things as scales and notation were conceived of. Song +and dance must have come into being at the same time, and the earliest +dancing was done with a singing accompaniment. As people advanced in the +art and became able to manufacture instruments with which to produce +music to dance by, it is readily apparent that those persons who did not +dance, derived pleasure from listening to it. The next step was to play +these dance tunes without dancing. This naturally led to a collection of +dance tunes. By playing three or four in succession it was soon found +that a more agreeable effect was produced by selecting those differing +in rhythm. Here we have the suite, the earliest orchestral form. After a +while it was found that a change of key heightened the effect, and, when +composing purely orchestral music not intended for actual use in +dancing, the more original of the composers at times allowed the strict +dance form to fall into abeyance in one or two movements to enable them +to try their hand in another style, and also for contrast. A <a name="Page_100" id="Page_100"></a>broadening +and augmenting of the different forms and we have the sonata. The +symphony is an enlargement of the sonata. All our intellectual progress +is an unfolding, like a flower from the bud. We have first an +impression, then an opinion, then demonstration.</p> + +<p>Many years were to elapse before the next and last symphony was to +appear; years in which the ripening process was to go on, and which were +to culminate in the Mass in D, the Choral Symphony and the last +quartets,—works that are in a class by themselves in the same sense +that the works from the Third Symphony on, up to, and including the +Eighth, are in a class apart from the others. His compositions prior to +the Third Symphony are in the style of Mozart and Haydn. They are the +naïve utterances of the young musician who does not yet realize that he +has a mission to perform; whose ambition was to be ranked with his great +predecessors. Of the works of the second period, it can be said that +their most prominent characteristic is gayety (<em>Heiterkeit</em>). They are +not all in this mood, and but rarely is the mood maintained throughout a +single work, but it exists to the extent that it dominates it, just as +the key-note to his later works is to be found in his mysticism. The +works of the second period are coincident with his best years physically +and when his mental powers had reached their highest maturity. When he +found out what manner of man he was and realized the place he was +destined to occupy among the great ones of earth; when he had accepted +his destiny and had made his peace with himself it is easy to understand +how a certain gayety and serenity should have spread itself over his +life and have communicated itself to his works; and though this serenity +<a name="Page_101" id="Page_101"></a>was alternated by periods of despair, he allowed no more of this to +appear in his work than his esthetic sense approved of. Like all highly +organized people he sounded the gamut of joy and sorrow. His journal +entries tell the story. One day, exulting in life and its possibilities +he writes, "Oh, it would be glorious to live life over a thousand +times." At another time he calls upon his God in abject despair to help +him through the passing hour. At one time life is so difficult a problem +that he sees not how it can be continued at all. Then he loses himself +in his creations and soars into regions where his troubles cannot +follow. This joyousness is the portion of many extraordinary people. +Haydn and Mozart had it. "He has among other qualities that of great +joyousness," says Carlyle, in speaking of Richter. "Goethe has it to +some extent and Schiller too. It is a deep laughter, a wild laughter, +and connected with it, there is the deepest seriousness."</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102"></a>CHAPTER X</h3> +<div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">ToC</a></div> +<h4>AT THE ZENITH OF HIS FAME</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Fate bestoweth no gift which it taketh not back. Ask not aught of + sordid humanity; the trifle it bestoweth is a nothing.</p></div> + +<p class="citation"><span class="smcap">—Hafiz.</span></p> + + +<div class="figleft"> +<img src="images/n.png" width="99" height="100" alt="N" title="N" /> +</div> +<p class="noindent">apoleon's star, hitherto so uniformly in the ascendant, was now on the +wane. His victories at the battles of Lützen and Bautzen in May of 1813, +could not atone for the disaster of Moscow in the previous year. The +crushing defeat encountered by the French at the battle of Vittoria by +the English under Wellington, and the battle of Leipzig in October of +the same year showed the world that here was only a man after all; a man +subject to the usual limitations and mutations of mankind. The demigod +was dethroned, the pedestal knocked from under, and all Europe rejoiced. +The nightmare of fear which had so long pervaded all classes, was after +all only a bad dream; the incubus could be shaken off, and mankind again +resume its normal mode of living. Waterloo was already foreshadowed in +the events of this year, and the people were wild with joy.</p> + +<p>The alliance which followed Napoleon's marriage to the Austrian +Archduchess did not have the good political results which Metternich +expected from it. The war indemnity of fifteen millions of dollars, the +cession of prov<a name="Page_103" id="Page_103"></a>inces whereby three and one half millions of people were +lost to Austria, the reduction of the army to 150,000 men, exactions +made by Napoleon at the time of the marriage, did not tend to make him +popular. The alliance existed in name, not in sentiment. He was still +regarded as the conqueror, not the ally. Austria had been lukewarm all +along, and when she changed front in 1813, and joined the coalition +against him, acting in concert with England, Russia and Prussia, the +measure had the moral support of the nation. This was three years after +his marriage to the Archduchess.</p> + +<p>The news of the battle of Vittoria reached Vienna on July 13. Beethoven +was importuned by a clever friend, M. Maelzel, a musician, to write a +symphony in commemoration of it, and to call it "Wellington's Victory." +Maelzel was a man of remarkable mechanical ingenuity. He had before this +won his way into Beethoven's good graces by making him an ear-trumpet, +which he used for several years. He was the inventor of the metronome +and a man of considerable intelligence. He had invented a +<span title="Corrected typo: was 'Panharmonican'" class="hov">Panharmonicon</span>, +an automaton instrument containing most of the instruments found in full +orchestra, on the principle of the modern orchestrion. Allied to his +talents as musician and inventor were those of good business ability and +a knowledge of human nature. The Battle Symphony appears to have been +written originally for the Panharmonicon. "I witnessed," says Moscheles, +"the origin and progress of this work, and remember that not only did +Maelzel induce Beethoven to write it, but even laid before him the whole +design of it; writing the drum marches and trumpet flourishes of the +French and English armies him<a name="Page_104" id="Page_104"></a>self, giving Beethoven hints how he should +herald the English army by the tune of 'Rule Brittania;' how he should +introduce 'Malbrook' in a dismal strain; depict the horrors of the +battle, and arrange 'God Save the King,' with effects representing the +huzzas of the multitude. Even the idea of converting the melody of 'God +Save the King' into a subject of a fugue in quick movement emanates from +Maelzel." It is hardly conceivable that Beethoven, if left to himself, +would have produced anything of this sort. But it exactly suited the +popular feeling, and was such a success that Beethoven was induced to +arrange it for full orchestra. This work is never classed among his +symphonies, although it served to make him very popular with the Vienna +public.</p> + +<p>The presence in their midst of the composer of the Eroica Symphony in +these stirring times, was a significant fact, which was bound to be duly +exploited by the Viennese. The Battle Symphony confirmed and emphasized +Beethoven's stand as a patriot. He was consequently greatly looked up to +by the young men of the time, in particular by the student element, +already of considerable importance in Vienna, who made an idol of him. +He was now everywhere in demand, his music of necessity being a part of +the programme of every concert or important event in the City.</p> + +<p>It is a national characteristic with the Germans to celebrate every +issue with music. A great occasion called for a great demonstration. +When therefore, it was proposed to give a concert in aid of the Austrian +and Bavarian soldiers disabled at the battle of Hanau, where the French +were intercepted after their retreat from Leipzig on October 30, the +matter was intrusted to Beethoven <a name="Page_105" id="Page_105"></a>as being the man best fitted for the +work. It was stipulated that Beethoven's music was to occupy the +programme exclusively, which gave him a good opportunity to produce the +Seventh Symphony, still in manuscript.</p> + +<p>An aggregation of eminent musicians volunteered their services for the +occasion, sinking their differences in patriotic elation. Moscheles, +already then a great pianist, played the cymbals. Meyerbeer presided at +the big drum. Spohr took a prominent part, together with Salieri, +Romberg and Hümmel. The fact that Beethoven conducted it indicates that +his deafness could not have been so bad at this time. The concert took +place on December 8, and, as may be supposed, was a brilliant success. +It was repeated four days later. At each performance, the principal +event, was, not the Seventh Symphony, but rather the Battle-piece, +which, performed by full orchestra for the first time, won loud and +frequent applause.</p> + +<p>After the second performance Beethoven gave a letter to the public in +which he says, "The concert was a rare assemblage of eminent performers, +each glad to contribute by his presence and talents something towards +the benefit of the country, even to the extent of taking subordinate +places in the orchestra where required. On me devolved the conduct of +the whole, because the music was composed by me. Had it been written by +any one else, I would as cheerfully have taken my place at the big drum, +for we were all actuated by the feeling of patriotism and the desire to +benefit those who had sacrificed so much for us."</p> + +<p>The concert had to be repeated in January and in February following, as +patriotism was still the ruling idea with the populace. At the February +concert the Eighth<a name="Page_106" id="Page_106"></a> Symphony was on the programme, but in each case the +<em>pièce de résistance</em> was the Battle Symphony. It was produced again in +March, when Beethoven conducted it, together with the Egmont Overture, +at the annual concert for the Theatre-Armenfonds. The symphony soon +found its way to England and enjoyed great popularity there from its +connection with Wellington. It frequently appeared on the programmes +under the name of Wellington's Victory.</p> + +<p>The general esteem in which Beethoven was held by the Viennese led to a +demand for another hearing of Fidelio, which had been out of sight and +mind for eight years. The libretto was again worked over (this time by +Treitschke), and submitted to Beethoven. The revised form seems to have +pleased him at once, although very important changes were made which +imposed on him a herculean task. New music had to be written for certain +portions, and the whole rearranged and adapted to the new conditions. +Everything was going Beethoven's way in these years, which may explain +his good-natured acquiescence in these demands. "Your revision suits me +so well," he wrote Treitschke, "that I have decided once more to rebuild +the desolate ruins of an ancient fortress." This time the opera was a +pronounced success, although alterations and emendations were in order +more or less during the entire season. On July 18, it was performed for +Beethoven's benefit. Moscheles made a piano arrangement of the score, +and must have considered it a great task, as he wrote at the end.</p> + +<p class="center"> +FINIS.<br /> +WITH GOD'S HELP.</p> + +<p><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107"></a>When Beethoven saw this he wrote underneath, "Oh man, help thyself!" The +piano arrangement was dedicated to the Archduke and published in August.</p> + +<p>The year 1814 was a memorable one for Beethoven. Important events +crowded fast on his horizon, chief of which were those proceeding from +the meeting of the Congress of Sovereigns in Vienna in the autumn of +this year. Napoleon was in the toils; he had been forced to abdicate and +was now a prisoner on the island of Elba. When the treaty of peace was +signed at Paris on May 30, 1814, between France and the allies, it was +agreed that all the powers which had been engaged in the war on either +side, should send plenipotentiaries to Vienna in general Congress to +arrange for the conclusion of the provisions of the treaty of peace.</p> + +<p>The Congress met in November of the same year, and was characterized by +a degree of magnificence which renders it unique of its kind. The +Emperor and Empress of Russia, the kings of Prussia, Bavaria, Denmark +and Würtemburg were present in person. England and France were +represented by their highest nobles. Spain, Sweden and Portugal sent +representatives. The advent of a hundred great personages in Vienna +naturally brought other distinguished visitors there and the gayeties +that supervened, now that the wars were a thing of the past, occupied +the time and attention of the visitors to such an extent that for three +months nothing of a business nature was attempted by the Congress. These +were halcyon days for Vienna. Peace was restored after twenty years of +such warfare as only a Napoleon could inflict, the nervous tension +became a thing of the past, and sovereign and noble <a name="Page_108" id="Page_108"></a>could again take up +the chief occupation of life, enjoyment.</p> + +<p>The city fathers, on learning that the Congress was to be convened in +Vienna, commissioned Beethoven to write a cantata of welcome to honor +the visitors. The poem "Der glorreiche Augenblick" (The Glorious +Moment), was chosen, which Beethoven set to music. As may be supposed +the new cantata served to increase his fame, although as a work of art +it is about on a par with the Battle Symphony.</p> + +<p>Beethoven occupied a prominent part in the many notable gatherings which +were a feature of this winter. Associated in people's minds as a +harbinger of the new era, his popularity increased in line with the ever +brightening political horizon. The Archduke enjoyed having him at his +receptions, introducing him to the sovereigns, and made much of him +generally. It was at the Archduke's apartments that Beethoven was +introduced to the Empress of Russia, who showed him much attention, both +here and when meeting him elsewhere. He met her frequently at Count +Rasoumowsky's, who as Russian Ambassador entertained lavishly in honor +of his distinguished guests. He afterward related humorously how the +crowned heads paid court to him, referring to the urbanity and courtesy +which the Empress in particular, used toward him. Beethoven is on record +as saying that he liked being with the aristocracy. He seems to have had +no difficulty in impressing on the Empress the right concept of his +importance as man and artist. In acknowledgment of the courtesies which +he received from her, the master composed for her a Grand Polonaise (in +C, opus 89) which, in company with <a name="Page_109" id="Page_109"></a>the pianoforte arrangement of the +Seventh Symphony he dedicated to her.</p> + +<p>Shortly after the assembling of the Congress Beethoven gave a concert +for his own benefit, at which the new Cantata as well as the Battle +Symphony and the Seventh Symphony were performed. The Riding Hall, an +immense structure, capable of seating six thousand persons was placed at +his disposal, for which, however, a large price, one-half the receipts, +was exacted, so Frimmel states. With sublime confidence Beethoven sent +out invitations in his own name to the visiting sovereigns and other +notabilities, all of whom responded, with the result that the hall was +crowded and the concert proved to be a great success.</p> + +<p>As a result of the winter's activities, Beethoven's finances were +greatly improved. He displayed a degree of business ability during this +year, which was not to have been expected from a man of his temperament. +His profits from one source or another were such that he invested money +to the extent of ten thousand florins, in shares of the Bank of Austria. +It was his first and only investment, undertaken as a provision for the +future.</p> + +<p>That Beethoven kept his head in the face of all this adulation is +evident from a letter written at this time to a friend at Prague in +which he says, "I write nothing about our monarchs and monarchies. The +intellectual realm is the most precious in my eyes, and far above all +temporal and spiritual kingdoms."</p> + +<p>It was indeed a brilliant winter, but all this joy was suddenly changed +to something akin to terror by the news of Napoleon's escape from Elba +in March of 1815, and that he was assembling his forces for another +campaign.<a name="Page_110" id="Page_110"></a> The gayeties had to be discontinued, the members of the +Congress confined themselves to the work for which it was convened, the +result being that the treaties were signed by the eight powers on June +7, upon which the Congress disbanded. This was just eleven days before +the battle of Waterloo.</p> + +<p>In November of this year Beethoven's brother Karl died, leaving the +composer as an heritage his son Karl, then nine years of age. With the +clairvoyance which approaching dissolution often brings, the father saw +that the uncle would be a much better guardian for the boy, than the +mother, and consigned him to Beethoven's care almost with his last +breath. It was characteristic of such a man as was Beethoven, to accept +the charge without hesitation, from an exaggerated sense of duty; to +fight for its possession even, although it revolutionized his life and +brought him face to face with all sorts of difficult and untried +conditions.</p> + +<p>As might have been expected, Karl's widow, who was the daughter of a +rich citizen, contested his right to the control of the boy, and began +legal proceedings to obtain possession of him. This was the +advance-guard of a series of troubles that began to close in on him at +this period, ending only with his life. Years of litigation followed, +the issue being at times in favor of one side, then of the other, the +boy meanwhile being in charge of the successful party. The new +responsibility, assumed with scarcely a thought as to consequences, not +only interfered with the bachelor habits of a lifetime, but the mental +disturbance occasioned by the lawsuits which ensued, seriously +interrupted his work, so that for some years very little was +accomplished <a name="Page_111" id="Page_111"></a>in the way of new compositions. "The higher a man is," +said Goethe (Conversations with Eckermann), "the more he is under the +influence of dæmons, and he must take heed lest his guiding will counsel +him to a wrong path." Could he have foreseen how this adoption of the +child would interfere with his cherished work, he might have paused to +consider the matter, before binding himself irrevocably by his promise +to his brother.</p> + +<p>With never a fixed habitation, no sense of the value of money, giving it +away to those in need as readily as if it had no value, often enduring +privation himself in consequence; with a mode of life so simple that the +entire ménage was frequently transported elsewhere on slight +provocation, this ascetic was now to encounter housekeeping problems, +make money, save it (most difficult of all), employ servants, in short +undertake in middle-age and in impaired health, duties the nature of +which he could not even form an estimate.</p> + +<p>The plan of adopting the boy might not have been such a visionary one, +could Beethoven have been in entire control from the start. While the +litigation went on, discipline was out of the question. There were +occasional victories for the mother, who then had the boy under her +absolute control until such time as Beethoven was able to get the +decision of the Court reversed. Even when the boy was under the uncle's +charge, the mother managed at times to gain access to him in order to +poison his mind against the uncle. Her influence whenever she was able +to exert it was naturally adverse. That there should be a stronger +affinity between mother and son, than between uncle and nephew is not +surprising. She had had entire <a name="Page_112" id="Page_112"></a>control of him up to his tenth year. She +was lax in discipline and saw to it that the boy had a better time while +with her than he was likely to have when under his uncle's care. That +the boy began to show a preference for being with the mother can be +easily understood, and it was a bitter trial to the master.</p> + +<p>It was not alone mother-love which actuated Madame Beethoven in her +extraordinary efforts to gain possession of the boy; money +considerations entered into the question to some extent, as some money +had been set aside for his support by the father, which she wanted to +get hold of. The simple straightforward Beethoven was no match for the +wiles of this woman of the world, who generally managed in one way or +another to circumvent him, even to the detriment of the child. The boy +was sharp enough to take advantage of the situation, and was spoiled +long before the uncle was privileged legally to adopt him.</p> + +<p>During the proceedings the case was at one time in a high court on the +assumption that the "van" in Beethoven's name indicated nobility. The +widow contested this, and brought action requesting that the case be +tried in a lower court. When Beethoven was examined on this issue, he +pointed to his head and heart, saying, "my nobility is here and here." +"van" is not a sign of nobility like the German "von," and the case was +sent to the lower court.</p> + +<p>Beethoven formed high hopes on the lad's account, thinking that he would +become a great musician or scholar. He had no prevision that here he was +to meet with the greatest disappointment of his life. The boy was +handsome and intelligent and soon won the affection of the master, who +became much occupied with the interesting <a name="Page_113" id="Page_113"></a>task of guiding his mental +and spiritual development. "The heart is only for rare occasions," said +Thoreau, "the intellect affords us the most unfailing satisfaction." +This rather cynical observation was abundantly confirmed in Beethoven's +case by subsequent developments. He wasted precious years on account of +his nephew, and the anxiety occasioned by his waywardness, was no doubt +one of the factors which shortened his life.</p> + +<p>With the advent of the nephew into his life he finally abandoned all +idea of marriage. In conversation with Giannatasio del Rio, who kept the +school at which the nephew was placed, he stated, "I will never be able +to form a closer tie than the one which now binds me to my nephew." He +took lodgings near the school and visited Giannatasio's family +frequently. The daughter, in her journal, published after her death, +makes frequent mention of Beethoven, giving interesting glimpses into +his character. She tells of his bringing violets to her on March 17, +which he found in his walks in the fields, also of his carrying with him +on his walks a pocket edition of Shakespeare. The sarcastic, satirical +mood, which frequently took possession of Beethoven is touched on in the +journal, and is illustrated in the following incident. The father on one +occasion had remarked as if in compliment to the master, "My daughter +plays your music," upon which Beethoven laughed out-right. It is hardly +necessary to say that the young lady played no more of Beethoven's +music, while he was about. On one occasion, however, she was playing his +<em>Kennst Du das Land?</em> when he came in unexpectedly. He recognized it, +and at once went to her and stood at the piano, marking time and making +suggestions in regard to the <a name="Page_114" id="Page_114"></a>rendering of it, thus making amends for +his former rudeness.</p> + +<p>His interest in his nephew led him to make friendly advances to the +father as well as to the daughters, and he spent many pleasant hours +with them. On rare occasions he assumed his old air of happy boisterous +humor, when young people were about. He greatly enjoyed singing Goethe's +"Song of the Flea," calling out as the flea is killed: "Now he'll be +smashed! Now he'll be smashed!" (<em>jetzt wird er gegnaxt!</em>) making a +crash on the instrument at the word "smashed."</p> + +<p>He came to them once after Karl had been placed in another school and +wept as he told them that his nephew had left him and gone to his +mother. The lad was recovered by the assistance of the police, and was +then placed with this family again. He once wrote a sharp letter to the +father criticising his methods in the teaching of Karl, but, on +reconsidering the matter sent word to the daughter asking her not to +show it to her father, as it was written in a blind rage, which he now +regretted. All this shows how carefully he looked after the young man's +welfare. It was the same with his music, which was intrusted to Czerny. +The youth inherited some musical talent and under favoring conditions +might have achieved something as a musician. When the instruction began, +Beethoven was in the habit of calling at Czerny's house nearly every day +with his nephew. On these occasions the master would frequently +improvise on the piano, to Czerny's great enjoyment. Czerny, through his +devotion to Beethoven, paid particular attention to Karl, and the boy +made rapid progress. He accompanied his uncle on visits to other houses, +<a name="Page_115" id="Page_115"></a>by the latter's desire, with the object of forming his taste and +stimulating his ambition for the art.</p> + +<p>From the start Beethoven planned a fine career for his nephew. "The boy +must be an artist or a savant that he may lead a noble life," he said +once. On another occasion, when the youth was about eighteen years of +age, he said, on introducing him to a visitor, "you can ask him a riddle +in Greek if you like." "My wishes and efforts have no other aim than +that the boy may receive the best possible education," he wrote when +contending in the Court of Appeals for possession of the boy, "as his +capacity warrants the indulgence of the best hopes for his future, and +that the expectation, which his father built upon my fraternal love may +be fulfilled. The shoot is still flexible; but if more time be wasted it +will grow crooked for want of the training hand of the gardener, and +good conduct, intellect, and character, may be lost forever. I know no +more sacred duty than the superintendence of the education of a child. +The duty of guardianship can only consist in this—to appreciate what is +good, and to take such measures as are conformable with the object in +view."</p> + +<p>The young man cared but little for this solicitude. In his uncle's home +he had to study, listen to many a lecture perhaps, and do many a thing +that he did not like to do. When with his mother it was different; +spending-money was to be had while there and in general an easy time. No +wonder that he preferred being with her. Later, when he entered the +university he absented himself as much as possible from his uncle's +house. Beethoven had centred his affections on the young man, and, when +he remained indifferent, irresponsive, it caused him the keenest +anguish.<a name="Page_116" id="Page_116"></a> The master's letters to him from Baden are pathetic. "In what +part of me am I not injured and torn?" "My continued solitude only still +further enfeebles me, and really my weakness often amounts to a swoon. +Oh! do not further grieve me, for the man with the scythe (<em>Sensenman</em>) +will grant me no long delay." His journal entries on this account, are +the utterances of a creature at bay; of a being in the last extremity. +"O! höre stets Unaussprechlicher, höre mich deinen unglücklichen +unglücklichsten aller Sterblichen."</p> + +<p>It was not alone the necessity for study and other restraints, which led +the young man to absent himself as much as possible from his uncle's +house when he grew older and had more liberty of action. Comfortable +living was not one of the factors in the Beethoven ménage. Beethoven's +requirements, so far as he himself was concerned, were simple almost to +asceticism. He believed in discipline in the rearing of youth, but his +belief in it did not extend to the point of inducing him to attempt it +with his servants. The explanation of this is not far to seek. He would +have had to conform to any rules made in the interest of discipline and +system in the household, which would have been out of the question for +him. He was wedded to an irregular mode of living and for the most part +desired nothing but to be left alone. It is not surprising that the +young man preferred his own quarters, to the haphazard mode of life, +which characterized the master's household.</p> + +<p>Character is never a finished product. Always it is in process of +formation, of development, advancing or retrograding according to +environment. Beethoven's influence, <a name="Page_117" id="Page_117"></a>powerless during his lifetime on +the mind of Karl may have been potent after death in the upbuilding of +the young man's character. On arriving at years of discretion he changed +his course entirely and became an exemplary citizen. As the last +survivor of the Beethoven family he inherited the means of his two +uncles, and settled down in Vienna living the life of a gentleman of +leisure. He gave his attention to music to which he was passionately +devoted, as well as to the rearing of his family, and was by all +accounts a model family man. Like his illustrious uncle, he was in the +habit of improvising at the piano for hours at a time.</p> + +<p>To follow the fortunes of the posterity of great men is an interesting +subject. From the researches of Dr. Vansca of Vienna, published in <em>Die +Musik</em> (Berlin, March, 1902), it transpires that Karl married on July +16, 1832, a Miss Karoline Naska. Five children were born to them, as +follows: Karoline, 1833; Marie, 1835; Ludwig, 1839 (named after his +famous grand-uncle); Gabrielle, 1844, and Hermine, 1852. Ludwig, the +only son, his military service over, married in 1865 Marie Nitche. To +them a son was born on May 8, 1870, at Munich, and baptized Karl. Father +and son, that is Ludwig and Karl 2d, were last heard from in 1889 in +London, when the father applied for a passport to travel in various +European countries. Ludwig's mother died in Vienna in 1891, at which +time it was announced that the whereabouts of Ludwig and the son Karl +were unknown. Efforts were then made to get news of the young Karl, who, +if living, would have been a youth of twenty, but without avail, and the +family are of the opinion that he died during his childhood. As far <a name="Page_118" id="Page_118"></a>as +can be ascertained at this writing the family of Beethoven on the male +side is extinct.</p> + +<p>Of the daughters of the master's nephew, Karoline and Marie married +brothers, namely: Franz and Paul Weidinger. Gabrielle married a bank +cashier named Robert Heimler. The youngest, Hermine, remained single. +She graduated in 1889 from the conservatory at Vienna in piano and +harmonium. Of the married daughters, only one, Marie, had children; a +son and daughter. The only descendants of the Beethovens known to be +living in 1891, are Karoline Weidinger, a widow, Gabrielle Heimler, and +the son and daughter of Marie Weidinger. All these persons were at last +accounts living in Vienna.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119"></a>CHAPTER XI</h3> +<div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">ToC</a></div> +<h4>METHODS OF COMPOSITION</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>A good painter should paint two things; man, and the thoughts of + man's soul.</p></div> + +<p class="citation"><span class="smcap">—Leonardo da Vinci.</span></p> + + +<div class="figleft"> +<img src="images/b2.png" width="99" height="100" alt="B" title="B" /> +</div> +<p class="noindent">eethoven usually had a definite idea before him when composing. The +work progressed rapidly under such conditions. Often, however, on +further consideration, a better idea would present itself in certain +places on reading the work over, and these portions would have to be +rewritten. He stated in this connection that he always had a picture in +his mind when composing, which he aimed to reproduce in his work. "Ich +habe immer ein Gemälde in meinen Gedanken wenn ich am componiren bin, +und arbeite nach demselben" (Thayer). Sometimes this picture was shadowy +and elusive, as his gropings in the sketch-books show. He would then +apply himself to the task of fixing the idea, writing and rewriting, +until it stood out clearly in accordance with the concept already formed +in his mind.</p> + +<p>This picture, or idea, or representation, which exists in the brain of +the artist, and to which he seeks to give expression in a tangible form +so as to communicate it to others, is a miracle which is constantly +going on in his inner consciousness. He can at will call up impressions, +which <a name="Page_120" id="Page_120"></a>immediately become objectified on the canvas of his mind, in the +form of pictures. This mental process is the same in every form of +creative work whether it be painting, sculpture, or any of the arts. The +architect, before putting pencil to paper, will have the splendid +cathedral before him as in a vision; the sculptor, the ideal form and +facial expression. The mind of the artist is a vast canvas on which +pictures appear, remaining a longer or shorter period at his will, and, +when no longer required, giving place to others. The idea once recorded +seems never to appear again. Nature is never so prodigal as with the man +of genius. Of all her children he is the favorite; these pictures are +given him in superfluity, out of all proportion to his ability to use +them. The harder he works in the effort to catch up with his material, +the more plentiful it becomes.</p> + +<p>Mr. Chamberlain, in his Life of Wagner, calls attention to the curious +fact that Wagner produced his operas in pairs for the most part, up to +his fortieth year. This was true of Beethoven with his symphonies, to a +great extent. He became so fired with enthusiasm while on a great work, +his thoughts became so prolific, that another work must, perforce, come +into being to utilize the surplus material.</p> + +<p>This prodigality with which the artist is supplied, explains his +absorption in his work. Once fairly started on a great work, this type +of man carries it through with the force of a torrent. Nothing but +physical exhaustion can stop him. Wagner, after completing a great work, +usually had to drop all composing or writing for some months in order to +recuperate. No slave-driver with a lash <a name="Page_121" id="Page_121"></a>ever drove his victim so +mercilessly as Wagner did himself when in the stress of composition. +Being married he had some one to look after him, and this had an +important bearing on the preservation of his health. Beethoven, with the +strenuousness that came from his Rhenish ancestry, was more intractable, +impatient of interference. His domestics were often afraid to go near +him when engaged in composition. Usually when in deep thought he was +oblivious of the outer world. He once agreed to sit for an artist, and +maintained his pose for five minutes; then he forgot all about it and +went to the piano, where he began improvising. This just suited the +artist, who got a good position and worked along until he was tired, +finally leaving the room without the master's knowledge.</p> + +<p>The Swedish poet, Atterbohm, and Dr. Jeitteles, distinguished literary +men of the period, called at Beethoven's house one hot afternoon. Their +knocking met with no response, although they knew the master was in, as +they heard him singing and occasionally striking a chord on the piano. +Finding the door unlocked, they entered and went in search of him, +finally discovering him in an inner room. He was in extreme dishabille, +busily noting down his thoughts on the plastered wall. He had probably +intended changing his clothes, and, while disrobing, these thoughts came +crowding in on him to the exclusion of everything else. Beethoven, +facing the wall with his back to the visitors, was unaware of their +proximity, and they left without being discovered by him, as they did +not wish to interfere with his work. This was probably in the year 1826, +as Beethoven remained in Vienna all that summer, actively engaged on the +great C sharp minor quartet.<a name="Page_122" id="Page_122"></a> It may have been a part of this work which +was thus produced.</p> + +<p>Friederich Stark relates an incident that illustrates his abstraction. +He called on Beethoven early one morning, and, being a friend, was given +the privilege of looking him up. He went from room to room, and finally +found him in his bedroom. He was just beginning to dress, his face +thickly lathered with soap that had been put on the previous evening and +had dried there; he had prepared to shave, but in the process had +forgotten to go on with it.</p> + +<p>His sketch-books are interesting as showing his frame of mind and +temperament, while at work. In his abstraction he occasionally scribbled +beautiful thoughts on the margin of his manuscripts. Thus, in the +sketch-books of the Pastoral Symphony, we find this record of his joy in +nature, showing how thoroughly his mind was imbued with his subject.</p> + +<p>"Almächtiger, im Walde ich bin selig, glücklig im Wald. Jeder Baum +spricht durch dich!"</p> + +<p>"O Gott! Welche Herrlichkeit in einer solchen Waldgegend."</p> + +<p>In summer he usually resorted to one of the beautiful villages in the +environs of Vienna, since absorbed by the city. Thus he repaired to +Heiligenstadt to write his first mass. "Oh, the charm of the woods, who +can express it!" he writes, and in many of his letters from the country, +he expresses his joy at being there. "No man on earth can love the +country as I do. Thickets, trees and rocks supply the echo man longs +for." His best ideas came to him while walking through the fields and +woods. At such times his mind became serene and he would attain that +degree of <a name="Page_123" id="Page_123"></a>abstraction from the world which enabled him to develop his +musical ideas. He always carried note-books and would jot down a thought +as it came to him. When he got home he would elaborate it and work it +into shape. He would walk for hours in all sorts of weather. Like +Thoreau, he generally preferred to be alone in his walks, the presence +of a companion preventing him from working out his thoughts.</p> + +<p>Very properly, he occupied himself but little with the music of other +composers. To a man of his individuality, inspiration from the outer +world was not to be had or desired. His own inner wealth was sufficient. +Curiously, he set a high value on Cherubini during the period of writing +Fidelio and the Third Symphony. His own creations however, were of +paramount interest to him. He was a slow worker, continually polishing +and improving his work up to the moment that it reached the engraver's +hands.</p> + +<p>"The Andante" said Wagner "is the typical German style." It was not +Beethoven's best style. Essentially a man of extremes, he delighted in +swinging the pendulum to its furthest limit either way. He early in life +acquired the irrepressible joyousness in his compositions, which was +Haydn's distinguishing trait. It is the key-note to much of Beethoven's +work up to the time of composing the Grand Mass. It figures to some +extent in his subsequent work. It is a feature which Wagner never tires +of exploiting in Beethoven's work. Whenever he mentions Beethoven's name +the word <em>Heiterkeit</em> (joyousness) is sure to follow. The two are almost +synonymous with him. Where Beethoven is unapproachable, however, is in +his slow movements, the Adagios, solemn and portentous, in which all <a name="Page_124" id="Page_124"></a>of +world-sorrow finds expression. It is in these scenes of terror that his +powers stand out with supernatural clearness.</p> + +<p>His infinitude impresses one. It is as if he had penetrated other +spheres and could speak in new tongues. He delighted in startling +contrasts. The Kyrie of the Mass in D has always presented itself to my +consciousness as a series of gigantic tone-pictures, in which the +omnipotence of God, and the impotence of humanity is brought into +juxtaposition. The Coriolanus overture is another instance among the +many at hand illustrating this point. Here we see how the forceful, +aggressive, bold, masterful genius, is subdued by the power of conjugal +and filial love, a power in this case as irresistible as that of a +glacier, which will make its way against any odds. Each side in striving +for the mastery, displays its own peculiar characteristics and mode. It +is the everlasting struggle between the evil principle and that which is +good. He ranges titanic forces in opposition and lets us see the battle. +By the magic of his art we are enabled to see these pictures as on a +canvas.</p> + +<p>It is frequently stated that Beethoven's music shows a deficiency in +counterpoint. His originality, the wealth of his ideas, his versatility, +will explain this. The fugue, while it is ingenious and interesting, is +artificial and, indeed often arbitrary in musical composition, sometimes +introduced merely to stop gaps or for brilliancy of effect. It is not +surprising that Beethoven should have neglected it to some extent, +although he has used it with excellent effect in some of the sonatas and +in his two masses. His fertility of imagination was great and it was +hard for him to tie <a name="Page_125" id="Page_125"></a>himself down to the formal style in composition, +after his powers had reached maturity. The fugue, in one form or +another, seems to be almost indispensable in musical composition, but it +is always characterized by learning instead of inspiration. It is +something which has to be worked out like a problem in mathematics. +Beethoven's thought in music is marked by something higher than the +disposition to divert one's attention to his talent or skill. A definite +meaning is there; he has something to reveal.</p> + +<p>At the beginning of his career as composer, Beethoven was not above +taking advice on the subject of his compositions. He frequently +discussed them with Prince Lichnowsky, and adopted his suggestions when +it came to alterations. As he advanced in knowledge of his art, however, +he became reticent on the subject and would discuss them with no one. He +acted on Goethe's idea that "the greatest art after all is to limit and +isolate oneself." He did not like praise or applause. Knowing +intuitively that the character is endangered thereby, he sought by every +means to ward it off. His improvising was such that often on leaving the +instrument he would find his hearers in tears. This would embarrass him, +and he would affect anger, or would laugh at them. This does not imply +that he did not care for appreciation, which is quite a different +matter.</p> + +<p>He was perfectly willing to listen to censure or adverse criticism. +Trifles might anger him, but this never did, and, be it said, it never +influenced him either. True artist that he was, he seldom wrote down to +his public. Like Wagner, he knew what was best in art, and if the public +did not, he gave the matter small concern. Not for one generation are +great masterpieces born. The <a name="Page_126" id="Page_126"></a>artist lives in the future; he is always +in advance of his time.</p> + +<p>Beethoven's character was a prism of many facets. Wagner views him +always as the mystic, the seer, at odds with the world. Side by side +with this characterization he constantly dwells, as just noted, on +Beethoven's uncontrollable tendency to humor, gayety (<em>Heiterkeit</em>) +which shows itself not only in his life, but still more in his works. +This may have been a device deliberately assumed to enable him to escape +mental suffering. At all events it was a prominent trait of his +character, but does not seem to have added to his enjoyment of life. No +circumstance, however painful, but that he is able to extract some jest +or pleasantry from it. The paradox is before us of a man world-weary at +the core, outwardly serene, gay. In the same ratio in which those things +which serve to make life enjoyable to the average man were diminished or +withdrawn, does his tendency to incessant humor increase.</p> + +<p>The consciousness of being able to achieve great things, and the joy in +accomplishing them, is what gives the artist the exultant mood, the +feeling of gayety. To be sensible of such an heritage, to participate in +this God-given wealth, to run riot in it, to know that the more of it +that is used the more will be given, to be favored of the gods in a way +that the possessor of untold wealth cannot aspire to—this is what gives +the serene and joyous mood, which characterizes the man of genius for +the most part. When he comes out of this ideal world into the +commonplace every-day life, and realizes his unfitness for it, the other +side of the picture is presented to his consciousness, and then is +exhibited that strange melancholy, <em>Weltschmerz</em>, which con<a name="Page_127" id="Page_127"></a>stantly +comes to the fore in the journals and letters of men like Wagner, or +Beethoven, or Liszt.</p> + +<p>The Sunday morning concerts, instituted by Czerny in the winter of 1816, +call for more than passing notice. A select company of professional +musicians and amateurs had banded themselves into an organization for +the purpose of performing and studying the best class of chamber-music +with special reference to Beethoven's compositions. Czerny was the +originator and moving spirit, as stated, and the performances were held +at his house. Beethoven attended them frequently. Czerny, whose +admiration for the master was unbounded, was brought into more intimate +relations with him through these concerts, as Beethoven was consulted in +regard to the programmes and occasionally rehearsed some of his new +compositions with him. Though a brilliant performer, Czerny did not like +public life or society, and retired from the concert stage at a time +when his powers were at their best, in order to give all his time to +composition. His ability in improvising was a marvel even for those +times. He was Beethoven's successor in Prince Lichnowsky's circle, +frequently playing at concerts at his house. He is credited with being +able to play from memory all of Beethoven's works. Like Schubert, his +one pleasure was to be with a few chosen spirits, and talk on the +subject of his art.</p> + +<p>In these assemblages rank was ignored. Art was a leveller, or, rather, +the devotees of the art were raised to a common plane, where social +distinctions were for the time being obliterated. No special invitations +were required. Any one interested in the art was made welcome, and found +there a congenial atmosphere. Czerny, modest <a name="Page_128" id="Page_128"></a>and retiring, had no +thought of making social capital out of these concerts. No one not +wholly devoted to the art was wanted, no matter what his social position +was, and want of social position was no bar when the artistic +qualifications were present. It was a band of chosen spirits, and the +attrition engendered by these meetings must have been advantageous to +each. They were true Concerts Spirituels, an audience of artists from +which the performers were drawn.</p> + +<p>Second only to Czerny as a pianist among this company was Beethoven's +friend and pupil, the Baroness Ertmann, who frequently took part in +these concerts. Madame Ertmann's virtuosity has already been commented +on in these pages. She won new laurels at the Czerny concerts through +her admirable interpretation of Beethoven's music.</p> + +<p>During this winter of 1816 the master composed the fine sonata in A, +opus 101, for her. It commemorates the spiritual kinship existing +between these two gifted persons. "My dear, valued Dorothea Cäcilia," he +writes in his letter of dedication, "receive now what has long been +intended for you, and may it serve as a proof of my appreciation of your +artistic talents and of yourself; I regret not having heard you recently +at Cz—(Czerny's). My absence was owing to illness, which at last +appears to be giving way to returning health." Some years previously, +when the Baroness had lost a son by death during her husband's absence +on his military duties, Beethoven asked the stricken woman to call, and +comforted her, not with words, but in the language which both best +understood. "'We will talk in music,' said Beethoven, who remained at +the piano over an hour in which he said everything and even gave me +<a name="Page_129" id="Page_129"></a>consolation." The incident is obtained from one of Mendelssohn's +letters.</p> + +<p>Among the important works produced in this period may be mentioned the +Sonata, opus 90, "A struggle between the head and the heart." It is +dedicated to Count M. Lichnowsky on the occasion of his marriage to a +singer. There was also the chorus set to Goethe's words, "A Calm Sea and +Prosperous Voyage." This was written in 1815 and seven years later +dedicated to Goethe. The two sonatas, opus 102, for piano and cello, one +of which is called the Free Sonata, are interesting, as in them is +foreshadowed the trend of Beethoven's mind toward religious music, which +controlled him almost entirely from this time on.</p> + +<p>The idea of writing another oratorio seems now to have taken possession +of his mind. A preference for this mode appears in his journals and +letters and was probably the subject of conversation on his part. At all +events, the newly established Society of Friends of Music of Vienna +(which Beethoven, with his usual aptitude for punning, used to refer to +as the society of <em>Musikfeinde</em>, enemies of music) made him a +proposition to write an oratorio for them, which he accepted. No +stipulations were made as to subject or treatment, and the society +agreed to pay the handsome sum of three hundred gold ducats, merely for +the use of the work for one year. So far as known, this work was never +begun. The Archduke soon after obtained his appointment as +Cardinal-Archbishop, and the work on the mass for the Installation +occupied Beethoven to the exclusion of other works.</p> + +<p>The loss by death of three of Beethoven's old friends must have been +greatly felt by him in these years. Prince<a name="Page_130" id="Page_130"></a> Lichnowsky, who died in +1814, was the first, and was followed two years later by Prince +Lobkowitz. Hardest of all, however, for the master was the loss of his +friend, Wenzel Krumpholz, who died in 1817. His relations with the +latter were more intimate than with the noblemen, and had continued +without a break almost from the time of his advent in Vienna. Czerny, in +his autobiography, gives an interesting picture of the devotion of +Krumpholz, who attached himself to Beethoven much the same as did +Boswell to Dr. Johnson. He was somewhat older than Beethoven, and his +position as first violinist at the Court Theatre enabled him to be of +much practical service to Beethoven, as he was widely known among the +professional musicians, as well as the rich amateurs. He sounded +Beethoven's praises far and wide: he encouraged him to begin +composition, making propaganda for him among the wealthy dilettante, and +spent a good portion of each day in his company. Beethoven, who at a +later period said of himself that he was too strong for friendship, did +not take kindly to this intimacy at first, but Krumpholz's persistency +was not to be gainsaid. He gave him lessons on the violin, and +identified himself in many ways with Beethoven's advancement. Beethoven +finally became so accustomed to him, that the presence of the other did +not disturb him, and he would improvise before him as if he were alone. +Krumpholz though devoid of genius himself, intuitively recognized its +presence in Beethoven, and led the younger man to discuss his musical +plans and ideas with him. The compositions as they took form in the +young man's mind, were played to Krumpholz, who advised and encouraged +him. The extravagant admiration of the latter sometimes <a name="Page_131" id="Page_131"></a>acted on +Beethoven's sense of humor to such an extent that he would make fun of +him, and call him his fool, but this did not deter Krumpholz, who seemed +to think he had a divinely appointed task set him, in aiding the +development of this young genius, and was willing to put up with some +vagaries from him.</p> + +<p>In truth, Beethoven needed a champion, for, from the first, a certain +originality, a strenuousness, showed itself in his work, which put the +art on a new and different footing. That the young man was reaching out +for higher things his public may have been aware of, but only a few, +here and there, kindred spirits, cared for this. The average person was +unable to recognize any higher function in music than that of simple +enjoyment; anything aside from this was irrelevant, and could but lead +to deterioration. Although at the beginning of his career as composer, +he made Mozart and Haydn his models, this originality showed itself, and +when it was continued in subsequent works, it awoke the strongest +opposition in certain quarters. The strong partisanship which Krumpholz +brought to bear on the situation, was invaluable to the young man, whose +views needed confirmation and indorsement. Krumpholz seems to have had +an affinity for discovering talent in others. He brought Czerny, at the +age of ten years, to Beethoven, who immediately recognized his genius, +and offered to give him lessons. That Beethoven deeply felt the loss of +his old friend and teacher is evidenced by his writing music to the Song +of the monks,</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<p>Rasch tritt der Tod den Menschen an,</p> +</div></div> + +<p class="noindent">from Schiller's Wilhelm Tell, in commemoration of him.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132"></a>CHAPTER XII</h3> +<div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">ToC</a></div> +<h4>SENSE OF HUMOR</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>In tristitia hilaris, in hilaritate tristis.</p></div> + +<p class="citation"><span class="smcap">—Motto of Giordano Bruno.</span></p> + + +<div class="figleft"> +<img src="images/b2.png" width="99" height="100" alt="B" title="B" /> +</div> +<p class="noindent">eethoven did not have much in the way of enjoyment, as the word is +generally understood, to compensate him for the pain of existence. The +resources vouchsafed others in this respect, family affection, love, +friendship, generally failed him when put to the test. Out of harmony +with the general order of things in the material world, the point in +which he could best come to an understanding with his fellow-creatures +was by the exercise of his sense of humor. The circumstances of his life +tended to make a pessimist of him. He did not understand the world and +was misunderstood in return. To counteract the tendency toward +pessimism, his resource was to develop his sense of humor, to create an +atmosphere of gayety, by which he was enabled to meet people on a common +plane. But not only in the ordinary affairs of life does it stand him in +good stead, this sense of humor. It comes out finely in his creative +work in the sonatas and the Scherzo movements of his symphonies. He +originated, invented the Scherzo, developing it from the simple minuet +of the earlier composers. The <a name="Page_133" id="Page_133"></a>primary object of the Scherzo was +recreation pure and simple. It was introduced with the object of resting +the mind.</p> + +<p>The evolution of humor in music is an interesting subject of study. It +is something foreign to it, an exotic, of slow growth, gaining but +little in the hands of the earlier composers from Bach on. Even with +Haydn it never advanced much beyond geniality. They had essayed it +chiefly in the minuet, but succeeded only in producing something +stately, in which the element of fun or humor, to modern ways of +thinking is hardly appreciable. It found a sudden and wonderful +expansion, an efflorescence in Beethoven, with whom every phase of the +art was developed to colossal proportions. He has made of the Scherzo a +movement of such importance that it lends a distinctive character to his +symphonies. In this form he is unapproachable. In the whole range of +music there is nothing like it elsewhere. It is peculiar to Beethoven, +and is another example of the many-sidedness of the great composer. +"Happiness is a new idea in Europe," said St. Just, speaking of the +period immediately following the French Revolution. Whether or not +Beethoven ever met with this remark, its significance at least was taken +to heart. The word Scherz—joke, sport, is sufficiently obvious. He goes +much farther at times than simply to play pranks, however. A wide range +of expression is possible in the Scherzo when manipulated by a +master-mind like that of Beethoven. The satirical, sarcastic humor which +escaped him in social intercourse at times, is vented on a colossal +scale in the Scherzo, in which he often makes sport of humanity itself, +making it the subject of his jest, his <a name="Page_134" id="Page_134"></a>ridicule—its foibles being +shown up, its follies exposed. When projected in this mood, the movement +calls for intellectual co-operation, and is of equal importance with the +others.</p> + +<p>Humor has been defined as the outcome of simplicity and philosophy in +the character. It can exist independently of genius we know, but genius +is never without humor. In other words, wherever there is a work of +genius, it transpires that the author has a fund of humor with which he +occasionally enriches his work. The profoundest philosophical treatises +have it. It is a part of the stock in trade of every great novelist; +Fielding, Thackeray, George Eliot, Walter Scott. It frequently comes to +the surface in Schopenhauer pessimist though he be; it pervades +Shakespeare. Few men regarded life with greater seriousness than +Thoreau, but humor sparkles all over his works. It is only where this is +in excess that it detracts from the value of the work. Not important in +itself when separated from the deeper work which it accompanies, it is +yet, all in all, one of the infallible tests, though a minor one, of the +work of any man of genius. A sense of humor exists in the man even +though he keep it out of his work, if he is good for anything.</p> + +<p>Beethoven's humor was titanic, heroic, on a grand scale, always with +what might be called a certain seriousness about it like that of a lion +at play. Mozart gives many instances of humor in his compositions, but +with a great difference in the character. His disposition was all +gentleness and sweetness, and his humor is characterized by these +attributes. It is on a small scale, and though enjoyable, has nothing +commanding about it. The musician, more <a name="Page_135" id="Page_135"></a>than any artist, reflects his +character and trend of life in his work.</p> + +<p>This sense of humor, inherent in the mental equipment of Beethoven, +enabled him to enjoy a joke as well as give it, to perceive a ridiculous +situation and extract due amusement from it, to appropriate it wherever +he found it. But singularly enough, when the point of a joke was turned +against himself, his sense of humor failed him utterly. He would often +become angry in such cases and the perpetrator would come in for a round +of abuse which made him chary of attempting it again.</p> + +<p>Very bad music of which there was a sufficiency already in those times, +gave him great amusement, which he manifested by roars of laughter, we +are informed by Seyfried, who saw more or less of him during a period +covering a quarter of a century. "All his friends," says Seyfried, +"recognized that in the art of laughter, Beethoven was a virtuoso of the +first rank." He often laughed aloud when nothing had occurred to excite +laughter, and would in such case ascribe his own thoughts and fancies as +the cause. Naïve and simple as a child himself, he could only see the +naïveté in the worthless compositions above referred to, and could not +understand the small ambition back of the pitiful effort. He often +unintentionally afforded equally great amusement to others by his own +naïveté. Thus he once told Stein, of the noted family of pianoforte +makers that some of the strings in his Broadwood were out of order or +lacking, and to illustrate it, caught up a bootjack and struck the keys +with it. Ries states that Beethoven several times in his awkwardness +emptied the contents of the ink-stand into the piano. On this same piano +the master was <a name="Page_136" id="Page_136"></a>often begged to improvise. The instrument was a present +from the manufacturers, and when made, was probably the best example of +its kind extant. It later came into the possession of Liszt.</p> + +<p>Beethoven's love of a joke was such that it appears in the title to one +of his works, the opus 129. It is a rondo a capriccio for piano, with +the title, Die Wuth über den verlorenen Groschen (fury over a lost +penny), of which Schumann says "it would be difficult to find anything +merrier than this whim. It is the most harmless amiable anger."</p> + +<p>Beethoven was ready in repartee, and full of resources, with a wit that +was spontaneous and equal to any emergency. One New-year's day, as he +and Schindler were sitting down to dinner, a card was brought in</p> + +<p class="center"> +JOHANN VAN BEETHOVEN<br /> +<em>Gutsbesitzer</em> (Landed proprietor).</p> + +<p>Beethoven took the card and wrote on the back of it—</p> + +<p class="center"> +L. VAN BEETHOVEN<br /> +<em>Hirnbesitzer</em> (Brain proprietor).</p> + +<p class="noindent">and sent it back to Johann. Cold-blooded, selfish, always ready to +profit by his talented brother, and never caring how he compromised him, +it was not to be expected that Johann would have the master's approval, +or that there could be any accord between them. In any encounter, the +composer generally managed to be master of the situation, through the +exercise of his wit, something which the duller Johann could neither +appreciate nor imitate. It may be <a name="Page_137" id="Page_137"></a>said in passing, that the master +supplied the funds which enabled Johann to start in business. This was +in 1809. He made money rapidly in army contracts, a business for which +he was well qualified, and finally bought an estate and set up for a +landed proprietor.</p> + +<p>Beethoven's waggishness was frequently vented on a young friend, +Zmeskall, who was court secretary. Zmeskall undertook the task of +keeping the master supplied with pens, which he cut from goose-quills. +Beethoven used up large quantities of them and was incessant in his +demands on him. A certain drollery characterizes all his letters to him. +He knew how to hit the vulnerable points in the other, and they were +often made the subject of attack. Zmeskall being a member of the +nobility, is often addressed by him, "Most high-born of men." He was +useful to Beethoven not alone on the subject of pens, but was appealed +to by him for advice and assistance on all sorts of matters. Zmeskall, +though a bachelor, lived in fine state, and maintained several servants. +He was thus in a position to procure the right sort of one for +Beethoven. Many of the letters are either on this theme or in regard to +securing him another lodging. Zmeskall is his resource in many of the +small matters of every-day life, perplexing to him, but simple enough to +the practical man. The master's helplessness is shown with pathos and +unconscious humor in the following note:</p> + +<div class="letter"><p class="address">Lieber Zmeskall,—</p> + +<p> Schicken sie mir doch ihrem spiegel, der nächts ihrem fenster hängt + auf ein paar stunden der meinige ist gebrochen, haben sie zugleich + die Güte haben wolten mir noch heute einen solchen<a name="Page_138" id="Page_138"></a> zu kaufen so + erzeigten sie mir einen grossen Gefallen. Ihre Auslage sollen sie + sogleich zurük erhalten. Verzeien sie lieber Z meiner + zudringlichkeit. Ich hoffe sie bald zu sehen.</p> + +<p class="sig"> +Ihr,<br /> +Bthvn.</p> +</div> + +<div class="letter"><p class="address">Dear Zmeskall,—</p> + +<p> Won't you kindly send me the mirror that hangs next to your window + for a few hours. Mine is broken. If you will at the same time have + the goodness to buy me such another you will do me a great favor. + Your outlay will be immediately returned to you.</p> + +<p> Pardon dear Z my importunity. I hope soon to see you.</p> + +<p class="sig"> +Your,<br /> +Bthvn.</p> +</div> + +<p>Beethoven's lapses from grammar (untranslatable into English), indicate +his impatience at the trivial wants and necessities which interrupt his +creative work and take his thoughts from his compositions. Instances of +bad grammar in his letters are frequent, when dealing with ordinary +topics. In no sense a polished man, he could, however, when the occasion +required it, assume in his grammar and diction the grace and elegance of +the scholar, but it does not often come to the front. He was too rugged, +too headstrong, to pay much attention to the little niceties of life.</p> + +<p>In common with his contemporaries, Zmeskall found his principal +enjoyment in music. He gave musical parties at his quarters, playing the +cello himself, and gathered about him many of the most distinguished +artists and amateurs of the day. Beethoven was always interested in +feats of virtuosity, but he cared little for the compositions of +<a name="Page_139" id="Page_139"></a>others. He occupied himself with his own work to the exclusion of that +of his contemporaries. His musical library was scant, consisting of a +small collection of the works of the early Italian masters, bound in one +volume, some of Mozart's sonatas—which must have seemed to him +curiously stunted and commonplace in comparison with his own—and a +portion of Don Giovanni. In addition, he possessed all of Clementi's +sonatas, which he greatly admired and which formed the basis of the +musical studies of his nephew for several years. Lastly there were a few +works of Bach, consisting of the Well-tempered Clavichord, some motets, +three volumes of exercises, some inventions, symphonies and a toccato.</p> + +<p>In speaking of Weber he said that he began to learn too late, and makes +the curious criticism that Weber's only apparent effort was to attain +the reputation of geniality. In reading Freischutz, he said he could +hardly help smiling at certain parts, but afterward qualified this by +saying that he could judge it better if he could hear it. Schindler +says, that when Rossini came to Vienna in 1822, and endeavored to call +on Beethoven, the master succeeded in escaping his visits. His opinion +of Händel is high. He once remarked to a friend who called on him, +"Händel is the greatest composer that ever lived." Continuing the +narrative this friend, J.A. Stumpf of London, says, "I cannot describe +the pathos and sublimity with which he spoke of the Messiah of that +immortal genius. We all felt moved when he said, "Ich würde mein Haupt +entblössen und auf seinem Grabe niederknieen." (I would kneel at his +grave with uncovered head.)"</p> + +<p>Of Mozart, he said, near the end of his life, in a letter <a name="Page_140" id="Page_140"></a>to the Abbe +Stadler, "All my life I have been esteemed one of the greatest admirers +of Mozart's genius and will remain so until my latest breath." Czerny +said that he was at times inexhaustible in praise of Mozart, although he +cared nothing for his piano works and he makes a severe criticism on Don +Giovanni. "In this opera Mozart still retained the complete Italian cut +and style. Moreover, the sacred art should never be degraded to the +foolery of so scandalous a subject. The Zauberflöte will ever remain his +greatest work, for in this he showed himself the true German composer." +Of Cherubini's Requiem he said, "as regards his conception of it, my +ideas are in perfect accord with his and sometime I mean to compose a +Requiem in that style." (Later in life his opinion of Cherubini was +greatly modified). He seldom spoke of Haydn, and had nothing of that +master's compositions in his library.</p> + +<p>Beethoven's collections in literature were far more extensive and +interesting than in music. He was essentially a student. His +predilections and thoughts all tended toward the acquisition of +knowledge. This was a veritable passion with him. His mind ranged +through almost every department of literature. In the intervals of his +work, worn by fatigue, he was in the habit of resting his mind by +reading the classics, or Persian literature. Schindler, who was near him +for the last ten years of his life says in relation to Beethoven's love +of the Greek classics. "He could recite long passages from them. If any +one asked him where this or that quotation was to be found he could find +it as readily as a motive from his own works." Elsewhere he says, +"Plato's Republic was transfused into his very flesh and blood." He was +an insatiable reader of his<a name="Page_141" id="Page_141"></a>tory. As may be supposed Shakespeare was an +especial favorite with him. There is a curious little work published +called Beethoven's Brevier, made up of those portions of Shakespeare and +the classics for which he had a particular regard. Here, Shakespeare is +first on the list. There are also many selections from the Greek, and +from Schiller, Goethe, Herder and others.</p> + +<p>Although a man of considerable culture, he was not an educated man, all +his available time and strength having been required for his musical +training. He was, however, the equal or superior in mental attainments +of any of the great musicians, with the exception of Wagner. He had the +strongest faith in his own powers. It was his belief that almost +anything could be accomplished by trying. Side by side with this belief +was the ineradicable conviction that intellectual culture was of more +importance than anything else in the universe. He stated his views +finely on this subject in a letter to a young girl, unknown to him, who +had sent him a present with a letter expressing her appreciation of his +music. "Do more than simply practice the art (of music), penetrate +rather, into the heart and soul of it. It will be found well worth +while, for art and knowledge alone have the power to elevate mankind up +to Deity itself. Should you want anything of me at any time, write me +with entire confidence. The true artist is never arrogant; rather he +sees with regret how illimitable all art is, and how far from the goal +he remains. While he may be admired, he only grieves that he cannot +reach the point toward which his better genius beckons him."</p> + +<p>We read of his ordering complete sets of Schiller and Goethe in the +summer of 1809. The study of these authors <a name="Page_142" id="Page_142"></a>carried on under most +unfavorable conditions, bore good fruit subsequently, as some good work +was inspired by them. The Egmont music, which appeared the following +year, the Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, Bundeslied, the different +settings of Erlkönig, the four settings of Sehnsucht are instances, +although this does not by any means complete the list of his settings +from the works of the authors just named.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143"></a>CHAPTER XIII</h3> +<div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">ToC</a></div> +<h4>MISSA SOLEMNIS</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Christianity is the doctrine of the deep guilt of the human race + through its existence alone, and the longing of the heart for + deliverance from it.</p></div> + +<p class="citation"><span class="smcap">—Schopenhauer.</span></p> + + +<div class="figleft"> +<img src="images/t.png" width="154" height="100" alt="T" title="T" /> +</div> +<p class="noindent">o Christianity and the spirit of religion in man we are indebted for +some of the finest arts which adorn our civilization. It was the +religious principle which brought into being the temples and statuary of +ancient Greece, as well as the splendid examples of Gothic architecture, +which have come down to us from the middle ages. It is this which has +given us those masterpieces in painting and sculpture, which have so +enriched the world; but above all it has given us music, highest of all +the arts. Here its influence has been most potent. Originating outside +the church, it found its best development within it. Religious fervor +had inspired some imperishable works of genius at a period when nothing +much had yet been done in secular music. The Masses of Palestrina, the +entire life-work of Sebastian Bach, the oratorios of Händel, are cases +in point. The old masters with hardly an exception gave their best +thought to sacred music. Bach has been mentioned. Haydn's important work +comes under this classification. Of the works of<a name="Page_144" id="Page_144"></a> Händel, only those of +a religious nature have survived to the present day, although he +composed many operas.</p> + +<p>The Masses and Passion-music of the old composers were often written +without hope of reward, entirely from love of the subject; they were +impelled to it, either through religious ardor, or from the force of +their artistic perceptions. The stateliness and solemnity of the Mass, +the tragic possibilities of the Passion, appealed to them, and satisfied +the tendency toward mysticism, which is so often a part of the artistic +nature.</p> + +<p>As an art, music finds its best development when of a religious +character. While operatic and even orchestral music in general, is +written more for the sake of giving pleasure than with any clearly +defined ethical purpose, the music of the Mass and Passion, religious +ceremonies, entering into man's profoundest experiences, is given for +spiritual enlightenment, and, being a part of the soul's needs, demands +and receives higher treatment and more serious consideration than +secular music. The very frame of mind which takes possession of a person +while listening to music of a religious character, is favorable to a +true appreciation of it. The listener is more in earnest, and the +emotions called up by the subject impress him more strongly than when +listening to secular music. These considerations have their influence on +the composer also. We usually find in religious music of the best class, +depth and earnestness of purpose commensurate with the expectation of +the listener.</p> + +<p>These few words are preliminary to a consideration of the Mass in D, the +work in which Beethoven reached his culmination as an artist. He himself +so regarded it, declar<a name="Page_145" id="Page_145"></a>ing it to be his greatest and best work. It is +certain that he spent more time on it, and gave it a larger share of his +attention than was devoted to any other of his works.</p> + +<p>For several years prior to this, Beethoven's muse had been silent for +the most part. No important work since the completion of the Eighth +Symphony had been achieved, with the exception of the sonatas mentioned +in a previous chapter. This was owing to the various lawsuits in which +he found himself involved. His troubles had now been adjusted, however, +to such an extent as to enable him to again turn his attention to large +works. The pension which had been settled on him in 1809 had been +imperilled by the death of Prince Kinsky and the bankruptcy of Prince +Lobkowitz. The portion of it which had been pledged to him by these +gentlemen had been discontinued or greatly reduced, and Beethoven had to +have recourse to the law to protect his rights. A compromise was finally +effected, which resulted in the pension being paid in part. Although the +litigation, in regard to his nephew was still on, it was becoming more +and more apparent that the outcome of it would be in his favor. His mind +at rest on these points, we find him once more in good health and +spirits, with creative energy not only unimpaired but greater than ever. +"In general, every evil to which we do not succumb is a benefactor," +said Emerson.</p> + +<p>The announcement of the Archduke's appointment as Archbishop of Olmütz, +had been definitely made during the summer of 1818. It was well known +for years previously that he would receive this appointment, and it is +quite likely that Beethoven had always intended writing a mass to +commemorate it. Considering the close relations <a name="Page_146" id="Page_146"></a>existing between master +and pupil for so many years, and Beethoven's obligations to Rudolph in +money matters, he could hardly have let so momentous an event go by, +without writing a mass for it. A mass was probably always intended, but +not such a one as eventually grew out of his original idea, which, +expanding, augmenting in force and grandeur as the significance of the +work took possession of his mind, finally became an apotheosis of +friendship, a message to the world.</p> + +<p>That the Archduke appreciated Beethoven and valued his friendship is +plain. He carefully preserved the letters written him by the master and +dedicated to him some of his own compositions. He had as complete a +library of Beethoven's works as was attainable, and was thoroughly +familiar with the master's music. That Beethoven responded to this to an +equal degree is not likely. He lived too abstracted a life for that. He +valued this friendship as much as such a man could, considering the +disparity in rank and the difference in mode of thought of the two men. +In dedicating so many of his compositions to him, and in consenting to +teach him for so long a period, he showed the esteem in which he held +him. Probably no other person, man or woman received the deference and +consideration from Beethoven, which he accorded the Archduke. The +republican, socialistic Beethoven was not specially influenced by his +rank; rather, it was his personality and devotion to music, which won +the regard of the master and formed the bond between them.</p> + +<p>In the composition of the mass, Beethoven was on familiar ground; the +work was congenial to him. The emotions called up by the subject swayed +him to such an extent <a name="Page_147" id="Page_147"></a>that he had difficulty in keeping it within +bounds. The mass was a form of music with which he had been associated +from childhood. It will be remembered that he played the organ at the +age of twelve years at church services, a practice which was kept up for +some years. His earliest impressions on the subject of music were in +this style. He was, in addition, inclined to it by temperament.</p> + +<p>The beautiful text appealed to him strongly. It is related that when the +German version of his first Mass (in C) was brought him, he quickly +opened the manuscript and ran over a few pages. When he came to the Qui +tollis, the tears trickled from his eyes and he was obliged to desist, +saying with the deepest emotion, "Yes, that was precisely my feeling +when I composed it."</p> + +<p>His journal entries at the time of beginning work on the Mass in D show +how completely the subject had taken possession of him. "To compose true +religious music, consult the old chorals in use in monasteries," he +wrote, which gives the clew to his frequent lapses into the ancient +ecclesiastical modes, the Lydian and Dorian, in this mass, a practice +for which Bach furnished a precedent. "Drop operas and everything else, +write only in your own style," is another entry of this time, showing +his predilection for church music.</p> + +<p>The summer of 1818 was spent at Mödling. He was in the best of health +and spirits as stated, and began the work with great energy and +enthusiasm. His whole nature seemed to change, Schindler states, when he +began the great work. His interest and absorption in it was +extraordinary, as is shown by the sketch-books from the beginning. +Enthusiasm carried him on to the consummation of a<a name="Page_148" id="Page_148"></a> greater work than +any he had yet accomplished. Hitherto, every achievement was merely a +resting-place up the mountainside, the prospect acting as a spur to him +to go yet higher, well knowing what Emerson finely stated, and was +putting into practice at this very time, that new gifts will be supplied +in proportion as we make use of those we have. <em>Dem Muthigen hilft +Gott!</em> said Schiller. Beethoven seemed to have some prevision that only +a few more years would be allotted him for work; when he began on the +mass his inspiration was like a river that had broken its bounds. Every +nerve and fibre of his being called him to his work. He was like a +war-horse that scents the battle. He now abandoned himself more than +ever to the impulse for creating. For the next few years he lived the +abstracted life of the enthusiast to whom every-day concerns are but +incidental and unimportant things, and his art the one great matter. The +gigantic tone-pictures which were constantly forming themselves in his +inner consciousness were of so much greater importance than the events +of his external life, that the latter were dwarfed by comparison and +lost their significance. He now made a greater surrender of the ties +connecting him with every-day life than ever before. His industry was +phenomenal, but it soon became apparent that the work would not be ready +for the Installation, the date of which was set for March 20, 1820. It +was in reality not completed until nearly two years after this event.</p> + +<p>We have a good description of the master at this time by the artist +Klober, who had been commissioned by a wealthy relative who was forming +a gallery of famous Vienna artists, to paint a portrait of Beethoven.</p> + +<p>"<a name="Page_149" id="Page_149"></a>Beethoven had a very earnest look; his vivacious eyes were for the most +part turned upwards, with a thoughtful and rather a gloomy expression, +which I have tried to represent. His lips were closed, but the mouth was +not an unkindly one. He was ready enough to expatiate on the arrogant +vanity and depraved taste of the Viennese aristocracy, by whom he feels +himself neglected, or at least underrated."</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>"Beethoven sat to me for nearly an hour every morning. When he saw my +picture, he observed that the style of hair pleased him very much; other +painters had always dressed it up as if he were going to court, not at +all as he generally wore it."</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>"His house at Mödling was extremely simple; so, indeed, was his whole +manner of life. His dress consisted of a light-blue coat with yellow +buttons, white waistcoat and neckcloth, such as were then worn, but +everything about him was very negligee. His complexion was florid, the +skin rather pock-marked, his hair the color of blue steel, for the black +was already changing to grey. His eyes were a bluish-grey and +exceedingly vivacious. When his hair streamed in the breeze there was a +sort of Ossian-like dæmonism about him. But, when talking in a friendly +way, he would assume a good-natured, gentle expression, particularly if +the conversation was agreeable to him."</p> + +<p>As we have seen, it had been a favorite project of Beethoven for years +to write a mass. When he started to carry out his ideas, one course only +seems to have been possible to him. This was, to project it on the +principle of <a name="Page_150" id="Page_150"></a>his Symphonies, in which the orchestra should take the +commanding part in interpreting the emotional and dramatic possibilities +of the text. His experience with his first mass had confirmed him in the +belief that he could give the best expression to his ideas by the use of +the orchestra, on account of its greater range, its mobility, the +variety of its tones. The idea of making it of more importance than the +voice, upset all preconceived theories on the subject. The orchestra was +emphatically the tool best adapted to Beethoven's powers; he developed +it into something wholly different from what it was when he found it. He +put it to exquisite uses. His effects are the happiest imaginable and +they are introduced with a prodigality and lavishness suggesting a +reserve as of oceans from which to draw. Much of his vocal music is +dominated by the orchestra.</p> + +<p>It took a long while to make people understand that music instead of +being the handmaid of poetry, whose function is merely to reflect the +ideas of our spoken language, has a language of its own, which can +convey ideas in itself, and that there are subtilties that can be +expressed in this manner, which evade one when we come to use our +coarser mode of expression. This is specially in evidence in Beethoven's +later work, particularly in the mass we are now considering. Wagner +frequently compares it to a symphony. In <em>Zukunftsmusik</em>, he says: "In +his Great Mass Beethoven has employed the choir and orchestra almost +exactly as in the symphony;" and elsewhere he cites it as being a +"strictly symphonic work of the truest Beethovenian spirit."</p> + +<p>In this work, however, he reaches out toward the in<a name="Page_151" id="Page_151"></a>finite to a degree +not attempted in the symphonies; his spirit takes a bolder flight; more +of the inner nature of the artist is revealed; for the limits which +bound him in the symphony were not operative in the mass. The very mode +of projecting the first movement, the Kyrie, shows the splendor of the +conception as it took form in his consciousness. The scheme of the +movement can be summed up by the antithesis being presented of humanity, +weak and sinful on the one side, and the overwhelming majesty of a just +God on the other. It is a prayer for mercy, the cry of the soul in its +extremity; the underlying thought being repentance. Here we have the +embodiment of prayer, of supplication. A devotional feeling of the most +exalted kind pervades it. The first of the three parts comprising the +movement is storm and stress, a knocking on the gates, a De Profundus, +an accusing conscience arraigning humanity. He works out of this vein to +some extent in the second part, the Christe eleison, in which the appeal +is made directly to the human element of the Godhead. In the third part, +the themes of the first are again taken up, but by modulation they are +made to take on a new significance, and bring peace in the end. Although +the movement is cast for double chorus as regards the vocal part, the +voices are given a subordinate place, the portrayal being carried on by +the orchestra in true symphonic style. Notable in this movement is the +rhythm. In all the storm and stress, a rhythmic motion, a systole and +diastole, a surging to and fro, as of vast masses of beings in the last +extremity of peril, is apparent.</p> + +<p>To read meanings and design into the work of such a composer as +Beethoven is the inevitable result of the tran<a name="Page_152" id="Page_152"></a>scendent nature of it. It +was seldom that he vouchsafed any explanation of his musical intent in +his compositions. Schindler, who thoroughly appreciated his genius, and +who was eager for enlightenment on this phase of his art, was in the +habit of drawing Beethoven out, as occasion offered, but it was always a +difficult process. Simple and childlike in most matters, the master was +wary and suspicious to an incredible degree when the conversation +touched on the subject of his compositions. At times, however, this +reserve gave way to Schindler's persistency. When he asked him about the +opening bars of the C minor Symphony (the Fifth) it brought out the +well-known remark, "thus fate knocks at the door." At another time, he +asked him for an elucidation of the Sonatas in F minor (opus 57) and D +minor (opus 29), and received the answer "read Shakespeare's Tempest," +which was only half an answer. More definite is his meaning in the two +Sonatas (opus 14), which represents the entreating and resisting +principle in the conversation of a pair of lovers.</p> + +<!-- Start of Lilypond musical notation + +\version "2.4.2" + +melody = \relative { + \clef treble + \key g \minor + \time 4/4 + + \override TextScript #'padding = #1.5 + f4.^"Solo"^\markup { + \large "ALLEGRO MODERATO. 100 =" + \note #"8" #1 + } + + \stemUp bes8 \stemNeutral bes[( a]) r8 f8 + f4. d'8 d[( c]) r4 + f^"Tutti" ees \grace ees8 d8( c16 bes c8)\noBeam ees + ees4( d)^\trill c8. +} + +\score { + + \new Staff \melody + \layout { } + \midi { \tempo 8 = 100 } +} + +End of Lilypond musical notation --> + +<div class="center"> + <img src="images/piece2.png" + width="628" height="98" + alt="Musical notation." /> +<p class="caption">[To listen to this music (MIDI file) <a href="music/piece2.midi">click here</a>.<br /> +To view the Lilypond data file for this music <a href="music/piece2.ly">click here</a>.<br /> +To view the original image of this music <a href="images/image4.png">click here</a>.]</p> +</div> + +<p>Men of genius seldom care to explain their utterances. "The spirit gives +it to me and I write it down" is a remark attributed to Beethoven, and +this stated the case sufficiently from his point of view.</p> + +<p>Zelter, director of the Singakademie of Berlin wrote Beethoven on +completion of the Mass, asking him to arrange it for voices only, as +nothing but <em>a capella</em> music was permitted by the institution. To this +Beethoven gave <a name="Page_153" id="Page_153"></a>a favorable reply, saying that with some modifications +the project was feasible. It, however, was not carried out.</p> + +<p>It is significant that Beethoven gives the German direction throughout +in this Mass. At the Kyrie the direction is Mit Andacht. At the soli of +the Agnus Dei he writes Aengstlich, denoting great agitation or anxiety. +It may have been done as a kind of protest to the Italian cult in music, +which had at this period taken complete possession of the Vienna public. +The more solid German music was neglected in favor of Rossini, and +Beethoven felt this change of front keenly, making it the subject of +remark to Rochlitz and to others.</p> + +<p>It can readily be supposed that works like the Mass in D are not easily +produced. To get his materials for it Beethoven penetrated deeply the +mystery surrounding life. The ideas which he voices seem always to have +existed, like other great forces in the universe; he impresses one as +being the discoverer, rather than the creator of them.</p> + +<p>Schindler, who saw much of him during these years, says of his +absorption in this work: "He actually seemed possessed, especially +during the composition of the Credo." It was while he was at work on +this portion of the Mass, notably the great fugue, et vitam venturi (the +life everlasting), that Schindler called on him one afternoon, but could +not gain admission. He knew the master was at home as he could hear him +stamping and shouting, singing the different parts as if mad. Finally +the door was opened and Beethoven appeared. He was faint from hunger and +overwork, having eaten nothing since the previous noon. His servants +had, indeed, prepared some food for him the previous day, but he was too +much in<a name="Page_154" id="Page_154"></a>terested in his work to think of it, and they were afraid to +urge it on him, or indeed, go near him, while in the stress of +composition. He had worked the previous night until overtaken by +exhaustion and on awaking in the morning had at once resumed his work, +continuing it until interrupted by Schindler's arrival.</p> + +<p>A work so transcendental in character as is this, calls for close and +sympathetic study even to get an approximate understanding of its +marvels. It is a characteristic of works of this nature, that although +not easily comprehended, they are likewise not readily exhausted. Much +study, many renderings only serve to bring out new values. Only by +bringing to them of our best will they be revealed.</p> + +<p>It must have been with a feeling of relief that he finally delivered a +copy of the Mass complete into the Archduke's hands in March of 1822, +just two years after the Installation.</p> + +<p>Beethoven wrote the sovereigns of Russia, France, Prussia and Saxony, +proposing a subscription of fifty ducats, about $115 each, for the Mass. +The first acceptance came from Prussia. One of the minor officials in +Vienna was commissioned by Prince von Hatzfeld, the Prussian Ambassador, +to ask Beethoven if he would not prefer a royal order instead of the +fifty ducats. Beethoven's reply was characteristic. Without a moment's +hesitation he said with emphasis, "fifty ducats!" showing the slight +value he placed on distinctions of this kind. A reply that must have +gratified him very much was that received from the King of France. In +his letter to him, Beethoven refers to the Mass as "<em>L'œuvre le plus +accompli</em>." Louis XVIII, not only forwarded his acceptance<a name="Page_155" id="Page_155"></a> (and the +fifty ducats), but had also a gold medal struck off, containing his +portrait on one side, and on the other, the following inscription: +"<em>Donné par le Roi à monsieur Beethoven</em>." The King of Saxony delayed +his remittance for a long while, and Beethoven was greatly irritated +thereby.</p> + +<p>But little other work was undertaken during the four years he was +occupied on the Mass unless we except the three grand piano sonatas, +opus 109, 110 and 111, which were composed during the intervals. A mere +by-product so to speak, undertaken with the object of resting his +faculties jaded by the strain of the greater work, his mind +notwithstanding was keyed up to a high pitch, while engaged on them. The +lofty imaginings which occupied his thoughts while on the Mass are +reflected in them, rendering them unapproachable as piano sonatas. The +master himself, set a great value on them.</p> + +<p>Now that the Mass was completed he began to give his attention to other +works. To celebrate the opening of the rehabilitated Josephstadt theatre +which occurred in the autumn of 1822, Beethoven wrote a new overture, +Weihe des Hauses. He also worked over for this occasion his Ruins of +Athens, written in 1812, for which the text was altered to suit the new +conditions and several new numbers added. Another representation of the +almost forgotten Fidelio, which was selected by Fräulein +Schroeder-Devrient for her benefit, and which was a pronounced success +through the genius of this remarkable woman, led to a commission for a +new opera from a Vienna manager. This was followed shortly after by a +similar order from Berlin on his own terms. There had also been <a name="Page_156" id="Page_156"></a>some +talk before this about an opera on an American subject, the Founding of +Pennsylvania. It was suggested by a minor poet and government official, +Johann Ruprecht, whose poem, Merkenstein, Beethoven had set to music +previous to 1816. In 1820 Beethoven had planned an Italian tour and had +intended taking Ruprecht with him. They must have quarrelled later, as +in a letter to Schindler in 1823 Beethoven refers to Ruprecht in the +most abusive terms.</p> + +<p>A commission that must have gratified Beethoven exceedingly, but which, +however, was not acted upon, was that which emanated from Breitkopf and +Härtel, who sent the famous critic Friederich Rochlitz to Vienna in +July, 1822, with a proposition that he write some Faust music in the +style of the Egmont music. It is narrated that Beethoven received the +proposition with joy, but gave only a qualified assent. There is no +doubt that he would have found inspiration in the text, and that a noble +work would have resulted, but he feared the nervous strain of such an +undertaking. "I should enjoy it," he said to Rochlitz, "but I shudder at +the thought of beginning works of such magnitude. Once engaged on them, +however, I have no difficulty." His labors on the Mass aged him. In his +prime on its inception, he emerged from his seclusion on completing it, +infirm and broken in health. The idea of the Faust music attracted him, +as it would have been strictly symphonic in character. He occasionally +refers to it subsequently, but never got so far as to enter themes for +it in his note-books. Wagner essayed it, but went no further than to +write the overture. The subject of Faust still awaits a capable +interpreter.</p> + +<p><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157"></a>His next commission was a simple one, consisting of an order early in +the spring of 1823 from Diabelli, composer and head of a large +publishing house in Vienna, for six variations on a waltz by him +(Diabelli). The dance was always a favorite musical form with Beethoven +in his lighter moments, and the variation form,—capable of a degree of +sprightliness, vivacity and originality in the right hands which give it +an entrancing effect, to which we come again and again with pleasure, +was something peculiarly his own at every stage of his artistic career. +His earliest essays in composition are in this form. Variations occupy a +prominent part in all his works, whether chamber-music, sonatas or +symphonies. They are introduced perhaps with best effect in the works of +his last years, in the Ninth Symphony, and in the last quartets.</p> + +<p>He accepted the order with pleasure and began work on it at once on +reaching his summer quarters. This was congenial work, affording him +relief from the mental strain imposed on him by his labors on the Ninth +Symphony, which was then under way. A price of eighty ducats ($180) was +fixed by the publisher at the outset for the set, but the master enjoyed +his work so much, that the six, when completed, were increased to ten, +then to twenty, and twenty-five, and so on until the number grew to +thirty-three. These variations are extremely elaborate and difficult, a +characteristic of most of his work in these years.</p> + +<p>Wagner never tired of exploiting the variation form in his operas, +particularly in the Tetralogy. He frequently refers to Beethoven's +masterly use of it. "Haydn first, Beethoven last, have conferred +artistic value on this form," he says in the article on conducting; +later on in <a name="Page_158" id="Page_158"></a>the same work, he says, "the wondrous second movement of +Beethoven's great C minor Sonata" (opus 111), "and the last movement of +the Eroica Symphony should be grasped as an infinitely magnified +Variation section." Bach also excelled in it, the Variation form being +constantly met with throughout his works.</p> + +<p>The summer of 1823 was spent at Hetzendorf, a village of which Beethoven +was always fond. He had secured large and comfortable quarters in the +house of a Baron Pronay, which, from Schindler's account was a fine old +mansion in the centre of a large park. It suited Beethoven admirably. +There was a fine view of the surrounding country from his windows, the +situation was healthful, and he delighted in walking about when not at +work. But he gave up this comfortable home before the summer was ended, +simply on account of the extravagant politeness of his landlord, who, +conscious of the value of so distinguished a tenant, always greeted him +with "profound obeisances" when they met. This opera bouffe deportment +though undertaken with the best of motives on the Baron's part, became +so embarrassing that Beethoven finally fled to Baden with all his +belongings, including the grand piano, although his rent had been paid +in advance for the entire summer. Schindler assisted in this migration, +joining him at five o'clock one morning.</p> + +<p>The year 1823 in which Beethoven practically completed his life-work +(with the exception of the last quartets) is the dawn of a new musical +genius, versatile, accomplished, many-sided, who as performer was +qualified to rank with the older master. On New-year's day of this year, +Franz Liszt, who had been studying under Czerny <a name="Page_159" id="Page_159"></a>for two years past, +made his first appearance in Vienna in concert, in which he took the +public by storm. Beethoven seems not to have been present, and +strangely, when we reflect on his intimacy with Czerny, seems to have +been unaware of the existence of this talented youth. During the autumn +of this year, the elder Liszt called on Beethoven, bringing with him the +young Franz. Beethoven held himself aloof at first, receiving his +visitors coldly. He unbent however, on hearing the youth perform, and +stooped and kissed him. During this autumn he also received a visit from +Weber and young Julius Benedict, his pupil. Weber was preparing his +recently completed opera Euryanthe, for a first production in Vienna. He +had produced Fidelio in the foregoing spring season at Dresden, where he +was officially stationed, and had made a success of it with Frau +Schroeder-Devrient. Considerable correspondence must have passed between +the two composers on this matter, and Weber could hardly have omitted +calling when coming to Vienna, although the memory of his former +strictures on Beethoven's music must have embarrassed him. Weber had +stated on hearing the Seventh Symphony for the first time that Beethoven +was now fit for the madhouse, and his criticisms in general had been +adverse. This, however, was something which Beethoven had never objected +to; moreover, time had amply vindicated him as to the symphonies, so he +could afford to be generous to his youthful critic. Beethoven was genial +and kindly, and the younger man was deeply impressed by the master's +reception of him. Euryanthe proved a failure and Weber called again to +ask Beethoven's advice as to remodelling the work.</p> + +<p>The libretto Melusina, which was submitted to him by<a name="Page_160" id="Page_160"></a> Grillparzer found +such favor in his eyes as to lead to its acceptance, but when he came +face to face with the project, his former experience with opera was +sufficient to deter him, and he abandoned the idea, giving as an excuse +the inferiority of the German singers. That this was only an excuse, is +plain, since only a short time afterward Mlle. Sontag was intrusted with +the exceedingly difficult soprano parts of the Mass in D and the Ninth +Symphony. He was hard at work on this Symphony at the time, which will +serve to explain and accentuate his reluctance to again attempt operatic +composition, a style of work diametrically opposed to that which had +engaged his attention for many years previously. It would too, have +necessitated shelving the Symphony indefinitely, and, although he needed +the money which the opera would have yielded, his interest in the +Symphony was paramount; he could not bring himself to abandon it. With +failing powers superinduced by his excessive labors on the Mass, it was +being borne in on him that he was nearing the end of his life-work. +Under such circumstances the Symphony was sure to have the preference. +The long cherished plans for another oratorio, and for a Requiem Mass +also insistently came up for consideration, crowding out all serious +intention of an opera.</p> + +<p>The project of a Requiem Mass was of particular interest to him; it +comes to the fore frequently. He mentioned it shortly after the +completion of the Mass in C. Then, when his brother Karl died it is +again considered. It is also mentioned on the occasion of the tragic +death of Prince Kinsky, who had acted so liberally by him in the matter +of the pension. It is probable that the work of writing a Requiem Mass +would have proved congenial <a name="Page_161" id="Page_161"></a>to him. He was in the right mood for it on +completion of the Mass in D, and it is rather singular that he did not +undertake it instead of the Symphony. Religious questions were occupying +his mind more and more in these years. It must be admitted that his +religion was as peculiar to himself as was his music. He affiliated with +no church, although baptized as a Catholic, and brought up in that +church; but the frequent appeals to the Divinity in his journals, show +his belief in, and reliance on, a higher power. He formulated his own +religion as did Thoreau. The man who could write, "Socrates and Jesus +were patterns to me" lived a correct life in its essentials. His +asceticism, his unselfishness, the sympathy which he continually showed +for others, his unworldliness,—what else is this but the gist of New +Testament teaching? Like a tree nourished on alien soil, which yet +produces fairer and better fruit than the native ones, and becomes the +parent of a new variety, this man achieved his high development of +character by being a law unto himself like the anchorites of old.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162"></a>CHAPTER XIV</h3> +<div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">ToC</a></div> +<h4>NINTH SYMPHONY</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>We stand to-day before the Beethovenian Symphony as before the + landmark of an entirely new period in the history of universal art, + for through it there came into the world a phenomenon not even + remotely approached by anything the art of any age or any people + has to show us.</p></div> +<p class="citation"><span class="smcap">—Wagner.</span></p> + + +<div class="figleft"> +<img src="images/d.png" width="106" height="100" alt="D" title="D" /> +</div> +<p class="noindent">uring the period of his work on the Mass, and for some time before, +Beethoven's thoughts were occupied more or less with that stupendous +work, the Ninth Symphony, sketches for which began to appear already in +1813, shortly after his meeting with Goethe. That Beethoven looked up to +Goethe ever after as to a spiritual mentor, studying his works, +absorbing his thought, is plain. In projecting this symphony he may very +well have designed it as a counterpart to Faust, as has been suggested. +Actually begun in 1817, it had to be laid aside before much had been +accomplished on it, in favor of the Mass in D. This gave him plenty of +time to mature his conception of the work; and this ripening process, +covering a period of ten years from its first inception, was one of the +factors which helped him achieve his wondrous result. His work on the +Mass was a good preparation for the psychological problems expounded in +the Symphony.</p> + +<p><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163"></a>Here is a work so interwoven into Beethoven's very life and spirit, that +the mention of his name at once calls to mind the Ninth Symphony. It is +the work of the seer approaching the end of his life-drama, giving with +photographic clearness a résumé of it. Here are revelations of the inner +nature of a man who had delved deeply into the mysteries surrounding +life, learning this lesson in its fullest significance, that no great +spiritual height is ever attained without renunciation. The world must +be left behind. Asking and getting but little from it, giving it of his +best, counting as nothing its material advantages, realizing always that +contact with it had for him but little joy, the separation from it was +nevertheless a hard task. This mystery constantly confronted Beethoven, +that, even when obeying the finer behests of his nature, peace was not +readily attained thereby; often there was instead, an accession of +unhappiness for the time being. Paradoxically peace was made the +occasion for a struggle; it had to be wrested from life. No victory is +such unless well fought for and dearly bought.</p> + +<p>This eternal struggle with fate, this conflict forever raging in the +heart, runs through all the Symphonies, but nowhere is it so strongly +depicted as in this, his last. We have here in new picturing, humanity +at bay, as in the recently completed Kyrie of the grand mass. The +apparently uneven battle of the individual with fate,—the plight of the +human being who finds himself a denizen of a world with which he is +entirely out of harmony, who, wrought up to despair, finds life +impossible yet fears to die,—is here portrayed in dramatic language. To +Wagner the first movement pictured to him "the idea of the <a name="Page_164" id="Page_164"></a>world in its +most terrible of lights," something to recoil from. "Beethoven in the +Ninth Symphony," he says, "leads us through the torment of the world +relentlessly until the ode to joy is reached."</p> + +<p>Great souls have always taught that the only relief for this +<em>Weltschmerz</em> is through the power of love; that universal love alone +can transform and redeem the world. This is the central teaching of +Jesus, of Buddha, of all who have the welfare of humanity at heart. It +was Beethoven's solution of the problem of existence. Through this magic +power, sorrows are transmuted into gifts of peace and happiness. +Beethoven loved his kind. Love for humanity, pity for its misfortunes, +hope for its final deliverance, largely occupied his mind. With scarcely +an exception Beethoven's works end happily. Among the sketches of the +last movement of the Mass in D, he makes the memorandum, "Stärke der +Gesinnungen des innern Friedens. Über alles ... Sieg." (Strengthen the +conviction of inward peace. Above all—Victory). The effect of the +Choral Finale is that of an outburst of joy at deliverance, a +celebration of victory. It is as if Beethoven, with prophetic eye, had +been able to pierce the future and foresee a golden age for humanity, an +age where altruism was to bring about cessation from strife, and where +happiness was to be general. Such happiness as is here celebrated in the +Ode to Joy, can indeed, only exist in the world through altruism. +Pity,<a name="FNanchor_B_2" id="FNanchor_B_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_2" class="fnanchor">[B]</a> that sentiment which allies <a name="Page_165" id="Page_165"></a>man to the divine, comes first. +From this proceeds love, and through these and by these only is +happiness possible. This was the gist of Beethoven's thought. He had +occupied himself much with sociological questions all his life, always +taking the part of the oppressed.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_B_2" id="Footnote_B_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_2"><span class="label">[B]</span></a> The German rendering <em>Mitleid</em> has a higher significance +than its English equivalent. Literally it means sharing the sorrow of +the afflicted one. It may be said in passing that this sentiment is the +central idea in Parsifal.</p></div></div> + +<p>Schindler, who was almost constantly with Beethoven at this time, tells +of the difficulty the master experienced in finding a suitable way of +introducing the choral part. He finally hit upon the naïve device of +adding words of his own in the form of a recitative, which first appears +in the sketch-book as, "Let us sing the immortal Schiller's Song, +'Freude schöner Götterfunken.'" This was afterward changed to the much +better form as now appears, "O Freunde, nicht diese Töne! sondern lasst +uns angenehmere anstimmen, und freudenvollere." (O friends, not these +tones. Let us sing a strain more cheerful, more joyous.)</p> + +<p>The whole character and design of the Ode to Joy will be better +apprehended when it is stated that it is in reality an Ode to Freedom. +With its revolutionary spirit Beethoven was entirely in accord. Already +in his twenty-third year he contemplated setting it to music. Later, in +the note-book of 1812, the first line of the poem appears, in connection +with a scheme for an overture. It is worthy of remark that the Symphony +was well under way before he decided on incorporating the Ode in it.</p> + +<p>The Ninth Symphony was first performed in this country in 1846 in Castle +Garden, by the New York Philharmonic Society, which had been organized +four years previously. George Loder conducted it. When we consider the +herculean efforts Wagner was obliged to make to <a name="Page_166" id="Page_166"></a>get permission to +perform it in Dresden in this selfsame year, it speaks well for "North +America." Subsequent performances of it in New York by this Society are +as follows:</p> + +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> +<tr><td><span style="font-size: smaller">PERFORMANCE</span></td><td></td><td><span style="font-size: smaller">CONDUCTOR</span></td></tr> + +<tr><td>Second</td><td>April 28, 1860</td><td>Theo. Eisfeld.</td></tr> +<tr><td>Third</td><td>April 29, 1865</td><td>Theo. Eisfeld.</td></tr> +<tr><td>Fourth</td><td>February 1, 1868</td><td>C. Bergmann.</td></tr> +<tr><td>Fifth</td><td>April 28, 1877</td><td>Dr. L. Damrosch.</td></tr> +<tr><td>Sixth</td><td>February 12, 1881</td><td>Theo. Thomas.</td></tr> +<tr><td>Seventh</td><td>April 10, 1886</td><td>Theo. Thomas.</td></tr> +<tr><td>Eighth</td><td>April 12, 1890</td><td>Theo. Thomas.</td></tr> +<tr><td>Ninth</td><td>April 23, 1892</td><td>Anton Seidl.</td></tr> +<tr><td>Tenth</td><td>April 11, 1896</td><td>Anton Seidl.</td></tr> +<tr><td>Eleventh</td><td>April 2, 1898</td><td>Vander Stucken.</td></tr> +<tr><td>Twelfth</td><td>April 7, 1900</td><td>E. Paur.</td></tr> +<tr><td>Thirteenth</td><td>April 4, 1902</td><td>E. Paur.</td></tr></table> + +<p>It was not performed in New York during the years 1903 and 1904.</p> + +<p>Beethoven's correspondence with Count Brühl of the Berlin Theatre in the +matter of an opera for that city, led him, owing to the apathy of the +Vienna public at this time toward his works, to offer the new Symphony +and the Mass for a first hearing in Berlin. At this time, and for some +years previously, Rossini's music had captured the Vienna public so +completely that no other was desired. That this light evanescent work +should be preferred to his own, was resented by the master. He decided +to offer the new works to Count Brühl, the Italian craze not having yet +penetrated Berlin. As soon as this became known however, a reaction +followed, and a memorial was addressed to Bee<a name="Page_167" id="Page_167"></a>thoven by his friends, +begging him to reconsider the matter, and produce the new works in +Vienna, as well as write a new opera for them. The appeal was signed by +thirty of the most prominent men of affairs in the city. The list of +names is a noble one, each being prominently connected in some way with +music. Among composers and performers may be mentioned Czerny and the +Abbe Stadler. Artario & Co., Diabelli and Leidersdorf, were music +publishers. Count Palfy and Sonnleithner were operatic managers, while +counselor Kiesewetter and J.F. Costelli were authors of libretti and +songs. The others were prominent in court circles, and their devotion to +music was such as to give weight to the communication. The memorial +itself is discursive to a point which taxes one's patience, but the +expressions of appreciation and friendship are genuine, and must have +gratified Beethoven extremely. Naturally but one outcome was probable as +a result of this memorial. Shortly after receiving it, he announced to +his friends that the initial performance of these works would be held in +Vienna. Strangely, a difficulty at once arose, in the matter of +selecting a suitable place for the performance. Had Beethoven left the +management of the affair in the hands of his friends, and given his +attention to securing sufficient rehearsals for the new Symphony, which +finally had to be produced after being rehearsed twice only, it would +have been better all around. With the vacillating disposition which +characterized him in all business matters, he was not only of no aid, +but so complicated matters by his indecision on every point, that the +arrangements finally came to a standstill, his friends who were +assisting him being at their wits' end. These were Schindler, Count<a name="Page_168" id="Page_168"></a> +Lichnowsky, and the violinist Schuppanzich. At this juncture, these old +and tried friends, thinking that strategy might succeed where diplomacy +had failed, hit upon the following plan to bring matters to a focus. +Schindler was at this time living at Beethoven's house, and the plan +decided on was to have Count Lichnowsky and Schuppanzich call there as +if by accident. The conversation would naturally turn to the approaching +concert and leading questions were to be asked Beethoven. His answers in +these years were usually in writing. The gist of these was to be written +out by one of the party, who would then carelessly, or as if in jest, +ask Beethoven to sign the paper, thus committing him to a definite +course. These praise-worthy intentions were carried out with so much +tact and skill that Beethoven not only saw through their innocent ruse, +but discovered in the whole proceeding a deep-laid plot on the part of +these arch-conspirators, whereof he was to be the victim of villainy and +treachery. This dawned on him shortly after the friends had taken their +departure, upon which he wrote the following notes, leaving them on the +piano as was his custom, for Schindler to deliver.</p> + +<div class="letter"><p class="address">To The Count Moritz von Lichnowsky,—</p> + +<p> I despise these artifices, visit me no more. Academy (the concert) + will not take place.</p> + +<p class="sig"> Beethoven.</p></div> + +<div class="letter"><p class="address">To M. Schindler,—</p> + +<p> Do not come near me again until I send for you. No Academy.</p> + +<p class="sig"> Beethoven.</p></div> + +<div class="letter"><p class="address">To M. Schuppanzich,—</p> + +<p> Do not visit me again. No concert.</p> + +<p class="sig"> Beethoven.</p></div> + +<p><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169"></a>From the above it will readily be seen, as Schindler plaintively +asserts, that the office of friend to Beethoven was no sinecure. But he +appreciated the advantage of living in the reflected glory of the great +master, and such tact as he possessed was brought to bear, to continue +the relations of friend, counsellor and general factotum, which were +maintained to the end. Beethoven at times spoke slightingly in his +letters of his humble follower, but there is no doubt that Schindler was +of great service to him, and that this was appreciated by the master is +equally true. Schindler did not deliver the letters just quoted, and the +affair did not sever the relations of the parties concerned.</p> + +<p>Beethoven's contention all along was for an advance in price of +admission to the concert, owing to the heavy expense for theatre hire, +copying, etc. As the works to be performed had not yet been published, +it was necessary to copy out the separate parts for the members of the +orchestra and chorus,—an immense task. The manager objected to any +advance in prices, and insisted also that the concert be held on a +subscription night—a good arrangement for the patrons of the theatre +who would thus have free admission, but a bad one for the master. He +finally had to submit, however. "After these six weeks' squabbling," he +writes to Schindler toward the end of April, "I feel absolutely boiled, +stewed and roasted," a state of mind brought about by his conflict with +copyists, managers and performers.</p> + +<p>The concert which took place on May 7, 1824, was the occasion for great +enthusiasm. The programme consisted of the Overture Weihe des Hauses, as +well as the Kyrie, Credo and Agnus Dei of the Mass in D, and the<a name="Page_170" id="Page_170"></a> Ninth +Symphony. The solo parts were taken by Madame Sontag and Fräulein Unger, +who protested more than once at the unsingable nature of some of the +parts in the Choral Finale when practising them at Beethoven's house.</p> + +<p>The applause from the very beginning was phenomenal. The people became +vociferous on seeing him, and this enthusiasm was continued throughout +the evening. At the close of the performance the demonstrations became, +if possible, more forcible than before, owing, perhaps, to the fact that +Beethoven maintained his former position, facing the orchestra and with +his back to the audience, as if unaware of the applause. At last +Fräulein Unger turned him about so that he could see the demonstrations +of the audience. The picture is presented of excited masses of people +carried away by the emotions of the moment, rending the air with +boisterous applause, and in the midst this great one, unresponsive to +the homage showered on him, unconscious, seeing visions, perhaps +planning a Tenth Symphony.</p> + +<p>Beethoven's deafness was not total. He was no doubt able to hear some of +this extraordinary applause, and, in any event, must have known that it +would be forthcoming. He had probably become wearied with it all, and +let his thoughts go far afield. The utter vanity of this kind of thing +must often occur to great minds at such a time. These frenzied people by +their very actions showed their inability to comprehend his work, and +could not confer honor in this manner.</p> + +<p>But the enthusiasm of the audience had the practical effect of leading +the manager to make an offer to Beethoven for another concert, +guaranteeing him five hundred <a name="Page_171" id="Page_171"></a>florins ($250). It was held on May 23, at +noon. On this occasion all of the Mass but the Kyrie was omitted, some +Italian music being substituted. The house was only half filled at the +second concert and the management lost money. Beethoven's apprehensions +as to the profits from the first concert were well founded. He made less +than two hundred dollars from the undertaking, and was so disappointed +with this pitiful result after all the work of preparation, that he +refused to eat any supper, and would not go to bed, but remained on a +couch with his clothes on for the night. When he learned that the +management lost eight hundred florins on the occasion of the second +concert, it was with difficulty that he could be prevailed on to accept +the amount guaranteed him. It is not likely that this reluctance was +owing to any consideration for the manager, but rather to umbrage at the +course of things in general. His temper was not improved by these +disappointments, and he even charged Schindler with having conspired +with the manager to cheat him. This led to a rupture between the two of +several months' duration. Beethoven at length called on Schindler and +apologized for the offence, begging him to forget it, upon which the old +relations were restored.</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding that Beethoven had personally solicited the attendance +of the members of the Imperial family, and had promises from some of +them, not one came, the Emperor's box being the only empty space in the +theatre. The slight was no doubt intentional, and affords the last +instance of which there is record, of the lifelong contest waged between +Beethoven and the court. He was usually the aggressor, making it +impossible for the Imperial <a name="Page_172" id="Page_172"></a>family to favor him, or even to show him +much attention. They could not have been insensible to the historical +importance of having in their midst such a man; they must have had the +prescience to know that Beethoven's achievements, if furthered by them, +would place them in the lime-light for the admiration of future ages; +but they were thwarted by the man himself, who went out of his way more +than once, most unjustifiably, to offend them.</p> + +<p>There is a letter from Count Dietrichstein, court chamberlain, on the +subject of a mass which Beethoven was invited to write for the Emperor, +which is unintentionally humorous. In it, all sorts of suggestions are +made as to the style of the music, the length of the mass (it being +enjoined on him that the Emperor did not like long church services) and +other like stipulations. Beethoven's remarks in answer to this letter +are not recorded, but the mass was not written. Here was a case where +kingly prerogative did not avail.</p> + +<p>Simultaneously with the appearance in the sketch-books of motives for +the Ninth Symphony, another is projected, as was the case when composing +his previous ones, which generally appeared in pairs, as already noted. +A wealth of ideas flowed in on him while engaged on any great work, much +of which, when not available for the one, could be utilized on the +other. While working on the Mass in D, he had in mind composing another +mass, as is evidenced by the following memorandum in the sketches of the +Agnus Dei: "Das Kyrie in der neuen Messe bloss mit blasenden +Instrumenten und Orgel." (The Kyrie in the new Mass only with wind +instruments and organ.) The new Symphony was to be religious in +character, and was projected <a name="Page_173" id="Page_173"></a>on a broader scale even than the Ninth. A +memorandum on the subject of the Tenth Symphony appears in the +sketch-books of the latter part of the year 1818. It is as follows: "The +orchestra (violins, etc.) to be increased tenfold, for the last +movements, the voices to enter one by one. Or the Adagio to be in some +manner repeated in the last movements. In the Allegro, a Bacchic +festival."<a name="FNanchor_C_3" id="FNanchor_C_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_3" class="fnanchor">[C]</a> His labors, however, on the Mass and Ninth Symphony had so +exhausted him that no strength was left for this great work, and no part +of it was even drafted. Later he thought to substitute a shorter work, +something which would not have taxed him so much physically. He then +makes the memorandum, "also instead of a new Symphony, an overture on +Bach." Sehr fugirt (greatly fugued.)</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_C_3" id="Footnote_C_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_3"><span class="label">[C]</span></a> Nottebohm's <em>Zweite Beethoveniana</em>.</p></div></div> + +<p>Now that the concerts were over and summer approaching, Beethoven's +thoughts turned to the country. A comfortable house was secured for him +at Schoenbrun on the bank of the river, but his stay here was short. A +bridge near the house made it possible to obtain a good view of the +master, and it soon got to be the custom for people to station +themselves on it and watch for his appearance. He stood the ordeal for +three weeks, and then fled to his beloved Baden, where he appears to +have been safe from such annoyances.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174"></a>CHAPTER XV</h3> +<div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">ToC</a></div> +<h4>CAPACITY FOR FRIENDSHIP</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Genius lives essentially alone. It is too rare to find its like + with ease, and too different from the rest of men to be their + companion.</p></div> + +<p class="citation"><span class="smcap">—Schopenhauer.</span></p> + + +<div class="figleft"> +<img src="images/f.png" width="69" height="100" alt="F" title="F" /> +</div> +<p class="noindent">or many years Beethoven had not been on speaking terms with the friend +of his youth, Stephen von Breuning. The year 1815, which had cost him +his brother Karl, also deprived him of Stephen's friendship. Two +versions are given as to the cause of the quarrel which estranged them. +One is that Stephen had warned him not to trust his brother Karl in +money matters. Another, and probably the correct one, is that Stephen +endeavored to dissuade the master from adopting the young Karl in event +of his brother's death. In either case Von Breuning acted entirely in +Beethoven's interest without considering the possible consequences to +himself; his disinterestedness was poorly rewarded however. Beethoven +was bound by every obligation of friendship to him, but, with his usual +want of tact, told his brother just what Stephen had said. Naturally +Karl resented this interference in their family affairs, and succeeded +in inflaming his brother's mind against Von Breuning. The estrangement +resulted. Karl died shortly after, and a mis<a name="Page_175" id="Page_175"></a>taken sense of loyalty +toward his dead brother helped to keep alive Beethoven's anger against +his former friend. There is no record of his having so much as mentioned +the latter's name in the following ten years, although he and Von +Breuning lived in the same city and had many friends in common.</p> + +<p>As time passed, and one after another of Beethoven's friends were lost +to him—through death or otherwise—his thoughts no doubt often reverted +to this old friend. It must often have occurred to him that Breuning's +companionship would be more enjoyable than that of some of the friends +of these years. An accidental meeting with him on the bastion one +evening in August of 1825, happily led to a reconciliation. Beethoven's +eyes were at last opened to the injustice done Von Breuning, upon which +he wrote him a letter, so imbued with penitence, so fraught with the +desire of obliterating his past unkindness, so filled with yearning and +tenderness, that it must have compensated Stephen for all the pain of +the past years.</p> + +<p>Accompanying the letter was his portrait painted many years before. The +letter has been frequently published. It is so characteristic of the man +that it can hardly be omitted:</p> + +<p>"Behind this portrait, dear, good Stephen, may all be forever buried +which has for so long kept us apart. I have torn your heart I know. The +agitation that you must constantly have noticed in me has punished me +enough. It was not malice that prompted my behavior toward you. No! I +should then be no longer worthy of your friendship. I was led to doubt +you by people who were unworthy of you and of me. My portrait has long +ago been intended <a name="Page_176" id="Page_176"></a>for you. You know that I had always intended it for +some one. To whom could I give it so with warmest love as to you, true, +faithful, noble Stephen. Forgive me for causing you suffering. My own +sufferings have equaled yours. It was not until after our separation +that I realized how dear you are and always will be to my heart."</p> + +<p>All this in English sounds cold and stunted when compared with the fire +of the original. Beethoven never spared himself when making amends for +past misconduct.</p> + +<p>From this time on the name of Von Breuning appears again in his letters +and he found much comfort in intercourse with his family. He was always +a welcome guest at Breuning's house. A friendship was soon inaugurated +between the master and Stephen's son, a bright lad of twelve years. He +nicknamed him Ariel, when sending him on errands, probably with +reference to his agility.</p> + +<p>Such incidents as the quarrels with Breuning, his dismissal of +Schindler, Schuppanzich, and Count Lichnowsky during the preliminary +work of the testimonial concert, his suspicions of his friends at the +second concert when he invited them to a dinner, and then charged them +with an attempt to defraud him,—these at first glance, especially if +considered apart, lead to the conclusion that Beethoven was not intended +for friendship. This was not the case however. His deafness and +preoccupation with his work, led him to keep aloof to some extent from +others, but it is undeniable that he greatly valued this sentiment and +actively fostered it. Perhaps, like Thoreau, he expected too much from +it, and could find no one to respond to the measure of his +anticipations. He was probably disappointed one way or another, with +every friend that came <a name="Page_177" id="Page_177"></a>to him, but to the end kept alive his faith in +humankind, and managed always to maintain intimate and friendly +relations with one or more persons. There is no interval from his +twentieth year up to his death, of which this cannot be said. He was +essentially gregarious and recognized the need of friendship. That he +was unlike his fellow human beings—essentially different—he knew. He +often sought to bridge these differences, in order to make friendly +intercourse with others possible.</p> + +<p>Among the friends of this period may be mentioned Hüttenbrenner, +Schubert's friend. Schubert himself would have prized Beethoven's +friendship in the highest degree, but he was too modest to bring it +about. The junior by twenty years, and in Beethoven's lifetime unknown +to fame, it devolved on him to take the initiative in this matter. A +meeting could easily have been arranged as both dined at the same +restaurant, and Hüttenbrenner could have managed to bring them together. +Beethoven was generally approachable when not at work, and was always +well disposed toward young musicians of talent, but the habitually +modest estimate which Schubert placed on himself, coupled with the +regard amounting to reverence which he entertained for Beethoven, was +sufficient to deter the younger man. He indeed attempted a meeting in +1822, but the result was a fiasco owing to his extreme diffidence. +Having composed some variations on a French air (opus 10) he desired to +dedicate them to Beethoven and prevailed on Diabelli to arrange a +meeting, as well as call with him on the master, since he feared to go +alone. Beethoven's demeanor toward him was genial and friendly. When +Schubert attempted conversation the master handed him a pencil <a name="Page_178" id="Page_178"></a>and +paper. He was too nervous to write in reply, but managed to produce his +composition, which Beethoven examined with some appearance of interest. +The master finally came upon some incorrect harmonization (Schubert had +never received a proper technical training) and in mild terms called the +young composer's attention to it. This so disconcerted him that he fled +to the street, regardless of consequences. The incident is related by +Schindler, but is called into question by Kreissle, who wrote an +exhaustive biography of Schubert. Kreissle says that Beethoven was not +at home when Schubert called.</p> + +<p>Excessive diffidence was not the distinguishing trait of another young +man, Karl Holz, who had ingratiated himself into the master's favor in +these years. Holz had a post under government, was of good social +position, possessed fine conversational powers, and was an all-round +entertaining and agreeable person. He was a musician of first-rate +attainments, a member of the Schuppanzich Quartet, and occasionally +acted as director of the Concert Spirituel of Vienna.</p> + +<p>Holz's gayety and light-heartedness helped to dispel the melancholy +which had become habitual with Beethoven at this time. He had the +discernment to see that such an atmosphere was unsuited to a young man +of Karl's temperament, and may very well have encouraged Holz's visits +on his nephew's account. The situation had its defects however, as +Holz's convivial habits were communicated to Beethoven, who was led at +times to drink more wine than was good for him. Beethoven, in one of his +letters to his nephew, reproached him with being a thorough Viennese, to +which the young man retorted in kind, alluding to the <a name="Page_179" id="Page_179"></a>master's +friendship with Holz. This was before the reconciliation with Von +Breuning had been effected. After that event he saw him less frequently. +The young man however, retained his hold on the master's regard and +maintained the footing of an intimate friend for the remainder of his +life. Flashes of the old humor constantly appear in his letters to Holz, +which, though tinctured somewhat with coarseness, make pleasanter +reading than his remark to Fanny del Rio—"My life is of no worth to +myself. I only wish to live for the boy's sake." Holz took him out of +this mood.</p> + +<p>In the last year of his life Beethoven, at Holz's request appointed him +his biographer as follows:</p> + +<div class="letter"><p class="date"><span class="smcap">Vienna</span>, <em>Aug. 30, 1826</em>.</p> + +<p> I am happy to give my friend, Karl Holz, the testimonial he + desires, namely,—that I consider him well qualified to write my + biography if indeed, I may presume to think this will be desired. I + place the utmost confidence in his faithfully transmitting to + posterity what I have imparted to him for this purpose.</p> + +<p class="sig"> Ludwig van Beethoven.</p></div> + +<p>Holz, however, was not equal to the requirements, and this duty was +relegated to Schindler.</p> + +<p>A curious change affected Beethoven in his later years on the subject of +money. It was not avarice, that "good old-gentlemanly vice" of Byron's +which influenced him, but it resembled it at times. With his nephew as +the inciting cause, money, to which he had hitherto been indifferent, +now assumed a new value to him. This is evidenced by absurd economies +(alternated it is true by occasional extravagances), which are a feature +of this time.<a name="Page_180" id="Page_180"></a> The diminution of his pension, the nature of the +compositions of these years from which for the most part no money was +available, the cessation of his teaching (Von Frimmel mentions a pupil, +Hirsch, who had a few lessons from him in 1817, which was probably the +last of Beethoven's sporadic attempts in this direction, as his deafness +must have made teaching extremely difficult), were all factors which +rendered money a scarce article with him. In the same ratio in which his +income had been diminished, his expenses were increased by the +maintenance and education of his nephew, which in large part was borne +by Beethoven.</p> + +<p>This new estimate of the value of money was strengthened by the +conviction that Karl would never do anything for himself, and that +provision must be made for his future. To this must be attributed his +solicitude for money which is constantly in evidence in his letters to +his friends, as well as to his publishers, in which latter the +disposition to drive a good bargain comes to the fore now for the first +time. His letters to Ries are full of the subject of making money. "Wäre +ich nicht noch immer der arme Beethoven," he says with unconscious +humor, in one of the letters. "If I could but get to London, what would +I not write for the Philharmonic Society. If it please God to restore my +health, which is already improved, I may yet avail myself of the several +propositions made me, not only from Europe, but even North America, and +thus my finances might again prosper."</p> + +<p>His naïve reference to this country<a name="FNanchor_D_4" id="FNanchor_D_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_D_4" class="fnanchor">[D]</a> refers to the offer <a name="Page_181" id="Page_181"></a>made him by +the Händel and Haydn Society of Boston for an oratorio, the text of +which was to be furnished by them. His work on the Ninth Symphony +prevented him from accepting it, but it is something that will always +redound to the credit of the society. That the critical faculty should, +already at that time, have been sufficiently well developed in this +country as to lead to such a commission, augurs well for its future +art-history. While one portion were engaged in subduing the wilderness, +fighting Indians, extending the frontier, others were already reaching +out for the highest and best in art and literature.<a name="FNanchor_E_5" id="FNanchor_E_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_E_5" class="fnanchor">[E]</a> It is a pleasant +reflection that this country is no longer the terra incognita in musical +matters that it was in Beethoven's time. The ready recognition extended +Wagner from the first here, has, no doubt, helped to bring this about.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_D_4" id="Footnote_D_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_D_4"><span class="label">[D]</span></a> When writing this letter Beethoven could have had no +prevision that in this aboriginal North America, in a little village +called Natick, there was then living a five-year-old boy, answering to +the name of Alexander W. Thayer, who was eventually to furnish a +biography of the master, so painstaking, exact and voluminous, that it +is unique in its class. The Beethoven biography was Thayer's life-work, +to which he gladly sacrificed his means as well, and was then only +brought down to the year 1816. Thayer's name will always be associated +with that of Beethoven, it is such a record-making work. It is published +only in German at this writing (1904), but an English translation is +promised on completion of the second edition, one volume of which has +appeared in 1902. Mr. Thayer died in 1897.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E_5" id="Footnote_E_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_E_5"><span class="label">[E]</span></a> That Beethoven's genius had at an early date impressed +itself on the minds of Americans, was commented on by Margaret Fuller in +1841. She says: +</p><p> +"It is observable as an earnest of the great future which opens for this +country, that such a genius (Beethoven) is so easily and so much +appreciated here, by those who have not gone through the steps that +prepared the way for him in Europe. He is felt because he expressed in +full tones the thoughts that lie at the heart of our own existence, +though we have not found means to stammer them as yet."</p></div></div> + +<p>Meanwhile Ries, in London, was making active propa<a name="Page_182" id="Page_182"></a>ganda for him, with +the result that an offer had come to him from Charles Neate asking him +to come to London with a symphony and a concerto for the Philharmonic +Society. Neate was a great admirer of Beethoven. He had spent eight +months in Vienna some years previously, and the two became good friends +during this sojourn. Three hundred guineas, and a benefit concert in +which five hundred pounds more was to be guaranteed him, was the +inducement held out for coming. This large sum tempted him strongly, +placing him, so to speak, between two fires. The character of his nephew +was such that he could not be left behind, while his education would be +interrupted if he took him along. His entries in his journal show with +what dread and apprehension he faced the ordeal of going among +strangers. The project never would have been considered but for his +desire to provide for Karl's future. The journey was never undertaken, +but the project was never abandoned. It occupied his thoughts even in +his last illness.</p> + +<p>The scores of the Mass and Symphony were sold to Messrs. Schott of +Mayence, one thousand florins having been obtained for the Mass, and six +hundred for the Symphony. This put him in easy circumstances for a +while, although the money question was a source of anxiety to him, more +or less, for the remainder of his life. The ten thousand florins +invested in Bank of Austria shares in 1815 was almost intact. He had +drawn on it once or twice when matters had come to an extremity with +him, but to touch it in any other case seemed to him like betraying a +trust, since it had been set aside as a provision for his nephew. Just +before the testimonial concert, he was at times abso<a name="Page_183" id="Page_183"></a>lutely without +funds, his housekeeper being occasionally required to advance money from +her savings to tide him over until a windfall should happen. The +proceeds from the seven subscriptions to the Mass in D, amounting to +three hundred and fifty ducats (about eight hundred dollars) helped him +out to some extent, and something must have been coming in all the while +from his previous publications. With good management there would have +been sufficient for a man of his simple requirements, but in nothing was +he so deficient as in business ability, or the faculty of looking after +his worldly concerns. He was probably cheated right and left in his +household matters.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184"></a>CHAPTER XVI</h3> +<div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">ToC</a></div> +<h4>THE DAY'S TRIALS</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Those who are furthest removed from us really believe that we are + constituted just like themselves, for they understand exactly so + much of us as we have in common with them, but they do not know how + little, how infinitesimally little this is.</p></div> + +<p class="citation"><span class="smcap">—Wagner: </span><em>Letter to Liszt</em>.</p> + + +<div class="figleft"> +<img src="images/b1.png" width="99" height="100" alt="B" title="B" /> +</div> +<p class="noindent">eethoven was in no sense a hero to his servants. In their eyes he was +not the great artist, whose achievement was to go ringing down the ages; +he was simply a crank or madman, who did not know his own mind half the +time, from whom abuse was as likely to be predicated as gratuities, who +could be ridiculed, neglected, circumvented with impunity. When the +dereliction became glaring enough to arrest his attention, he would +deliver himself of a volley of abuse which sometimes had to be made good +by presents of money. At other times, he desired nothing so much as to +be left alone.</p> + +<p>That he found the world a more difficult problem than ever in these +later years, goes without saying. "Have you been patient with every one +to-day?" he asks himself in one of the note-books of this period, +indicating the dawn of a perception that fate is too much for him, that +it can be defied no longer, but rather must be propitiated.<a name="Page_185" id="Page_185"></a> Had he +answered his question, it would no doubt have been in the negative; but +this attitude, so new to him, is significant. It comes up also in his +letters to Zmeskall, in which he speaks of his patience in enduring the +insolence of a butler, who had been sent him by Zmeskall.</p> + +<p>Complaints about servants appear frequently in his correspondence. +Peppe, the "elephant-footed," and Nanny, who seems to have had a +particular faculty for making trouble, are specially in evidence. "I +have endured much from N. (Nanny) to-day," he writes in a letter to his +good friend Madame Streicher, who was very helpful to him in his +domestic matters. On one occasion, when her conduct became unbearable, +he threw books at her head. Strangely, this method of disciplining the +refractory Nanny produced better results than could have been expected. +He reports soon after to Madame Streicher, "Miss Nanny is a changed +creature since I threw the half dozen books at her head. Possibly, by +chance some of their contents may have entered her brain, or her bad +heart. At all events we now have a repentant deceiver."</p> + +<p>In another letter of this time he writes to the same lady, "Yesterday +morning the devilry began again, but I made short work of it, and threw +the heavy settle at B (another servant), after which we had peace for +the remainder of the day." "Come Friday or Sunday," he writes Holz. +"Better come on Friday, as Satanas in the kitchen is more endurable on +that day." This advice to come on Friday when purposing to dine with +him, is repeated in a subsequent letter to Holz. "If I could but rid +myself of these <em>canaille</em>," he writes to another person, when +complaining of the hostility and insolence of his servants.</p> + +<p><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186"></a>That his own mode of life helped largely to bring about this state of +things, did not make it any easier to bear. As stated, system was out of +the question in this household. There was no regular time for meals, +often no meals were thought of by the master while occupied with his +work. When hungry, if nothing were forthcoming at home, he sought a +restaurant. Careless in general as regards his food, abstemious to a +degree in this respect, he was particular only on one matter, his +coffee. He delighted in making it himself, often counting the beans that +were required for each cup.</p> + +<p>"My house resembles very much a shipwreck" is a remark attributed to him +by Nohl. Even under favoring conditions, discipline was not to be +expected, but matters were further complicated by Karl's mother, who +made a practice of bribing the servants to get information about the +young man. There is no doubt her influence tended to increase the +discomfort and disorder that would have existed in any event. "Some +devils of people have again played me such a trick that it is almost +impossible for me to mix with human beings any more," he said in a +letter to Madame Streicher, which remark Mr. Kalischer (<em>Neue +Beethovenbriefe</em>, Berlin, 1902), attributes to intrigues against him by +his sister-in-law.</p> + +<p>To illustrate the slight regard his servants had for Beethoven and their +absolute ignorance of the value of his work, an incident related by +Schindler about the loss of the manuscript of the Kyrie of the Mass in D +is in point. On reaching Döbling in 1821 on his annual summer migration, +he missed this work and the most diligent search failed to bring it to +light. Finally the cook produced it; <a name="Page_187" id="Page_187"></a>she had used the separate sheets +for wrapping kitchen utensils. Some of them were torn, but no part was +lost. No copy had yet been made, and its loss would have been +irreparable.</p> + +<p>The difficulties which he experienced with the world in general existed +with his copyists and engravers to an exaggerated degree as may be +supposed, since proofreading was a matter on which he was extremely +particular. He was apt to make unreasonable demands on them, not +understanding human nature. He wanted them to work quickly and +accurately and they were very often slow and careless; they tried his +patience more than his servants did. A little deftness on his part when +in contact with them, would have made things easier all around. As it +was, they received little consideration from him, and gave but little in +return. He was so deeply interested in his compositions that he +frequently recalled them after they were in the engraver's hands, in +order to make alterations and additions. The Sonata, opus 111 was +withdrawn twice, after the engraver had actually begun work on it. It +had been sold to Diabelli, who finally refused to return it again, as +the engraver's work in each case was thrown away. This called out a +sarcastic letter from Beethoven to Schindler, in which he refers to +Diabelli as an arch-churl (<em>Erzflegel</em>), and threatens him (Diabelli), +if he is not more amenable.</p> + +<p>"I have passed the forenoon to-day, and all yesterday afternoon in +correcting these two pieces and am actually hoarse with stamping and +swearing," he wrote the copyist in reference to the A minor Quartet. +Elsewhere he complains about the carelessness of the publishers of his +earlier <a name="Page_188" id="Page_188"></a>quartets, which are "full of mistakes and errata great and +small. They swarm like fish in the sea, innumerable."</p> + +<p>When referring to the testimonial concert, allusion was made to the +enormous labor involved in copying out all the parts required for the +occasion, in which over one hundred persons participated. To examine and +correct each copy before placing it in the hands of the performers was +in itself no slight task. The labor of making the seven subscription +copies of the Mass, was probably a still greater one. In these days of +cheap publications, one can hardly form an estimate of what it really +meant. Many months elapsed after the Mass was completed, before a clean +copy could be gotten for the Archduke even.</p> + +<p>No doubt the copyists often misunderstood the master's instructions, +always given in writing in his later years. He was so careless with his +handwriting that some of his letters are undecipherable in part, to this +day. Schindler, with good common-sense made a practice of transcribing +Beethoven's words on the back of any letter received from him before +filing it away. The master's extraordinary carefulness in proof-reading +has already been mentioned. This was to him a matter of the utmost +importance, second to none. Press of work, illness even, was not allowed +to interfere with the careful revision of his work.</p> + +<p>He might write about patience in his note book, but it was exercised +very little when dealing with his copyists. There were times in this +connection in which the situation became so strained that they refused +to work for him. In one such instance a man, Wolanck by name, returned +the manuscript which the master had sent him, writing him at the same +time an impertinent letter. This copyist was evi<a name="Page_189" id="Page_189"></a>dently of a literary +turn, with a talent for satire. He begins by begging to be permitted to +express his gratitude for the honor which Beethoven has done him in +being allowed to drudge for him, but states that he wants no more of it. +He then proceeds to philosophize on the situation, saying that the +dissonances which have marked their intercourse in the past have been +regarded by him with amused toleration. "Are there not" asks this +Junius, "in the ideal world of tones many dissonances? Why should these +not also exist in the actual world?" In conclusion he ventures the +opinion that if Mozart or Haydn had served as copyist for Beethoven, a +fate similar to his own would have befallen them.</p> + +<p>A wild Berserker rage took possession of Beethoven on receipt of this +letter which he appeased characteristically by writing all sorts of +sarcastic comments over the sheet, and by inventing compound invectives +to suit the case. He heavily criss-crossed the whole letter, and across +it in heavy lines wrote, "Dummer Kerl" (foolish fellow), "Eselhafter +Kerl" (asinine fellow), "Schreibsudler" (slovenly writer). On the edges +at the right: "Mozart and Haydn you will do the honor not to mention"; +at the left: "It was decided yesterday, and even before, that you were +not to write for me any more." On another spot he writes: "correct your +blunders that occur through your fatuity, presumption, ignorance and +foolishness." (Unwissenheit, Übermuth, Eigendünkel, und Dummheit). "That +will become you better than to try to teach me."</p> + +<p>In better vein is a letter from Beethoven to the copyist Rampel, who had +worked for him during a period of many years. He had Beethoven's favor +more than any other <a name="Page_190" id="Page_190"></a>copyist, on account of a peculiar faculty he +possessed for deciphering the master's handwriting.</p> + +<div class="letter"><p class="noindent"><em>Bestes Ramperl,—</em></p> + +<p><em> Komme um morgen früh. Gehe aber zum Teufel mit deinem Gnädiger + Herr. Gott allein kann nur gnädig geheissen werden</em>.</p></div> + +<div class="letter"><p class="address">Best Rampel,—</p> + +<p> You can come to-morrow morning, but go to the devil with your + "Gracious Sir," (Gnädiger Herr). God alone should be addressed as + "Gracious Lord."</p></div> + +<p>This letter was published in the Beethoven number of <em>Die Musik</em>, +February, 1902.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191"></a>CHAPTER XVII</h3> +<div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">ToC</a></div> +<h4>LAST QUARTETS</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Every extraordinary man has a certain mission, which he is called + upon to accomplish. If he has fulfilled it he is no longer needed + on earth, in the same form, and Providence uses him for something + else. But as everything here below happens in a natural way, the + dæmons keep tripping him up until he falls at last. Thus it was + with Napoleon, and many others. Mozart died in his thirty-sixth + year. Raphael at the same age. Byron a little older. But all these + had perfectly fulfilled their missions, and it was time for them to + depart that others might still have something to do in a world made + to last a long while.</p></div> + +<p class="citation"><span class="smcap">—Goethe, </span><em>Conversations with Eckermann</em>.</p> + + +<div class="figleft"> +<img src="images/i2.png" width="99" height="100" alt="I" title="I" /> +</div> +<p class="noindent">n the midst of these ironies of fate, this satyr-play of the nether +forces with the master, in which he occupies at times so undignified a +position, it is gratifying to note that the artist-life goes on apace. +In the last quartets which now come up for consideration, the labors of +the tone-poet are brought to a close.</p> + +<p>The quartet was a favorite musical form with the master. Here the more +intimate side of his nature is revealed. A more personal relation is +established between composer and audience than is the case in the other +forms in which he worked. As we have seen, the quartet, in the time of +which we write, was universally in use at informal gatherings for the +delectation of friends in the privacy of the home, and was not intended +for concert use. The state<a name="Page_192" id="Page_192"></a>liness which characterizes the large +symphonic forms is absent in chamber-music, but it has qualities of its +own which we value as much.</p> + +<p>The last quartets owe their existence to Prince Galitzin, a Russian +nobleman, who had spent some time in Vienna in 1805, and became +acquainted with Beethoven at the house of the Russian Ambassador, Count +Rasoumowsky, for whom it will be remembered Beethoven composed three +quartets, opus 59. In November of 1822 the Prince wrote Beethoven in the +most flattering terms, asking him to compose three quartets at his own +price, which were to be dedicated to him. The master accepted the +commission gladly, fixing the modest sum of one hundred and fifty ducats +(about $330) for the three, reserving, however, the right to sell the +quartets to a publisher. Prince Galitzin was then living in state in St. +Petersburg. His wife was a fine pianist, he himself a first-rate +performer on the cello. They occupied a prominent position in the +musical life of the city. The Prince was one of the original subscribers +to the Mass in D, and has the credit of having brought about the first +complete performance of this colossal work ever given.</p> + +<p>When we consider the enormous expense of this undertaking, the copying +of the many parts, as well as the sums paid for soloists, chorus and +orchestra, most of which was probably borne by the Prince, and reflect +that this is only an instance among many of his extravagant mode of +living, it is not surprising to find that he became financially +embarrassed, and was unable to carry out in full his obligation to +Beethoven as regards paying for these works.</p> + +<p>The Oratorio, "The Victory of the Cross," which had <a name="Page_193" id="Page_193"></a>already been begun, +was laid aside in favor of the quartets; it was never resumed. +Notwithstanding his enthusiasm, work on the new commission made but slow +progress. Ill health and preoccupation in his nephew's concerns took up +much of his attention. Occasional sketches were made, but it was more +than a year and a half before the first one was actually begun. It was +outlined at Baden in the autumn of 1824, and finished on his return to +Vienna. Mention is made of this quartet by the master in an interesting +letter to Messrs. Schott of Mayence, who had bought the mass and +symphony, and had also purchased the quartet, paying fifty ducats for +it. Cordial relations had been established with these gentlemen, dating +from the time of selling them the two great works just mentioned. Some +of Beethoven's best letters are those written to his publishers. An +extract from the letter above referred to follows:</p> + +<p>"The quartet you shall also receive by the middle of October. +Overburdened by work, and suffering from bad health, I really have some +claim on the indulgence of others. I am here on account of my health, or +rather to the want of it, although I already feel better.</p> + +<p>"Apollo and the Muses do not yet intend me to become the prey of the +bony scytheman, as I have yet much to do for you, and much to bequeath, +which my spirit dictates and calls on me to complete before I depart +hence for the Elysian Fields; I feel as if I had written scarcely more +than a few notes."</p> + +<p>The initial performance of the first of the Galitzin Quartets took place +in the spring of 1825. Beethoven regarded the event as a momentous +occurrence and required the four performers, Schuppanzich, Weiss, Linke +and<a name="Page_194" id="Page_194"></a> Holz, to sign a compact, each to "pledge his honor to do his best +to distinguish himself and vie with the other in zeal."</p> + +<p>The quartets once begun were carried on with ardor in the midst of most +distressing occurrences, chief of which were ill health and its twin +demon, poverty, as well as the waywardness of his nephew, all of which +tended to draw him to the spiritual life. The character of Beethoven's +work changed from the period of the Mass in D. An altered condition, an +altogether new, different strain is apparent thenceforth. The deeply +religious, mystical character of the first movement of the Ninth +Symphony can be attributed to his previous absorption on the Mass. He +worked out of this vein somewhat in the other movements as not being +adapted to the uses for which the symphony is designed, but it reappears +again in the quartets to the extent of dominating them.</p> + +<p>The one in B Flat, opus 130, completes the three for Prince Galitzin. Of +the Cavatina of this quartet, Holz is authority for saying that +Beethoven composed it with tears, and confessed that never before had +his own music made such an impression on him; that even the repetition +of it always cost him tears. In this movement Beethoven used the word +<em>Beklemmt</em> (<em>Beklommen</em>) (oppressed, anxious) at a point where it +modulates into another key. His loneliness, superinduced by his life of +celibacy, by his deafness, his disappointment in his nephew, all had the +effect of separating him from the world. The spiritual side of his +nature, always active, had been brought into new life during his work on +the Mass, as we have seen. It was never thenceforth allowed to fall into +abeyance, but was <a name="Page_195" id="Page_195"></a>developed in direct ratio with his withdrawal from +the world. An atavism from some remote Aryan ancestry inclined him, as +in the case of so many Germans, to mysticism and the occult. It was a +condition which had its compensations. That there were periods when he +saw visions may be conjectured by the character of the last quartets. +When they were written, Beethoven was in the shadow of death, on the +border-land of the other world, and from that proximity he relates his +experience. These works receive the reverence of all musicians for their +spirituality, their mysticism, their psychological qualities. They are +the revelations of the seer, awe-inspiring mementos of states and +conditions of mind which transcend the experiences of ordinary life. In +these last impassioned utterances of the master, we find a strain +holier, more profound, different from anything which the art of music +has yet produced.</p> + +<p>The Cavatina on its first performance, on March 21, 1826, was received +with indifference, and the finale, which was an exceedingly long and +difficult fugue, fared even worse. Self-sufficient as Beethoven was on +all matters connected with the working out of his musical thoughts, he +coincided for once with his friends and the publisher on the matter of +the fugue. He wrote a new finale for the quartet, and published the +fugue separately as opus 133. Joseph Boehm, the noted violinist, then in +his twenty-eighth year, rehearsed this fugue under Beethoven's +direction, and often played the violin part subsequently.</p> + +<p>The great C sharp minor Quartet opus 131, is the next one to claim our +attention. Beethoven characterized it as a piece of work worthy of him. +This colossal work was one which Wagner continually held up for the +commenda<a name="Page_196" id="Page_196"></a>tion of mankind. It occupies among quartets a position +analogous to that of the Ninth Symphony in its own class. The summer of +1826 in which it was composed, was a period fraught with momentous +occurrences to the master, chief of which was the attempted suicide of +his nephew. The circumstances which led up to this catastrophe can be +briefly narrated. Beethoven had been disappointed in any and every plan +formed for the future of the young man. He at first looked for great +things from him; by gradual stages his expectations were so modified +that at last he began to fear that he would never be able to provide for +his own maintenance.</p> + +<p>The musical education of the young man had first engaged the master's +attention, in the hope that some of the family talent might have been +transmitted to him. When it became plain that nothing could be achieved +by him in a musical career, he was entered at the university of Vienna +with a view of making a scholar of him. Here he was unable to keep up +with his studies, owing to inattention. He failed to pass his +examination and left the school in consequence. Literature being closed +to him, he entered the Polytechnic school, intending to fit himself for +business life, but failed here also. That Karl's conduct caused the +master much anxiety appears in his letters to him. In some of them he +entreats him to do better, in others he upbraids him. Both lines of +reasoning seem to have been equally obnoxious to this careless, +indifferent young man, who objected to being taken to task for his +misdeeds, and hated "rows" and "scenes" with his uncle. When he failed +the second time he was at his wits' end in dread of his uncle's +reproaches. Many a stormy scene had occurred <a name="Page_197" id="Page_197"></a>between them during the +two preceding years. So violent had these become, that the master was on +one occasion requested to find another apartment on account of the +complaints that came from other occupants of the house. It may very well +be that Beethoven expected too much from this carelessly reared youth, +whose mother lost no opportunity of embittering him against the master. +The young man probably never seriously contemplated suicide, but wanted +to give his uncle a scare. By working on his fears he reasoned that he +would be able to have his own way for a long while to come. He +threatened suicide, and the day following this threat actually went so +far as to shoot himself. He was not severely injured, but the attempt on +his life rendered him amenable to the laws of his country, and a short +confinement in the government hospital followed.</p> + +<p>Beethoven was greatly agitated on learning of the rash act. He had some +difficulty in finding him, as the young man had left his quarters and +went to another part of the city before carrying out his threat. With +the aid of friends he was finally located and an affecting scene +followed in which the master loaded him with kindness, treating him very +much as that other prodigal son was treated by his father.</p> + +<p>Beethoven's personal intervention with the magistrate eased the +situation for the nephew. Two very interesting letters from the master +in this connection were published some years ago in the Neuen Freien +Presse of Vienna, and are included in Herr Kalischer's Beethovenbriefe +published in Berlin in 1902. The following one shows Beethoven's ethical +character in strong light:</p> + +<p><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198"></a>To the Magistrate Czapka:</p> + +<div class="letter"><p class="address">Dear Sir:</p> + +<p> Hofrath von Breuning and I have carefully considered what is best + to be done. We think for the time being no other course is + practicable than that Karl should remain with me a few days (during + the interval until he can enter the military service). His language + is still excitable under the impression that I would reprimand him + since he was capable of making an attempt on his life. He has, + however, shown himself quite affectionate toward me. Be assured + that to me fallen humanity is still holy. A warning from you would + probably have good results. It would do no harm to let him know + that unobserved he will be watched while with me. Accept my highest + esteem for yourself, and consider me as one who loves his kind, who + desires only good wherever possible.</p> + +<p class="sig"> Yours respectfully,<br /> + Beethoven.</p></div> + +<p>In accordance with the English custom of putting the fool of the family +into the army, Stephen von Breuning had hit upon the plan of a military +career for Karl since all others seemed closed to him. Von Breuning, who +always had a faculty of being of service to Beethoven, was a counsellor +in the war-office. He urged on Beethoven the feasibility of procuring an +appointment for Karl in the army, and interested his superior, +Field-marshal Lieutenant von Stutterheim, in the matter. Beethoven was +not greatly in favor of a military career for the young man. "Übrigens +bin ich gar nicht für den Militärstandt," he says in a letter to Holz of +September 9, when the subject was first broached. He opposed it for a +while, but finally bowed to the inevitable.</p> + +<p><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199"></a>Toward the end of October, and before the negotiations in regard to the +army appointment were concluded, the young man was released from the +hospital, and placed under the control of the master, with the +injunction that he be removed from Vienna at once. At this juncture +brother Johann placed his country house at Gneixendorf at the disposal +of the master and nephew, and thither the two repaired, the elder, +stricken, bowed with grief; the youth, sullen and indifferent. The +master had never entered Johann's house since the summer of 1812, when +he had tried so ineffectually, as noted in a previous chapter, to break +up the relations existing between the pair while the lady was as yet +only the housekeeper. It must have been with great reluctance that he +considered visiting him at all. The sacrifice, if such there was, was +made in the interest of Karl; where this young scapegrace was concerned, +the master was generally willing to sink his own preferences. The +situation must have been embarrassing for all concerned, less so in +reality for the master than for the others. Absorbed in the composition +of the new finale, and also in the finishing up of the great C sharp +minor Quartet, he was for the most part oblivious to anything unusual in +his surroundings. Johann's wife, with the policy of her class, bore no +resentment, or at least showed none outwardly. A pleasant room on the +ground floor was fitted up for him, but the welcome must have been a +cold one at best.</p> + +<p>No doubt the Gutsbesitzer took much pleasure in showing off his +possessions to the brother whom he knew had little esteem for him at +heart. He paraded his own importance in the neighborhood, taking the +composer on busi<a name="Page_200" id="Page_200"></a>ness visits to prominent people. On these occasions he +would not usually introduce his brother, treating him as a kind of +appendage. The master, deep in the thought of creative work, was, no +doubt, to a great extent unconscious of this sordidness. At all events +he gave no sign. But he contributed very little to the social well-being +of the family. Two aims only seem to have occupied his mind at this +time: the welfare of his nephew, and the carrying to completion of a few +great works already sketched or begun. These included a Tenth Symphony, +(for the Philharmonic Society of London), the Oratorio, The Victory of +the Cross, for the Vienna Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, music to +Goethe's Faust, which latter he must have been in good mood for,—as +well as an overture on Bach. "I hope yet," he writes from Johann's home, +"to bring some great works into the world, and then like an old child, +to close my earthly career somewhere among good people." He worked with +feverish haste in the latter years of his life, whenever his health +permitted, even abandoning his books in favor of his work. Failing +health prevented him from forcing it ahead as in former years, but he +worked up to the limit of his powers.</p> + +<p>His habits while composing have been referred to in a previous chapter, +namely, that he was in the habit of singing, stamping, gesticulating, +while under the spell of his inspiration. This kind of thing was new to +the maid who looked after his room, and she managed to extract amusement +from it. Beethoven finally discovered her laughing at him, and forthwith +bundled her out of the room, giving orders that no female would be +admitted again. One of the men about the place, Michael Kren, was then +en<a name="Page_201" id="Page_201"></a>gaged, who performed his duties faithfully, and helped materially to +establish a more comfortable existence for the sick, helpless man. He +has narrated circumstantially the master's mode of life while at +Gneixendorf. He was up and at work at half-past five, beating time with +hands and feet, singing, humming. This went on until breakfast time, +half-past seven. This meal over he would hurry out of doors, (the +weather was fine that particular autumn) spending the morning going +about the fields, note-book in hand, his mind intent on his musical +thoughts, occasionally singing or calling out, going now slowly, then +very fast, at times stopping still to write out his ideas. This would go +on until noon, when he would return to the house for dinner. This was +served at half-past twelve, after which he would go to his room for +about two hours, then again to the fields until sunset. He was never out +in the evening as night air was considered bad for him. Supper was +served at half-past seven. His evenings were spent in his room, and at +ten o'clock he went to bed.</p> + +<p>This simple, regular life, with the healthful country air, should have +restored Beethoven's health in some measure could it have been continued +longer. His letters from here indicate that he expected some improvement +in this respect. Had not some untoward circumstances intervened, the +master's life might have been spared long enough to enable him to carry +to completion the list of works outlined above.</p> + +<p>That Johann had an ulterior object in asking his brother to visit him is +quite probable. The growing fame of the composer and the ever-increasing +value of his copyrights was well known to him. He had made money in his +<a name="Page_202" id="Page_202"></a>dealings between composer and publisher in the past, and could have +made still more had he possessed his brother's confidence in a greater +degree. His cupidity however, prevented him from keeping up for long +even the semblance of kindness or hospitality. Fuel was so scantily +provided the sick guest that he suffered from cold, and he was told that +a charge would be made for the room. Other circumstances may have +contributed to bring about a climax. At all events the situation became +so unpleasant that he suddenly decided to return to Vienna.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203"></a>CHAPTER XVIII</h3> +<div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">ToC</a></div> +<h4>IN THE SHADOWS</h4> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"><p>As a day well spent gives joyful sleep,</p> +<p class="i2">So does a life well spent give joyful death.</p></div></div> + +<p class="citation"><span class="smcap">—Leonardo da Vinci.</span></p> + + +<div class="figleft"> +<img src="images/t.png" width="154" height="100" alt="T" title="T" /> +</div> +<p class="noindent">he C sharp minor Quartet and the one in F, opus 135, which rounds out +this wonderful series, were all but completed before leaving Vienna on +the visit to Johann. That there was some polishing still to be done on +the latter is apparent from the fact that it has the superscription in +the master's handwriting, "Gneixendorf am 30 Oktober 1826." The finale +has these curious sentences: "Der schwergefasste Entschluss. Muss es +sein? Es muss sein." Question and answer turn on the subject of paying +his room rent according to Schindler, the dialogue being a reminiscence +of previous times. Beethoven often made some discussion when his rent +was demanded, either from the desire to extract some sport from the +situation, or from fear of being cheated. It often had to be +demonstrated to him by the aid of an almanac that the time was up and +the money really due.</p> + +<p>The only work begun and completed by the master while at Gneixendorf was +the new finale, which replaced the long fugue of the B flat Quartet. It +proved to be his <a name="Page_204" id="Page_204"></a>last work. The series of unpleasant events referred to +in the last chapter ensued, and, without considering consequences, he +returned to Vienna.</p> + +<p>It is not likely that Johann or his wife exerted themselves much to keep +him longer. They intended spending the winter in Vienna themselves, and +were probably relieved to have the visit ended so that they could make +their preparations for the journey. With his usual impatience, he must +needs take the first conveyance which was to be had. Johann had a closed +carriage, but would not let him have it, and the journey was made in a +light open wagon. December had arrived and the weather, which had been +fine all the fall, was now bad. He was insufficiently clothed for the +two days' drive in such weather. He contracted inflammation of the lungs +on the way, and reached his quarters in the house of the Black +Spaniards, a very sick man.</p> + +<p>This house, his last earthly abiding-place, had been his home for the +past year. It was a disused monastery, which had been established in +1633 by the daughter of Philip III of Spain on taking up her residence +in Vienna after her marriage. The original building was destroyed in one +of the wars of that turbulent time, but was rebuilt at the end of the +seventeenth century. The building was demolished in 1904. It was +situated on the glacis, in a part of the city where Beethoven had lived +much of the time since coming to Vienna.</p> + +<p>The fates seem to have been against him from the beginning of his +journey. His sleeping-room was an enormous one on the second floor, +which, with two small anterooms, composed the apartment. The facilities +for <a name="Page_205" id="Page_205"></a>heating a room of that size, in those times must have been wholly +inadequate. Several days elapsed before a physician could be found to +attend him. He had quarrelled with two of his former physicians and each +refused his aid. Finally, a professor from the medical college, a Dr. +Wawruch, was summoned, who took the case in hand. Schindler states that +it was several days before he or any of the master's friends knew of his +arrival in Vienna, and leaves the inference that he was unattended +during this interval except by his nephew. When they learned of his +return, Schindler and Stephen von Breuning were unremitting in their +attentions.</p> + +<p>As Beethoven had taken a violent prejudice against Dr. Wawruch, another +physician, Dr. Malfatti, was engaged, who acted in conjunction with the +former. The treatment was now changed, large quantities of iced punch +being administered, probably with the view of relieving the congestion +of the stomach. This mode of treatment exactly suited the sick man, a +result which was probably foreseen by the astute Dr. Malfatti, who had +prescribed for Beethoven during previous illnesses and knew his +patient's idiosyncrasies. Beethoven's childlike simplicity is +illustrated in the difference of his demeanor toward his two physicians. +He always had a warm welcome for the one who had administered the iced +punch, remembering no doubt its immediately alleviating and beneficial +results, but Dr. Wawruch fared poorly at his hands, especially when he +was in a bad humor. On more than one occasion when the latter appeared +the patient turned his face to the wall with the remark, "Ach der Esel."</p> + +<p>Everything possible was now done to add to his com<a name="Page_206" id="Page_206"></a>fort. Two servants +were engaged to attend him. His friends cheered him by their visits. +Hümmel called, bringing his young pupil Ferdinand Hiller. Some of +Schubert's songs were brought him, probably by Hüttenbrenner. They +consisted of Die Junge Nonne, Der Taucher, the Ossian songs, Die +Bürgschaft. Schindler states they awakened the master's surprise and +delight, eliciting from him the remark, "Truly, Schubert has the divine +fire."</p> + +<p>Beethoven was so eager for work that he attempted composition again in +the intervals of his illness, but his strength was not sufficient to +enable him to go on with it. Hitherto his one resource in every +difficulty had been his work. The injunction of Saint-Simon, to lead +during the whole of the vigorous portion of manhood the most original +and active life possible, had been perforce carried out by him. Now that +his one resource, work, failed him, he was bereft. He sought to pass the +time by reading, and began with Kenilworth in a German translation, but +soon threw it down saying: "The man writes only for money."</p> + +<p>The volatile Holz did not fail him in his need, but manifested his +friendship by many kind acts. His former publishers the Haslingers, +Tobias and Karl, as well as Diabelli, called occasionally. The Archduke +at Olmütz could hardly have been expected to come, especially as a fatal +termination was not for some time considered probable. We hear nothing +of Czerny, of Schuppanzich, of Linke, or of Zmeskall, which to say the +least, is singular. Schindler's omission of these names, however, has no +particular significance; he wrote many years after the event, and forgot +or omitted the mention of circumstances of <a name="Page_207" id="Page_207"></a>greater importance than +this. It is not like what we know of the character of Czerny, or +Zmeskall, to neglect Beethoven in his extremity. The master's old +friend, Stumpf, of London, sent him a splendid edition of Händel's works +in forty volumes, with which he occupied himself a good deal. They +afforded him much enjoyment.</p> + +<p>Anxiety on account of money, so prevalent all through these latter +years, was increased by his enforced abstinence from work. What he +chiefly desired now was sufficient ready money to carry him through, so +that he would not have to break into the little hoard put by for Karl +many years before. At this juncture the Philharmonic Society of London +sent him one hundred pounds, being an advance payment on account of a +concert they intended giving for his benefit. The initiative in this +matter was taken by Beethoven himself, and it is safe to say that +nothing that was done for him during this period was so appreciated, or +gave him so much pleasure, as this act of kindness from the Society. The +money reached him about ten days after an operation had been performed +on him for the relief of the dropsical accumulations incidental to his +liver trouble. Four such operations had been found necessary during this +illness. They were at best only palliative. His joy on receiving the +letter and money from London was such that the wound, not yet healed, +opened, and a great discharge followed. A letter of thanks was sent to +the Society, dictated by the master, but he was too weak even to sign +it.</p> + +<p>Schindler relates that Beethoven on nearing middle-age, was wont to +indulge himself in day-dreams of a prosperous future, in which he could +have sufficient means to en<a name="Page_208" id="Page_208"></a>able him to live in comfort, keep his +carriage like brother Johann, and have leisure for the refinements of +life. This illusion, maintained by most workers, no doubt brightened his +prosaic, solitary life. Pity that he could not have realized it in some +measure: after the heat and burden of the day, in which he had so well +acquitted himself, it would seem fitting, had he had an evening of life +such as was vouchsafed Wagner, with opportunity for completing his +life-work in peace and contentment.</p> + +<p>One result achieved by the master as a consequence of his visit to +Gneixendorf would have afforded him great satisfaction could he have +known it. The matter of making suitable provision for Karl in event of +his own death had lain on his conscience for some time before this +visit, as already stated. While there, he begged his brother Johann to +make a will in Karl's favor, which eventually came to pass.</p> + +<p>The army appointment, of which mention has been made, became an +established fact early in December, and the young man soon after left +Vienna to join his regiment. Beethoven never saw him again. He by this +time concurred with his friends in the opinion that the discipline of +military life might be beneficial to him, and was resigned to the +separation.</p> + +<p>The great C sharp minor Quartet is indelibly associated with Karl, +through its dedication to Baron von Stutterheim, through whom the +appointment came. The decision to dedicate this work to the Baron, was +arrived at only two weeks before the master's death. The work had been +for some time in the hands of the publishers, Messrs. Schott of Mayence. +Beethoven, finally becoming aware <a name="Page_209" id="Page_209"></a>that no more works could be produced +by him, and wishing to reward the Baron in the only way possible, +dictated an urgent letter to Messrs. Schott on the subject. "The +Quartet," he said, "must be dedicated to Field-marshal von Stutterheim, +to whom I am under great obligations. Should the first dedication by any +possibility be already engraved, I beg of you, on every account, to make +this alteration. I will gladly pay any extra expense connected with it."</p> + +<p>The last Quartet, opus 135, is dedicated to Johann Wolfmayer, a merchant +of Vienna with whom he had much friendly intercourse. Wolfmayer showed +his interest in the master's work in many ways. It may be mentioned that +he offered him a sum equal to several hundreds of dollars to carry out +his project of writing a Requiem Mass. "Write to Stumpf and Smart," he +said to Schindler a few days before his death, when already too weak to +speak above a whisper. His consideration for others was paramount even +in the face of approaching death.</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding the hopeful tone which characterized the letters written +during his last illness, there were times when he knew that he was +making a losing fight. Already on January 3, a month after his return +from Gneixendorf, he wrote a letter to his attorney, Dr. Bach, in the +form of a will, in which as may be supposed, his nephew is his sole +heir. No conditions were imposed on the young man, who, had the will +remained in this form, might have squandered the entire amount. (The +estate netted $5000). This was pointed out to Beethoven by his +counsellor, Dr. Bach, and also Von Breuning, who urged on him the +necessity of adding a codicil to the will, in which the principal <a name="Page_210" id="Page_210"></a>would +be tied up for life, leaving only the income available. This he resisted +to within a few days before the end, but finally gave in, and, not +without great difficulty, wrote with his own hand a codicil, consisting +of but three lines, in which the income only was to be enjoyed by the +nephew, the principal to revert to his natural or testamentary heirs, +after Karl's death. Breuning, true to his sense of duty, not satisfied +with having gained his point, endeavored, at the risk of antagonizing +the master, to change the words "natural or testamentary heirs," to +"legitimate heirs." Beethoven was obdurate on the point, however, +saying, "the one term is as good as the other." Von Breuning, good +faithful friend that he was, survived Beethoven but one year.</p> + +<p>Schindler dwells on the perfect tranquillity of Beethoven in the face of +approaching death. "Plaudite amici, comœdia finita est," he said on +the day when the codicil was written. On the following day at noon, he +received the last rites of the church. The event was no doubt a solemn +one. Soon after, the death-struggle began, and continued without +interruption for two days. Hüttenbrenner was a faithful attendant during +these last days. His friend Schubert also called, at least once, and, it +is said, was recognized by Beethoven, although he was unable to speak to +him.</p> + +<p>The nervous strain on his friends in witnessing this struggle between +life and death, in which but the one issue was possible, must have been +great. It was, no doubt, a relief to Schindler and Von Breuning to leave +the master in Hüttenbrenner's charge on the afternoon of the 26th of +March, and go to Wahring in order to secure a burial-<a name="Page_211" id="Page_211"></a>place. While on +this necessary errand, a terrific storm arose, which prevented their +return until night. Meanwhile, Hüttenbrenner, left alone with the +master, endeavored to ease his position by sustaining his head, holding +it up with his right arm. His breathing had been growing perceptibly +weaker, carrying the conviction that the end was near. The storm was of +unusual severity, covering the glacis with snow and sleet. The situation +of the building was such that it was exposed to the full fury of the +tempest. No sign was given by the master that he was conscious of this +commotion of the elements. With the subsidence of the storm at dusk, the +watcher was startled by a flash of lightning, which illumined +everything. This was succeeded by a terrific peal of thunder which +penetrated even Beethoven's ears. Startled into consciousness by the +unusual event, the dying man suddenly raised his head from +Hüttenbrenner's embrace, threw out his right arm with the fist doubled, +remained in this position a moment as if in defiance, and fell back +dead.</p> + +<p>The two friends returned some hours after all was over. The master died +at a quarter before six o'clock on the evening of March 26, 1826. He was +in his fifty-seventh year.</p> + +<p>The funeral took place on March 29 at 3 P.M. from the church of the +Minorites and was attended by many of the most prominent people of the +city. Eight musicians bore the coffin from the house to the church, +while thirty-two torch-bearers followed it, among the number being +Czerny and Schubert. This was followed by a choir of sixteen male +singers, and four trombones, which alternated in singing and playing. +The music consisted of two equali <a name="Page_212" id="Page_212"></a>composed by Beethoven many years +before, arranged for this occasion by Seyfried, to the words of the +<em>Miserere</em> and <em>Amplius</em>.</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding the immense concourse of people assembled at the +obsequies, estimated at twenty thousand, there was but one relative to +occupy the position of mourner, and that was Johann.</p> + +<p>On April 3, Mozart's Requiem was sung at the church of the Augustines, +and shortly thereafter, Cherubini's Requiem was sung for him at the +Karlskirche.</p> + +<p>The magnificence of his funeral, when compared with his simple mode of +life, calls to mind the great contrasts which he was always producing in +his music. Equally great contrasts had always come up in his life. +Living in the proudest most exclusive and bigoted monarchy in Europe, at +a time when feudal authority had not yet been entirely abolished, he +held himself to be as good or better than Emperor or Cardinal. On +receiving a request one morning from the Empress of Austria to call on +her, he sent back word that he would be busy all that day, but would +endeavor to call on the following day. There is no record of his having +gone at all. His unjustifiable conduct toward the Imperial family, while +at Töplitz with Goethe, has been touched on in a previous chapter. +Frimmel states that something similar occurred at Baden, but does not +give his authority. Beethoven arraigned the Judiciary, even when writing +conciliatory letters to the judges. In his letters to the different +magistrates during the litigation over his nephew, he is often satirical +and sarcastic in spite of himself. His criticisms of other judges, his +references to the manner in which justice is administered in<a name="Page_213" id="Page_213"></a> Austria, +illustrate his temerity and independence. His scorn of the King of +Saxony, on account of being dilatory in paying the subscription for the +Grand Mass, was pronounced. He alludes to him as "the poor Dresdener" in +his letters, and he even went so far as to talk about suing him when the +payment was still longer withheld.<a name="FNanchor_F_6" id="FNanchor_F_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_F_6" class="fnanchor">[F]</a> All this from a man who at times +did not have a decent coat to wear, or a second pair of shoes; who +sometimes accepted advances from his housekeeper for the necessaries of +life. His life was so simple and circumscribed that he never saw the +ocean, or a snow-covered mountain, although living within sight of the +foothills of the Alps. He never returned to his native city though +living not a great distance from it.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_F_6" id="Footnote_F_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_F_6"><span class="label">[F]</span></a> Kalischer. <em>Neue Beethovenbriefe</em>. Berlin, 1902.</p></div></div> + +<p>The immediate cause of death, as demonstrated by the post-mortem held +the day after his decease, was cirrhosis of the liver, the dropsy, of +which Schindler makes such frequent mention, being an outcome of, and +connected with, the liver trouble. The organ showed every indication of +chronic disease. It was greatly shrunken, its very texture being changed +into a hard substance. That alcoholism is the commonest cause of +cirrhosis is well known, but in Beethoven's case some other cause for +the disease must be found. He was in the habit of taking wine with his +meals, a practice so common in Vienna at that time that not to have done +so would have been regarded as an eccentricity, but he never indulged in +it to excess, except possibly on a few occasions when in the company of +Holz. It can hardly be brought about by the use of wines, but is +produced by the inordinate use of spirituous liquors, something for +<a name="Page_214" id="Page_214"></a>which Beethoven did not care. Cirrhosis was probably the cause of his +father's death, as he was a confirmed inebriate; but this cannot be +connected with the cirrhosis of the son; the disease is not +transmissible.</p> + +<p>Beethoven's deafness probably began with a "cold in the head" which was +neglected. The inflammatory process then extended to the Eustachian +tubes. When it reached this point it was considered out of the reach of +treatment in his time, and for long after. Even in our own time, in the +light of advanced medical science, such a condition is serious and is +not always amenable to treatment, some impairment of the hearing +frequently occurring even with the best of care and under conditions +precluding the thought of a congenital tendency. The difficulty as +revealed by the post-mortem, lay in a thickening of the membrane of the +Eustachian tubes. The office of these tubes is to supply air to the +cavity on the inner side of the drum-membrane, known as the middle ear. +As is well known, a passage exists from the outer ear to the drum. The +Eustachian tubes connect the middle ear with the upper portion of the +throat from whence the air supply to the middle ear is obtained. We +cannot imagine a drum to be such unless there is air on both sides of +the membrane. Exhaust the air of an ordinary drum, and its resonance +would be gone. A similar condition obtained with Beethoven. With the +closure of the Eustachian tubes the air supply to the middle ear was cut +off; the air in the cavity finally became absorbed, and a retraction and +thickening of the drum-membrane with consequent inability to transmit +sound vibrations followed.</p> + +<p>The hypothesis of heredity, sometimes brought for<a name="Page_215" id="Page_215"></a>ward to account for +his deafness, would have more weight had the lesion shown itself in the +case of either of his other brothers. As it is, there is no hint to be +found of even a tendency to deafness in any other of the Beethovens, +whether Johann, Karl, or the nephew. In any event a congenital tendency +of this kind would have been more likely to develop itself in Karl, the +weakling, than in the sturdy Ludwig.</p> + +<p>The master's known impulsiveness and carelessness in matters connected +with the preservation of his health, lead to the conclusion that he +himself contributed much to his deafness. He was fond of pure air +outside, but sometimes had for a sleeping room an alcove wholly without +ventilation, so dark that he had to dress in another room. We hear much +of his practice of taking brisk walks on the ramparts or in the suburbs, +in the intervals of his work. There is at least one instance on +record,—there were probably many such cases,—of his coming in after a +walk, overheated, perspiring, and seating himself before an open window +in a draught. Another hygienic measure which he abused was his custom of +frequently bathing his head in cold water while at work, probably to +counteract the excessive circulation of the blood in the head brought +about by his brain-work. A chilling of the body, particularly in the +neck and the back of the head when overheated is a frequent cause of +inflammation of the middle ear. Von Frimmel calls attention to the +dust-storms which are a feature of Vienna. They were probably worse in +Beethoven's time than now, as but little attention was paid to hygienic +measures in those days. This no doubt aggravated the trouble.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216"></a>CHAPTER XIX</h3> +<div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">ToC</a></div> +<h4>LIFE'S PURPORT</h4> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Das Grenzenlose braust um mich. Weit hinaus glänzt mir Raum und + Zeit. Wohlan! Wohlauf! altes Herz.</p></div> + +<p class="citation"><span class="smcap">—Friederich Nietzsche.</span></p> + + +<div class="figleft"> +<img src="images/b2.png" width="99" height="100" alt="B" title="B" /> +</div> +<p class="noindent">eethoven's life in its devotion to the attainment of a single end, the +perfection of his art, affords an object lesson, which cannot fail to +encourage and stimulate every one engaged in creative work of any kind. +His earnestness and industry is the key-note to his achievement. He +worked harder than any composer we have any record of, with the possible +exception of Wagner. If we consider how the compositions improved in his +hands, while being worked over, as is shown by the sketch-books, a +simple process of reasoning will convince the reader that any man's +work, in any line, can be improved by adopting the same methods. +Beethoven's own words in this connection are, "the boundary does not yet +exist, of which it can be said to talent cooperating with industry, +'Thus far shalt thou go and no farther.'" The more he worked over his +compositions the better they became. When he required a theme for a +particular purpose, if the right thought did not at once come to mind, +his practice was to write as near it as possible. By the time this was +done an improvement would suggest itself.<a name="Page_217" id="Page_217"></a> He would then write it again, +and before the ink was dry, would start at it yet again, each effort +bringing him nearer the goal, and this progress was the incentive that +led him to continue until the idea he was reaching for became a reality. +His intuitive faculties were highly developed, and he had Goethe's +"heavenly gift" of imagination, but this would have been as nothing +without his power of concentration. All his abilities were focused on +his art. He made everything else subservient to the one idea of +attaining perfection in it. He succeeded too, by giving his genius free +play, by allowing his individuality to shape itself in accordance with +its own laws. The circumstances of his life favored this action. +Responsible to no one for years before reaching maturity, he was nowhere +hampered or repressed as might have been the case had he had a home +life. Strong characters are best left alone to work out their own +development. It is only the weak ones that have to be supported. He met +every demand that his art made on him. It was only by a complete +surrender, by a concentration of all his forces into one channel, that +he attained his results. By losing the world, he gained it. The great +ones in every age, in every art or calling,—those who attained to +saintship,—seers,—prophets,—all went this road.</p> + +<p>He had absolute confidence in his judgment. He seldom considered what +his audience would like. The best that was in him was what he gave to +the world. He knew its value, and if others could not understand it, he +knew the time would come when it would be appreciated. In art as in +religion, faith is a necessary preliminary to all great achievements.</p> + +<p>In going so far beyond us, in pushing the art to the <a name="Page_218" id="Page_218"></a>limit of its +possibilities, Beethoven has made portions of his work inaccessible to +the large body of people who look upon music as an art for enjoyment +only. The same kind of problem that is presented to this generation in +the works of his last years, confronted his contemporaries in those of +his middle life, which were as far beyond the comprehension of his own +generation as the more abstruse works of his last years are beyond the +ability of the present. To a future age, seemingly, has been relegated, +as an heritage of the past, the best fruit of Beethoven's genius. When +the Mass in D and the last Quartets can be heard frequently, a new era +in the art will have been inaugurated.</p> + +<p>It would be a mistake to suppose that Beethoven was a pessimist, or a +misanthrope. Placed here to live and suffer, not knowing why it should +be so, he yet teaches that relentless fate cannot prevail against those +who make a good fight. "I did not wish to find when I came to die that I +had not lived," said Thoreau, paraphrasing from Voltaire, (most men die +without having lived). "I did not wish to live what was not life, living +is so dear." Beethoven's idea of the purport of life was similar. He +believed, and put his theory into practice, that each man has within +himself the potentialities with which he shapes his own destiny. Fate +and Destiny are verities that have to be faced, but they do not have all +their own way with us. Each of us has the power to control his destiny +to some extent. By willing it so the tendency is toward betterment. +Always the highest powers are on our side. Life, after all, is worth +while. This was the gist of his philosophy. He sought to establish an +optimistic view of life, with the object of making the problem easier to +solve.</p> + +<p><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219"></a>Fichte, in his work "Über das Wesen des Gelehrten", gives the literary +man the place of priest in the world, continually unfolding the Godlike +to man. This was also Beethoven's aim. Haydn charged him with being an +atheist, but his works as well as his life refute this charge. The Kyrie +and the Agnus Dei of the Mass in D, could never have been produced had +he been other than a devout, religious man. In his journals he +continually addresses the Godhead. Outwardly, however, he gave no sign. +"Religion and general-bass," he said once, with a touch of humor, "are +in themselves two inscrutable things (<em>abgeschlossene Dinge</em>) about +which one should not argue."</p> + +<p>He was solicitous that his nephew should receive proper religious +instruction, and made this a point in his letters to the magistrates +while the lawsuit over him was in progress. After giving his ideas as to +the proper education of the young man, in which French, Greek, music and +drawing take a prominent place, he adds, "I have found a holy father who +has undertaken to instruct him in his duties as a Christian, as well as +a man, for only on this foundation can we bring up genuine people." +Again, "It is for his soul's welfare that I am concerned. Wealth can be +achieved, but morality must early in life be inoculated" (<em>eingeimpft</em>). +He saw the necessity of religion; that it has been called forth through +the consciousness of utter helplessness in the individual. Man is +encompassed on all sides by inexorable laws, produced and perpetuated by +a power beyond and outside the comprehension. The expression of the +religious sentiment is his effort at propitiation, and is his one +resource. This is the point of view on which<a name="Page_220" id="Page_220"></a> Beethoven projected the +grand mass. It is what governed his life.</p> + +<p>An inner pressure led him to choose a life of self-abnegation and +rectitude. He saw through and over and beyond the illusions and +allurements of the senses, and so was enabled to live entirely in +harmony with the moral order of the world, in an age, and among a +people, largely given over to the pursuit of pleasure.</p> + +<p>A long life is generally considered the best gift which the Fates have +to bestow. In the summary of a man's life it is usually treated of as +implying special virtues in the subject. But a long life in itself is as +nothing in comparison to the quality of the life that is lived. It is by +achievement only that its value can be determined.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221"></a>WAGNER'S INDEBTEDNESS TO BEETHOVEN</h2> +<div class="totoc"><a href="#CONTENTS">ToC</a></div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222"></a><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223"></a>FOREWORD</h3> + + + +<p>Beethoven, in Wagner's estimation, is a landmark in music, just as +Shakespeare is in literature, as Jesus or Buddha in religion. He is the +central figure; all others are but radii emanating from him. To +Beethoven was it given to express clearly what the others could but +dimly perceive. The relation of men like Bach or Händel toward +Beethoven, Wagner held to be analogous to that of the prophets toward +Jesus, namely, one of expectancy. The art reached its culmination in +Beethoven. This is Wagner's summary of the significance of Beethoven's +work, and he proclaimed it continually, from the housetops. It was in +some sort a religious exercise to him to make propaganda for the master +to whom he felt himself so deeply indebted. The burden of his utterances +on the subject of the musician's art is, "A greater than I exists. It is +Beethoven."</p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<div class="blockquot"><p><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224"></a>Chiefly, perhaps, of the philosopher and the poet must we needs + feel that if any genius reaches out into an interpenetrating + spiritual world, <em>theirs</em> must do so.</p></div> +<p class="citation"><span class="smcap">—F.W.H. Myers</span>, Human Personality, Chapter on Genius.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>In art the best of all is too spiritual to be given directly to the + senses; it must be born in the imagination of the beholder, + although begotten by the work of art.</p></div> +<p class="citation"><span class="smcap">—Schopenhauer.</span></p> + +<div class="figleft"> +<img src="images/w.png" width="101" height="100" alt="W" title="W" /> +</div> +<p class="noindent">agner's achievement can be attributed, in part, to a certain quality of +intellectual receptivity, by virtue of which he was enabled to +appropriate to himself the genius of two of his predecessors for whom he +had a special affinity. His epoch-making work was rendered possible +through Shakespeare and Beethoven, who served him as models all his +life.</p> + +<p>Every great achievement is referable to some preceding one often quite +as great but more obscure. No man stands alone in his deed. The doer of +every great work has been helped thereto by his predecessors working the +same soil. The greater the performance, the more prominently this comes +out sometimes, as in the case of Shakespeare whose indebtedness to +Christopher Marlowe and others will at once come to mind.</p> + +<p>To Beethoven and to Shakespeare, Wagner paid tribute on all occasions. +Especially is this true in his relation to Beethoven, to whom he readily +yields the palm in the realm of music. In the eight volumes of his +<em>Gesammelte<a name="Page_225" id="Page_225"></a> Schriften</em>, no single fact stands out more clearly than his +recognition of Beethoven as his chief, his master, from whom proceeds +all wisdom and knowledge and truth. One can hardly read any of Wagner's +prose writings without seeing how readily he falls into the place of +disciple of Beethoven. "I knew no other pleasure," he says in A +Pilgrimage to Beethoven, "than to plunge so deeply into his genius that +at last I fancied myself become a portion thereof." The Pilgrimage, +though an imaginative work, is the medium he employed to give utterance +to his regard for Beethoven. His letters to musical friends, to Liszt, +to Fischer, especially those to Ulig, are filled with praise of the +older master. In a letter to Meyerbeer, in 1887, he states how he came +to be a musician. "A passionate admiration of Beethoven impelled me to +this step." The only one who was good enough in Wagner's eyes to be +compared with Beethoven, was Shakespeare. These two names are frequently +brought into juxtaposition in his works. No musician is worthy of +comparison with his demigod. "Mozart died when he was just piercing into +the mystery. Beethoven was the first to enter in," he says in his +Sketches. As if even this praise were too great, he severely criticises +Mozart's operas and symphonies elsewhere.</p> + +<p>The deferential attitude which Wagner assumes toward Beethoven is not +accorded any other musician. Consciously or not, when he talks about +other musicians (except Bach) he, for the most part, assumes the rôle of +censor. But Beethoven comes in for unstinted praise. "It is impossible," +he says, "to discuss the essential nature of Beethoven's music without +at once falling into the tone of rhapsody."</p> + +<p><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226"></a>Wagner seems hardly to have been able, when writing about music, to +refrain from mention of Beethoven, he is so full of the subject. It has +a bearing on every important event in his life. At the ceremonies +attending the laying of the foundation-stone of the Festival Play House +at Bayreuth, the Ninth Symphony was performed, and in a little speech he +says: "I wish to see the Ninth Symphony regarded as the foundation-stone +of my own artistic structure." In "Religion and Art" we find these +words: "to whom the unspeakable bliss has been vouchsafed of taking one +of the last four symphonies of Beethoven into his heart and soul."</p> + +<p>Many enthusiasts have worked in Wagner's cause from Liszt down, but none +have equalled Wagner in this respect—in enthusiasm for <em>his</em> master. He +pays tribute to Beethoven in all conceivable places. He first heard of +him when told of his death. His first acquaintance with Beethoven's +music was a year after the master's death, on his arrival at Leipzig at +the Gewandhaus concerts. Wagner was then in his sixteenth year. "Its +impression on me was overpowering," he says. "The music to his Egmont so +inspired me that I determined not to allow my own completed tragedy to +be launched until provided with such like music. Without the slightest +diffidence I believed that I could write this needful music." He had up +to this time no special leaning toward music. He had not previously +entertained a thought of it as a career, but his first hearing of +Beethoven's music decided him to adopt it, such was the kinship between +these two minds. Through Beethoven he discovered that "music," to use +his own words, "is a new language in which that which is boundless can +<a name="Page_227" id="Page_227"></a>express itself with a certainty impossible to be misunderstood."<a name="FNanchor_G_7" id="FNanchor_G_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_G_7" class="fnanchor">[G]</a></p> + +<div class="footnotes"><div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_G_7" id="Footnote_G_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_G_7"><span class="label">[G]</span></a> Thoreau, in 1840, expressed himself similarly. We quote +from the recently published Service. "Music is a language, a mother +tongue, a more mellifluous and articulate language than words, in +comparison with which speech is recent and temporary. There is as much +music in the world as virtue. In a world of peace and love music would +be the universal language and men greet each other in the fields in such +accents as a Beethoven now utters at rare intervals at a distance."</p></div></div> + +<p>The episode made a turning-point in his life. Hitherto his whole mind +and thought had been placed on literature, the drama in particular, as a +career. Through Beethoven he first learned what a power music possesses +in the portrayal of the emotions and passions. He had, as he says, an +intimate love and knowledge of Mozart without apparently being much +influenced thereby. Up to this time Shakespeare had been his archetype. +Now, with a fine discriminating intelligence, marvellous in a youth of +sixteen, Beethoven is to be included in this hero-worship, and is +eventually to supplant his former ideal. "It was Beethoven who opened up +the boundless faculty of instrumental music for expressing elemental +storm and stress," he says in the "Art-Work of the Future," and +elsewhere in the same article, "the deed of the one and only +Shakespeare, which made of him a universal man, a very god, is yet but +the kindred deed of the solitary Beethoven, who found the language of +the artist-manhood of the future."</p> + +<p>Wagner's criticisms on music are admirable. Here he expresses his +thoughts as plainly as in his compositions. His disquisitions on music +as an art and on Beethoven in particular, are always lucid and forcible. +He may be misty in his philosophical speculations, but when he speaks +<a name="Page_228" id="Page_228"></a>on music it is in the authoritative tone of the master, familiar with +every phase of his subject. He always contributes something of value, +and his thoughts are an illumination.</p> + +<p>Had Wagner never written a line of music, had he elected to be a +literary man, a poet, a dramatist, philosopher, his fame to-day would +still be world-wide. Had he confined his genius into this one channel of +literary expression, as was his original intention, with his mental +equipment, and a Napoleonic ambition that balked at nothing, the product +would have been as original and extraordinary, we may be sure, as is his +art-product in music. Wagner, the musician, is so commanding a figure +that the literary man is obscured; but when we consider the magnitude of +his literary achievement, the dramas Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, Flying +Dutchman, Tristan, Parsifal, the stupendous Ring of the Nibelung, the +essays on music, philosophy, criticism and sociology, and reflect that +it is, so to speak, a by-product, it becomes apparent that, had he made +literature his chief aim in life, the result would have been notable in +the annals of the century.</p> + +<p>Wagner seriously contemplated writing a biography of Beethoven at one +time, and devoted several months to collecting materials for it. But his +finances were still in bad shape, and he was unable to undertake it +without an order from some publisher, who would have been required to +advance money. He was unable to find such a party, and the project was +abandoned, most unfortunately, as he would have made a valuable +contribution to the subject. The short biographical sketch he wrote on +Beethoven on the centenary anniversary of the master's birth, shows +marvellous insight, especially in relation to the critical and +<a name="Page_229" id="Page_229"></a>analytical parts of it. This work, instinct with worship of the master, +is a product of Wagner's mature years. Here, as in his earliest +utterances on Beethoven, he is the disciple glad to do homage to his +master.</p> + +<p>"A century may pass," said Schopenhauer in a letter to the publishers of +the (English) Foreign Review and Continental Miscellany, offering to +translate Kant for them, in response to a wish he had seen expressed in +their journal that England might ere long have a translation of Kant, "a +century may pass ere there shall again meet in the same head so much +Kantian Philosophy, with so much English, as happen to dwell together in +mine." Likewise centuries may elapse before another such musician will +appear possessing the literary ability, critical faculty, ardor and +enthusiasm that Wagner had for this work.</p> + +<p>There is an affinity between them in which mind speaks to mind. When +writing on Bach's influence on Beethoven, he says:<a name="FNanchor_H_8" id="FNanchor_H_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_H_8" class="fnanchor">[H]</a> "If Haydn passed +as teacher of the youth, for the mightily unfolding art-life of the man, +our great Sebastian Bach became his leader. Bach's wonder-work became +his Bible; in it he read, and clean forgot that world of clangor heard +no longer." This describes Wagner's own spiritual relationship to +Beethoven, and the exaltation that must have been his on reading the +symphonies, the Mass in D, the overtures. He exhausts himself in praise +of each. He makes the Third Leonore Overture of as much account as the +entire opera; he continually refers to the Egmont and the Coriolanus +Overtures, and says that in the latter and in the Third Leonore, +Beethoven stands alone and beyond all imitation.</p> + +<div class="footnotes"><div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_H_8" id="Footnote_H_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_H_8"><span class="label">[H]</span></a> Mr. Ellis's translation.</p></div></div> + +<p><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230"></a>An evidence of Wagner's overpowering genius exists in the originality +and unique character of his work, while giving himself up so +unreservedly to this spiritual guidance. The two, however, were quite +unlike in many respects. Neither could have done the work of the other. +Beethoven, almost a failure in operatic composition, undertook it no +more after one trial, while Wagner was irresistibly drawn to this style +from the beginning. He felt that with Beethoven the last word had been +said in pure instrumental music, while his literary talents also served +to draw him into this field of operatic composition where they could +find their proper outlet. With that unerring poetic sense which guided +him in the selection of his subjects, he always has the romantic element +to the fore. The atmosphere of romanticism which invests all his works, +is what gives them much of their value. Through the force and purity of +his literary instinct, he was enabled to select topics of supreme +interest, so that his imagination was kept at white heat while +composing. His originality and absolute confidence in himself prevented +him from following Beethoven to any marked extent. He was forced to hew +out a new path for himself. He was, however, not averse to occasionally +taking a hint from him when it would serve his purpose. It is the +prerogative of genius to take its material wherever it can be found. +"Plato," said Emerson, "plays sad havoc with our originalities." +Beethoven's influence is plainly discernible in the preludes and +overtures of the Wagner dramas, which are symphonic throughout. The +frequent use Wagner makes of the trombones, when he wishes to be +particularly impressive, recalls Beethoven. Each had a high opinion of +the trombone where solemnity was required, <a name="Page_231" id="Page_231"></a>and made constant use of it. +Beethoven applied it with peculiar effect in the Benedictus of the Mass +in D, and in the Ninth Symphony, which is paralleled by Wagner's use of +it in Parsifal, and in the Funeral march in Siegfried. The extraordinary +uses to which he puts the pedal-point, as well as the variation form, +are instances which show the influence of the older master.</p> + +<p>When, however, he takes an idea from Beethoven, he improves on it, +broadening and amplifying it, in general putting it to a better use than +it was where he found it. A great dramatic work admits of fuller and +longer treatment of an idea than is possible in the other forms in which +music can be embodied. The instances just quoted are minor ones of +general application. Of the conceptions in which he is specially +indebted to Beethoven, the most important come from the Mass in D. Here +the older master, by the very form in which the ideas are cast, had to +hold himself in. He was not able to give them the significance in the +Mass, which is perfectly proper in great music dramas; and this +enlarging and widening of the poetic conception,—this splendor in which +it is portrayed,—not only justifies the course of his follower in +adopting it, but also calls attention anew to the commanding genius to +whom such things are possible.</p> + +<p>Some of Wagner's most entrancing effects have their origin in Beethoven. +His method of using the violins and flutes in the highest register in +prolonged notes, as in the Lohengrin Prelude, and in general when +portraying celestial music, are obtained from this source. The Mass in D +gives several instances where this idea is presented, not by harp (the +customary way), but as Wagner has done in<a name="Page_232" id="Page_232"></a> Lohengrin, by the violins and +wood-winds in the highest register, beginning pianissimo, gradually +descending and augmenting in volume and sonority as the picturing merges +from spiritual to worldly concerns. Beethoven's work abounds in +intellectual subtleties of this kind. Wagner is sometimes credited with +having originated this method for the portrayal of celestial music. Mr. +Louis C. Elson says: "Wagner, alone, of all the great masters, does not +use the harp for celestial tone coloring, but violins and wood-winds, in +prolonged notes in the highest positions. Schumann, Berlioz, +Saint-Saens, in fact all the modern tone colorists who have given +celestial pictures, use the harp in them, purely because of the +association of ideas which come to us from the Scriptures, and this +association of the harp with heaven and the angels, only came about +because the instrument was the most developed possessed by man at the +time the sacred book was written. Wagner's tone coloring is +intrinsically the more ecstatic.... Wagner is the first who has broken +through this harp conventionality."</p> + +<p>In the Wagner-Liszt correspondence, Wagner states that the Lohengrin +Prelude typifies choirs of angels bearing the Holy Grail to earth. This +idea and the method of its development can be found in the symphonic +thought which follows the Preludium to the Benedictus of the Beethoven +Mass.</p> + +<p>It will be necessary to make a short digression and explain a portion of +the canon of the Mass to enable the reader to understand what follows. +During the office of the Eucharist the celebrant repeats certain prayers +inaudible to the congregation. These begin during the latter part of the +Sanctus, which immediately precedes the Bene<a name="Page_233" id="Page_233"></a>dictus, and are connected +with the ceremony of the consecration of the Host. A part of them are +conducted in absolute silence. The choir is not required to be silent +during all the prayers said by the celebrant, and the occasion is +frequently utilized, particularly at high festivals, by the introduction +of orchestral music or a brilliant chorus. The choir is silent during +the elevation of the Host and chalice, which takes place immediately +after the consecration. It is a period of peculiar solemnity, the +congregation kneeling in silent prayer at the signal of a gong. After +the consecration the priest elevates the Host and chalice, and with the +people still kneeling, offers up a prayer silently, the conclusion of +which is as follows: "We most humbly beseech Thee, Almighty God, command +these things to be carried by the hands of Thy holy angels to Thy altar +on high, in the sight of Thy Divine Majesty, that as many as shall +partake of the most sacred body and blood of Thy Son at this altar may +be filled with every heavenly grace and blessing." The central thought +of this prayer is that the sacred elements are borne to heaven by +invisible hands.</p> + +<p>In the Beethoven Mass a Preludium for orchestra is introduced, to fill +in the interval while the celebrant is occupied with these silent +prayers. It is an innovation, showing how thoroughly alive Beethoven was +to the development of every phase of his subject. Ordinarily, no +provision is made for this by the composer, the organist being permitted +the privilege of interpolating hymns like the O Salutaris or the Tantum +ergo. The Preludium is so timed that it ends at the conclusion of the +prayer we have quoted, when the sacred elements are in heaven and are +about be<a name="Page_234" id="Page_234"></a>ing returned to earth. It is at this point that the symphonic +thought begins, which at the first bar calls to mind celestial +harmonies. Here we have the tone-figure, as in the Lohengrin Prelude, +given by the violins and flutes in the highest register, beginning in +faintest pianissimo. At the second bar the melody begins to descend, +being augmented in force by the gradual addition of the more powerful +instruments as well as voices when the elements are again on earth. The +Lohengrin Prelude has the same idea, but it is developed to a greater +extent, with a richer orchestration, the idea being carried to greater +length, and rendered more significant in every way, as befits its +dramatic character. In both cases, however, the orchestral figure is +introduced by the same instruments, and in much the same manner.</p> + +<p>The Mass in D furnishes another instance where the celestial harmonies +are introduced to still better purpose than in the Benedictus. It is in +that portion of the Credo, beginning with the Et incarnatus. The +delicate ethereal nature of this music, as indicated by the violins and +flutes in the highest positions, is so transcendental, so imbued with +spirituality, as almost to evade analysis. By the magic of Beethoven's +art the impression is conveyed that the listener overhears far-off angel +voices from other spheres, when the heavens were opened for the descent +of the Son of God to earth. The instruments give out the merest +intimations of sound, scintillations that suggest it rather. In the +opening bars of the movement, just before the introduction of this +tone-figure, he uses an ancient ecclesiastical style, the Plagal, a mode +that obtained centuries before Palestrina. Harsh and strident, +inharmo<a name="Page_235" id="Page_235"></a>nious, are the tones, which in the opening Adagio typify the +dread, the foreboding and dismay, that can be supposed to have been felt +by the Son of God when the time came to give up a beatific state and +enter on the actualities of earthly existence. The sin of the world is +already being borne in anticipation. Suddenly we are in the midst of +celestial harmonies, delicate gradations and mergings of tones, +subtleties of expression, ethereal, evanescent, that come faintly at +first on the senses, giving us revelations of spiritual heights, of +transcendent states and conditions of the soul. Mankind is here afforded +a glimpse beyond the veil. These strains continue until the words <em>et +homo factus est</em> (and was made man) are reached. At this point the +melodies are suddenly cut off, the doors are closed, and we are excluded +from further participation in things not meant for mortal ears. A change +of tonality and time further accentuates the changed conditions that +prevail as the story goes through the events of the crucifixion, death +and burial of Christ.<a name="FNanchor_I_9" id="FNanchor_I_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_I_9" class="fnanchor">[I]</a></p> + +<div class="footnotes"><div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_I_9" id="Footnote_I_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_I_9"><span class="label">[I]</span></a> Beethoven's love of strongly defined contrasts is nowhere +better illustrated than here. The sharp discordant tones, which +characterize the opening bars of the movement, are simply pushed aside +by the new. It is the subjugation of the worldly by the spiritual, of +suffering by happiness.</p></div></div> + +<p>The Mass in D can be said to be the parent of some of the Parsifal +music. Wagner had the discernment to seize on the intellectual +subtleties he found there, and to put them to happiest uses. If we +compare the instrumental effects just noted with the exquisitely +delicate music that opens the Parsifal Prelude after the introductory +<em>leit motif</em>, we find a solution to each, as well as an affinity, in the +religious mysticism in which each is enveloped. There is <a name="Page_236" id="Page_236"></a>a central +theme, but so shadowy and unreal as to be hardly apparent. Like a nimbus +these shimmerings of sound from the violins surround and permeate it, so +that one is not aware of any particular melody, but rather it is +perceived that the atmosphere is full of a divine melody, as if by +spiritual insight the listener had attained to a state of mind akin to +that of the seer, and had, for the time being, become one with the +composer. The effect is produced of being in the presence of something +holy.</p> + +<p>The <em>Naturlangsamkeit</em> necessary to the birth of any great art-work +sometimes extends to its recognition and appreciation by the public. +Beethoven considered the Mass in D his greatest achievement, but it +gains ground very slowly. It is rarely mentioned, and seldom performed. +Similarly Bach's greatest works slumbered nearly a century until brought +to light by Mendelssohn.</p> + +<p>It is significant that Wagner was as world-weary from middle-age on as +was Beethoven. Like him he took refuge in creative work. Both were +pioneers, always in advance of their time, cheerfully making the +sacrifices which this position entails, diverging ever more and more +with advancing years from beaten paths and the ideas of others on the +subject of their art. Resignation and asceticism, the goal of mankind, +was Wagner's solution of the problem of existence, a conclusion arrived +at after reading Schopenhauer. Beethoven had also come to it long before +reaching middle-age. Wagner was, in his later years, a mystic, as was +Beethoven; and like Beethoven his most congenial work in those years was +of a religious character.</p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237"></a>INDEX</h3> + +<table id="table2" border="1" width="9%"> + <tr> + <td><a href="#IX_A">A</a></td> <td><a href="#IX_N">N</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#IX_B">B</a></td> <td><a href="#IX_O">O</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#IX_C">C</a></td> <td><a href="#IX_P">P</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#IX_D">D</a></td> <td><a href="#IX_Q">Q</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#IX_E">E</a></td> <td><a href="#IX_R">R</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#IX_F">F</a></td> <td><a href="#IX_S">S</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#IX_G">G</a></td> <td><a href="#IX_T">T</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#IX_H">H</a></td> <td><a href="#IX_U">U</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#IX_I">I</a></td> <td><a href="#IX_V">V</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#IX_J">J</a></td> <td><a href="#IX_W">W</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#IX_K">K</a></td> <td>X</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#IX_L">L</a></td> <td>Y</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#IX_M">M</a></td> <td><a href="#IX_Z">Z</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_A"></a>Adagio, the, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</li> +<li>Adversity, school of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>.</li> +<li>Altruism, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li> +<li>American Revolution, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li> +<li>Andante, the, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>.</li> +<li>Antwerp, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li> +<li>Appassionata Sonata, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>.</li> +<li>Archduke Rudolph, <a href="#Page_80">80</a> et seq., <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Appointed Archbishop, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>-<a href="#Page_146">146</a>,</li> +<li>Disciple of Beethoven, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>,</li> +<li>Installation of, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>,</li> +<li>as performer, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>,</li> +<li>regard for Beethoven, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Aristocracy, of Vienna, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</li> +<li>Art, office of, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li> +<li>Art-history (this country), <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> +<li>Artist-manhood, of Beethoven, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>.</li> +<li>Artistic temperament, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</li> +<li>Art-work, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</li> +<li>Art-workers, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> +<li>Aryan ancestry, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>.</li> +<li>Aspern, battle of, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li> +<li>Atterbohm, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>.</li> +<li>Attrition, of mind on mind, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.</li> +<li>Augustines, church of, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>.</li> +<li>Austria, Emperor of, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.</li> +<li>Austria, Empress of, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</li> +<li>Austrians in Italy, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<div class="toindex"><a href="#INDEX">Index</a></div> + + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_B"></a>Bach, Dr., Beethoven's attorney, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.</li> +<li>Bach, J.S., <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Beethoven's regard for, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,</li> +<li>and humor, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>,</li> +<li>Leader of Beethoven, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>,</li> +<li>Life-work of, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>,</li> +<li>Mathematician of music, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>,</li> +<li>Mass in B minor, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>,</li> +<li>Overture on name of, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>,</li> +<li>Protestant, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>,</li> +<li>and old ecclesiastical modes, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>,</li> +<li>and Variation form, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>,</li> +<li>Well-tempered clavichord, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>,</li> +<li>"Wonder-work," <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Baden, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>.</li> +<li>Battle Symphony, <a href="#Page_103">103</a> et seq.</li> +<li>Bautzen, battle of, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</li> +<li>Bavarian soldiers, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li> +<li>Bayreuth, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>.</li> +<li>Beautiful in music, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li> +<li>Beethoven: Altruism of, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Adagios, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>,</li> +<li>Aim, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>,</li> +<li>Age of, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>,</li> +<li>Absorption in his work, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>,</li> +<li>Art-life of, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>,</li> +<li>Artist-life, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>,</li> +<li>Artistic instinct, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>,</li> +<li>Approachable, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>,</li> +<li>Asceticism, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>,</li> +<li>Adopts nephew, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>,</li> +<li>Awkwardness, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>,</li> +<li>Bach's influence on, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>,</li> +<li>Brevier, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>,</li> +<li>Catholic, in religion, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>,</li> +<li>Creative talent, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>,</li> +<li>Conduct of life, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>,</li> +<li>Court suit, buys a, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>,</li> +<li>Concert for Philharmonic Society of London, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>,</li> +<li>Copyrights, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>,</li> +<li>Consideration for others, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>,</li> +<li>Copyists, his, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>,</li> +<li>Church music, predilection for, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>,</li> +<li>Concept of life, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>,</li> +<li>Drama, and the, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>,</li> +<li><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238"></a>Dancing, and, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>,</li> +<li>Destiny, accepts his, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>,</li> +<li>Deafness, progress of, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>,</li> +<li>Ethical character of, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>,</li> +<li>Every-day life, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>,</li> +<li>Father, his, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>,</li> +<li>Favorite authors, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>,</li> +<li>Failing health, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>,</li> +<li>Forecasts his future, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>,</li> +<li>Friendship, need of, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>,</li> +<li>and Goethe, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>-<a href="#Page_92">92</a>,</li> +<li>Gastro-intestinal disturbances, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>,</li> +<li>Grandfather, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>,</li> +<li>Grammar, lapses from in letters, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>,</li> +<li>Habits, at Johann's, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>,</li> +<li>and Happiness, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>,</li> +<li>Helplessness, his, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>,</li> +<li>Humor, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>,</li> +<li>History, insatiable reader of, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>,</li> +<li>Intellectual bias, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>,</li> +<li>Infinitude, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>,</li> +<li>Introspection, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>,</li> +<li>Illnesses of, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>,</li> +<li>Individuality, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>,</li> +<li>Intuitive faculties, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>,</li> +<li>Improvising: in Allegro movements, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>,</li> +<li>Improvising: in Variations, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>,</li> +<li>Improvising at a charity concert, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>,</li> +<li>Journal, his, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_219">219</a> (note-book), <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>,</li> +<li>Kindliness and humility, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>,</li> +<li>Lawsuits, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>,</li> +<li>Line extinct on male side, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>,</li> +<li>Laughter, virtuoso in, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>,</li> +<li>Last words of, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>,</li> +<li>Library, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>,</li> +<li>Life-work of, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>,</li> +<li>Life-drama, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>,</li> +<li>Letters to publishers, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>,</li> +<li>Litigation over nephew, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>,</li> +<li>Life, a difficult problem, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>,</li> +<li>Love affairs of, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>-<a href="#Page_88">88</a>,</li> +<li>"Last five symphonies," <a href="#Page_226">226</a>,</li> +<li>Landmark in music, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>,</li> +<li>Ménage, the, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>,</li> +<li>Mother, his, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>; death of, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>,</li> +<li>Muse, his, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>,</li> +<li>Musical library, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>,</li> +<li>Mental processes of, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>,</li> +<li>Mysticism, his, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>,</li> +<li>Nature, love of, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>,</li> +<li>Naïveté of, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>,</li> +<li>Optimism, his, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>,</li> +<li>Opera, early familiarity with, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>,</li> +<li>Orchestra, and the, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>,</li> +<li>Organist, as, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>,</li> +<li>the Philosopher, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>,</li> +<li>as Patriot, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>-<a href="#Page_105">105</a>,</li> +<li>Philosophy, gist of, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>,</li> +<li>and Persian literature, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>,</li> +<li>Quartets, his, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>,</li> +<li>Republicanism, his, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>,</li> +<li>Repartee, ready in, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>,</li> +<li>Religion, his, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>,</li> +<li>Rhenish ancestry, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>,</li> +<li>Servants, difficulties with, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>,</li> +<li>Seer, the, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>,</li> +<li>Scherzo, and the, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>,</li> +<li>Sarcastic moods, his, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>,</li> +<li>Spiritual insight, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>,</li> +<li>Strenuousness, his, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>,</li> +<li>Sonatas, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>,</li> +<li>Social successes, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>,</li> +<li>Symphonies of, language of buoyant mood, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>,</li> +<li>Sociological questions, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>,</li> +<li>Solitary life, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>,</li> +<li>Subtleties, in works of, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>,</li> +<li>Sketch-books, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>,</li> +<li>the Symphonist, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>,</li> +<li>Two masses, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>,</li> +<li>Teaching, dislike of, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>,</li> +<li>Tone-poet, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>,</li> +<li>Unique work of, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>,</li> +<li>Virtuosity of, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>-<a href="#Page_64">64</a>,</li> +<li>Works, happy ending to, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>,</li> +<li>Work, his one resource, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>,</li> +<li>Work, significance of his, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>,</li> +<li>Will, codicil added, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>,</li> +<li>World, a difficult problem to, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>,</li> +<li>World-weary, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>,</li> +<li>World, at odds with the, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>,</li> +<li>World, withdrawing from, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>,</li> +<li>World, "the play with it," <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239"></a>Beethoven, Johann van, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>marries his housekeeper, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>,</li> +<li>as Landed proprietor, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>,</li> +<li>Sordidness of, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>,</li> +<li>his cupidity, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>,</li> +<li>his wife, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Beethoven, Karl van, brother of composer, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>marriage of, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>,</li> +<li>dies, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>,</li> +<li>his widow, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Beethoven, Karl van, nephew of composer, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, et seq., <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>-<a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>after career of, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>,</li> +<li>Posterity of, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>,</li> +<li>Waywardness of, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>-<a href="#Page_197">197</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Beklemmt, cavatina B♭ quartet, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>.</li> +<li>Bergman, C., <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</li> +<li>Berlioz, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>.</li> +<li>Bernadotte, Gen., <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>; king of Sweden, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</li> +<li>Bigot, Marie, virtuosity of, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</li> +<li>Black Spaniards, house of, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>.</li> +<li>Boehm, J., violinist, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>.</li> +<li>Boehme, Madame, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> +<li>Bohemia, Baths of, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> +<li>Bonn, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>University, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>,</li> +<li>Old Roman city, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Boswell, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</li> +<li>Bouilly, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> +<li>Brahma, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>.</li> +<li>Brentano, Bettina, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</li> +<li>Breuning, Stephen von, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a> et seq., <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Madame von, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>-<a href="#Page_13">13</a>,</li> +<li>family, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>British Museum, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.</li> +<li>Broadwood piano, Beethoven's, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>-<a href="#Page_136">136</a>.</li> +<li>Brotherhood of man, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> +<li>Browne, Count, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</li> +<li>Bruno, Giordano, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</li> +<li>Brunswick, Count, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Therese, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>-<a href="#Page_87">87</a>,</li> +<li>engaged to Beethoven, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>-<a href="#Page_72">72</a>,</li> +<li>founds home for children, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Buddha, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</li> +<li>Bundeslied, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<div class="toindex"><a href="#INDEX">Index</a></div> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_C"></a>C minor Symphony (see Fifth Symphony).</li> +<li>Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</li> +<li>Carlsbad, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</li> +<li>Carlyle on Goethe, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>on Jean Paul, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Castle Garden, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> +<li>Celestial music, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>.</li> +<li>Chamberlain, H.S., <a href="#Page_120">120</a>.</li> +<li>Chamber-music, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Variations in, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Character, and environment, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li> +<li>Cherubini, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>; Requiem, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>.</li> +<li>Chopin, Improvising, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</li> +<li>Choral Fantasia, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> +<li>Christianity, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li> +<li>Cirrhosis, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Dropsical accumulations in, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>,</li> +<li>Cause of, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>,</li> +<li>not transmissible, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Clementi, Sonatas, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</li> +<li>Cologne, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li> +<li>Concert, Spirituel, of Vienna, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>of Paris, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Congress of Vienna, <a href="#Page_107">107</a> et seq.</li> +<li>Coriolanus overture, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.</li> +<li>Corsican, the young, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</li> +<li>Critics on Second Symphony, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Seventh Symphony, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Czerny, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Teacher of young Karl, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.</li></ul></li> +</ul> + +<div class="toindex"><a href="#INDEX">Index</a></div> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_D"></a>Dance, the, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>the, favorite musical form, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Dante, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> +<li>Damrosch, Dr. Leopold, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</li> +<li>De Profundus, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li> +<li>Diabelli, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>.</li> +<li>Dietrichstein, Count, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.</li> +<li>Dignity, of the artist, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>.</li> +<li>Don Giovanni, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</li> +<li>Dönhoff, Graf von, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<div class="toindex"><a href="#INDEX">Index</a></div> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_E"></a><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240"></a>Egmont music, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.</li> +<li>Eighth Symphony, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Dance element in, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Eisfeld, Theo, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</li> +<li>Elector of Cologne, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>his Orchestra, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Eliot, George, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.</li> +<li>Elysian Fields, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>.</li> +<li>Emerson, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>.</li> +<li>England, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</li> +<li>Erdödy, Countess, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</li> +<li>Erlkönig, Beethoven's setting of, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.</li> +<li>Eroica Symphony (see Third Symphony).</li> +<li>Ertmann, Baroness, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</li> +<li>Esterhazy, Prince, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>-<a href="#Page_76">76</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Princess Marie, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>,</li> +<li>the Princes, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Eucharist, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>.</li> +<li>Euryanthe, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>.</li> +<li>Eustachian tubes, office of, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<div class="toindex"><a href="#INDEX">Index</a></div> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_F"></a>Fate, struggle with, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Relentless, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>,</li> +<li>Propitiated, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>,</li> +<li>and Destiny, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Fates, the, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>.</li> +<li>Fatherland, Poets of, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li> +<li>Faust, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>.</li> +<li>Fichte (quoted), <a href="#Page_219">219</a>.</li> +<li>Fidelio, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>libretto of, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>-<a href="#Page_50">50</a>,</li> +<li>First production of, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>,</li> +<li>revision of, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>,</li> +<li>dedication of piano score, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>,</li> +<li>its Spanish background, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Fielding and humor, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.</li> +<li>Fifth Symphony (C minor), <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.</li> +<li>First Symphony, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li> +<li>Fischer, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</li> +<li>Förster, teacher of Beethoven, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>.</li> +<li>Fourth Symphony, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>-<a href="#Page_68">68</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Serenity of, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>,</li> +<li>Philosophic import of, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>France, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>.</li> +<li>France, King of (Louis XVIII), <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.</li> +<li>Freemasonry, among musicians, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</li> +<li>Freischütz, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</li> +<li>French Revolution, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</li> +<li>Friends of music, Society of, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.</li> +<li>Friendship, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</li> +<li>Frimmel von, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>.</li> +<li>Fugue, the, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>of the C♯ minor quartet, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>,</li> +<li>Credo of Mass in D, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Fuller, Margaret (footnote), <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<div class="toindex"><a href="#INDEX">Index</a></div> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_G"></a>Gayety, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> +<li>Galaxy of virtuosi, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li> +<li>Galitzin, Prince, and last quartets, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>-<a href="#Page_194">194</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>and Mass in D, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Genius, prerogative of, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>.</li> +<li>Germanic Order, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</li> +<li>Germans, the, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li> +<li>Gewandhaus Concerts, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>.</li> +<li>Glacis, the, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>.</li> +<li>Glück, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.</li> +<li>Goethe, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Worldly wisdom of, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>,</li> +<li>as Courtier, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>,</li> +<li>Councillor, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>,</li> +<li>Spiritual mentor, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Gothic architecture, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li> +<li>Greece, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li> +<li>Greek Classics, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>-<a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</li> +<li>Grillparzer, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<div class="toindex"><a href="#INDEX">Index</a></div> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_H"></a>Hafiz (quoted), <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</li> +<li>Hanau, battle of, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li> +<li>Händel, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Beethoven's opinion of, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>,</li> +<li>Oratorios of, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>,</li> +<li>works of, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Händel and Haydn Society of Boston, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> +<li>Happiness, and Beethoven, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</li> +<li>Hatzfeld, Prince von, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.</li> +<li>Hawthorne, Nathaniel, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</li> +<li>Haydn, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241"></a>Important work of, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>,</li> +<li>Distinguishing trait, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>,</li> +<li>Kyrie of Imperial Mass, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>,</li> +<li>and the Minuet, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>,</li> +<li>Humor in music, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>,</li> +<li>Sonatas, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>,</li> +<li>Teacher of Beethoven, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>-<a href="#Page_20">20</a>,</li> +<li>Visits Bonn, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Haydn and Mozart, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.</li> +<li>Haydn and Beethoven, life-work of, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.</li> +<li>Heiligenstadt, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li> +<li>Herder, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>quoted, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Higher law, the, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>.</li> +<li>Hiller, Ferdinand, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>.</li> +<li>Hirsch, Beethoven's last pupil, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.</li> +<li>Holy Grail, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>.</li> +<li>Holz, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.</li> +<li>Homer, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> +<li>Host, the, elevation of, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Consecration of, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Humanity, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>at bay, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>,</li> +<li>Golden age for, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Humor, in music, evolution of, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>a test of genius, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Hümmel, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li> +<li>Hüttenbrenner, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<div class="toindex"><a href="#INDEX">Index</a></div> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_I"></a>Imperial family (of Austria), <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>.</li> +<li>Impedimenta, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> +<li>Improvising, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Bach, excelled in it, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>,</li> +<li>Chopin, last to exercise it in public, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>,</li> +<li>Beethoven, genius in, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>-<a href="#Page_29">29</a>,</li> +<li>by Karl, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Instrumental music, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>.</li> +<li>Intellect of mankind, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>.</li> +<li>Intuition, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>.</li> +<li>Italian vocalism, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<div class="toindex"><a href="#INDEX">Index</a></div> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_J"></a>Jeitteles, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>.</li> +<li>Jesus, teaching of, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li> +<li>Johnson, Dr., <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</li> +<li>Joy, language of, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</li> +<li>Joyousness (quoted), <a href="#Page_101">101</a>.</li> +<li>Judiciary, the, of Austria, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<div class="toindex"><a href="#INDEX">Index</a></div> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_K"></a>Kalischer, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>.</li> +<li>Kantian Philosophy, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.</li> +<li>Karlskirche, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>.</li> +<li>Kenilworth, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.</li> +<li>Keyboard, of piano, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>.</li> +<li>Kiel University, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li> +<li>Kinsky, Prince, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>death of, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Klober, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>.</li> +<li>Klopstock, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.</li> +<li>Kren, Michael, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>.</li> +<li>Kreutzer, R., <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Sonata, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li><span title="Corrected typo: was 'Krumpholtz'" class="hov">Krumpholz</span>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>death of, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>-<a href="#Page_131">131</a>.</li></ul></li> +</ul> + +<div class="toindex"><a href="#INDEX">Index</a></div> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_L"></a>Leipzig, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>battle of, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Leonore overtures, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>the Third, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Lessing, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> +<li>Letter to a young girl, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Holz, appointing him his biographer, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>,</li> +<li>Breuning, Stephen von, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>,</li> +<li>Czapka, a magistrate, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>,</li> +<li>Rampel, his copyist, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>,</li> +<li>Lichnowsky, Prince, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>,</li> +<li>Messrs. Schott, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>,</li> +<li>Zmeskall, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>-<a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Lichnowsky, Prince von, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Settles annuity on Beethoven, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>,</li> +<li>Beethoven visits him, in Silesia, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>,</li> +<li>quarrels with him, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>,</li> +<li>death of, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Lichnowsky, Princess von, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>as peacemaker, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Lichnowsky, Count Moritz von, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</li> +<li>Life, a precious gift, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</li> +<li>Life's problem, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>.</li> +<li>Life's tragedy, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</li> +<li>Liszt, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>advent of, in concert, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>,</li> +<li>pupil of Czerny, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242"></a>Liszt's father, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</li> +<li>Lobkowitz, Prince von, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>bankruptcy of, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>,</li> +<li>death of, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Loder, George, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> +<li>Lohengrin, Prelude, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>.</li> +<li>London, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>.</li> +<li>Louis, Ferdinand of Prussia, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.</li> +<li>Love, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Magic power of, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Lützen, battle of, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<div class="toindex"><a href="#INDEX">Index</a></div> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_M"></a>Man of genius, elation of, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.</li> +<li>Mantua, Mozart at, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</li> +<li>Maria Louisa, of Spain, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li> +<li>Marie Antoinette, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.</li> +<li>Marengo, battle of, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li> +<li>Marlowe, Christopher, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>.</li> +<li>Mass, the, a great art-form, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Stateliness of, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>,</li> +<li>Canon of, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>,</li> +<li>Sanctus of, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>,</li> +<li>Benedictus of, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Mass in C, Beethoven's, <a href="#Page_73">73</a> et seq., <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>German version of, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Mass in D, Beethoven's (or Grand Mass), <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>-<a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Agnus Dei, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>,</li> +<li>Apotheosis of friendship, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>,</li> +<li>Benedictus, trombones in, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>,</li> +<li>Credo, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>,</li> +<li>Soli of, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>,</li> +<li>Celestial harmonies in, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>,</li> +<li>Congenial work to Beethoven, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>,</li> +<li>and the copyist, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>,</li> +<li>Beethoven's absorption in, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>,</li> +<li>Christe eleison, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>,</li> +<li>Et incarnatus of, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>,</li> +<li>Interpretation by the orchestra, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>,</li> +<li>Lydian and Dorian modes in, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>,</li> +<li>Marvels of, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>,</li> +<li>Mysticism of, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>,</li></ul></li> +<li>Mass, a Symphony to Wagner's view, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Subscription price of, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>,</li> +<li>Sale of score, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>,</li> +<li>proceeds from, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>,</li> +<li>First production by Prince Galitzin, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>,</li> +<li>Preludium in, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>,</li> +<li>Kyrie of, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>,</li> +<li>Splendor of conception of, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>,</li> +<li>its symphonic style, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>,</li> +<li>German direction in, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>,</li> +<li>Loss of manuscript of, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>,</li> +<li>its rhythm, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Melusina, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>.</li> +<li>Mendelssohn, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</li> +<li>Messiah, The, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</li> +<li>Metaphysical, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>.</li> +<li>Metronome, inventor of, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li> +<li>Metternich, Prince, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</li> +<li>Meyerbeer, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</li> +<li>Minorites, church of, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>.</li> +<li>Minuet, the, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</li> +<li>Mödling, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</li> +<li>Monasteries, old chorales of, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</li> +<li>"Moonlight" Sonata, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>-<a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</li> +<li>Moscheles, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>and piano arrangement of Fidelio, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Mount of Olives, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</li> +<li>Mozart, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>-<a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Early death of, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>,</li> +<li>Genius of, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>,</li> +<li>his precocity, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>,</li> +<li>praised by Beethoven, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>,</li> +<li>Requiem, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>,</li> +<li>Sonatas, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>,</li> +<li>his widow, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>,</li> +<li>his operas at Bonn, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Mozart's Mass in B♭, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Agnus Dei of, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>,</li> +<li>Et incarnatus of, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>,</li> +<li>Kyrie of, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Mozart and Haydn, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.</li> +<li>Music, its function, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>outward expression of, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>,</li> +<li>dramas, great, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>,</li> +<li><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243"></a>a language, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>,</li> +<li>Religious, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>,</li> +<li><span title="Corrected typo: was 'Origen'" class="hov">Origin</span> in the dance, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Musician, the, social obligations of, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> +<li>Mystery in life, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>.</li> +<li>Mysticism, and the artistic nature, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<div class="toindex"><a href="#INDEX">Index</a></div> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_N"></a>Napoleon, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Arch-enemy of Austria, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>,</li> +<li>Campaign against Austria, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>,</li> +<li>escapes from Elba, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>,</li> +<li>declared emperor, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>,</li> +<li>Greatest military achievement, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>,</li> +<li>In the toils, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>,</li> +<li>Marriage to Archduchess Maria Louisa, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>,</li> +<li>Marriage to Josephine, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>,</li> +<li>overruns Germany, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>,</li> +<li>takes Vienna, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>National opera at Bonn, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> +<li>Neate, Charles, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.</li> +<li><span title="Corrected typo: was 'Neafe'" class="hov">Neefe</span>, Beethoven's teacher, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li> +<li>New Testament, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li> +<li>Nietzsche, Friederich, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>.</li> +<li>Ninth Symphony (choral), <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Choral finale, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>,</li> +<li>an outburst of joy at deliverance, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>,</li> +<li>First movement of, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>,</li> +<li>First performance in this country, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>,</li> +<li>Psychological problems in, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>,</li> +<li>Sontag, and soprano part of, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>,</li> +<li>Trombones in, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>,</li> +<li>Variations in, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Nohl, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>.</li> +<li>North America, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<div class="toindex"><a href="#INDEX">Index</a></div> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_O"></a>Ode to Joy, revolutionary spirit of, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> +<li>Odeschalchi, Princess, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</li> +<li>Opera, the, an alien soil to Beethoven, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>as a work of art, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>,</li> +<li>a combination of arts, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Operatic composition, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.</li> +<li>Orchestra, range and mobility of, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>More important than voices, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>,</li> +<li>its resources increased through Beethoven, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Orchestral forms, development of, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li> +<li>Ossian-like dæmonism, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.</li> +<li>Ossian Songs (Schubert), <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<div class="toindex"><a href="#INDEX">Index</a></div> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_P"></a>Pain of existence, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</li> +<li>Palestrina, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Masses of, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Paris Conservatoire, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li> +<li>Parsifal, <a href="#Page_164">164</a> (footnote), <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>mysticism of, Prelude to, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Passion music, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>.</li> +<li>Pastoral Sonata, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</li> +<li>Pastoral Symphony (see Sixth Symphony).</li> +<li>Patriotism and altruism, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</li> +<li>Paur, Emil, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</li> +<li>Pedal-point, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li> +<li>Pennsylvania, Founding of, libretto, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li> +<li>Persian literature, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</li> +<li>Pessimism, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</li> +<li>Pinnacle of greatness, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> +<li>Pity, and the divine in man, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li> +<li>Plagal mode, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>.</li> +<li>Plato, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Republic, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Playing from manuscript, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</li> +<li>Philharmonic Society of New York, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</li> +<li>Philharmonic Society of London <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>.</li> +<li>Philip III, of Spain, daughter of, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>.</li> +<li>Prague, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>.</li> +<li>Problem of life, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li> +<li>Prometheus, Ballet, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</li> +<li>Prussia, King of, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>.</li> +<li>Psychological element, the, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<div class="toindex"><a href="#INDEX">Index</a></div> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_Q"></a>Quartet, the, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Last quartets, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>-<a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>,</li> +<li><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244"></a>Mysticism of, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>,</li> +<li>Psychological qualities of, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>,</li> +<li>Spirituality of, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>,</li> +<li>Variations in, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>,</li> +<li>Written in great mental trouble, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Quartet, in A minor, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>in C♯ minor, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>,</li> +<li>its dedication, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>,</li> +<li>in B♭, cavatina of, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>,</li> +<li>new finale of, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>,</li> +<li>see chamber-music, also Rasoumowsky quartets.</li></ul></li> +</ul> + +<div class="toindex"><a href="#INDEX">Index</a></div> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_R"></a>Rasoumowsky, Count, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Entertains Empress of Russia, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Rasoumowsky quartets, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>-<a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Adagio of the second, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Religion and General-bass, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>.</li> +<li>Religious sentiment, the, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>.</li> +<li>Renunciation, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li> +<li>Requiem Mass, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.</li> +<li>Ries, Ferdinand, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Pupil of Beethoven, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>,</li> +<li>Prolific composer, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>,</li> +<li>efforts for Beethoven while in London, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>-<a href="#Page_182">182</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Ries, Franz, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>.</li> +<li>Rochlitz, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>.</li> +<li>Romberg, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li> +<li>Rossini, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>calls on Beethoven, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Ruins of Athens, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>.</li> +<li>Russia, Emperor of, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Empress of, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>.</li></ul></li> +</ul> + +<div class="toindex"><a href="#INDEX">Index</a></div> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_S"></a>Saint-Saens, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>.</li> +<li>Saint-Simon, and the strenuous life, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li> +<li>Salieri, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li> +<li>Satanas in the kitchen, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>.</li> +<li>Saxony, King of, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.</li> +<li>Second period, works of, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>characterized by gayety, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Second Symphony, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Larghetto of, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Seebald, Amalie, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>facsimile of letter to her, opp. page <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Sehnsucht (Goethe's), <a href="#Page_142">142</a>.</li> +<li>Seidl, Anton, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</li> +<li>Sensenman, the, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li> +<li>Seventh Symphony, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Dance element in, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>,</li> +<li>First performance of, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>,</li> +<li>Coda of Vivace of, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>,</li> +<li>Hungarian peasant dance in, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>,</li> +<li>Weber's strictures on, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Scherzo, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Peculiar to Beethoven, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>,</li> +<li>developed by Beethoven, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>,</li> +<li>makes sport of humanity in, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>-<a href="#Page_134">134</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Schiller, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> +<li>Schindler, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>-<a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Beethoven's biographer, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Schroeder-Devrient, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</li> +<li>Schopenhauer, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>and humor, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Schubert, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Reverence of, for Beethoven, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>,</li> +<li>Calls on Beethoven, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>,</li> +<li>Songs of, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Schuman, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>.</li> +<li>Schuppanzich, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li> +<li>Schott, music publishers, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.</li> +<li>Scott, Walter, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Kenilworth, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Seyfried, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>.</li> +<li>Shakespeare, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Comedies of, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>,</li> +<li>the Tempest, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>,</li> +<li>a Universal man, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>,</li> +<li>Wagner's archetype in youth, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Siegfried, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li> +<li>Sight playing, from Ms., <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>.</li> +<li>Sixth Symphony (Pastoral), <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>-<a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Dance tunes in, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>,</li> +<li>Dramatization of, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>,</li> +<li>Nature-poem, a, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>,</li> +<li>Storm in, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245"></a>Socrates, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li> +<li>Solitary, Beethoven, the (quoted), <a href="#Page_227">227</a>.</li> +<li>Sonata in A♭, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Fantasia, language of Resignation, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>,</li> +<li>Kreutzer, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>,</li> +<li>"Moonlight," <a href="#Page_35">35</a>,</li> +<li>opus <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>,</li> +<li>Pathetique, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>,</li> +<li>Pastorale, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>,</li> +<li>Waldstein, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>,</li> +<li>opus, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Sonata, the (form), <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> +<li>Sonatas, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Last (opus <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>), <a href="#Page_155">155</a>,</li> +<li>Lofty imaginings of, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>,</li> +<li>Wondrous second movement of op. <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>,</li> +<li>F minor and D minor, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Sonnleithner, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.</li> +<li>Sontag, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>.</li> +<li>Spohr, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li> +<li>Stadler, Abbe, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</li> +<li>St. Just, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</li> +<li>St. Stephen's, Vienna, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.</li> +<li>Streicher, Madame, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>.</li> +<li>Stumpf, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.</li> +<li>Stutterheim, Field-marshal von, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.</li> +<li>Suite, the, earliest orchestral form, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>.</li> +<li>Süsmayer, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li> +<li>Swieten, Baron von, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<div class="toindex"><a href="#INDEX">Index</a></div> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_T"></a>Tacitus, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</li> +<li>Tact, woman's, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</li> +<li>Tenth Symphony (proposed), <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Adagio of, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>,</li> +<li>Allegro of, a Bacchic festival, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>,</li> +<li>Religious in character, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Tetralogy, variations in, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li> +<li>Thackeray, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>.</li> +<li>Thayer, A.W., <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> +<li>Third Leonore overture, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.</li> +<li>Third Mass (proposed), Kyrie of, <a href="#Page_172">172</a></li> +<li>Third period, mysticism of, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> +<li>Third Symphony (Eroica), <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a> et seq., <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Composed in spirit of altruism, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>,</li> +<li>First dedicated to Napoleon, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>-<a href="#Page_44">44</a>,</li> +<li>Last movement of, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>,</li> +<li>Unique as a Symphony, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Thomas, Theodore, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</li> +<li>Thoreau, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>.</li> +<li>Thun, Countess, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</li> +<li>Tolstoy, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.</li> +<li>Tone-figure, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>.</li> +<li>Tone-pictures, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>.</li> +<li>Transposing, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li> +<li>Treitschke, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.</li> +<li>Trombones, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>for Solemnity, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Turin, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<div class="toindex"><a href="#INDEX">Index</a></div> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_U"></a>Unger, Fräulein, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>.</li> +<li>Unrest, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<div class="toindex"><a href="#INDEX">Index</a></div> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_V"></a>Vander Stucken, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>.</li> +<li>Variation form, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>in the Diabelli Waltzes, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>,</li> +<li>in Beethoven's Symphonies, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>,</li> +<li>in Beethoven's Sonatas, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Vienna, bombarded by French, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Conservatory of, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>,</li> +<li>Italian element in, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>,</li> +<li>Population in Beethoven's time, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>,</li> +<li>Musical atmosphere of, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>,</li> +<li>Society, attitude toward Beethoven, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>,</li> +<li>its student element, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Viennese, virtuosity of, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>-<a href="#Page_63">63</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>aristocracy, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Vittoria, battle of, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>.</li> +<li>Voltaire, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<div class="toindex"><a href="#INDEX">Index</a></div> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_W"></a>Wagner, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>-<a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Art-product of, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>,</li> +<li>biographical sketch of Beethoven, his, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>,</li> +<li><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246"></a>C♯ minor quartet, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>,</li> +<li>Criticisms on music, his, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>,</li> +<li>Disciple of Beethoven, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>,</li> +<li>Early recognition of, in this country, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>,</li> +<li>Evening of life, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>,</li> +<li>Flying Dutchman, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>,</li> +<li>Industry of, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>,</li> +<li>Is influenced by Beethoven, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>,</li> +<li>Literary achievement, his, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>,</li> +<li>Life's Problem, solution of, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>,</li> +<li>Life-work of, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>,</li> +<li>Mystic, a, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>,</li> +<li>Napoleonic ambition, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>,</li> +<li>Ninth Symphony, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>,</li> +<li>Originality of, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>,</li> +<li>Poetic temperament, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>,</li> +<li>Romanticism, his, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>,</li> +<li>Seventh Symphony, and the, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>,</li> +<li>Tribute to Beethoven, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>,</li> +<li>Tribute to Shakespeare, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>,</li> +<li>Unerring poetic sense, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>,</li> +<li>Variation form, and the, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Wagner and Beethoven, Affinity between, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>Pioneers, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>,</li> +<li>their Spiritual relationship, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>,</li> +<li>World-weary, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</li></ul></li> +<li>Wagner-Liszt correspondence, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>.</li> +<li>Waldstein, Count, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.</li> +<li>Waterloo, battle of, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.</li> +<li>Weber, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>.</li> +<li>Wegeler, Dr., <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>.</li> +<li>Weihe des Hauses, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.</li> +<li>Weimar, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.</li> +<li>Wellington, Duke of, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>.</li> +<li>Weltschmertz, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>.</li> +<li>Westphalia, King of, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li> +<li>Wolfmayer, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>.</li> +<li>World's stage, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>.</li> +<li>World, torment of, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, +<ul class="IXSub"> +<li>and Beethoven's influence on it, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>,</li> +<li>ideal of, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>,</li> +<li>in transition, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>.</li></ul></li> +</ul> + +<div class="toindex"><a href="#INDEX">Index</a></div> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li><a id="IX_Z"></a>Zauberflöte, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li> +<li>Zehrgarten, at Bonn, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>.</li> +<li>Zeitgeist, the, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li> +<li>Zelter, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>.</li> +<li>Zmeskall, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li> +<li>Zukunftsmusik, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>.</li></ul> + +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BEETHOVEN***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 15141-h.txt or 15141-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all 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\ No newline at end of file diff --git a/15141-h/music/piece2.midi b/15141-h/music/piece2.midi Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..0a6282b --- /dev/null +++ b/15141-h/music/piece2.midi diff --git a/15141.txt b/15141.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d3cf696 --- /dev/null +++ b/15141.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7501 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Beethoven, by George Alexander Fischer + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Beethoven + +Author: George Alexander Fischer + +Release Date: February 22, 2005 [eBook #15141] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BEETHOVEN*** + + +E-text prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Karina Aleksandrova, Ralph Janke, +and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which + includes sound files and the original illustrations. + See 15141-h.htm or 15141-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/1/4/15141/15141-h/15141-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/1/4/15141/15141-h.zip) + + +Transcriber's Notes: 1. Corrected spelling of Maelzel's invention in one + place from 'Panharmonican' to 'Panharmonicon'. + + 2. In the index, corrected 'Krumpholtz' to + 'Krumpholz', 'Origen of the dance' to 'Origin of + the dance', and 'Neafe' to 'Neefe'. + + + + + +BEETHOVEN + +A Character Study together with Wagner's Indebtedness to Beethoven + +by + +GEORGE ALEXANDER FISCHER + +Es kann die Spur von meinen Erdentagen +Nicht in Aeonen untergehn. + + GOETHE. + +New York +Dodd, Mead and Company +The Trow Press, New York + +1905 + + + + + + + +[Illustration: BEETHOVEN] + + + + TO THE MEMORY OF + My father + + + + +CONTENTS + +CHAPTER + I. Early Promise + II. The Morning of Life + III. The New Path + IV. Heroic Symphony + V. Fidelio + VI. The Eternal Feminine + VII. Victory from Defeat + VIII. Meeting with Goethe + IX. Optimistic Trend + X. At the Zenith of His Fame + XI. Methods of Composition + XII. Sense of Humor + XIII. Missa Solemnis + XIV. Ninth Symphony + XV. Capacity for Friendship + XVI. The Day's Trials + XVII. Last Quartets + XVIII. In the Shadows + XIX. Life's Purport + +WAGNER'S INDEBTEDNESS TO BEETHOVEN + +INDEX + + + + +CHAPTER I + +EARLY PROMISE + + God acts upon earth only by means of superior chosen men. + --HERDER: _Ideas Toward a History of Mankind_. + + +As life broadens with advancing culture, and people are able to +appropriate to themselves more of the various forms of art, the artist +himself attains to greater power, his abilities increase in direct ratio +with the progress in culture made by the people and their ability to +comprehend him. When one side or phase of an art comes to be received, +new and more difficult problems are invariably presented, the +elucidation of which can only be effected by a higher development of the +faculties. There is never an approach to equilibrium between the artist +and his public. As it advances in knowledge of his art, he maintains the +want of balance, the disproportion that always exists between the genius +and the ordinary man, by rising ever to greater heights. + +If Bach is the mathematician of music, as has been asserted, Beethoven +is its philosopher. In his work the philosophic spirit comes to the +fore. To the genius of the musician is added in Beethoven a wide mental +grasp, an altruistic spirit, that seeks to help humanity on the upward +path. He addresses the intellect of mankind. + +Up to Beethoven's time musicians in general (Bach is always an +exception) performed their work without the aid of an intellect for the +most part; they worked by intuition. In everything outside their art +they were like children. Beethoven was the first one having the +independence to think for himself--the first to have ideas on subjects +unconnected with his art. He it was who established the dignity of the +artist over that of the simply well-born. His entire life was a protest +against the pretensions of birth over mind. His predecessors, to a great +extent subjugated by their social superiors, sought only to please. +Nothing further was expected of them. This mental attitude is apparent +in their work. The language of the courtier is usually polished, but +will never have the virility that characterizes the speech of the free +man. + +As with all valuable things, however, Beethoven's music is not to be +enjoyed for nothing. We must on our side contribute something to the +enterprise, something more than simply buying a ticket to the +performance. We must study his work in the right spirit, and place +ourselves in a receptive attitude when listening to it to understand his +message. Often metaphysical, particularly in the work of his later +years, his meaning will be revealed only when we devote to it earnest +and sympathetic study. No other composer demands so much of one; no +other rewards the student so richly for the effort required. The making +a fact the subject of thought vitalizes it. It is as if the master had +said to the aspirant: "I will admit you into the ranks of my disciples, +but you must first prove yourself worthy." An initiation is necessary; +somewhat of the intense mental activity which characterized Beethoven in +the composition of his works is required of the student also. There is a +tax imposed for the enjoyment of them. + +Like Thoreau, Beethoven came on the world's stage "just in the nick of +time," and almost immediately had to begin hewing out a path for +himself. He was born in the workshop, as was Mozart, and learned music +simultaneously with speaking. Stirring times they were in which he first +saw the light, and so indeed continued with ever-increasing intensity, +like a good drama, until nearly his end. The American Revolution became +an accomplished fact during his boyhood. Nearer home, events were fast +coming to a focus, which culminated in the French Revolution. The magic +words, Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, and the ideas for which they +stood, were everywhere in the minds of the people. The age called for +enlightenment, spiritual growth. + +On reaching manhood, he found a world in transition; he realized that he +was on the threshold of a new order of things, and with ready prescience +took advantage of such as could be utilized in his art. Through +Beethoven the resources of the orchestra were increased, an added range +was given the keyboard of the piano, the human voice was given tasks +that at the time seemed impossible of achievement. He established the +precedent, which Wagner acted on later, of employing the human voice as +a tool, an instrument, to be used in the exigencies of his art, as if it +were a part of the orchestra. + +Beethoven's birthplace, Bonn, no doubt proved a favorable soil for the +propagation of the new ideas. The unrest pervading all classes, an +outcome of the Revolution, showed itself among the more serious-minded +in increased intellectuality, and a reaching after higher things. This +_Zeitgeist_ is clearly reflected in his compositions, in particular the +symphonies and sonatas. "Under the lead of Italian vocalism," said +Wagner, speaking of the period just preceding the time of which we +write, "music had become an art of sheer agreeableness." The beautiful +in music had been sufficiently exploited by Mozart and Haydn. Beethoven +demonstrated that music has a higher function than that of mere beauty, +or the simple act of giving pleasure. The beautiful in literature is not +its best part. To the earnest thinker, the seeker after truth, the +student who looks for illumination on life's problem, beauty in itself +is insufficient. It is the best office of art, of Beethoven's art in +particular, that it leads ever onward and upward; that it acts not only +on the esthetic and moral sense, but develops the mental faculties as +well, enabling the individual to find a purpose and meaning in life. + + * * * * * + +Ludwig van Beethoven was born at Bonn, December 16, 1770. He came of a +musical family. His father and grandfather were both musicians at Bonn, +at the Court of the Elector of Cologne. The family originally came from +Louvain, and settled in Antwerp in 1650, from which place they moved to +Bonn. + +This old city on the Rhine, frequently mentioned by Tacitus, older than +Christianity, the scene of innumerable battles from Roman times up to +the beginning of the nineteenth century, has much that is interesting +about it, but is distinguished chiefly on account of having been +Beethoven's birthplace. It was for five centuries (from 1268 to 1794) in +the possession of the Electors of Cologne. The last one of all, Max +Franz, who succeeded to the Electorate when Beethoven was fourteen years +of age, and who befriended him in various ways was, in common with the +entire Imperial family, a highly cultivated person, especially in music. +He was the youngest son of Maria Therese, Empress of Austria, herself a +fine singer and well versed in the music of the time. The Elector played +the viola and his chief interest in life seems to have been music. In +Beethoven's time and long before, the aristocracy led lives of easy, +complacent enjoyment, dabbling in art, patronizing music and the +composers, seemingly with no prevision that the musicians whom they +attached to their train, and who in the cases of Mozart and Haydn were +at times treated but little better than lackeys, were destined by the +irony of fate to occupy places in the temple of fame, which would be +denied themselves. + +Ludwig van Beethoven, the grandfather of the composer, received his +appointment as Kapellmeister at Bonn in March of 1733, then twenty-one +years of age. A little more than a century afterward a statue was +erected there in the Muenster Platz to his illustrious grandson, Liszt +being the moving spirit in the matter. The grandfather was in every way +a worthy man, but he died when our composer was three years of age, and +from that time poverty and hardship of all kinds was the portion of the +family. Beethoven's father was careless and improvident. His salary of +300 florins, about $145, was all they had upon which to live. The +mother was the daughter of a cook and the widow of a _valet de chambre_ +to one of the Electors. She was kind-hearted, of pleasant temper and +lovable disposition, and the affection between mother and son was deep +and lasting. The father was stern, and a strict disciplinarian, as so +often happens in such cases. He was determined that the son should do +better than himself, being willing to furnish the precept, if not the +example. + +Reared in this school of adversity the boy had a hard life. His father +was his first teacher, teaching him both violin and clavier. He began +with him as early as his fourth year; he seems to have been aware of the +boy's ability, but had no consideration, and was a hard taskmaster. +Before he was nine years of age, however, the boy's progress was so +great that the father had no more to teach him. + +In those times the musical life centered about the Court. Beethoven +studied the organ under the court organist, Van den Eeden, an old friend +of his grandfather's. Van den Eeden was succeeded shortly after by +Christian Neefe, and Beethoven, then eleven years of age, was +transferred to him. Neefe had an important bearing on Beethoven's life. +He was in his best years, thirty-three, when he began teaching him, and +was a thorough musician, who had had a varied experience before assuming +this post. He was a university man as well, and it was fortunate for +Beethoven in every way that he was brought in childhood under the +influence of so cultivated and enthusiastic a musician. Neefe saw the +boy's talent and became his friend. On one occasion the Elector took his +musicians to Muenster where he had a palace, Neefe's duties requiring +that he go with them. Beethoven, then under twelve years of age, was +left behind as organist. Frimmel states that Neefe, on assuming the +position, reserved the privilege of absenting himself frequently from +his post, on condition that he provide a substitute. After the Muenster +episode, the twelve-year-old Beethoven became the regular substitute. +When we consider the important role that church music played in those +times, such precocity is remarkable. This connection with church music +bore good fruit in later years. + +Neefe was soon after promoted, the Elector giving him charge of the +secular as well as the sacred music of the Court, upon which Beethoven +received his first appointment, that of cembalist of the orchestra. The +duty of the cembalist is to preside at the piano. Only a good musician +would be capable of filling such a position, as all the accompaniments +were played from the score. He held this for two years, afterward +playing viol in the orchestra for several years more. This work in the +orchestra was later of the greatest possible benefit to him in +composing. There was no salary at first, but the post had an important +bearing on his life, as he was obliged to attend all the rehearsals as +well as the performances of the opera, always taking an active part. +Before he reached the age of fifteen he was appointed second court +organist. During this year he studied the violin with Franz Ries, which +enabled him a few years later to play in the band. + +It was in Beethoven's fifteenth year that he played the organ every +morning at the six o'clock mass in the Minorite church. For some years +before and during this period he was busy trying his hand at musical +composition, but nothing which he composed during his youth amounts to +much. He could improvise in a marvelous manner and he attracted much +attention by the exercise of this talent, becoming famous in this +connection long before he was known as a composer. + +His creative talent unfolded itself slowly. He had high ideals and +worked faithfully toward their attainment. Failure to reach the level of +his aspirations did not dishearten him; rather it spurred him on to +greater effort. + +The discerning intellect is always in advance of the creative. His +delight in Bach was great; he studied him to such purpose that, at +twelve years, he was able to play the greater part of the Well-tempered +Clavichord. His wonderful interpretation of Bach, later, on his arrival +in Vienna, immediately placed him in the front rank of _virtuosi_, +according to Huettenbrenner, Schubert's friend. + +As a boy he was docile, shy and reserved, caring nothing for the +ordinary games of boys, or at least not participating in them to any +extent. At an age when other boys begin learning their games, he began +in composition, being forced to it, no doubt, by his father. He is said +to have written a cantata at the age of ten to the memory of an English +friend of the family, who died early in the year 1781. Some variations +on a march in C minor bear the following statement: _Composees par un +jeune amateur L v B age de dix ans_. + +From year to year he kept on in musical composition, feeling his way, +not discouraged by his inability to produce anything great, although +Mozart's precocity and genius were no doubt frequently held up to him by +others as an example to profit by. When he was seventeen he went to +Vienna, the funds for the trip probably being furnished by the Elector. +Here he met Mozart, then at the height of his fame, whose operas were +frequently produced in Bonn and throughout Germany. He probably had some +lessons from him. Mozart was very much occupied with the approaching +production of Don Giovanni, which took place in Prague shortly after the +young man's arrival. As Beethoven's visit terminated in three months, it +is not likely that he derived much benefit from these lessons. On his +first meeting with the master he extemporized for him on a subject given +him by Mozart. That this was a momentous occasion to the impressionable +Beethoven is certain. The emotions called up by the meeting enabled him +to play with such effect that when he had finished, the well-known +remark was elicited from Mozart: "Pay attention to him. He will make a +noise in the world some day." + +Beethoven, however, was compelled to return to Bonn, owing to the +serious illness of his mother, who died of consumption July 17, 1787. He +now took charge of the family and had a hard life from almost every +point of view, his one enjoyment probably being in the exercise of his +art. The affection between mother and son was one of the few bright +spots in a boyhood of toil and privation. The father's harshness served +to accentuate the kindness of the mother, and he felt her death keenly. +He gave a few lessons, most unwillingly, the money from which, together +with his salary as assistant organist and a portion of the father's +salary, kept the family together, affording them some degree of comfort. + +His return, no doubt, retarded his artistic development. The musical +atmosphere of Vienna would have been much better for him, especially at +this period, when he was entering manhood and eager to get at the works +of contemporary composers. In those times only a small amount of the +music that was written, was published. Many of the lesser works were +composed merely to grace some social function, with but little thought +given them as to their ultimate fate. It was customary to play from +manuscript, copies of which were not readily attainable. In a city like +Vienna new music was constantly being produced, occasionally at public +concerts, but most often at social gatherings. The freemasonry existing +among musicians and the wealthy amateurs was such that a musician of any +talent was sure to be received, and put on a friendly footing. No other +city in Europe afforded such opportunities for musical culture as did +Vienna. It was the home of Mozart and Haydn and a host of lesser +composers, as well as instrumentalists and singers. Music in one form or +another was the chief diversion of the better classes, the wealthier of +whom maintained their private orchestra. Many of these latter were fine +performers, taking part regularly in the concerts given by their +orchestras. + +The next year we find Beethoven taking his meals at the Zehrgarten, +where artists, professors from the university, and other notable people +congregated. It was at this period that he made the acquaintance of +Count Ferdinand Waldstein, the first of the aristocratic circle of +friends which surrounded him all his life. Count Waldstein at +twenty-four, on coming of age, entered the Germanic order, passing the +year of his novitiate at the Court of the Elector at Bonn. The senior by +eight years, his influence over Beethoven was considerable, as is +evidenced in many ways. The Count was an enthusiastic amateur, visiting +him frequently. He gave him a piano, and was useful to him in many ways. +The social position of Count Waldstein was such that his friendly +attitude toward Beethoven at once attracted the attention of others to +the young musician. From this time on he was able to choose his friends +from among the best people of his native city. The young man +commemorated the friendship by taking an air of the Count's, who was +somewhat of a composer, and composing twelve variations for four hands +for the piano from it. Later, in 1805, after the Eroica Symphony and +Fidelio, when the master had become famous, he composed the great +Waldstein Sonata, opus 58, and dedicated it to him. The Waldstein family +became extinct with Ferdinand, but the name will live for centuries +through these compositions. + +About the time of his first meeting with Count Waldstein, Beethoven made +another acquaintance, which had an important bearing on his subsequent +life. This was Von Breuning. He and Beethoven took violin lessons of +Franz Ries. Stephen von Breuning liked Beethoven from the start and +introduced him at his mother's house. The Breunings were in good +circumstances, cultivated, good-natured and hospitable. They delighted +in having him about, and treated him with the utmost consideration. +Madame von Breuning formed a sincere, motherly affection for him; he was +soon on a footing in their house almost equal to that of a member of the +family. He went with them about this time on a visit to some of their +relations in another city. They were instrumental in shaping his +destiny in various ways, and their friendship was of great moment to him +throughout life. Beethoven, then in his eighteenth year, gave lessons to +the daughter Eleonore, as well as to the youngest son, Lenz. Eleonore +afterward married Dr. Wegeler, who was in the same circle. Many years +later he collaborated with Ries's son Ferdinand in writing reminiscences +of the master. + +The names of Count Waldstein and the Von Breunings are indelibly +associated with Beethoven's name as friends from the beginning. When we +consider how every circumstance of Beethoven's family and mode of life +tended against his forming desirable friendships, how rough in exterior +and careless of his appearance he was, we can ascribe it only to the +force of his character that he should have the friendship of such +people. He had done nothing as yet to lead people to believe that he +would ever become a great composer. As has been stated, however, he was +a pianist of great originality, with a remarkable talent for +improvising, which, no doubt, had much to do in making him a welcome +guest wherever he went. + +Madame von Breuning, with her woman's tact, and the fine intuitive +perceptions that were characteristic of her, looked after his +intellectual development, and was helpful to him in various ways, +encouraging him as well in his musical studies. But Beethoven was by no +means an easy person to get along with, as she soon found out. He was +fiery and headstrong, disliking all restraint, being especially +impatient of anything that savored of patronage. She seems to have known +that in Beethoven she had before her that rarest product of humanity, a +man of genius, and had infinite patience with him. His dislike for +teaching was pronounced, then, as in after years, and she was often at +her wits' end to get him to keep his engagements in this respect. She, +in short, did for Beethoven what Madame Boehme did for Goethe many years +before, when the poet left his native Frankfort and came to Leipsic. He +was but sixteen, and found in her a friend, counsellor, almost a mother, +who not only instructed him about dress and deportment, which soon +enabled him to obliterate his provincialism, but showed a motherly +solicitude for him, which must have been of great help to him in many +ways. + +Madame von Breuning interested Beethoven in the classics, as well as in +contemporary philosophical literature. Lessing, Goethe and Schiller +became favorite authors with him. A much-thumbed translation of +Shakespeare was a valued part of his small library in after years. He +devoted much study to Homer and to Plato. Beethoven left school at the +age of thirteen, and could not have given much time to his studies even +when at school, as so much was required of him in his music. He learned +a little--a very little, of French, also some Latin and Italian, and +made up for his deficiencies by studying at home. Intellectual gifts +were valued by the Von Breunings; to the youth, in his formative period, +association with people like these was an education in itself. + +About this time the Elector enlarged the sphere of his musical +operations by establishing a national opera at Bonn, modeled after the +one maintained by his imperial brother at Vienna. The works were +produced on a good scale, and some excellent singers were engaged. +Beethoven was appointed to play the viola, and this connection with the +orchestra was of inestimable value to him in many ways. It not only gave +him a knowledge of orchestration; it also made him familiar with the +noted operas, which must have been greatly enjoyed by him. Mozart's +operas were given a prominent place in the _repertoire_, and many others +that were noteworthy were introduced. But it was not opera alone which +was being performed; the drama was also represented, and his connection +with the orchestra gave him an intimate acquaintance with the +masterpieces of literature, which greatly influenced his subsequent +career. The tragedies of Shakespeare were occasionally produced, special +prominence, however, being given to the works of the great Germans, +Lessing, Schiller and other philosophers and poets of the Fatherland, +the exalted sentiments and pure intellectuality of which are unmatched +by any people. This early acquaintance with the best literature of his +time gave him an intellectual bias which served him well all his life. +It is fortunate that his opportunity came so early in life, when the +activity of the brain is at its highest and when lasting impressions are +produced. The mental pictures called up by the portrayal of these +tragedies came to the surface again in after years sublimated, refined, +in symphony and sonata, in mass and opera. Every one of his works has +its own story to tell; sometimes it is just the record of the events of +a day as in the Pastoral Symphony, but told with a glamour of poetry and +romance, that for the time gives us back our own youth in listening to +it; sometimes it is a tragedy which is unfolded, as in the Appassionata +Sonata or the Fifth Symphony; or it will be a Coriolanus Overture, that +seething, boiling ferment of emotion and passion, the most diverse, +contradictory, unlike, that can be imagined. From these impressions, +acquired in the ardor of youth, when the intellect grasps at knowledge +and experience with avidity, when its capacity is at its greatest, and +the whole world is laid under contribution, came a rich harvest which +untold generations may enjoy. No one of the many that made up the +audiences night after night, probably ever formed a guess at what was +going on in the brain of this quiet reserved youth during the progress +of these plays. The keen discriminating intelligence which was always +sifting and sorting these pictures and stowing them away for use in +after years,--the flashes of enthusiasm,--the intuitive discernment of +intellectual subtleties that brought him into _rapport_ with the author +and gave him the perception of being on an equality with the great ones +of the earth, here were forces already in operation which were destined +to influence the world for generations to come. To fall from this ideal +world of the intellect and the emotions, at the cue of the conductor, +back to the cognitions of ordinary life, and a realization of its +limitations, must have been as tragic an experience to this youth, who +said of himself: "I live only in my art," as any he had seen depicted on +the stage. Mental processes like these write their lines deeply on the +faces of gifted people. + +Of the thirty-one members of the orchestra some had already attained +fame, and others achieved it in after years. In this collection of +geniuses the attrition of mind on mind must have been of benefit to +each. The conductor, Joseph Reicha, had a nephew, Anton Reicha, whom he +adopted, who played the flute in the orchestra. He and Beethoven were +intimate, and the prominence which Beethoven gives to the flute in his +orchestral works may in part be explained by this intimacy. Reicha +afterward joined Beethoven at Vienna, remaining there until 1808, when +he took up his residence in Paris. He was a prolific composer and the +author of numerous theoretical works. Many of his operas were produced +in Paris during his lifetime. He taught at the Paris Conservatoire, and +was a member of the Institute. Then there was Bernhard Romberg, and his +cousin Andreas Romberg. The latter was a musical prodigy, having played +the violin in concerts as early as his seventh year. At seventeen, his +virtuosity was such that he was engaged for the Concerts Spirituels at +Paris. Some years later he journeyed to Bonn to be near his cousin +Bernhard, with whom he was intimate, and accepted a position in the +Elector's orchestra as violinist. He later went to Vienna, then Hamburg, +and afterward became Kapellmeister at Gotha. He composed all kinds of +music, instrumental and vocal, symphonies, operas, etc. His setting of +Schiller's "Song of the Bell" is well known at the present day, as well +as the oratorio, "The Transient and the Eternal." He was made Doctor of +Music by Kiel University. Bernhard Romberg was a distinguished +violoncellist. When his connection with the Elector's orchestra ceased, +he made a professional tour to Italy and Spain with his more famous +cousin Andreas and was very successful. In 1796 they came to Vienna and +gave a concert at which Beethoven assisted. Bernhard afterward was a +professor in the Paris Conservatoire and later became Kapellmeister at +Berlin. He was a composer of operas, concertos, etc. While he and +Beethoven were not in accord on the subject of musical composition, each +disliking the other's works, there is no question but that his +proximity to him at Bonn, was one of the forces that had much to do with +Beethoven's artistic development. + +Then there was Franz Ries, pupil of Salomon, the distinguished +violinist. Ries had already achieved fame in Vienna as soloist, and had +been before the public since childhood. He was Beethoven's teacher, as +stated. We must not forget Neefe, Beethoven's former teacher, who was +pianist, or Simrock, all of whom formed a galaxy of _virtuosi_ and +composers unequalled by any similar organization. Beethoven greatly +profited by his association with these chosen spirits, assimilating +their experiences and endeavoring to emulate them. + +Thus passed a few years pleasantly enough during this formative period +at Bonn, music in one form or another taking up most of his waking +moments. He fell in love a few times, first with a Mlle. de Honrath of +Cologne, who visited the Von Breunings frequently and was their intimate +friend. She had a bright, lively disposition, and like a true daughter +of Eve, took great pleasure in bantering him. There was also a Miss +Westerhold who made a deep impression on him. Both were the subject of +conversation by him in after years. + +The visit of Haydn, who with Salomon made a short sojourn at Bonn, on +their return from London to Vienna in July of 1792, gave Beethoven an +opportunity for an interview with the great master, which had an +important bearing on the young man's career. Salomon was acquainted with +the Beethovens as he was a native of Bonn. The fame of the young +musician had reached his ears, and he brought about the meeting with +Haydn. Beethoven at twenty-two, had, unlike so many promising children, +fulfilled the promise of his youth. He was not only a distinguished +performer: his compositions were also attracting attention in his +circle. In honor of the distinguished guests, a breakfast was arranged +at Godesburg, a resort near Bonn, at which some compositions of +Beethoven's were performed by the Elector's orchestra. Some of this +music had been submitted to the master previously. Haydn, who was in +holiday humor, seems to have been specially attracted to it, and +encouraged Beethoven to continue. + +Some of the sketch-books of the Bonn period are in the British Museum, +and an examination of them is of interest as it shows his method of +composing. Beethoven all through life was a hard worker and a hard +taskmaster to himself. He elaborated and worked over his first +inspiration, polishing, cutting down, altering, making additions, never +satisfied, always aiming after the attainment of his highest ideals, +never considering himself, always placing his art first and personal +comfort and convenience afterward. This is apparent in the sketch-books +of this early date. His industry was extraordinary, although his work +grew but slowly. It was elaborated bit by bit in much the same way in +which Nathaniel Hawthorne built up his romances. + +Haydn's approbation was an important link in the chain of circumstances +that was soon to enable Beethoven to leave for Vienna. Count Waldstein +was the moving spirit in this matter, the Elector furnishing the funds. +He knew that the artistic atmosphere of Vienna would be of incalculable +benefit to Beethoven and encouraged him in the project. Accordingly we +find him setting out for Vienna in 1792, leaving Bonn never to return to +it even for a visit. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE MORNING OF LIFE + + Thou, O God! who sellest us all good things at the price of labor. + --LEONARDO DA VINCI. + + +Closely following his arrival in Vienna, Beethoven began studying +composition with Haydn, applying himself with great diligence to the +work in hand; but master and pupil did not get along together very well. +There were many dissonances from the start. It was not in the nature of +things that two beings so entirely dissimilar in their point of view +should work together harmoniously. Beethoven, original, independent, +iconoclastic, acknowledged no superior, without having as yet achieved +anything to demonstrate his superiority; Haydn, tied down to established +forms, subservient, meek, was only happy when sure of the approbation of +his superiors. His attitude toward those above him in rank was +characterized by respect and deference; he probably expected something +similar from Beethoven toward himself. Haydn was then at the height of +his fame, courted and admired by all, and his patience was sorely tried +by the insolence of his fiery young pupil. He nicknamed Beethoven the +Grand Mogul, and did not have much good to say of him to others. The +pittance which he received for these lessons was no inducement to him, +as he was in receipt of an income much beyond his requirements. The time +given up to these lessons could have been better employed in composing. + +Haydn and Beethoven, however, were in a measure supplementary to one +another as regards the life-work of each. Haydn paved the way for +Beethoven, who was his successor in the large orchestral forms. He and +also Mozart were pioneers in the field which Beethoven made peculiarly +his own. Haydn also directed Beethoven's attention to the study of +Haendel and Bach, whose works Beethoven always held most highly in +esteem. It is true that Beethoven, even in the old Bonn days, was +familiar to some extent with the works of these masters; but his +opportunity for getting at this kind of music was limited in Bonn. +Vienna, the musical center of the world at that time, was, as may be +supposed, a much better field in this respect. The study of these +profound works of genius under the leadership and eulogy of so prominent +a musician as Haydn had much to do with shaping Beethoven's ideals. +These masters gave an example of solidity and earnestness which is +characteristic of their work. Haydn and Mozart, on the other hand, +appealed to him in his lighter moods, in the play of fancy, in the +capricious and humorous conceits of which he has given such fine +examples in the symphonies and sonatas. + +The lessons to Beethoven continued for a little over a year, or until +Haydn left on another visit to England in January of 1794. So eager was +he for advancement, that he took lessons from another teacher at the +same time, carefully concealing the fact from Haydn. Beethoven always +maintained that he had not learned much from him. + +Strangely, Haydn had no idea at this time or for some years after that +his pupil would ever amount to much in musical composition. He lived +long enough to find Beethoven's position as a musician firmly +established, but not long enough to witness his greatest triumphs. + +On the departure of Haydn he began with Albrechtsberger in composition, +also having violin, and even vocal lessons from other masters. Beethoven +realized, on coming to Vienna, more fully than before, the necessity for +close application to his studies. Though a finished performer, he knew +but little of counterpoint, and the more purely scientific side of his +art had been neglected. That he applied himself with all the ardor of +his nature to his studies we know. They were given precedence over +everything else. He even delayed for a long while writing a rondo which +he had promised to Eleonore von Breuning and when he finally sent it, it +was with an apology for not sending a sonata, which had also been +promised. + +It is characteristic of Beethoven that his teachers in general were not +greatly impressed by him. We have seen how it was in the case of Haydn. +Albrechtsberger was more pronounced in his disapproval. "He has learned +nothing; he never will learn anything," was his verdict regarding +Beethoven. This was surely small encouragement. Beethoven's original and +independent way of treating musical forms brought on this censure. As he +advanced in musical knowledge he took the liberty to think for himself; +a very culpable proceeding with teachers of the stamp of +Albrechtsberger. The young man's intuitive faculties, the surest source +of all knowledge according to Schopenhauer, were developed to an +abnormal degree. By the aid of this inner light he was able to see truer +and farther than his pedantic old master, with the result that the pupil +would argue out questions with him on subjects connected with his +lessons which subverted all discipline, and well-nigh reversed their +relative positions. Beethoven's audacity--his self-confidence, is +brought out still more strongly when we reflect on the distinguished +position held by Albrechtsberger, both as teacher and composer. He was +director of music at St. Stephen's and was in great demand as a teacher. +Some of his pupils became distinguished musicians, among them Huemmel, +Seyfried and Weigl. He excelled in counterpoint, and was a prolific +composer, although his works are but little known at the present day. He +was set in his ways, a strict disciplinarian, conservative to the +backbone, and upward of sixty years of age. We can readily believe there +were stormy times during these lessons. There is no doubt however, that +Beethoven learned a great deal from him, as is evident from the +exercises still in existence from this period, embracing the various +forms of fugue and counterpoint, simple, double, and triple, canon and +imitation. He was thorough in his teaching and Beethoven was eager to +learn, so they had at least one point in common, and the pupil made +rapid headway. But his originality and fertility in ideas, which showed +itself at times in a disregard for established forms when his genius was +hampered thereby--qualities which even in Albrechtsberger's lifetime +were to place his pupil on a pinnacle above all other composers of the +period, were neither understood nor approved by the teacher. Under the +circumstances, it is not surprising that the lessons continued but +little over a year. His studies in theory and composition seem to have +come to an end with Albrechtsberger; we hear of no other teacher having +been engaged thereafter. + +Shortly after Beethoven came to Vienna, his father died, and soon after +the two brothers Johann and Caspar, having no ties to keep them in Bonn, +followed the elder brother, who kept a fatherly watch over them. They +gave him no end of trouble for the rest of his life, but Beethoven bore +the burden willingly and was sincerely attached to them. All the honor +and nobility of the family seems to have centered in him. + +On his arrival in Vienna he carried letters of introduction from Count +Waldstein and from the Elector, which opened to him the doors of the +best houses. His intrinsic worth did the rest. One of his earliest +Vienna friends was Prince Lichnowsky, a person who seems to have +possessed a combination of all those noble qualities that go to make up +the character of a gentleman. Highly cultivated and enthusiastic on the +subject of music, he had the penetration to see that in Beethoven he had +before him one of the elect of all time. The Prince had been a pupil of +Mozart and an ardent admirer of the deceased master. Providentially, +Beethoven appeared on the scene soon after Mozart's decease, and +received the devotion and admiration that had formerly been given +Mozart. In this he was ably seconded by his wife, who shared with him +the admiration and reverential wonder which such highly endowed people +would be apt to accord to a man of genius. One of the first acts of +this princely couple was to give Beethoven a pension of 600 florins per +year. This was but the beginning of unexampled kindness on their part. +They followed this by giving him a home in their residence on the +Schotten bastion, and we find him well launched in the social life of +the gayest capital in Europe. + +This practical help was invaluable to Beethoven, for with the aid which +he had from the Elector, it was almost enough to assure him +independence. It not only increased his opportunities for study, but, +his mind being free from care, he was enabled to profit more by his +studies. The Lichnowskys were older than Beethoven and were childless. +He was allowed to do as he pleased; a privilege of which he availed +himself without hesitation. They entertained considerably and their +social position was unexceptionable. They maintained a small orchestra +for the performance of the music he liked and for his own compositions. +He was always the honored guest, and met the best people of Vienna. The +devotion of the Princess, in particular, was always in evidence. + +It can be readily understood that with such an original character as +Beethoven, headstrong and impatient of restraint, a pleasant smooth life +was not to be expected. The arrangement would seem to have been an +excellent one for him, but he did not so regard it. Already at odds with +the world, misunderstanding people and being misunderstood, he soon came +to realize that a life of solitude was the only resource for a man +constituted as he was. He never considered himself under any obligation +to the Prince, or rather, he acted as though he felt the obligation to +be the other way. He acted independently from the start, taking his +meals at a restaurant whenever it suited his convenience, and showing an +ungovernable temper when interfered with in any way. But the kindness +and patience of the Princess never failed her; after any trouble it was +she who smoothed the difficulty and restored harmony. She was like an +indulgent mother to him; in her eyes he could do no wrong. + +Prince Lichnowsky was wholly unaccustomed to this sort of thing. It is +certain that he never met with anything of the kind from Mozart, and +there were times when his patience was sorely tried by Beethoven. The +Princess, with a sweetness and graciousness which Beethoven appreciated, +always made peace between them. He afterward said that her solicitude +was carried to such a length that she wished to put him under a glass +shade, "that no unworthy person might touch or breathe on me." + +Of course this kind of thing only confirmed the young man in his course. +It was kindness, but it was not wisdom. Few people are so constituted as +to be able to stand praise and adulation without the character suffering +thereby. Censure would have been much better for him. When the +individual is attacked, when he is made to assume the defensive, he +first discovers the vulnerable points in his armor, and as opportunity +offers strengthens them. Beethoven's ungovernable temper and apparent +ingratitude are frequently commented on, but the ingratitude was only +apparent. When he came to a knowledge of himself and discovered that he +was in the wrong in any controversy or quarrel, and it must be admitted +they were frequent enough all through his life, he would make amends for +it so earnestly, with such vehement self-denunciation, and show such +contrition, that it would be impossible for any of his friends to hold +out against him. Then there would be a short love-feast, during which +the offended party would possibly be the recipient of a dedication from +the master, and things would go on smoothly until the next break. The +Prince soon learned to make all sorts of concessions to his headstrong +guest, and even went so far as to order his servant to give Beethoven +the precedence, in case he and Beethoven were to ring at the same time. + +But Beethoven did not like the new life. Even the little restraint that +it imposed was irksome to him, and the arrangement came to an end in +about two years. But the friendship continued for many years. +Beethoven's opus 1 is dedicated to the Prince, as well as the grand +Sonata Pathetique, and the Second Symphony, also the opus 179, +consisting of nine variations, and the grand Sonata in A Flat. To the +Princess Lichnowsky he dedicated opus 157, variations on "See the +Conquering Hero Comes." He also dedicated several of his compositions to +Count Moritz Lichnowsky, a younger brother of the Prince. + +Among the other friends of this period may be mentioned Prince +Lobkowitz, who was an ardent admirer of Beethoven, Prince Kinski, and +also Count Browne to whose wife Beethoven dedicated the set of Russian +variations. In acknowledgment of this honor, the Count presented +Beethoven with a horse. He accepted it thankfully and then forgot all +about it until some months after, when a large bill came in for its +keep. There was also Count Brunswick and the Baron von Swieten, and most +of the music-loving aristocracy of Vienna, who it appears could not see +enough of him. His music and his individuality charmed them and he was +beset with invitations. Baron von Swieten was one of his earliest and +staunchest friends. His love and devotion to music knew no bounds. He +gave concerts at his residence with a full band, and produced music of +the highest order, Haendel and Sebastian Bach being his favorites, the +music being interpreted in the best manner. It is related that the old +Baron would keep Beethoven after the others had left, making him play +far into the night and would sometimes put him up at his own house so +that he might keep him a little longer. A note from the Baron to +Beethoven is preserved, in which he says, "If you can call next +Wednesday I shall be glad to see you. Come at half-past eight in the +evening with your nightcap in your pocket." + +These social successes, however, did not lead to idleness. He kept up +the practise all his life of recording his musical thoughts in +sketch-books, which latter are an object lesson to those engaged in +creative work as showing the extraordinary industry of the man and his +absorption in his work. Many of these are preserved in the different +museums, those in the British Museum being a notable collection. Some of +the work of this period was afterwards utilized by being incorporated +into the work of his riper years. + +Beethoven's talents as a performer were freely acknowledged by all with +whom he came in contact. When we come to the question of his creative +talent, we can only marvel at the slowness with which his powers +unfolded themselves. His opus 1 appeared in 1795, when he was +twenty-four years old. There was nothing of the prodigy about him in +composition. At twenty-four, Mozart had achieved some of his greatest +triumphs. + +Beethoven's work however, shows intellectuality of the highest kind, and +this, whether in music or literature, is not produced easily or +spontaneously; it is of slow growth, the product of a ripened mind, +attained only by infinite labor and constant striving after perfection, +with the highest ideals before one. + +He had been trying his hand at composition for many years, but was +always up to this time known as a performer rather than as a composer, +although he frequently played his own compositions, and had as we have +seen, great talent at improvising, which in itself is a species of +composition, and an indication of musical abilities of the highest +order. + +All the great masters of music delighted in the exercise of this talent, +although it is now rarely attempted in public, Chopin having been one of +the last to exercise it. Bach excelled in it, sometimes developing +themes in the form of a fugue at a public performance. No preparation +would be possible under these circumstances, as in many cases the theme +would be given by one of the audience. + +This art of improvising, as these masters practised it,--who can explain +it or tell how it is done? All we know is that the brain conceives the +thought, and on the instant the fingers execute it in ready obedience to +the impulse sent out by the brain, the result being a finished +performance, not only so far as the melody is concerned, but in harmony +and counterpoint as well. Mozart, at the age of fourteen, at Mantua, on +his second Italian tour, improvised a sonata and fugue at a public +concert, taking the impressionable Italians by storm, and such +performances he repeated frequently in after years. Beethoven excelled +in this direction as greatly as he afterward did in composition, +towering high over his contemporaries. Czerny, pupil of Beethoven and +afterward teacher of Liszt, states that Beethoven's improvisations +created the greatest sensation during the first few years of his stay in +Vienna. The theme was sometimes original, sometimes given by the +auditors. In Allegro movements there would be bravura passages, often +more difficult than anything in his published works. Sometimes it would +be in the form of variations after the manner of his Choral Fantasia, +op. 80, or the last movement of the Choral Symphony. All authorities +agree as to Beethoven's genius in improvising. His playing was better +under these circumstances than when playing a written composition, even +when it was written by himself. + +Once Huemmel undertook a contest with Beethoven in improvising. After he +had been playing for some time Beethoven interrupted him with the +question, "When are you going to begin?" It is needless to say that +Beethoven, when his turn came to play, distanced the other so entirely +that there was no room for comparison. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE NEW PATH + + I tremble to the depths of my soul and ask my daemon: "Why this cup + to me?" + --WAGNER. + + Life at last has found a meaning. + --WAGNER: _Letter to Frau Wille_. + + +Reference has already been made to the fact that Beethoven's opus 1 was +published in 1795, something like three years after taking up his +residence in Vienna, and when he was twenty-four years of age. It +consists of three Trios for piano and strings. When Haydn returned from +London and heard these Trios, the master criticised one of them and +advised him not to publish it. Beethoven thought this particular one the +best of the three, and others concur with him in this opinion. Shortly +after, he published his opus 2, consisting of three sonatas dedicated to +Haydn, besides variations and smaller pieces. But this does not by any +means give the amount of his compositions for this period, some of which +were not published until many years afterward. + +All this time, Beethoven, though playing frequently at the houses of his +aristocratic friends, had not yet made his appearance in public, but +about the time that his opus 1 appeared, he played at a concert given +in aid of the Widow's Fund of the Artists' Society. He composed for this +occasion a Grand Concerto (opus 15) in C major for piano and orchestra, +taking the piano part himself. It was finished on the day preceding that +on which the concert was held, the copyists waiting in another room for +their parts. At the rehearsal, the piano being one-half note out of +tune, he transposed it into C sharp, playing it without the notes. Very +soon after, he appeared again in public, at a concert given for the +benefit of Mozart's widow, when he played one of Mozart's concertos. The +beginning once made, he appeared rather frequently as a performer, not +only in Vienna, but extended his trips the next year as far as Berlin, +where he encountered Huemmel. + +But Beethoven's mind was always turned toward composition. It had been +the aim of his life, even at Bonn, to become a great creative artist. +For this he had left his native city, and the larger opportunities for +musical culture afforded by his life in Vienna must have directed his +thoughts still more strongly into this channel. An important social +event of the period was the annual ball of the Artists' Society of +Vienna. Suesmayer, pupil and intimate friend of Mozart, the composer of +several of the "Mozart Masses," had composed music for this ball and +Beethoven was asked to contribute something likewise, with the result +that he composed twelve waltzes and twelve minuets for it. He also had +in hand at the same time piano music, songs, and studies in orchestral +composition. Nothing which he produced in these years, however, gave any +forecast of what he would eventually attain to. This is paralleled in +the case of Bach, who, up to his thirtieth year was more famous as a +performer than as composer. + +Beethoven's earlier compositions were regarded as the clever product of +an ambitious young musician. Although later in life, he all but +repudiated the published work of these years, some of the thoughts from +the sketch-books of this period were utilized in the work of his best +years. + +He acquired a habit early in life of carrying a note-book when away from +his rooms, in which he recorded musical ideas as they came to him. His +brain teemed with them; these he entered indiscriminately, good and bad, +assorting them later, discarding some, altering others, seldom retaining +a musical thought exactly as it was first presented to his +consciousness. Music became the one absorbing passion of his life. It +took the place of wife and children; it was of more importance to him +than home or any other consideration. His compositions show continual +progress toward artistic perfection to the end of his life, and this was +attained only by infinite labor. + +It may not be out of place here to reflect on the essentially unselfish +character of the man of genius. He lives and strives, not for himself, +but for others; he pursues an objective end only. Among the forces +making for the regeneration of mankind, he is foremost. + +There is little of importance to record concerning Beethoven for the few +years following the publication of his opus 1. He continued to perform +occasionally in public, and also gave a few lessons, but his time was +taken up with study and composition for the most part. It was a period +of earnest endeavor, the compositions of which consist of the better +class of piano music, as well as trios, quartets and occasional songs, +his work being much in the style of Mozart and Haydn; the quality of +emotional power and intellectuality not yet having appeared to any +extent. + +His great productions, those that show his genius well developed, are +coincident with the beginning of the nineteenth century. The years 1800 +and 1801 were an epoch with him as a composer. He was now thirty, and +was beginning to show of what stuff he was made. These two years saw the +production of some of the imperishable works of the master, namely: the +First Symphony, the Oratorio _Christus am Oelberg_, and the Prometheus +Ballet Music. It is probable that he had given earnest thought to these +works for some years previously, and had had them in hand for two years +or more before their appearance. The First Symphony calls for special +mention as in it the future Symphonist is already foreshadowed. He was +almost a beginner at orchestral work, but it marks an epoch in this +class of composition, raising it far beyond anything of the kind that +had yet appeared. Viewed in the light of later ones it is apparent that +he held himself in; that he was tentative compared with his subsequent +ones. Considered as a symphony and compared with what had been produced +in this class up to that time, it is a daring innovation and was +regarded as such by the critics. He broadened and enlarged the form and +gave it a dignity that was unknown to it before this time. + +Beethoven's sonatas are as superior to those that had preceded them as +are his symphonies. He enlarged them, developed the Scherzo from the +Minuet and made them of more importance in every way. With Haydn the +Minuet was gay and lively, a style of music well adapted to Haydn's +particular temperament and character; but Beethoven in the Scherzo +carried the idea further than anything of which Haydn had dreamed. +Before Beethoven's First Symphony appeared, he had composed a dozen or +more sonatas and was in a position to profit by the experience gained +thereby. He felt his way in these, the innovations all turning out to be +improvements. + +One has only to compare the sonatas of Mozart and Haydn with those of +Beethoven to be at once impressed with the enormous importance of the +latter. As has been stated, the experience gained with the sonata was +utilized in the First Symphony, each succeeding one showing growth. +Beethoven's artistic instinct was correct, but he did not trust to this +alone. He proceeded carefully, weighing the matter well, and his +judgment was usually right. There is evidence from his exercise books +that he had this Symphony in mind as early as 1795. It was first +produced on April 2, 1800, at a concert which he gave for his own +benefit at the Burg theatre. On this occasion he improvised on the theme +of the Austrian National Hymn, recently composed by Haydn, well known in +this country through its insertion in the Hymnal of the Protestant +Episcopal Church, under the title of Austria. Beethoven's hearing was +sufficiently intact at this time to enable him to hear his symphonies +performed, an important matter while his judgment was being formed. + +The Prometheus Ballet Music, opus 43, consisting of overture, +introduction and sixteen numbers, was first performed early in 1801, and +achieved immediate success, so much so that it was published at once as +pianoforte music. In addition to the Prometheus, there is to be +credited to this period the C minor concerto, opus 37, a septet for +strings and wind, opus 20, a number of quartets, and other compositions. +The _Christus am Oelberg_ (The Mount of Olives), opus 85, Beethoven's +first great choral work, has already been mentioned. In this oratorio +Jesus appears as one of the characters, for which he has been severely +criticised. His judgment was at fault in another respect also in having +the concert stage too much in mind. The composition at times is operatic +in character, while the text calls for a mode of treatment solemn and +religious, as in Passion-music. If set to some other text, this work +would be well nigh faultless; the recitatives are singularly good, and +there is a rich orchestration. It is reminiscent of Haendel and prophetic +of Wagner. The Hallelujah Chorus in particular is a magnificent piece of +work. As is the case with the Messiah, its beauties as well as its +defects are so apparent, so pronounced, that the latter serve as a foil +to bring out its good qualities in the strongest relief. It was first +performed in the spring of 1803, in Vienna, on which occasion Beethoven +played some of his other compositions. It was repeated three times +within the year. + +Other contributions of 1801 are two grand sonatas, the "Pastorale" in D, +opus 28, the Andante of which is said to have been a favorite of +Beethoven's and was often played by him, and the one in A flat, opus 26, +dedicated to Prince Karl Lichnowsky and containing a grand funeral +march. Then there are the sonatas in E flat and C sharp minor, published +together as opus 27, and designated Quasi una Fantasia. The latter is +famous as the "Moonlight" sonata, dedicated to Julia Guicciardi. +Neither of these names were authorized by Beethoven. Besides these, +there are the two violin sonatas, A minor, and F, dedicated to Count +Fries, and lesser compositions. The Second Symphony (in D) is the chief +production of 1802. In addition there are the two piano sonatas in G, +and D minor, opus 31, and three sonatas for violin and piano, opus 30, +the latter dedicated to the Emperor of Russia. They form a striking +example of Beethoven's originality and the force of his genius, and must +have been caviar to his public. + +The Second Symphony is a great advance on the first, and consequently a +greater departure from the advice laid down to him by others. His +independence and absolute faith in himself and the soundness of his +judgment are clearly illustrated here. The composition is genial and in +marked contrast to the gloomy forebodings that filled his mind at this +time. The second movement, the Larghetto, is interesting on account of +the introduction of conversation among the groups of instruments, an +innovation which he exploited to a much greater extent in subsequent +works. In the Larghetto one group occasionally interrupts the other, +giving it piquancy. There is a rhythm and swing to it which makes it the +most enjoyable of the four movements. The critics hacked it again as +might have been expected, the result being that the next one diverged +still more from their idea of what a good symphony should be. + +It was at this period that life's tragedy began to press down on him. He +had left youth behind, and had entered on a glorious manhood. He was the +idol of his friends, although his fame as a great composer had yet to +be established. The affirmations of his genius were plainly apparent to +him, if not to others, and he knew that he was on the threshold of +creating imperishable masterpieces. A great future was opening out +before him, which, however, was in great part to be nullified by his +approaching deafness and other physical ailments. His letters at this +time to his friend Dr. Wegeler, at Bonn, and to others, are full of +misgivings. + +But not alone is this unhappy frame of mind to be attributed to +approaching deafness or any mere physical ailment. The psychological +element also enters into the account and largely dominates it. The +extraordinary character of the First and Second Symphonies seem to have +had a powerful effect on his trend of thought making him introspective +and morbidly conscientious. In a mind constituted as was his, it is +quite within bounds to assume that the revelation of his genius was +largely the cause of the morbid self-consciousness which appears in his +letters of the period, and in the "Will." He recognized to the full how +greatly superior this work was to anything of the kind that had yet +appeared; singularly the knowledge made him humble. What he had +accomplished thus far was only an earnest of the great work he was +capable of, but to achieve it meant a surrender of nearly all the ties +that bound him to life. The human qualities in him rebelled at the +prospect. With the clairvoyance superinduced by much self-examination, +he was able to forecast the vast scope of his powers, and the task that +was set him. The whole future of the unapproachable artist that he was +destined to become, was mirrored out to him almost at the beginning of +his career, but he saw it only with apprehension and dread. There were +periods when a narrower destiny would have pleased him more. "Unto +whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required." He at times +recoiled from the task, and would have preferred death instead. This was +probably the most unhappy period of his life. He had yet to learn the +hardest lesson of all, resignation, renunciation. That harsh mandate +enunciated by Goethe in Faust: "Entbaeren sollst du, sollst entbaeren," +had been thrust on him with a force not to be gainsaid or evaded. + +With such a man but one issue to the conflict was possible: obedience to +the higher law. In a conversation held with his friend Krumpholz, he +expressed doubts as to the value of his work hitherto. "From now on I +shall strike out on a new road," he said. He is now dominated by a +greater seriousness; his mission has been shown him. Adieu now to the +light-hearted mode of life characteristic of his friends and of the +time. His new road led him into regions where they could not follow; +from now on he was more and more unlike his fellows, more misunderstood, +isolated, a prophet in the wilderness. Placed here by Providence +specially for a unique work, he at first does not seem to have +understood it in this light, and reached out, the spirit of the man, +after happiness, occasional glimpses of which came to him, as it does to +all sooner or later. He soon found, however, that happiness was not +intended for him, or rather, that he was not intended for it. Something +higher and better he could have, but not this. On coming to Vienna, and +while living with Prince Lichnowsky, he made so much of a concession to +public opinion as to buy a court suit, and he even took dancing +lessons, but he never learned dancing, never even learned how to wear +the court suit properly, and soon gave up both in disgust. The principle +on which he now conducted his life was to give his genius full play, to +obey its every mandate, to allow no obstacle to come in the way of its +fullest development. That this idea controlled him throughout life, is +apparent in many ways, but most of all in his journal. "Make once more +the sacrifice of all the petty necessities of life for the glory of thy +art. God before all," he wrote in 1818, when beginning the Mass in D. +All sorts of circumstances and influences were required to isolate him +from the world to enable him the better to do his appointed work. +Probably no other musician ever made so complete a surrender of all +impedimenta for the sake of his art as did Beethoven. + +Music as an art does not conduce to renunciation, since its outward +expression always partakes more or less of the nature of a festival. The +claims of society come more insistently into the life of the musician +than in that of other art-workers, the painter or literary man, for +instance, whose work is completed in the isolation of his study. The +musician, on the contrary, completes his work on the stage. He must +participate in its rendering. He is, more than any other, beset by +social obligations; he perforce becomes to a certain extent gregarious, +all of which has a tendency to dissipate time and energy. It is only by +a great effort that he can isolate himself; that he can retain his +individuality. Beethoven's reward on these lines was great in proportion +to his victory over himself. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +HEROIC SYMPHONY + + Ach, der menschliche Intellekt! Ach "Genie"! Es ist nicht so gar + viel einen "Faust" eine Schopenhauerische Philosophie, eine Eroika + gemacht zu haben. + --Friederich Nietzshe. + + +The immediate fruit of this mental travail was a sudden growth or +expansion of his creative powers. This is apparent in his work, marking +the beginning of the second period. His compositions now suggest +thought. There is a fecundating power in them which generates thought, +and it is in the moral nature that this force is most apparent. His work +now begins to be a vital part of himself, the spiritual essence, +communicating to his followers somewhat of his own strength and force of +character. Once having entered on the new path, he reached, in the Third +Symphony, the pinnacle of greatness almost at a bound. He was now, at +thirty-four, at the height of his colossal powers. His titanic genius in +its swift development showed an ability almost preternatural. One +immortal work of genius succeeded another with marvelous rapidity. + +The Third Symphony calls for more than passing notice. Beethoven's +altruism is well known. The brotherhood of man was a favorite theme with +him. By the aid of his mighty intellect and his intuitional powers, he +saw more clearly than others the world's great need. The inequalities in +social conditions were more clearly marked in those times than now. The +French Revolution had set people thinking. Liberty and equality was what +they were demanding. Beethoven personally had nothing to gain and +everything to risk by siding with the people. All his personal friends +were of the aristocracy. It was this class which fostered the arts, +music in particular. From the time that Beethoven came to Vienna as a +young man, up to the end of his life, he enjoyed one or more pensions +given him by members of the upper classes. But his sympathies were with +the people. By honoring Napoleon with the dedication of the Third +Symphony, he would have antagonized the Imperial family, and perhaps +many of the aristocracy, but this phase of the question may not have +occurred to him, and if it had, it would not have deterred him. + +Beethoven's attitude toward Napoleon could have had no other +construction placed upon it than that of strong partisanship, since +there was no artistic bond to unite them. The arch-enemy of Imperialism, +as he was considered at this time, the mightiest efforts of the young +Corsican had hitherto been directed specially against Austria. Beethoven +did not approve of war; he expressed himself plainly on this point in +after years, but at this period considered it justifiable and necessary +as a means of abolishing what remained of feudal authority. + +Austria had been the first to feel the iron hand of Napoleon. His first +important military achievement, and what is generally conceded to be the +greatest in his entire military career, was his campaign against the +Austrians in Italy, which took place in the spring of 1796, shortly +after his marriage. His victories over them first gave him fame, not +only in France, but throughout Europe. Within a month from the time that +he took command in the Italian campaign, he won six victories over them, +giving the French army the command of the whole range of the Alps. +Within a year he had driven the Austrians out of Italy, many thousands +of prisoners were taken, ten thousand men had been killed or wounded, +fifty-five pieces of cannon had been taken, besides rich provinces, +which he looted to enrich France. He pursued his campaign into Austria, +getting to within ninety miles of Vienna with his army, where he +dictated terms of peace to the Emperor, which were highly advantageous +to France. Appalled by these catastrophies, the court was even preparing +to flee from Vienna and was arranging for the safe carriage of the +treasure, when the Emperor accepted Napoleon's terms. The humiliation to +Austria was accentuated by the fact that her armies were nearly twice +that of France. They were also in good condition, while the French +armies were ragged and half starved. With this inferior equipment +Bonaparte humbled the most haughty nation in Europe in the space of a +year. He defeated them again in 1800, at Marengo, and was at all times +their arch-enemy. + +All this happened some years before the period of which we are writing. +Beethoven regarded Napoleon as a liberator, a savior, on account of his +success in restoring order out of chaos in France. It showed +considerable moral courage on his part to come out so plainly for +Napoleon. A broader question than patriotism, however, was here +involved. Patriotism seeks the good of a small section. Altruism +embraces the good of all, thus including patriotism. + +The idea of writing the symphony to Napoleon may have been suggested to +Beethoven by General Bernadotte, who was then the Ambassador of the +French at Vienna. He and Count Moritz Lichnowsky were intimate friends +and saw a good deal of Beethoven at that time. The three young men no +doubt discussed social conditions and politics, as well as music, and it +would have been an easy task for the General, who had served under +Napoleon, to excite Beethoven's enthusiasm for the Liberator of France. +In after years, when General Bernadotte became King of Sweden, he still +retained his interest in the events of this period. + +This Symphony was the best work which Beethoven had yet accomplished; a +work the grandeur and sublimity of which must have been a surprise to +himself. It was conceived in the spirit of altruism, to show his +appreciation of the man whom he believed was destined more than any +other to uplift humanity. In the quality of its emotional expression, +and also in its dimensions, it far exceeded anything of the kind that +had yet appeared. Beethoven himself advised, on account of its great +length, that it be placed at the beginning of a program rather than at +its end. It is unique as a symphony, just as Napoleon was unique as a +man. On finishing the work he put the name of Bonaparte on the +title-page. + + BONAPARTE + + LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN. + +With perfect propriety the concept is here established that two great +men are before the world, Napoleon and Beethoven, and that the latter is +as great in his own province as was Napoleon in his, each being the +exponent of a new order of things, co-equal in the achievement of great +deeds. Posterity, in exalting the one and debasing the other, shows how +modest Beethoven was in the matter. + +He was on the point of sending it to Paris when the news was brought him +by his pupil Ries, that Napoleon was declared Emperor. In a rage +Beethoven tore off the title-page containing the dedication, and threw +it to the floor. "The man will become a tyrant and will trample all +human rights under foot. He is no more than an ordinary man!" was +Beethoven's exclamation. He finally gave it the name of Sinfonia Eroica, +in memory of a great man. It is dedicated to Prince Lobkowitz, who had +it performed before Prince Louis Ferdinand. The Prince was greatly taken +with it, at once recognizing its worth and insisting on hearing it three +times in succession the same evening. + +This year saw the production of two of Beethoven's most famous +pianoforte sonatas, the Waldstein, already referred to in this work, +dedicated to the friend of his youth, Count Waldstein, and the +Appassionata, dedicated to Count von Brunswick, sublime conceptions that +glow with the fire of genius. + +Mention must also be made of the famous Kreutzer Sonata, opus 47, for +piano and violin, which was completed prior to the Third Symphony. This +great work was originally intended for an English violinist resident at +Vienna by the name of Bridgetower, and was first performed at a morning +concert at the Augarten in May of 1803. Beethoven was at the piano and +Bridgetower played the violin part. Beethoven had completed a portion of +the work the previous year, but the violin part had to be played almost +before the ink was dry, the piano accompaniment being made up by +Beethoven as he went along. Notwithstanding this entire want of +preparation, the value of the work was so apparent that it produced an +encore. + +Beethoven changed his mind about the dedication, and a year or two later +this distinction was conferred on a friend, Rudolph Kreutzer, violinist +and composer, who had come to Vienna in 1798 with Bernadotte, and as a +matter of course, became acquainted with Beethoven. Kreutzer had been a +protege of Marie Antoinette; afterward he was taken up by Napoleon, and +still later by Louis XVIII, each of whom he served in his musical +capacity. The Kreutzer Sonata has had a wide notoriety given it through +Tolstoy's work of that name. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +FIDELIO + + In the mind as in a field, some things may be sown and carefully + brought up, yet that which springs naturally is most pleasing. + --TACITUS. + + +The year 1805 saw Beethoven hard at work in a field new to +him,--operatic composition. It had probably been in his mind for some +years to write an opera. In those days almost every composer wrote +operas, and to have written a successful one carried with it, not only a +certain prestige, but substantial rewards in a financial sense. Outside +of the church but little opportunity was afforded the general public to +gratify its love for music other than in opera. Orchestral concerts were +comparatively rare,--song recitals unknown. The development of the +orchestra was just beginning, through the genius of Beethoven, and the +Viennese were to a great extent, still unconscious of its importance, as +a means of musical expression. The many symphonies, quartets, and other +forms of chamber-music of Haydn, Mozart and contemporaneous composers, +were for the most part written for private performance at musical +functions in the houses of the nobility, or for friends of the +composers. + +Beethoven believed that if he were to write one or two operas, his +income would be reinforced to such an extent as to enable him to give +his attention wholly to the production of symphonies and masses, a style +of composition to which he was inclined by temperament. In the early +symphonies we already have a foreshadowing of what he could do in the +production of great orchestral music, the desire for which in later +years controlled him wholly. Like most men of genius Beethoven had +little regard for money, and until middle age was reached, never thought +of saving any. He valued it only in so far as he could use it for +himself or others. It may be said in passing that he gave it away +freely, glad to be of service to others. His income, augmented by his +copyrights, did not keep pace with his expenditures; when a friend +needed money and he had none, he would give him a composition instead, +which the other would turn into cash. + +The manager of the theatre, An der Wien, had, before this, made +overtures to Beethoven to write an opera, and he went so far as to take +up his quarters in the theatre, preparatory to this work; but a change +in the management made it necessary to give up the idea for the time +being. In 1804, the offer in regard to the opera was renewed, and work +was begun upon it. It took up a large part of his time until its +production in November of 1805. It is probable that he took more pains +with this work than was devoted to any other of his compositions with +the exception of the Mass in D. His capacity for work was extraordinary, +particularly at this time, and the delight that he experienced in +producing these masterpieces was still new to him, which in itself was +an incentive to great exertion. His approaching deafness also had a good +deal to do with his great activity. The ailment had progressed steadily +from the time of its first appearance; at the time of which we write he +had abandoned all hope of any aid from medical treatment; by throwing +himself heart and soul into his work, he could forget for the time the +misfortune which was closing in on him. He feared that a period of +absolute deafness might set in when he would be unable to hear any of +his works, and the desire must have been great to accomplish as much as +possible before that time should come. + +Beethoven does not seem to have been very hard to suit in the way of a +libretto at this time. He probably gave the matter very little +consideration except on one point,--its morality. His high ideals, and +his innate purity of mind, caused him to dislike and condemn the sort of +story which was usually worked up into operatic libretti in those days, +in which intrigue and illicit love formed the staple material. He +expressed himself strongly on this subject, even criticising Mozart for +having set Don Giovanni to music, saying that it degraded the art. So +strongly did he feel about it that he seems to have thought almost any +libretto would do, provided the moral sentiment contained in it were +sufficiently prominent. Later, the experience which he gained with +Fidelio showed him that the libretto of an opera is indeed a very +important matter; then he went to the other extreme, and was unable to +find anything which would satisfy him, although many libretti were +submitted to him at various times during the remainder of his life. A +quantity of them were found among his papers after his death. Bouilly's +libretto Leonore, which had been set to music by two different composers +before Beethoven took it in hand, was finally selected, and Sonnleithner +was employed to translate it from the French. The name of the opera was +changed to Fidelio, but the various overtures written for it are still +known as the Leonore overtures. + +Beethoven took up his quarters in the theatre again as soon as the +libretto was ready for him and went to work at it with a will. But he +was not at his best in operatic writing,--this symphonist, this creator +of great orchestral forms. The opera was an alien soil to him; +composition--never an easy matter to Beethoven, was more difficult than +ever in the case of Fidelio. The sketch-books show the many attempts and +alterations in the work, at its every stage. In addition, he was +handicapped at the outset by an unsuitable libretto. The Spanish +background, for one thing, was a clog, as his trend of thought and +sympathies were thoroughly German. But this is a slight matter compared +with the forbidding nature of the drama itself, with its prison scenes, +its dungeons and general atmosphere of gloom. One dreary scene after +another is unfolded, and the action never reaches the dignity of tragedy +nor the depth of pathos which should be awakened by the portrayal of +suffering. We are unable to feel that the two principal characters are +martyrs; as one tiresome scene succeeds another, we come to care nothing +whatever about them and are unable to sympathize with them in their +suffering or rejoice in their deliverance. The first requisite in opera, +it would appear, is that it be pervaded by an atmosphere of +romanticism. Other things are necessary; the libretto must have dramatic +situations; but above all, the romantic element must prevail. If it is +difficult for the listener to become interested in an opera with such a +libretto as is Fidelio, it must be doubly so for the composer who +undertakes the task of writing music for it. A dull story hinders the +play of fancy; the imagination remains dormant, and the product under +such conditions has the air of being forced. The musician is in bonds. + +Musically, it is a work of surpassing beauty; but there is a dissonance +between music and libretto which gives the impression of something +lacking; there is not the harmony which we expect in a work of this +kind. Wagner has taught us better on these points. The music of Fidelio +has force and grandeur; some of it has a sensuous beauty that reminds us +of Mozart at his best. Had Beethoven's choice fallen to a better +libretto, the result might have been an altogether better opera. + +Fidelio affords a good instance of the fact that operatic composition, +considered strictly as music, is not the highest form in which the art +can be portrayed, and that, in itself, it is not so strictly confined to +the domain of music as is the symphony, or the various forms of sacred +music (the oratorio or the mass, for instance). It may, in the right +hands, come to be a greater work of art, viewed in its entirety, than +either of the forms just mentioned. In the hands of a man like Wagner, +it undoubtedly is, but in such a case the result is achieved by means +other than those obtained through the domain of music. Much is +contributed by the literary quality of the libretto, its poetic and +romantic qualities, its dramatic possibilities, as well as its stage +setting and the ability of the singers to act well their parts. An opera +is a combination of several arts, in which music is often subordinated. +Not so in the case of sacred music, in which the entire portrayal rests +absolutely on the musician's art. Of the works of the great composers +who wrote both classes of music, those which are devoted to religious +subjects will be found vastly superior in almost every instance, with +the one exception of Mozart's and in the case of this composer, his Mass +in B flat and the Requiem will bear comparison with any of his operas. +With no regular income, Mozart was compelled to write operas in order to +live, but his preference was for sacred music. Haydn, on the other hand, +spent no time on grand opera. Through his connection with the Princes +Esterhazy, which gave him an assured income from his twenty-ninth year +to the end of his life, he was in a position to write only the style of +music to which he was best adapted by his talents and preference. + +Above all other considerations, the opera must be made to pay. The +composers expected to make money from it, and its presentation was +always accompanied by enormous expense. Everything conspired to get them +to write what their audience would like, without considering too closely +whether this was the best they were capable of producing. In those times +all that people required of an opera was that it should entertain. If we +compare the best opera before Wagner's time with such works as Bach's +Grand Mass in B minor, or Beethoven's Mass in D, we will readily see +that the composers of those times put their best thought into their +sacred compositions. Bach, Protestant that he was, but with the vein of +religious mysticism strong in him, which is usually to be found in +highly endowed artistic natures (Wagner is an instance, also Liszt), was +attracted by the beautiful text of the Mass, its stateliness and +solemnity, and the world is enriched by an imperishable work of genius. +It is significant that he wrote no opera, and Beethoven only one. Both +composers probably regarded the opera as being less important +artistically than the other great forms in which music is embodied. + +In operatic composition, as we have seen, the musicians of those times +were too apt to write down to their public. No such temptation came to +them in their religious works, as no income was expected from this +source. Here the composer could be independent of his public, so this +branch of the art was developed to a much greater degree than the other. +A high standard was thus reached and maintained in religious music. + +Beethoven by temperament was not adapted to operatic composition. He was +too much the philosopher, his aims being higher than were desired by an +operatic audience of that time. He could best express himself in +orchestral music, and his genius drew him irresistibly in this +direction. This predilection appears throughout his works. In his purely +orchestral compositions, his genius has absolute freedom. When he came +to opera he found himself constantly hampered by new and untried +conditions. He soon found that opera has to do with something besides +music. Having once begun, however, he carried it through, perforce, by +almost superhuman efforts. + +Wagner, poet that he was, builded better. He had the temperament for +opera. He was adapted to operatic composition as if he had been +specially created for the purpose. Here was the union of the poet and +the musician in the same individual. Knowing the importance of the +drama, and aided by his literary instinct, he was able to select +interesting subjects which were well adapted to musical treatment. It +was the spirit of romanticism pervading these dramas of Wagner's which +enabled him to weave such music about them. We cannot imagine him making +good music to a poor libretto,--with Wagner the libretto and the music +were of equal importance, the two usually having been produced +simultaneously; his music fits the words so well that no other would be +desired. + +Early in the summer, Beethoven left his quarters in the theatre and went +into the country nearby, where he could work with more freedom than in +the city. No labor seems to have been too great for him in the +composition of this work. The opera was finished early in the fall of +1805, and as soon as he returned to town he began with the rehearsals. +Then he had almost as much work as in writing the opera, everything +possible having been done to worry him. His simplicity and want of tact +seem to have been very much in evidence at this time; he was like a +child compared with the astute men of affairs with whom he now came in +contact. His greatest difficulty, however, was with his singers. A man +following so faithfully the intimations of his genius as did Beethoven, +withal a man of such striking individuality and force of character, +would be sure to disregard to some extent the capacity of his +performers. His singers made no end of trouble, stating that their parts +were unsingable and asking for alterations. Some of the members of the +orchestra also complained about technical difficulties, but the master +was obdurate, refusing to make any changes. Instead of placating them, +by which means only, a good performance was possible as things went at +that time, he overrode their wishes and would make no concessions +whether in large or in small matters. To Beethoven, music as an art was +the most serious fact in his existence; to the others, it was no more +than a means of enjoyment or of subsistence. His point of view being so +different from that of the others, it is not surprising that he was +always at odds with them. Trifles often annoyed him more than gross +derelictions. At one of the rehearsals the third bassoon player was +absent and Beethoven was enraged. That anything short of illness or +disaster should keep this man from his post was a piece of insolence, an +insult to the art. Prince Lobkowitz was present, and in the effort to +pacify him, made light of the affair; he told him that this man's +absence did not matter much, as the first and second bassoonists were +present, a line of argument that served to include the Prince in +Beethoven's wrath. Hofsekretaer Mahler relates the denouement of the +incident. On the way home, after the rehearsal, as he and Beethoven came +in sight of the Lobkowitz Platz, Beethoven, with the delinquent third +bassoonist still in his mind, could not resist crossing the Platz, and +shouting into the great gateway of the palace, "Lobkowitzscher Esel" +(ass of a Lobkowitz). + +Meanwhile, the French army, with Napoleon at its head, was advancing on +Vienna and almost at the time that the opera was ready for presentation, +took possession of the city. This was on November 13, 1805. The +imperial family, the members of the nobility and every one else who +could do so, had left the city on the approach of the French forces, but +this did not discourage Beethoven. The opera was ready and must be +presented. He could not have expected much of an audience as the very +people who were interested in the subject had left the city. It was +actually put on the stage on November 20, the audience consisting, it +appears, mainly of French officers. It is not to be supposed that such a +work would appeal to them, as there was no ballet, and the melodrama, +instead of containing good jokes and risque anecdotes, was simply the +tale of a wife's devotion. No doubt the intendant of the theatre, as +well as Beethoven and the whole company were anathematized freely. It +was continued for three nights and then withdrawn. + +The work involved was enormous, both in the composition and in getting +it ready for the stage. The rewards during Beethoven's lifetime were +always slow. In its original form the opera was considered too long for +the patience of the average audience, and also in parts too abstruse, +which latter was probably its chief fault. The idea of revising it does +not seem to have occurred to Beethoven, even after it was withdrawn; it +required the utmost diplomacy on the part of his friends, Prince +Lichnowsky in particular, to bring this about. + +Beethoven had taken extraordinary pains with it up to the time of its +representation. To make alterations now would be to acknowledge himself +in error. The opera, however, was the most ambitious work he had yet +attempted; to make it a success it was necessary that it be revised and +altered considerably. With this object in view, Beethoven was invited by +Prince Lichnowsky to meet some friends at his house to discuss the +opera. The singers, Roeke and Meyer, who appeared in the cast, were of +the party; also Stephen von Breuning and Sonnleithner. The score was +studied at the piano and freely criticised. When one of the singers +plainly stated that several pieces should be omitted entire and other +portions shortened, Beethoven's rage knew no bounds. The conflict lasted +well into the night, Beethoven at bay, with all his friends pitted +against him. He defended every attack on this child of his brain, the +latest product of his genius, and at first refused any compromise, but +better counsels finally prevailed, aided probably by the Princess +Lichnowsky, who so often assumed the part of peacemaker. Beethoven +consented to some important excisions, and an entire revision of the +opera. Stephen von Breuning, who was somewhat of a poet, and had +considerable literary ability, was commissioned to make the desired +changes in the libretto, cutting it down to two acts from three. The +conference lasted until one in the morning, when, the point being +gained, the Prince ordered supper to be brought in. Being Germans and +musicians, they finished the night in the utmost good humor, Beethoven +being the best natured of all, once his consent to the revision had been +gained. + +He immediately set about writing a new overture for it, and that +imperishable work of genius, the Third Leonore overture appeared. Here +we have an epitome of the succeeding music of the opera, foreshadowing +in dramatic language, the grief and despair, and the final deliverance +and joy of the principal actors of the drama. Wagner says of this work, +"It is no longer an overture, but the mightiest of dramas in itself." +Here Beethoven could use his accustomed freedom once more. He was back +again in the familiar realm of instrumental music, and the storm and +stress of recent experiences no doubt supplied some of the material +which went into it. It is frequently used as a concert work. + +The opera was produced the following spring in the revised form and with +the new overture. The wisdom of the revision was at once apparent, but a +quarrel between Beethoven and the intendant of the theatre led to its +final withdrawal after two representations. It did not see the light +again until 1814. + +It was about this time that Beethoven first met Cherubini, whose operas +were favorites with the Vienna public. The Italian master made a stay of +several months' duration in Vienna, and attended a performance of +Fidelio. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE ETERNAL FEMININE + + If that beauty of Shiraz would take my heart in hand, I would give + for her dark mole Samarkand and Bokhara. + --HAFIZ. + + +In Beethoven's time, Vienna was the gayest capital in Europe, the Paris +of the world. The population was 300,000, every nationality in Europe +being represented. It was cosmopolitan in the widest sense. The Germans +of course predominated; then there were Hungarians, Italians, Sclavs, +Sczechs, Magyars, Poles and Turks. The Italian element was particularly +strong, and these southern and eastern races with their tendency toward +art in any form, and the particular bias of the Italians toward music +had an important influence on the Germans, modifying their seriousness. + +The theatres were splendidly equipped and there were at least four large +orchestras. Concerts for the general public were not common, the +orchestras being required for operatic performances in private houses, +which were splendidly given, as well as for state balls and other +functions. The chief business of the well-to-do (and Vienna was a rich +city), was to gratify a love for music. The cultivated class lived a +life of elegant leisure, music being its alpha and omega. As already +stated, it was an established custom with the wealthy to maintain a +small orchestra, consisting of four or five pieces for the performance +of chamber-music in their homes. Prince Karl Lichnowsky gave concerts +every Friday evening, frequently taking a part in the orchestra. Regular +weekly concerts were given by Baron von Swieten, Prince Lobkowitz, Count +Rasoumowsky and many others. It is stated that at this period there were +ten private theatres in Vienna, each with its complement of actors. It +was a common occurrence to give operettas at these private +theatres,--the ordinary parts being taken by amateurs. + +How could they, we naturally ask, get an audience, when so many +performances were in progress, and how could the people get around to so +many places? The answer is: these performances were given daily, +including Sunday, and at all hours of the day, some concerts being given +as early as six o'clock in the morning. It was indeed a "golden age for +Beethoven," as Schindler remarks. Thayer gives a list of twenty-one +great houses open to Beethoven, nine of which belonged to princes. The +young musician was often the guest of honor at the various musical +functions given by these people, and received much attention from +illustrious persons who were attracted to him by the force of his +character as well as his genius. Not in any degree a society man, rough +in exterior and careless of appearance, he was sought after by the most +exclusive of Vienna society. + +That a man of such force and originality, such independence, should have +won the lifelong friendship of those of his own sex, goes without +saying. His very scorn for the conventions and refinements of life, the +manliness which was reflected in his every act, in the tones of his +voice and the expression of his face, all this, united to such talents, +would be sure to win the enthusiastic admiration of his fellow-men. But +that the beautiful society women of the capital should have been +attracted to a man so uncouth may at first sight seem surprising, until +we consider that he attracted them in spite of these drawbacks and on +account of other qualities, such as his sensibility, his earnestness and +devotion to his art, and the wealth of his emotional and intellectual +nature. He thoroughly enjoyed standing so well socially with these +ladies, who in family connections were above him, but who were willing +to sit at his feet in homage to his genius. Beginning with hero worship +on the part of these devotees, the sentiment usually developed into the +more intimate relation of friendship or love. The "Ewig Weibliche" +appears constantly in his music and was always in his life. He formed +many romantic attachments which may not always have been Platonic, but +they were always pure. Beethoven had as chivalrous a regard for women as +had any knight of the middle ages. + +Among those with whom he became intimate are the Baroness Ertmann, the +Countess Erdoedy, the sisters of the Count of Brunswick and many others. +It is interesting to note the affectionate familiarity which these +ladies permitted him. Taking into account the extreme sensibility of the +artistic temperament and the sentimental character of the Germans, it is +still surprising to meet with a letter to the Countess Erdoedy, which he +begins: "Liebe, liebe, liebe, liebe, liebe Graefin" ("Dear, dear, dear, +dear, dear Countess"), although the letter itself is simple enough and +ends: "Ihr wahrer Freund und Verehrer." He begins another letter to this +lady in a strain courtly and dignified, in marked contrast to the +excessive warmth of the previous example: "Alles Gute und Schoene meiner +lieben, verehrten, mir theure Freundin, von ihrem wahren und verehrenden +Freund." The Countess Erdoedy, who is described as being witty, +cultivated and beautiful, exercised a very strong fascination on the +susceptible heart of our master, and on her side, she seems to have been +powerfully drawn to him. The friendship lasted many years. Music, the +bond that united them, sanctified their intimacy and kept it always on a +high level. Beethoven lived at her house for a time. He used to allude +to her as his father confessor. Madame Erdoedy erected in honor of +Beethoven, in the park of one of her seats in Hungary, a temple, the +entrance to which is decorated with a characteristic inscription +expressing her homage to the great composer. Later in life she was +banished and died in Munich. + +The Baroness Ertmann was also a good friend to Beethoven. He called on +her frequently and her ability to interpret his works acceptably must +have cemented the friendship between them. Others with whom he came in +contact were the Countess Babette de Keglivics (Princess Odeschalchi), +and Julia Guicciardi, who became the Countess Gallenberg, and to whom he +dedicated the Sonata Fantasia, which is called the language of +resignation. + +These people on the whole were quite democratic in their relations +toward artists. There was a very elaborate ceremonial at court, but +elsewhere, cultivated people met on common ground. Ries relates an +incident illustrating the cameraderie existing between Beethoven and the +aristocratic ladies of his circle. In this instance. Princess +Lichnowsky, who was a Countess Thun, and connected with some of the best +families in Europe, was the central figure. One evening at Count +Browne's, Ries was asked to play a sonata with which he was not +familiar. Ries preferring to play something else, begged to be excused +from playing this particular one. The company was obdurate, however, and +finally appealed to Beethoven, knowing that he, if any one, could carry +the point. Beethoven turned to Ries and asked him to play it, saying: "I +am sure you will not play it so badly that you would not want me to hear +it," whereupon Ries complied, Beethoven turning the leaves for him. He +made a break in the bass part, at which Beethoven tapped him on the head +with his finger, whether to discipline him or only in play does not +appear. Later in the evening Beethoven played a sonata (opus 21), +entirely new, with which he himself was not very familiar. Princess +Lichnowsky, who had observed Beethoven's act in disciplining Ries +earlier in the evening, stationed herself back of Beethoven's chair, +while Ries turned the pages. When Beethoven made a mistake similar to +that of Ries, the Princess playfully hit him several taps on the head +with her hand, saying: "If the scholar is punished for making a slight +mistake, the master should not escape, when making a graver one," at +which all laughed, Beethoven taking the lead. Then he began again and +fairly outdid himself, particularly in the Adagio, in which the mistake +occurred. + +The virtuosity of some of the Viennese of the period was marvellous. +Allusion has been made to the ability of the professional musicians, but +the amateur performers were in many cases equally proficient. It is +related that Beethoven's friend, Marie Bigot, played the Appassionata +Sonata at sight from the manuscript for the delectation of some friends. +Madame Bigot was the wife of the librarian of Count Rasoumowsky and +evidently took a prominent part in these entertainments. Sight-reading +before a critical audience is surely a difficult enough task under the +most favoring conditions; how much more so from the manuscript, with its +excisions and corrections and general indistinctness! It was, however, +an every-day matter especially in chamber-music. Huemmel is reported as +saying: "In Vienna there are a hundred ladies who can play the piano +better than I." Another musician, writing from Vienna in 1820, said: "In +every house there is a good instrument; at one, a banker's, there are +five." + +On one occasion, some one laid before Beethoven a quartet in manuscript +which had just been composed. The band essayed it, of course at sight, +not one of the party having seen the manuscript before. The cellist got +out in the first movement. Beethoven got up, and while he kept on +playing his own part, sang the cellist's part. When this was commented +on, he remarked that the bass part _had_ to be this way if the composer +understood his business. The composer in this instance was Foerster, his +old teacher. + +On another occasion, Beethoven played at sight a new and difficult +composition which had been brought him. The composer told him that he +(Beethoven), had played the Presto so fast that it would have been +impossible to see the single notes. "That is not necessary," Beethoven +replied. "If you read rapidly, many misprints may occur; you do not heed +them, if you only know the language." Wagner in his life of Beethoven +says: "The power of the musician is not to be appreciated otherwise than +through the idea of magic." It would seem so in very fact. Consider the +million combinations of which the brain has to take cognizance while +doing so comparatively simple a thing as transposing. Not to play the +particular notes which are indicated on the staff, but some others, one +or two steps higher or lower; to play four or five at a stroke, as in +piano, and to do it quickly, sixty or eighty or a hundred in a +minute,--this is almost like magic, but it is nothing to what Beethoven +frequently did in music. At a public concert at which he played, he +asked his friend Seyfried, a distinguished composer and all-round +musician, to turn the leaves for him of a new concerto written for the +occasion. "But that was easier said than done," said Seyfried who told +the story. "I saw nothing but blank leaves with a few utterly +incomprehensible Egyptian hieroglyphics which served him as guides, for +he played nearly the whole of the solo part from memory, not having had +time to write it out in full; he always gave me a sign, when he was at +the end of one of these unintelligible passages." Seyfried, thorough +musician that he was, understood the difficulties of the position for +Beethoven, and was so apprehensive of turning a page at the wrong time, +that his nervousness was observed by the master, who afterward rallied +him about it. Extempore playing is not to be compared with this, as the +concerto was written for strings and piano, Beethoven taking the piano +part. + +The three quartets, opus 59, known as the Rasoumowsky Quartets, to which +a passing reference has been made, take their name from having been +dedicated to Count Rasoumowsky, who was the Russian ambassador. The +Count had married a sister of the Princess Lichnowsky and was a +cultivated man whose greatest delight was music. He lived in great state +in a palace, then on the outskirts of Vienna, now used as the Geological +Institute. He was closely identified with the musical life of Vienna, +and shortly after these quartets appeared, formed a string quartet of +distinguished musicians, which he maintained for many years, taking the +part of second violin himself. It is almost needless to state that +Beethoven's work took precedence in the repertoire. + +The first of the three quartets, the one in F, has an Adagio movement on +which Beethoven inscribed in the sketch-book, "Eine Trauerweide oder +Akazienbaum aufs Grab meines Bruders." [A weeping willow or acacia tree +over my brother's grave.] Beethoven had indeed lost an infant brother +twenty-three years before this event, but it is not likely that he was +thus tardily commemorating him. His brother Kaspar Karl was married the +day before this quartet was begun and it is probably a humorous allusion +to that circumstance. But if his brother's marriage was an occasion for +humor at the beginning, it lapsed afterward into the sternest tragedy in +its effect on the master's life, as will be seen further on in these +pages. + +These quartets are monuments to Beethoven's genius and are classed among +the best examples of chamber-music. The Adagio of the second one was +thought out by Beethoven one night while contemplating the stars. +Somewhat of the infinite calm and serenity of his mood is imparted to +it. The incident is related by Czerny to whom it was related by +Beethoven himself. The quartets were generally disliked and condemned by +musicians when first produced. Cherubini said that they made him sneeze. +Others said that Beethoven was music-mad, that they could not be called +music, that they were too difficult, unintelligible, and so on. That was +close onto a century ago, and they are still unintelligible to some, but +we now know that this is not the fault of the quartets as was so naively +assumed at that time. The condemnation of them by the performers has a +show of reason in it as they taxed their capacity too severely. Wagner +had the same thing to contend with for the same reason. + +After the withdrawal of Fidelio, noted in the last chapter, and with the +advent of summer, Beethoven left Vienna on a visit to Count Brunswick, +at his seat in Hungary. The Count was a man of exceptional intellectual +ability, who had the greatest reverence and admiration for Beethoven's +genius. Beethoven was also on excellent terms with the Count's sisters, +and later became engaged to one of them, the Countess Therese. It is +well known that the Countess Therese exercised a powerful fascination +over him, but so did many another of the gifted Vienna ladies in the +course of his life. + +So vast a quantity of work was accomplished by the master during this +summer, that it is likely the proximity of these friends only served to +stimulate his genius. The Appassionata Sonata was worked over, the +Rasoumowsky Quartets were finished, as well as the Fourth Symphony, +besides lesser works, so that he could not have spent much time in +social intercourse. He was in the period of his greatest productivity; +the creative instinct was strong in him and impelled him onward in his +work to the exclusion of other desires. Even friendship had to give way +in great measure to the passion for creating which had become a +necessity of his existence. + +That the life was a tranquil and contented one may be inferred by the +character of the Fourth Symphony. Beethoven loved country life, and +surrounded as he was by his friends, whose first thought was for him, he +had everything to make him satisfied. The serenity which speaks to us +through the Fourth Symphony is something for which the world should ever +be grateful. Our highest happiness often comes to us through the frame +of mind superinduced by external influences. This symphony is a song of +joy, ecstatic in its pure exuberance of spirits; again, it is a +benediction that breathes into our minds somewhat of its own spirit of +calm and content. The storm and stress of life is forgotten; all is +holiday humor. We are in the midst of a Shakespearian comedy, with its +alternations of humor and sentiment, its joyous atmosphere, its idyllic +simplicity; the forest of Arden has come to us. It was written to +celebrate his engagement to the Countess Therese. In it he is inspired +by the very genius of happiness. It is as if, having obtained his +heart's desire, he invites us to partake with him the joy that the gods +have provided. + +But it is only for once, as if to emphasize the fact that happiness is +not the object of existence and is not even our right primarily. He +gives few instances in which the element of pain or sadness does not +enter to some extent. His works abound in psychological suggestion; +they illustrate every phase of life. The philosophic import of the +Fourth Symphony is plain. He demonstrates the rarity of pure unalloyed +happiness in actual life by the few examples in his compositions in +which it reigns supreme. Joy enters incidentally into most of his works. +Often it dominates them. He recognized it as part of the scheme of life, +but it is usually qualified by other conditions and is only attained +through persistent effort; it is never our portion until earned. It does +not come unsought like pain and suffering. The Fourth Symphony is +lighter than the "Eroica" which preceded it, or the C minor which comes +next. The language of joy is always more or less superficial. The +tragedies of life have to be told in stronger language, since they go +deeper. Happiness is negative, pain positive. The comedies of +Shakespeare, in which the note is usually buoyant and felicitous, do not +stir us as do the tragedies. + +Beethoven's visit at Count Brunswick's continued throughout the summer +of 1806. He left the Brunswicks in October, but instead of returning to +Vienna as was his wont in the autumn, he turned his face toward Silesia, +on a visit to Prince Lichnowsky who had an estate there. But the idyllic +life left behind at Count Brunswick's was not to be repeated here. His +stay was destined to be short owing to a violent quarrel between the +Prince and him, which caused an estrangement lasting some years. The +circumstances leading up to it can be briefly narrated. When Beethoven +arrived at the castle of Prince Lichnowsky, he found other guests there, +uninvited but not unexpected, consisting of French officers who had been +quartered on the Prince. Napoleon had overrun Germany, and was master +wherever he went. Beethoven's rage against him for making himself +Emperor had not abated; his dislike extended to the officers as well, +and he was not there long before hostilities began in good earnest. It +all came about from a desire on the part of the officers that Beethoven +play for them. He had the penetration to know that he was regarded +simply as a curiosity, that he was called on because no better +entertainment was available. Had there been a juggler or a ballet-dancer +on hand, these latter might have been preferred. At dinner, a +staff-officer had asked him quite innocently if he could play the cello, +to which no answer was given; the frown on Beethoven's face, however, +boded ill for the evening's festivities. It had been announced that he +would play for them, and they expected it as a matter of course. + +In the nature of things it could not be expected that these men would be +able to appreciate Beethoven, or understand much of his art. His +reverence for it was great; he felt that it would be a degradation, in a +sense, to play for them under the circumstances, and refused. The +Prince, with the amiable desire of pleasing his guests, urged the +matter, but Beethoven continued obdurate; upon which he told him, +probably by way of a joke, that he must either comply or that he would +be confined in the castle as a prisoner of war for disobeying orders. +This persistence so enraged him that, although it was night, he left the +castle without the Prince's knowledge, and walked three miles to +Trappau, the nearest post-town. He remained here overnight, and, while +waiting for the post-chaise, wrote the following letter to Prince +Lichnowsky: + +"Prince! what you are you owe to chance and birth. What I am, I am +through myself. There has been, and will yet be thousands of princes, +but there is only one Beethoven."[A] + +[A] Frimmel's Beethoven. + +It was raining when he left the castle, and the manuscript of the +Appassionata Sonata, hastily packed, became water-soaked and blurred; it +bears the marks of that night's journey to the present day. + +Some difficulty was experienced in procuring his passport for Vienna. It +could readily have been obtained by having recourse to Prince +Lichnowsky, but Beethoven would not permit this. The matter was finally +arranged, and he proceeded on his journey. He nursed his wrath all the +way, and on reaching his quarters in Vienna, his first act was to smash +a bust of the Prince which stood on a bookcase. + +Although a reconciliation was effected later, the old cordial relations +were never restored. There were times when the Prince called on +Beethoven and was not received, when the latter was not in the mood for +seeing him. Through his wilfulness, Beethoven lost the annuity which the +Prince had settled on him on his coming to Vienna. The initiative in +this matter was probably taken by Beethoven himself, as may be inferred +from a letter he writes to a friend two years later: "My circumstances +are improving without having recourse to people who treat their friends +insultingly." + +The winter of 1806-7 was a period of great activity for Beethoven, +although a felon on his finger must have stopped all work for a while. +Some important works were published, notably the Eroica Symphony and +the Appassionata Sonata. Along with acceptances came commissions, so +that his finances appear to have been in a flourishing condition for the +time. + +Beethoven's engagement to the Countess Brunswick was entered into with +the consent of her brother. Count Brunswick, who was the only one +permitted to share the secret. Every precaution was taken to prevent a +knowledge of it coming to the ears of Therese's mother, who would not +for a moment have listened to an argument leading to a possible union of +her daughter with the poor musician. + +That Beethoven had marriage in mind is evident from the fact that he +once got so far as to write to Bonn for a copy of his baptismal +certificate as a necessary preliminary. He wrote in his note-book on the +subject as follows: "Oh God! Let me attain her who is destined to be +mine and who shall strengthen me in virtue." But it never got any +further. The secrecy so strictly enjoined, must have been specially +unpleasant to a man of Beethoven's temperament. The opposition that was +sure to be developed on the part of the Countess's family may have +reverted on his sense of pride to such an extent as to lead him to +sacrifice his love to it. He always had his work to fall back on. In the +end, his art took precedence of all other considerations; while it +permitted friendship, the serenity of which might aid him in his +life-work, it excluded love, which might become a rival. His concept of +life was to live simply, to entertain no project which would in any way +divert his mind from his work. No mere desires of self were to be +considered. + +The Countess Therese never married, but occupied herself with +philanthropic work on reaching middle-age. She founded a home for little +children in Vienna, the first of its kind in Austria; her own means not +being sufficient to maintain it, she enlisted the support of powerful +friends from the Empress down, in its behalf. She died in 1861, aged 83. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +VICTORY FROM DEFEAT + + To those whom heaven favors, the greatest evils turn to greatest + good. + --GIORDANO BRUNO. + + +Of the summer of 1807, the most notable achievement is the Mass in C. It +was written at Heiligenstadt, where he wrote the Heroic Symphony some +years before. He remained until autumn hard at work on this, his first +mass, as well as on some orchestral works, including, probably the +Symphony in C minor, as well as the Pastoral Symphony. + +It is rather singular that Beethoven, whose nature was on the whole +essentially religious, although he affiliated with no church, did not +take earlier to mass composition. Some of the best work of Mozart and +Haydn is in this form; as organist he must have been familiar with their +masses. One can readily believe that the emotional quality of certain +portions of Mozart's Mass in B flat, such as the Et incarnatus and the +Agnus Dei, must have strongly appealed to him. His thoughts often went +toward religious music, and it was easy for him to compose in this +style. He recognized the mass as one of the great art-forms, equal to +the oratorio or the opera. From Bach's time on, it may indeed be said to +have been regarded in this light. It is quite evident that Bach so +considered it when composing his grand mass in B minor, which in +difficulty of execution, as well as in its extraordinary length, is no +longer practicable as a church service, its range in all directions +going beyond the requirements of a congregation, or the capacity of the +choir. + +It is evident that Beethoven enjoyed working on the Mass, and was quite +at home in this form of composition. Here was plain sailing; he knew +what he wanted to do, and went at it without hesitation. There is none +of that doubt and groping which is the case with Fidelio, which was +continually being worked over, and in reality, never was finished. That +religious works had a great hold on his mind, appears from a letter to +his publisher in after years in which he states that if he had an +independent income he would write nothing but grand symphonies, church +music and perhaps quartets. In another letter dated March 29, 1823, +toward the close of his life, he stated his intention of writing three +more masses. + +In the Mass in C a new theory is developed in mass composition. It +differs radically from the style of church composition made popular by +Haydn and Mozart, beautiful as some of that is. Their music is a concord +of sweet melodies, illustrating the peace and happiness which a +contemplation of the religious life affords. Acting on the principle +that beauty is its own excuse for being, they give many examples where +the music does not even attempt to fit the sentiment of the words. The +Kyrie of Haydn's Imperial Mass would do for a Te Deum, or a Song of +Triumph rather than a cry for help. The Kyrie of Mozart's Mass in B flat +is an Italian street song which he heard on one of his tours in Italy +and worked over for this Mass, and is not at all adapted to the words. +There are ideas in the Mass in C which neither Mozart nor Haydn would +have tried to attain. Beethoven's aim here is not to please the ear by +beautiful melodies, although he does that often enough, but to stir the +soul. He bears a message to the listener, which it is greatly to his +interest to get at. The Mass in C depicts our innermost experiences. It +has a mission and is not simply an end in itself. The Symphonist here +shows his individuality as may be expected, since it was composed after +Coriolanus, the first four symphonies, Fidelio. In many places the +orchestra becomes an independent entity, abandons the choral part, and, +rising into majestic strains unattainable in choral composition, tells +the story of Christianity in its own powerful way. In Beethoven this +ascendency of the orchestra is first apparent; he has demonstrated for +all time its greater importance as a means of musical expression than +the voice. + +[Musical notation.] + +The work throughout is cast on a higher plane than any mass which had +appeared since Bach's Mass in B minor. It was written for Prince +Nicholas Esterhazy, whose grandfather was Haydn's patron, and was first +sung in the chapel of the Prince at Eisenstadt, on the name-day of his +wife, the Princess Marie. Huemmel was Kapellmeister there, but Beethoven +conducted the performance on this occasion. + +The Prince evidently was of the opinion that having ordered the work, +the master would consider his preferences and prejudices in the +composition of it, as Haydn would have done, but as Beethoven could not +have done, had he wished. The result was that Prince Esterhazy failed to +see its purport or significance and was unable to comprehend it. +Beethoven should not have been surprised at this, since he knew himself +to be in advance of his time. At the conclusion of the service the +Prince made the rather inane remark, "but my dear Beethoven, what have +you been doing now?" in allusion to the mass. Beethoven, deeply +offended, left abruptly, and returned to Vienna. It may be said in +passing that Beethoven frequently managed to disappoint the persons for +whom he wrote. This did not lead him to doubt or distrust his powers, +knowing intuitively that posterity would justify him. The Mass in C is +to-day one of the best known of all masses, and is frequently performed +at high festivals in churches having a good equipment of chorus and +orchestra. + +Another great work which was completed about this time was the Symphony +in C minor (The Fifth). Here we have a work wholly subjective. It +reflects his soul experiences. His approaching deafness brought him face +to face with the greatest trouble of his life. The malady progressed +slowly but steadily, and rendered him at times hopeless. His suffering, +his despair, his resignation and final triumph are embodied in it. It is +a subtle analysis of some of the deep problems of life. The history of +his own mental state is depicted here. If we consider his malady in its +bearing on his life, we have the story of Tantalus told again. Here was +a man whose thoughts translated themselves into splendid tone-pictures +which the orchestra was to portray. With the mental equipment to create +a new era in his art, the medium by which he could apprehend his works +was being closed to him. "Is a blind painter to be imagined?" asks +Wagner in this connection. If we can imagine a great painter painting +his masterpieces, but never being permitted to see any, an analogy may +be found in the exclusion of Beethoven from all participation in the +rendering of his works, which was the case in his later years, being +unable even to conduct them. He wanted to test his work, to ascertain +how it would sound in the concert hall, and even at this time the high +tones of the violins, which he put to such exquisite uses in later +years, and which were such an inspiration to Wagner, were lost to him. +By the aid of his philosophy, however, he accepted the situation, +resolving to make the best of it; to keep on achieving, to turn his +defeats into victories. Beethoven's symphonies mean much in their +application to the common life of humanity. Knowing them even +approximately, we often find texts which illumine them in the writings +of men who went below the surface of things, Emerson, or Carlyle, or +Schopenhauer. Thus Carlyle, writing on Dante says: "He has opened the +deep unfathomable oasis of woe that lay in the soul of man; he has +opened the living fountains of hope, also of penitence." Does not the +mind instantly revert to the C minor Symphony? + +Next in the order of Beethoven's great works comes the Pastoral +Symphony, named at first "Recollections of country life." Easily +comprehended, as any picture of country life should be, he yet deemed it +necessary to give a short explanation at each movement, illustrating the +meaning which he wished to convey, although he qualifies this with the +words, "mehr Ausdruck der Empfindung als Malerei." [An expression of +sensibility rather than painting.] In everything relating to his art +Beethoven was tentative. In the sketch-book of this Symphony there is an +inscription in his handwriting, "Man ueberlaesst den Zuhoerer sich selbst +die Situationen auszufinden." [The hearer should be left to find out the +situations for himself,] showing that, on considering the matter +carefully he changed his mind, and concluded after all, that the +explanations were permissible. In but few instances has Beethoven +vouchsafed any explanation of his musical intent, and then it seems to +have been done reluctantly. It was hardly necessary in the case of the +Pastoral Symphony as it is comparatively easy of comprehension. The +title gives the clew; the occasional bird notes of quail, cuckoo and +lark, the scene at the brook, could hardly be mistaken; while the +dance-music in Part III, as well as the storm with its forebodings of +terror, convey their meaning plainly to the average intelligence. This +poem of nature is always enjoyable, refreshing the mind, and resting the +jaded faculties, much as a trip to the country helps us physically. + +The explanations as Beethoven appended them are as follows: + +No. I. Allegro: The awakening of cheerful feelings on arriving in the +country. + +No. II. Andante: Scene at the Brook. + +No. III. Allegro: Merry meeting of country folk. + +No. IV. Allegro: Thunder-storm. + +No. V. Allegretto: Song of the Shepherds, and glad and thankful feelings +after the storm. + +Many great composers before and after Beethoven have essayed this +portrayal of a storm, Haendel, Haydn (Seasons), Glueck, Mozart, Rossini +(William Tell overture), Chopin, Wagner (Flying Dutchman), are a few +instances. + +The Pastoral Symphony has been dramatized so to speak, that is, it has +been put on the stage, the different situations of this nature-poem +having been portrayed by living and moving tableaux, pantomimic action +and ballet; there was scenery, and the dance of the peasants and the +thunder-storm were, no doubt, realistic enough. This representation took +place at a festival of the _Kuenstler Liedertafel_ of Duesseldorf in 1863, +also in London. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +MEETING WITH GOETHE + + Eine schoene Menschenseele finden ist Gewinn. + --HERDER. + +Beethoven did not have the faculty of teaching except in rare instances. +It is not in the nature of things that such a man would consider +teaching in any other light than drudgery, and would feel that time so +spent could have been much better employed in composition. This was the +case already in Bonn, when he had no income and before his creative +talent had shown itself. He was only too glad to abandon it as soon as +proper encouragement for composition came to him from his publishers. +Here and there an attractive lady would be able to cajole him into +giving a few lessons on the pianoforte--the Brunswick sisters and Madame +Ertmann are instances, but they were intermittent in character, and did +not continue long. Two prominent exceptions, however, were the Archduke +Rudolph and Ferdinand Ries. True, Czerny was a pupil also, but the +lessons did not continue long, as was the case with the Archduke and +Ries. + +Beethoven's acquaintance with the Archduke began in the winter of 1804. +Rudolph, then sixteen years of age, seems to have attached himself to +Beethoven, then thirty-four, more as a friend than as a pupil. Other +masters could have been found under whom he would have advanced more +rapidly, and it is quite likely that the Imperial family would have +preferred some other than Beethoven, whose republican principles must +have made him disliked by them. + +The Archduke was passionately devoted to music and the friendly +relations between master and pupil were maintained almost to the end of +the master's life. Rudolph had to put up with Beethoven's outbreaks of +temper much the same as if he had been a civilian. He treated this young +Prince, brother of the reigning Emperor, much the same as his other +friends, and Rudolph had to adapt himself to his master's wishes. He +ordered his chamberlain to set aside the observance of the rigid +etiquette of the Court, established by his mother, Maria Louisa of +Spain, when he learned that it was one of the things which made +Beethoven lose his temper. Some of the master's best work was written +specially for Rudolph and when the latter left Vienna in 1809, Beethoven +wrote the sonata, Les Adieux L'absence, et le Retour, to commemorate the +occasion. He inscribed it as follows: "Der Abschied am vierten Mai +gewidmet und aus dem Herzen geschrieben." Rudolph had an intuitive +perception of Beethoven's greatness and was glad to be near him, not +only to learn from him, but to enjoy his friendship. He carefully +preserved Beethoven's letters and in every way showed his regard for +him. On the high level which music made for these men, artificial +distinctions were forgotten; the Prince became the disciple. He was a +fine performer, with, as may be supposed, special reference to +Beethoven's works. Beethoven was, no doubt, impressed by Rudolph's rank, +although there is very little evidence of it in the anecdotes which we +have relating to them. He met his friends on the common ground of his +art, where he found no superior. + +As before stated Beethoven did not take to teaching. It was +_Dientschaft_ to him in the full sense of the word. He does not seem to +have interested himself as much in Rudolph as in Ferdinand Ries. In the +case of the latter an artist was being prepared for a career; some of +Beethoven's own skill as performer was being perpetuated in Ries, while +with Rudolph no amount of technical knowledge would have advanced the +art much. He not only accepted no payment from Ries for the lessons +given him, but frequently sent him money unsolicited when he had reason +to suppose he needed it. In the old Bonn days, after the death of +Beethoven's mother, when the young man was in sore straits, Ferdinand's +father, who was a member of the Elector's orchestra with Beethoven, had +helped the latter in word and deed. Ferdinand then was but four years of +age. Beethoven was famous by the time Ferdinand had reached manhood; +when he presented himself to the master with a letter from his father, +he was cordially received, and was soon on the footing of an intimate +friend. Beethoven when giving him lessons was patient to a degree that +was not natural to him. "I attribute this," he states, "as well as the +long continued friendship he maintained toward me, largely on account of +the esteem and regard he felt for my father. He often made me repeat an +exercise ten times. The lessons frequently lasted two hours. He was not +generally so particular about lapses in execution, but if I was lacking +in expression, in crescendo and diminuendo, he would make me repeat the +passage until he was satisfied." Ries made good use of his +opportunities, and became a distinguished performer on the piano, +ranking in this respect as high as any man of his time. + +An offer to Beethoven of the post of Kapellmeister by the King of +Westphalia, Napoleon's brother, in 1809 brought about one of the +inevitable quarrels that marked Beethoven's association with his +intimates. Ries was the victim this time. Beethoven's dislike of +Napoleon, and the French in general, should have been sufficient to +deter him even from considering the matter. The post carried with it a +good salary however, 600 ducats (about $1,400), and the duties were +light. It meant a comfortable maintenance with plenty of time for +composing, and from this point of view, the offer had its attractions. A +certain fixed income, through which he could be independent of his +publishers, was what he chiefly desired. From every other point of view, +however, the project must have been distasteful to him. At middle-age, +the mind of such a man, occupied almost wholly with an ideal world, +shrinks from encountering new and untried scenes. Had he accepted it, he +probably never would have remained, as his love for Vienna and the old +and tried friends left behind would have acted as a magnet irresistibly +drawing him back. He seems not to have considered it seriously. As soon +as the matter became known, however, the Archduke and two other of +Beethoven's friends, the dashing young Prince Kinsky (who for bravery at +the battle of Aspern was decorated on the field with the Maria Theresa +cross by the Archduke Charles), and Beethoven's old friend Prince +Lobkowitz--got together and made up an annuity of 4,000 florins, paper +money. Of this sum the Archduke contributed 1,500 florins, Prince +Lobkowitz 700 and Prince Kinsky 1,800. Owing to the depreciation in +paper money the amount was considerably reduced shortly after, but he +continued to draw from this source about $700 per year to his death +according to Sir George Grove. + +Beethoven delayed giving a decided answer while the negotiations for the +annuity were dragging along. When it became evident that he would not +accept the position, the offer was made to Ries. Some officious person +informed Beethoven that Ries was trying to get the post away from him in +a questionable manner. This was not true, but Beethoven broke off all +relations with him and would not see him for three weeks. The anecdote +as related by Ries is as follows: "After Beethoven had declined the +position, I at once sought him to ascertain if he really did not intend +taking the post, and to get his counsel in the matter. But whenever I +called, Beethoven was not in, and my letters to him met with no +response. Three weeks elapsed when I met him accidentally on the +Redoubte; I went up to him and told him the object of my visits. +Beethoven looked me over and said cuttingly, 'So! and do you think you +could fill a post that has been offered to me?' and left me. Determined +on having an understanding with him I again sought him the following +morning. His servant in an impudent manner told me that Beethoven was +not in, although I heard him singing and humming in an inner room, as +was his habit when composing. I attempted to enter forcibly, upon which +the servant took hold of me, with the intention of putting me out. I +grappled with him and threw him to the floor. Beethoven hearing the +noise came out in a rage. I was equally angry and heaped reproaches on +his head. The master was too astonished to answer, but stood looking at +me. Finally, explanations were offered and then I first learned of +Beethoven's grievance against me. I had no difficulty in proving my +innocence in the matter, and Beethoven, to make amends, at once left his +work and went out with me to see about the position, but it had already +been given out." Ries finally went to England where he acquired fame and +fortune. He kept up a correspondence with Beethoven to the end; some of +the master's most interesting letters are those written in his later +years to his former pupil. Ries became a very prolific composer, whose +works embrace almost every class of music, among which is to be +mentioned several operas, oratorios, symphonies, much chamber-music, and +many pianoforte sonatas, none of which, however have survived to the +present day. + +The settlement of the question about his remaining in Vienna, and the +security of the future brought about by the annuity, had the effect of +increasing the productivity of the master. The sketch-books of this +period abound in studies for orchestral, chamber and vocal studies. It +was characteristic of Beethoven to show in this manner his appreciation +of the compliment tendered him. The year 1809 was not propitious to +creative work. War raged in Vienna and vicinity. The city was bombarded +by the French in May, and was occupied by them much of the summer. +Several important battles were fought nearby. Contrary to his usual +custom, Beethoven remained in the city throughout the summer. His +residence was in an exposed position on the bastion, where he remained +the larger part of the time, occasionally visiting his brother Karl, who +also remained. He was at Karl's home while the bombardment was going on, +and, during the worst of it, sought refuge in the cellar, where he even +padded his ears to escape the noise. The terrific reports on the +inflamed tissues of his ears distressed him greatly, and must have added +permanent injury to the organs already in a bad condition. + +That the achievement of the solitary worker during the summer was more +important and far-reaching in its effects than that of the belligerents, +will hardly be gainsaid. The latter wasted a lot of ammunition, +destroyed human beings and property, and made a good deal of noise for +the time being, after which things settled down to about the same +condition as before; while Beethoven added solid wealth to the world in +its most lasting form. + +There is a falling off in his compositions the following year, which is +generally attributed to the breaking of his engagement with the Countess +Therese. That he should have suffered to such an extent on this account, +is at least open to question. His art was of more importance to him than +any other fact in life. It was only by a complete surrender of +everything else that he achieved what he did in it. He had many bitter +disappointments at different periods of his life, which, however, did +not take him away from his work. At all events, he gave no sign, +contrary to his usual habit. He was reticent on the subject of his +compositions, but was not averse to talking of his troubles. A man so +entirely given over to one idea, as was Beethoven, could hardly take +such a step as marriage at the age of forty, thereby changing his whole +course of life. The passion for creating had grown to such an extent, +that he became impatient of everything which interfered with it. It is +possible that the Countess Therese, noting this, felt that there would +be little chance for happiness in such a union, and wisely broke it off. +He could not have been considered eligible in any event by a family like +the Brunswicks, noted for extravagant living and a desire to occupy a +prominent place in society. Beethoven's income was never large. It was +at times insufficient for his simple wants, owing to his ignorance of +the value of money. That he managed to fall in love with a frequency +only equalled by his impetuosity, must be admitted. But when the +question came fairly before him, marriage or music, he had but one +course. His art was a jealous mistress which would brook no rival. If he +took the breaking of his engagement so much to heart that it interfered +with his work, how was it possible, we may ask, for him to have made +violent love to Bettina Brentano during this summer of 1810? Within two +years afterward he was as badly smitten with Amalie Seebald the singer. +We can only reiterate the former statement, music was his one passion, +in this he was supreme. His art had so strong a hold on him that nothing +else could come between. These love affairs were episodes in his social +life. They were as episodical with the ladies concerned, who later, +generally married in their own station, and, let us hope were happy ever +afterward. + +The artistic temperament will account for these rhapsodies. Ill health +in this period probably had as much to do with his lessened +productivity as anything else. Schindler states that he had been on bad +terms with his stomach for many years of his Vienna life. Confirmation +of this is to be found in Beethoven's letters in which complaints about +stomach and intestinal troubles are frequently met with in these years. +These gastro-intestinal disturbances which so afflicted him had their +origin in the chronic liver trouble to which he finally succumbed. + +In the spring of 1812 he resolved by the advice of his physician to try +the baths of Bohemia, and we find him at Toeplitz, one of many +notabilities, who were spending the summer at this place. Here he made +the acquaintance of Goethe whom he held in great esteem. It was here +also that he met Amalie Seebald of whom mention has already been made. +She was a fine singer, and a beautiful, amiable woman of considerable +talent. Beethoven wrote the following in her album: + + Ludwig van Beethoven + Den Sie wenn Sie wollten + Doch nicht vergessen sollten. + + Ludwig van Beethoven + Whom if you would + Forget, you never should. + +It may be said in passing, that she was not the last to whom Beethoven +yielded his susceptible heart. It would make a long list were it +arranged chronologically, from the early Bonn days to his forty-fifth +year. + +[Illustration: Fac-simile of a letter from Beethoven to Amalie Seebald, +written by Toeplitz; during the summer of 1812. The autograph, from which +the fac-simile is obtained, is in the Lenox Library, New York, and was +photographed for this work by permission of the librarian.] + +[Transcriber's note: The letter reads thus (words that I'm not sure +of are marked with asterisks) "Es geht schon liebe A. besser wenn Sie +es anstaendig heissen, allein zu mir zu kommen, so koennen Sie mir eine +grosse Freude machen, ist [a]ber dass Sie dieses unanstaendig finden, so +wissen Sie, wie ich die Frejheit aber Menschen ehre, und *wie Sie dies +*heuer hierin und in andren Faellen handeln moegen nach ihren Grund fuer +zueinander wie Muehe, mich finden Sie *nur gut und als + +"Ihren Freund +Beethoven"] + +An incident of his visit at Toeplitz, showing Beethoven's humility and +kindliness will bear narrating, as it was characteristic of the +man. It relates to a stern parent, a lovely daughter, an ardent wooer. +The first two characters of the _dramatis personae_, were the innkeeper, +at whose house Beethoven dined, and his daughter. The part of lover was +taken by Ludwig Loewe, an actor, while Beethoven's part in the little +drama is not much more important than that of scene-shifter. Loewe was a +man in good standing, and came from a family of some prominence, but the +father objected to him and forbade the daughter speaking to him. It +appears that Beethoven was in the habit of coming late for dinner, so +the plan was hit upon that Loewe was to take dinner late also, at which +hour, the other guests having eaten and gone, and business being over +for the time, the father was not apt to be around to interfere. "All the +world loves a lover." Beethoven was an interested spectator of the +little comedy, no doubt casting occasional friendly glances in the +direction of the young couple. The father finally appeared on the scene, +ordered the actor to leave the house, and forbade him coming there any +more. At this crisis the lovers were in despair, that is for a while. +Love laughs at locksmiths, as we know, and it had not got so far as that +yet. Loewe, with the resources of a true lover, managed to meet Beethoven +accidentally away from the inn, and looked at him so intently that he +was rewarded by an answering nod of recognition from the master. The ice +being broken, the actor disclosed his troubles. Meeting with sympathy, +he was emboldened to ask him to deliver a letter to Fraeulein Therese. To +this Beethoven agreed, and, taking the letter, started to go, thus +closing the interview. But Loewe was not so easily gotten rid of. With an +embarrassed manner, he managed to convey to Beethoven the fact that +there would be an answer. "So! And you wish me to deliver it? Well, meet +me here to-morrow;" and so Beethoven became the go-between for the +lovers during the remainder of his stay in Toeplitz. + +Allusion has already been made to the acquaintance which he formed with +Goethe this summer. That Beethoven had the highest esteem for the poet, +there is no doubt. In speaking of him in after years, he said, "Who can +thank sufficiently a great poet? He is the most precious jewel of the +nation" (kostbarste Kleinod einer Nation), which is much like Carlyle's +remark on the great poet. "The appearance of such a man (Goethe) at any +given era, is in my opinion the greatest thing that can happen in it. A +man who has the soul to think and be the moral guide of his own nation +and of the whole world." Goethe and Beethoven were on friendly terms and +saw a good deal of one another during this summer. The acquaintance must +have made a powerful impression on Beethoven. Goethe, the senior by many +years, whose transcendent intellect had won him a world-wide reputation, +was no doubt the cynosure of all eyes. Toeplitz was full of notabilities. +Thayer gives a long list of prominent persons, from royalty down, who +sojourned there this summer. It must have been a very agreeable +experience to the younger genius, whose fame had not yet penetrated much +beyond Germany, this friendship. Had he possessed a tithe of the worldly +wisdom of the elder man, and had regulated his conduct in accordance +with the prejudices of the other, the friendship might have continued. +Much as he desired this, it does not seem to have occurred to him to +even try to make a good impression. Utterly lacking in self-control, he +remained the same headstrong impulsive creature, while in Goethe's +company, that he had always been. Whether or not the story is true of +his meeting the Imperial family while with Goethe and disdaining even to +answer their salutations, walking on and compelling the party to divide +so as to give him the middle of the walk, while Goethe stood aside +bowing low with uncovered head,--it is nevertheless more than probable +that Beethoven showed his scorn for conventionality in numerous ways, +thereby calling down on himself Goethe's disapproval. Born courtier that +he was, it must have been mortifying in the extreme to him to be with +Beethoven and witness his rudeness and contempt for appearances. + +So far as known, Goethe never had anything more to do with him after +this summer. On leaving Toeplitz he writes to Zelter, Director of the +Berlin Singakademie, mentioning Beethoven casually or as an +afterthought, and alludes to him as an "entirely untamed (_ungebaendigt_) +person." From this time on, he seems to have excluded him from his +thoughts. Beethoven's music was frequently performed at Goethe's house +at Weimar. We read in "Eckermann's Conversations" that on such occasions +the company would relate incidents from Beethoven's life, but Goethe +never mentioned him. + +Poet and musician were utterly dissimilar; it is not likely that either +influenced the other to any appreciable degree. "It is a great folly," +said Goethe in 1824 (Conversations with Eckermann) "to hope that other +men will harmonize with us. I have never hoped this. I have always +regarded each man as an independent individual, whom I endeavored to +study, and to understand with all his peculiarities, but from whom I +desired no further sympathy. In this way have I been enabled to converse +with every man, and thus alone is produced the knowledge of various +characters, and the dexterity necessary for the conduct of life." It was +probably in this coldly analytical frame of mind, that the great +councillor viewed the composer. But it was a momentous event to the +latter to know Goethe. He had before this set to music a number of his +ballads and had only recently composed the music to his Egmont. Many +years afterward, in 1822, in an interview with Rochlitz who made a +pilgrimage from Leipzig to make his acquaintance, he reverts to this +time. "Since the Carlsbad summer when I met Goethe, I read him every +day, that is when I do read. He has killed Klopstock for me, but Goethe +he lives and he wants us all to live. This is why it is so easy to make +music to his words." + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +OPTIMISTIC TREND + + Thus, with what has hitherto been effected, the clue to the + labyrinth of what is yet to be done is given us. + --HERDER: _Apotheosis of Humanity_. + + +Beethoven visited quite a number of places during the summer of 1812 in +quest of health. While at Carlsbad he gave a concert in aid of the +people of Baden, who had lost heavily through a disastrous fire there, +on which occasion he extemporized. It seems to have been a success +financially, but not artistically. In a letter to the Archduke he cites +it as being "a poor concert for the poor." "Es war eigentlich ein armes +Koncert fuer die Armen." This was owing to lack of time for rehearsals, +and to the fact that only one other person, Herr Polledro, a violinist +of Turin, took part in it. The concert was given within twelve hours +from its inception, because many noteworthy guests were on the point of +leaving town, and their presence was desired to insure a good +attendance. The necessity must have been great to induce him to +undertake it at all. His dislike for improvising for others was +deep-seated, and was increased by his deafness. + +In the fall we find him visiting his brother Johann at Linz, where he +made quite a long stay. It was not alone Johann whom he was visiting; he +had good friends there, among them Kapellmeister Gloeggl, whom he saw +nearly every day. At the latter's request the master composed three +equali for trombones for All Souls' Day, then near at hand. These +equali, as it turned out, were eventually used for Beethoven's funeral. +The Kapellmeister's son, then a lad of fourteen, relates an incident of +this time with Beethoven as the central figure. A resident of Linz, a +certain Herr Graf von Doenhoff, who was a great admirer of Beethoven, +gave an entertainment in his honor. After some of his music had been +rendered by others, Beethoven was asked to extemporize, which he +declined absolutely to do. Shortly after he disappeared. Supper being +ready a search for him was instituted, but he was not to be found, so +the company, after some delay, repaired to the adjoining room. They had +hardly seated themselves at the table, when they heard some one at the +piano. Gradually, one by one, they found themselves in the other room, +where Beethoven was extemporizing. This he kept up for nearly an hour, +when, suddenly coming to a realization of the circumstances, and looking +around, he saw the entire company listening in rapt attention. He at +once got up from the instrument and hastily left the room, either +through anger or embarrassment. Such was his haste that he ran against a +table containing fine porcelain bric-a-brac, which, of course, was +shattered. The Count, with easy good nature, made some reassuring +remark, upon which they all made another essay at the supper. + +His object in going to Linz was not altogether for the purpose of making +visits. A disagreeable duty had to be performed; Johann's relations +with a young woman, whom he had taken as housekeeper, had become a +scandal; the good repute of the family was at stake, and Beethoven went +there with the express design of putting an end to the matter. Johann +was not at all amenable to argument, and contested the elder brother's +right to interfere. The dispute became so bitter that a personal combat +between the brothers occurred. It finally required the combined +ecclesiastical and secular authority of Linz (bishop, magistrate and +police), to effect the expulsion of the lady from town. At this turn of +affairs, Johann, bound to have his own way, married her. + +This year saw the completion of the Seventh and Eighth Symphonies +besides other important compositions; not so bad an achievement for a +sick man, this record of two years' work. Sick or well, at home or +abroad, his work went on; it was a part of his life, as necessary, +apparently, as eating or sleeping. In size the Seventh Symphony exceeds +any of the preceding ones. "Eine meiner vorzueglichsten" (one of my +best), is Beethoven's statement in regard to it. Here the composer's +meaning is not so readily elucidated as in the Pastoral, for instance. +It means all things to all people. He usually had a clearly defined +purpose or idea before him when composing, particularly in the case of +his large orchestral works. Of the creations of such a man, it was to be +expected that they would increase in grandeur with each succeeding one. +Every great thing achieved is only an earnest of still greater in +reserve. The fertility of his mind was exhaustless. As he penetrated +deeper into this new world of the imagination, wider vistas were +constantly being opened before his mental vision. "What I have in my +heart must come out when I write," he stated to Czerny. "I never thought +of writing for fame and honor." Grandeur and simplicity are prominent +traits in Beethoven's character and these are exemplified in the Seventh +Symphony. Wagner calls it the Apotheosis of the dance. "Der in Toenen +idealisch verkoerperten Leibesbewegung," [an ideal embodiment in tones of +the movements of the human form]. This dance element is the +characteristic trait of the symphony; the dance element on a colossal +scale. Listen to Wagner's summary: "But one Hungarian peasant dance in +the final movement of his Symphony in A (the Seventh) he played for the +whole of nature; so played that who could see her dancing to it in +orbital gyrations must deem he saw a planet brought to birth before his +very eyes." In these later symphonies we see the beginnings of the +mysticism which so profoundly influenced Beethoven in his last years, +reaching its consummation in the Mass in D, the last Quartets, and the +Ninth Symphony. From this period on, the picture to be drawn of him is +of a man retiring more and more into himself as his growing experience +with the world shows him his unfitness for it. Only in his work did he +have any real reason for living. His every-day life became, for the most +part, a phantasmagoria, wherein persons and events continually changed +from grotesque to sublime, where nothing was stable or to be depended +upon. The only reality was in his art. The consciousness that he was +composing works that would go down the ages and delight many generations +to come, was probably satisfaction enough to him to compensate him for +anything he was called on to endure. With the progress of his deafness +his inability to cope with even the ordinary affairs of life increased, +and this also had the effect of withdrawing him from the world. The +spiritual insight gained by years of introspection, of communion with +the higher part of his nature enabled him to discover truths hidden to +the consciousness of the ordinary man. "That power of shaping the +incomprehensible now grows with him; the joy in exercising this power +becomes humor. All the pain of existence is wrecked upon the immense +pleasure derived from the play with it; the creator of worlds, Brahma, +laughs to himself as he perceives the illusion with reference to +himself; regained innocence plays jestingly with the thorns of expiated +guilt; the emancipated conscience banters itself with the torments it +has undergone. And all his seeing and his fashioning is steeped in that +marvellous gayety (_Heiterkeit_) which music first acquired through +him." (Wagner.) + +A peculiarity of Beethoven's work often commented on, is the extreme +simplicity of his themes as they first appear in his sketch-books. These +are usually elaborated, thus changing their character, taking on new +meaning with the growth and development of the idea in the composer's +mind; when through with it, however, the thought appears fresh and +spontaneous, such was his consummate art, as if it had never undergone +any elaboration. But sometimes the theme maintains its original +simplicity, and the masterwork appears in the orchestration which +surrounds it; at times even this maintains an archaic simplicity. Thus +in the coda of the vivace of the Seventh Symphony, a simple melody is +reiterated eleven times in succession, with no other orchestration than +the pedal-point on E by the rest of the instruments. + +The symphonies in general are the language of a buoyant, gay, blithesome +mood, as befits their design for concert use. In them, for the most +part, he addresses people in their holiday humor. His experience with +Fidelio may have impressed the fact upon his mind that sorrow and pain +should be sparingly portrayed on festive occasions. Not so with the +piano sonatas, which can be heard and studied in the privacy of one's +home. Even the quartets may be placed in the category since they do not +require an elaborate equipment and preparation for their production. + +Take him all in all optimism prevails with him, or rather, in true +philosophic spirit, he demonstrates that the sorrow, the inevitable +trouble and misery of life, is more than offset by the good things the +gods have provided. Life, after all, is a precious gift, which should be +duly appreciated. A period of enjoyment, gayety, strengthens and +fortifies the mind, and enables it better to bear the burdens when they +come. The great creative genius, must perforce, in the very nature of +things, be optimistic in his chosen work. He is more alive, more +possessed with the belief that life with its opportunities is worth +while, than is the case with the ordinary man going about his petty +concerns. In common life, the busiest man is the happiest man, that is +the most satisfied; and this contentment springs from the consciousness +of doing something worth doing, the advantage of which will remain. With +the man of genius, the feeling rises to elation, to rapture, when he +considers the transcendent, imperishable nature of his work. "Dass +Hervorbringen selbst ein Vergnuegen und sein eigner Lohn ist." + +The Eighth Symphony which was brought out at the same time as the +Seventh is the shortest by a few bars, of the nine. It was completed in +about four months from the date of its inception. Here as in the +Seventh, the dance element is in the ascendant, commanding, swaying +everything, thus coming back to first principles, almost to the origin +of the art, as an art. The dance is the primordial, autochthonic form of +music; its foundation so to speak. The song had its origin in the dance +as indicated by its name "ballad." It is a comparatively simple matter +to trace its upward course in instrumental music, as such. It is +conceivable that people from remote times on, had the faculty of +originating tunes, and of humming and singing them, and dancing to them +long before such things as scales and notation were conceived of. Song +and dance must have come into being at the same time, and the earliest +dancing was done with a singing accompaniment. As people advanced in the +art and became able to manufacture instruments with which to produce +music to dance by, it is readily apparent that those persons who did not +dance, derived pleasure from listening to it. The next step was to play +these dance tunes without dancing. This naturally led to a collection of +dance tunes. By playing three or four in succession it was soon found +that a more agreeable effect was produced by selecting those differing +in rhythm. Here we have the suite, the earliest orchestral form. After a +while it was found that a change of key heightened the effect, and, when +composing purely orchestral music not intended for actual use in +dancing, the more original of the composers at times allowed the strict +dance form to fall into abeyance in one or two movements to enable them +to try their hand in another style, and also for contrast. A broadening +and augmenting of the different forms and we have the sonata. The +symphony is an enlargement of the sonata. All our intellectual progress +is an unfolding, like a flower from the bud. We have first an +impression, then an opinion, then demonstration. + +Many years were to elapse before the next and last symphony was to +appear; years in which the ripening process was to go on, and which were +to culminate in the Mass in D, the Choral Symphony and the last +quartets,--works that are in a class by themselves in the same sense +that the works from the Third Symphony on, up to, and including the +Eighth, are in a class apart from the others. His compositions prior to +the Third Symphony are in the style of Mozart and Haydn. They are the +naive utterances of the young musician who does not yet realize that he +has a mission to perform; whose ambition was to be ranked with his great +predecessors. Of the works of the second period, it can be said that +their most prominent characteristic is gayety (_Heiterkeit_). They are +not all in this mood, and but rarely is the mood maintained throughout a +single work, but it exists to the extent that it dominates it, just as +the key-note to his later works is to be found in his mysticism. The +works of the second period are coincident with his best years physically +and when his mental powers had reached their highest maturity. When he +found out what manner of man he was and realized the place he was +destined to occupy among the great ones of earth; when he had accepted +his destiny and had made his peace with himself it is easy to understand +how a certain gayety and serenity should have spread itself over his +life and have communicated itself to his works; and though this serenity +was alternated by periods of despair, he allowed no more of this to +appear in his work than his esthetic sense approved of. Like all highly +organized people he sounded the gamut of joy and sorrow. His journal +entries tell the story. One day, exulting in life and its possibilities +he writes, "Oh, it would be glorious to live life over a thousand +times." At another time he calls upon his God in abject despair to help +him through the passing hour. At one time life is so difficult a problem +that he sees not how it can be continued at all. Then he loses himself +in his creations and soars into regions where his troubles cannot +follow. This joyousness is the portion of many extraordinary people. +Haydn and Mozart had it. "He has among other qualities that of great +joyousness," says Carlyle, in speaking of Richter. "Goethe has it to +some extent and Schiller too. It is a deep laughter, a wild laughter, +and connected with it, there is the deepest seriousness." + + + + +CHAPTER X + +AT THE ZENITH OF HIS FAME + + Fate bestoweth no gift which it taketh not back. Ask not aught of + sordid humanity; the trifle it bestoweth is a nothing. + --HAFIZ. + + +Napoleon's star, hitherto so uniformly in the ascendant, was now on the +wane. His victories at the battles of Luetzen and Bautzen in May of 1813, +could not atone for the disaster of Moscow in the previous year. The +crushing defeat encountered by the French at the battle of Vittoria by +the English under Wellington, and the battle of Leipzig in October of +the same year showed the world that here was only a man after all; a man +subject to the usual limitations and mutations of mankind. The demigod +was dethroned, the pedestal knocked from under, and all Europe rejoiced. +The nightmare of fear which had so long pervaded all classes, was after +all only a bad dream; the incubus could be shaken off, and mankind again +resume its normal mode of living. Waterloo was already foreshadowed in +the events of this year, and the people were wild with joy. + +The alliance which followed Napoleon's marriage to the Austrian +Archduchess did not have the good political results which Metternich +expected from it. The war indemnity of fifteen millions of dollars, the +cession of provinces whereby three and one half millions of people were +lost to Austria, the reduction of the army to 150,000 men, exactions +made by Napoleon at the time of the marriage, did not tend to make him +popular. The alliance existed in name, not in sentiment. He was still +regarded as the conqueror, not the ally. Austria had been lukewarm all +along, and when she changed front in 1813, and joined the coalition +against him, acting in concert with England, Russia and Prussia, the +measure had the moral support of the nation. This was three years after +his marriage to the Archduchess. + +The news of the battle of Vittoria reached Vienna on July 13. Beethoven +was importuned by a clever friend, M. Maelzel, a musician, to write a +symphony in commemoration of it, and to call it "Wellington's Victory." +Maelzel was a man of remarkable mechanical ingenuity. He had before this +won his way into Beethoven's good graces by making him an ear-trumpet, +which he used for several years. He was the inventor of the metronome +and a man of considerable intelligence. He had invented a Panharmonicon, +an automaton instrument containing most of the instruments found in full +orchestra, on the principle of the modern orchestrion. Allied to his +talents as musician and inventor were those of good business ability and +a knowledge of human nature. The Battle Symphony appears to have been +written originally for the Panharmonicon. "I witnessed," says Moscheles, +"the origin and progress of this work, and remember that not only did +Maelzel induce Beethoven to write it, but even laid before him the whole +design of it; writing the drum marches and trumpet flourishes of the +French and English armies himself, giving Beethoven hints how he should +herald the English army by the tune of 'Rule Brittania;' how he should +introduce 'Malbrook' in a dismal strain; depict the horrors of the +battle, and arrange 'God Save the King,' with effects representing the +huzzas of the multitude. Even the idea of converting the melody of 'God +Save the King' into a subject of a fugue in quick movement emanates from +Maelzel." It is hardly conceivable that Beethoven, if left to himself, +would have produced anything of this sort. But it exactly suited the +popular feeling, and was such a success that Beethoven was induced to +arrange it for full orchestra. This work is never classed among his +symphonies, although it served to make him very popular with the Vienna +public. + +The presence in their midst of the composer of the Eroica Symphony in +these stirring times, was a significant fact, which was bound to be duly +exploited by the Viennese. The Battle Symphony confirmed and emphasized +Beethoven's stand as a patriot. He was consequently greatly looked up to +by the young men of the time, in particular by the student element, +already of considerable importance in Vienna, who made an idol of him. +He was now everywhere in demand, his music of necessity being a part of +the programme of every concert or important event in the City. + +It is a national characteristic with the Germans to celebrate every +issue with music. A great occasion called for a great demonstration. +When therefore, it was proposed to give a concert in aid of the Austrian +and Bavarian soldiers disabled at the battle of Hanau, where the French +were intercepted after their retreat from Leipzig on October 30, the +matter was intrusted to Beethoven as being the man best fitted for the +work. It was stipulated that Beethoven's music was to occupy the +programme exclusively, which gave him a good opportunity to produce the +Seventh Symphony, still in manuscript. + +An aggregation of eminent musicians volunteered their services for the +occasion, sinking their differences in patriotic elation. Moscheles, +already then a great pianist, played the cymbals. Meyerbeer presided at +the big drum. Spohr took a prominent part, together with Salieri, +Romberg and Huemmel. The fact that Beethoven conducted it indicates that +his deafness could not have been so bad at this time. The concert took +place on December 8, and, as may be supposed, was a brilliant success. +It was repeated four days later. At each performance, the principal +event, was, not the Seventh Symphony, but rather the Battle-piece, +which, performed by full orchestra for the first time, won loud and +frequent applause. + +After the second performance Beethoven gave a letter to the public in +which he says, "The concert was a rare assemblage of eminent performers, +each glad to contribute by his presence and talents something towards +the benefit of the country, even to the extent of taking subordinate +places in the orchestra where required. On me devolved the conduct of +the whole, because the music was composed by me. Had it been written by +any one else, I would as cheerfully have taken my place at the big drum, +for we were all actuated by the feeling of patriotism and the desire to +benefit those who had sacrificed so much for us." + +The concert had to be repeated in January and in February following, as +patriotism was still the ruling idea with the populace. At the February +concert the Eighth Symphony was on the programme, but in each case the +_piece de resistance_ was the Battle Symphony. It was produced again in +March, when Beethoven conducted it, together with the Egmont Overture, +at the annual concert for the Theatre-Armenfonds. The symphony soon +found its way to England and enjoyed great popularity there from its +connection with Wellington. It frequently appeared on the programmes +under the name of Wellington's Victory. + +The general esteem in which Beethoven was held by the Viennese led to a +demand for another hearing of Fidelio, which had been out of sight and +mind for eight years. The libretto was again worked over (this time by +Treitschke), and submitted to Beethoven. The revised form seems to have +pleased him at once, although very important changes were made which +imposed on him a herculean task. New music had to be written for certain +portions, and the whole rearranged and adapted to the new conditions. +Everything was going Beethoven's way in these years, which may explain +his good-natured acquiescence in these demands. "Your revision suits me +so well," he wrote Treitschke, "that I have decided once more to rebuild +the desolate ruins of an ancient fortress." This time the opera was a +pronounced success, although alterations and emendations were in order +more or less during the entire season. On July 18, it was performed for +Beethoven's benefit. Moscheles made a piano arrangement of the score, +and must have considered it a great task, as he wrote at the end. + +FINIS. +WITH GOD'S HELP. + +When Beethoven saw this he wrote underneath, "Oh man, help thyself!" The +piano arrangement was dedicated to the Archduke and published in August. + +The year 1814 was a memorable one for Beethoven. Important events +crowded fast on his horizon, chief of which were those proceeding from +the meeting of the Congress of Sovereigns in Vienna in the autumn of +this year. Napoleon was in the toils; he had been forced to abdicate and +was now a prisoner on the island of Elba. When the treaty of peace was +signed at Paris on May 30, 1814, between France and the allies, it was +agreed that all the powers which had been engaged in the war on either +side, should send plenipotentiaries to Vienna in general Congress to +arrange for the conclusion of the provisions of the treaty of peace. + +The Congress met in November of the same year, and was characterized by +a degree of magnificence which renders it unique of its kind. The +Emperor and Empress of Russia, the kings of Prussia, Bavaria, Denmark +and Wuertemburg were present in person. England and France were +represented by their highest nobles. Spain, Sweden and Portugal sent +representatives. The advent of a hundred great personages in Vienna +naturally brought other distinguished visitors there and the gayeties +that supervened, now that the wars were a thing of the past, occupied +the time and attention of the visitors to such an extent that for three +months nothing of a business nature was attempted by the Congress. These +were halcyon days for Vienna. Peace was restored after twenty years of +such warfare as only a Napoleon could inflict, the nervous tension +became a thing of the past, and sovereign and noble could again take up +the chief occupation of life, enjoyment. + +The city fathers, on learning that the Congress was to be convened in +Vienna, commissioned Beethoven to write a cantata of welcome to honor +the visitors. The poem "Der glorreiche Augenblick" (The Glorious +Moment), was chosen, which Beethoven set to music. As may be supposed +the new cantata served to increase his fame, although as a work of art +it is about on a par with the Battle Symphony. + +Beethoven occupied a prominent part in the many notable gatherings which +were a feature of this winter. Associated in people's minds as a +harbinger of the new era, his popularity increased in line with the ever +brightening political horizon. The Archduke enjoyed having him at his +receptions, introducing him to the sovereigns, and made much of him +generally. It was at the Archduke's apartments that Beethoven was +introduced to the Empress of Russia, who showed him much attention, both +here and when meeting him elsewhere. He met her frequently at Count +Rasoumowsky's, who as Russian Ambassador entertained lavishly in honor +of his distinguished guests. He afterward related humorously how the +crowned heads paid court to him, referring to the urbanity and courtesy +which the Empress in particular, used toward him. Beethoven is on record +as saying that he liked being with the aristocracy. He seems to have had +no difficulty in impressing on the Empress the right concept of his +importance as man and artist. In acknowledgment of the courtesies which +he received from her, the master composed for her a Grand Polonaise (in +C, opus 89) which, in company with the pianoforte arrangement of the +Seventh Symphony he dedicated to her. + +Shortly after the assembling of the Congress Beethoven gave a concert +for his own benefit, at which the new Cantata as well as the Battle +Symphony and the Seventh Symphony were performed. The Riding Hall, an +immense structure, capable of seating six thousand persons was placed at +his disposal, for which, however, a large price, one-half the receipts, +was exacted, so Frimmel states. With sublime confidence Beethoven sent +out invitations in his own name to the visiting sovereigns and other +notabilities, all of whom responded, with the result that the hall was +crowded and the concert proved to be a great success. + +As a result of the winter's activities, Beethoven's finances were +greatly improved. He displayed a degree of business ability during this +year, which was not to have been expected from a man of his temperament. +His profits from one source or another were such that he invested money +to the extent of ten thousand florins, in shares of the Bank of Austria. +It was his first and only investment, undertaken as a provision for the +future. + +That Beethoven kept his head in the face of all this adulation is +evident from a letter written at this time to a friend at Prague in +which he says, "I write nothing about our monarchs and monarchies. The +intellectual realm is the most precious in my eyes, and far above all +temporal and spiritual kingdoms." + +It was indeed a brilliant winter, but all this joy was suddenly changed +to something akin to terror by the news of Napoleon's escape from Elba +in March of 1815, and that he was assembling his forces for another +campaign. The gayeties had to be discontinued, the members of the +Congress confined themselves to the work for which it was convened, the +result being that the treaties were signed by the eight powers on June +7, upon which the Congress disbanded. This was just eleven days before +the battle of Waterloo. + +In November of this year Beethoven's brother Karl died, leaving the +composer as an heritage his son Karl, then nine years of age. With the +clairvoyance which approaching dissolution often brings, the father saw +that the uncle would be a much better guardian for the boy, than the +mother, and consigned him to Beethoven's care almost with his last +breath. It was characteristic of such a man as was Beethoven, to accept +the charge without hesitation, from an exaggerated sense of duty; to +fight for its possession even, although it revolutionized his life and +brought him face to face with all sorts of difficult and untried +conditions. + +As might have been expected, Karl's widow, who was the daughter of a +rich citizen, contested his right to the control of the boy, and began +legal proceedings to obtain possession of him. This was the +advance-guard of a series of troubles that began to close in on him at +this period, ending only with his life. Years of litigation followed, +the issue being at times in favor of one side, then of the other, the +boy meanwhile being in charge of the successful party. The new +responsibility, assumed with scarcely a thought as to consequences, not +only interfered with the bachelor habits of a lifetime, but the mental +disturbance occasioned by the lawsuits which ensued, seriously +interrupted his work, so that for some years very little was +accomplished in the way of new compositions. "The higher a man is," +said Goethe (Conversations with Eckermann), "the more he is under the +influence of daemons, and he must take heed lest his guiding will counsel +him to a wrong path." Could he have foreseen how this adoption of the +child would interfere with his cherished work, he might have paused to +consider the matter, before binding himself irrevocably by his promise +to his brother. + +With never a fixed habitation, no sense of the value of money, giving it +away to those in need as readily as if it had no value, often enduring +privation himself in consequence; with a mode of life so simple that the +entire menage was frequently transported elsewhere on slight +provocation, this ascetic was now to encounter housekeeping problems, +make money, save it (most difficult of all), employ servants, in short +undertake in middle-age and in impaired health, duties the nature of +which he could not even form an estimate. + +The plan of adopting the boy might not have been such a visionary one, +could Beethoven have been in entire control from the start. While the +litigation went on, discipline was out of the question. There were +occasional victories for the mother, who then had the boy under her +absolute control until such time as Beethoven was able to get the +decision of the Court reversed. Even when the boy was under the uncle's +charge, the mother managed at times to gain access to him in order to +poison his mind against the uncle. Her influence whenever she was able +to exert it was naturally adverse. That there should be a stronger +affinity between mother and son, than between uncle and nephew is not +surprising. She had had entire control of him up to his tenth year. She +was lax in discipline and saw to it that the boy had a better time while +with her than he was likely to have when under his uncle's care. That +the boy began to show a preference for being with the mother can be +easily understood, and it was a bitter trial to the master. + +It was not alone mother-love which actuated Madame Beethoven in her +extraordinary efforts to gain possession of the boy; money +considerations entered into the question to some extent, as some money +had been set aside for his support by the father, which she wanted to +get hold of. The simple straightforward Beethoven was no match for the +wiles of this woman of the world, who generally managed in one way or +another to circumvent him, even to the detriment of the child. The boy +was sharp enough to take advantage of the situation, and was spoiled +long before the uncle was privileged legally to adopt him. + +During the proceedings the case was at one time in a high court on the +assumption that the "van" in Beethoven's name indicated nobility. The +widow contested this, and brought action requesting that the case be +tried in a lower court. When Beethoven was examined on this issue, he +pointed to his head and heart, saying, "my nobility is here and here." +"van" is not a sign of nobility like the German "von," and the case was +sent to the lower court. + +Beethoven formed high hopes on the lad's account, thinking that he would +become a great musician or scholar. He had no prevision that here he was +to meet with the greatest disappointment of his life. The boy was +handsome and intelligent and soon won the affection of the master, who +became much occupied with the interesting task of guiding his mental +and spiritual development. "The heart is only for rare occasions," said +Thoreau, "the intellect affords us the most unfailing satisfaction." +This rather cynical observation was abundantly confirmed in Beethoven's +case by subsequent developments. He wasted precious years on account of +his nephew, and the anxiety occasioned by his waywardness, was no doubt +one of the factors which shortened his life. + +With the advent of the nephew into his life he finally abandoned all +idea of marriage. In conversation with Giannatasio del Rio, who kept the +school at which the nephew was placed, he stated, "I will never be able +to form a closer tie than the one which now binds me to my nephew." He +took lodgings near the school and visited Giannatasio's family +frequently. The daughter, in her journal, published after her death, +makes frequent mention of Beethoven, giving interesting glimpses into +his character. She tells of his bringing violets to her on March 17, +which he found in his walks in the fields, also of his carrying with him +on his walks a pocket edition of Shakespeare. The sarcastic, satirical +mood, which frequently took possession of Beethoven is touched on in the +journal, and is illustrated in the following incident. The father on one +occasion had remarked as if in compliment to the master, "My daughter +plays your music," upon which Beethoven laughed outright. It is hardly +necessary to say that the young lady played no more of Beethoven's +music, while he was about. On one occasion, however, she was playing his +_Kennst Du das Land?_ when he came in unexpectedly. He recognized it, +and at once went to her and stood at the piano, marking time and making +suggestions in regard to the rendering of it, thus making amends for +his former rudeness. + +His interest in his nephew led him to make friendly advances to the +father as well as to the daughters, and he spent many pleasant hours +with them. On rare occasions he assumed his old air of happy boisterous +humor, when young people were about. He greatly enjoyed singing Goethe's +"Song of the Flea," calling out as the flea is killed: "Now he'll be +smashed! Now he'll be smashed!" (_jetzt wird er gegnaxt!_) making a +crash on the instrument at the word "smashed." + +He came to them once after Karl had been placed in another school and +wept as he told them that his nephew had left him and gone to his +mother. The lad was recovered by the assistance of the police, and was +then placed with this family again. He once wrote a sharp letter to the +father criticising his methods in the teaching of Karl, but, on +reconsidering the matter sent word to the daughter asking her not to +show it to her father, as it was written in a blind rage, which he now +regretted. All this shows how carefully he looked after the young man's +welfare. It was the same with his music, which was intrusted to Czerny. +The youth inherited some musical talent and under favoring conditions +might have achieved something as a musician. When the instruction began, +Beethoven was in the habit of calling at Czerny's house nearly every day +with his nephew. On these occasions the master would frequently +improvise on the piano, to Czerny's great enjoyment. Czerny, through his +devotion to Beethoven, paid particular attention to Karl, and the boy +made rapid progress. He accompanied his uncle on visits to other houses, +by the latter's desire, with the object of forming his taste and +stimulating his ambition for the art. + +From the start Beethoven planned a fine career for his nephew. "The boy +must be an artist or a savant that he may lead a noble life," he said +once. On another occasion, when the youth was about eighteen years of +age, he said, on introducing him to a visitor, "you can ask him a riddle +in Greek if you like." "My wishes and efforts have no other aim than +that the boy may receive the best possible education," he wrote when +contending in the Court of Appeals for possession of the boy, "as his +capacity warrants the indulgence of the best hopes for his future, and +that the expectation, which his father built upon my fraternal love may +be fulfilled. The shoot is still flexible; but if more time be wasted it +will grow crooked for want of the training hand of the gardener, and +good conduct, intellect, and character, may be lost forever. I know no +more sacred duty than the superintendence of the education of a child. +The duty of guardianship can only consist in this--to appreciate what is +good, and to take such measures as are conformable with the object in +view." + +The young man cared but little for this solicitude. In his uncle's home +he had to study, listen to many a lecture perhaps, and do many a thing +that he did not like to do. When with his mother it was different; +spending-money was to be had while there and in general an easy time. No +wonder that he preferred being with her. Later, when he entered the +university he absented himself as much as possible from his uncle's +house. Beethoven had centred his affections on the young man, and, when +he remained indifferent, irresponsive, it caused him the keenest +anguish. The master's letters to him from Baden are pathetic. "In what +part of me am I not injured and torn?" "My continued solitude only still +further enfeebles me, and really my weakness often amounts to a swoon. +Oh! do not further grieve me, for the man with the scythe (_Sensenman_) +will grant me no long delay." His journal entries on this account, are +the utterances of a creature at bay; of a being in the last extremity. +"O! hoere stets Unaussprechlicher, hoere mich deinen ungluecklichen +ungluecklichsten aller Sterblichen." + +It was not alone the necessity for study and other restraints, which led +the young man to absent himself as much as possible from his uncle's +house when he grew older and had more liberty of action. Comfortable +living was not one of the factors in the Beethoven menage. Beethoven's +requirements, so far as he himself was concerned, were simple almost to +asceticism. He believed in discipline in the rearing of youth, but his +belief in it did not extend to the point of inducing him to attempt it +with his servants. The explanation of this is not far to seek. He would +have had to conform to any rules made in the interest of discipline and +system in the household, which would have been out of the question for +him. He was wedded to an irregular mode of living and for the most part +desired nothing but to be left alone. It is not surprising that the +young man preferred his own quarters, to the haphazard mode of life, +which characterized the master's household. + +Character is never a finished product. Always it is in process of +formation, of development, advancing or retrograding according to +environment. Beethoven's influence, powerless during his lifetime on +the mind of Karl may have been potent after death in the upbuilding of +the young man's character. On arriving at years of discretion he changed +his course entirely and became an exemplary citizen. As the last +survivor of the Beethoven family he inherited the means of his two +uncles, and settled down in Vienna living the life of a gentleman of +leisure. He gave his attention to music to which he was passionately +devoted, as well as to the rearing of his family, and was by all +accounts a model family man. Like his illustrious uncle, he was in the +habit of improvising at the piano for hours at a time. + +To follow the fortunes of the posterity of great men is an interesting +subject. From the researches of Dr. Vansca of Vienna, published in _Die +Musik_ (Berlin, March, 1902), it transpires that Karl married on July +16, 1832, a Miss Karoline Naska. Five children were born to them, as +follows: Karoline, 1833; Marie, 1835; Ludwig, 1839 (named after his +famous grand-uncle); Gabrielle, 1844, and Hermine, 1852. Ludwig, the +only son, his military service over, married in 1865 Marie Nitche. To +them a son was born on May 8, 1870, at Munich, and baptized Karl. Father +and son, that is Ludwig and Karl 2d, were last heard from in 1889 in +London, when the father applied for a passport to travel in various +European countries. Ludwig's mother died in Vienna in 1891, at which +time it was announced that the whereabouts of Ludwig and the son Karl +were unknown. Efforts were then made to get news of the young Karl, who, +if living, would have been a youth of twenty, but without avail, and the +family are of the opinion that he died during his childhood. As far as +can be ascertained at this writing the family of Beethoven on the male +side is extinct. + +Of the daughters of the master's nephew, Karoline and Marie married +brothers, namely: Franz and Paul Weidinger. Gabrielle married a bank +cashier named Robert Heimler. The youngest, Hermine, remained single. +She graduated in 1889 from the conservatory at Vienna in piano and +harmonium. Of the married daughters, only one, Marie, had children; a +son and daughter. The only descendants of the Beethovens known to be +living in 1891, are Karoline Weidinger, a widow, Gabrielle Heimler, and +the son and daughter of Marie Weidinger. All these persons were at last +accounts living in Vienna. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +METHODS OF COMPOSITION + + A good painter should paint two things; man, and the thoughts of + man's soul. + --LEONARDO DA VINCI. + + +Beethoven usually had a definite idea before him when composing. The +work progressed rapidly under such conditions. Often, however, on +further consideration, a better idea would present itself in certain +places on reading the work over, and these portions would have to be +rewritten. He stated in this connection that he always had a picture in +his mind when composing, which he aimed to reproduce in his work. "Ich +habe immer ein Gemaelde in meinen Gedanken wenn ich am componiren bin, +und arbeite nach demselben" (Thayer). Sometimes this picture was shadowy +and elusive, as his gropings in the sketch-books show. He would then +apply himself to the task of fixing the idea, writing and rewriting, +until it stood out clearly in accordance with the concept already formed +in his mind. + +This picture, or idea, or representation, which exists in the brain of +the artist, and to which he seeks to give expression in a tangible form +so as to communicate it to others, is a miracle which is constantly +going on in his inner consciousness. He can at will call up impressions, +which immediately become objectified on the canvas of his mind, in the +form of pictures. This mental process is the same in every form of +creative work whether it be painting, sculpture, or any of the arts. The +architect, before putting pencil to paper, will have the splendid +cathedral before him as in a vision; the sculptor, the ideal form and +facial expression. The mind of the artist is a vast canvas on which +pictures appear, remaining a longer or shorter period at his will, and, +when no longer required, giving place to others. The idea once recorded +seems never to appear again. Nature is never so prodigal as with the man +of genius. Of all her children he is the favorite; these pictures are +given him in superfluity, out of all proportion to his ability to use +them. The harder he works in the effort to catch up with his material, +the more plentiful it becomes. + +Mr. Chamberlain, in his Life of Wagner, calls attention to the curious +fact that Wagner produced his operas in pairs for the most part, up to +his fortieth year. This was true of Beethoven with his symphonies, to a +great extent. He became so fired with enthusiasm while on a great work, +his thoughts became so prolific, that another work must, perforce, come +into being to utilize the surplus material. + +This prodigality with which the artist is supplied, explains his +absorption in his work. Once fairly started on a great work, this type +of man carries it through with the force of a torrent. Nothing but +physical exhaustion can stop him. Wagner, after completing a great work, +usually had to drop all composing or writing for some months in order to +recuperate. No slave-driver with a lash ever drove his victim so +mercilessly as Wagner did himself when in the stress of composition. +Being married he had some one to look after him, and this had an +important bearing on the preservation of his health. Beethoven, with the +strenuousness that came from his Rhenish ancestry, was more intractable, +impatient of interference. His domestics were often afraid to go near +him when engaged in composition. Usually when in deep thought he was +oblivious of the outer world. He once agreed to sit for an artist, and +maintained his pose for five minutes; then he forgot all about it and +went to the piano, where he began improvising. This just suited the +artist, who got a good position and worked along until he was tired, +finally leaving the room without the master's knowledge. + +The Swedish poet, Atterbohm, and Dr. Jeitteles, distinguished literary +men of the period, called at Beethoven's house one hot afternoon. Their +knocking met with no response, although they knew the master was in, as +they heard him singing and occasionally striking a chord on the piano. +Finding the door unlocked, they entered and went in search of him, +finally discovering him in an inner room. He was in extreme dishabille, +busily noting down his thoughts on the plastered wall. He had probably +intended changing his clothes, and, while disrobing, these thoughts came +crowding in on him to the exclusion of everything else. Beethoven, +facing the wall with his back to the visitors, was unaware of their +proximity, and they left without being discovered by him, as they did +not wish to interfere with his work. This was probably in the year 1826, +as Beethoven remained in Vienna all that summer, actively engaged on the +great C sharp minor quartet. It may have been a part of this work which +was thus produced. + +Friederich Stark relates an incident that illustrates his abstraction. +He called on Beethoven early one morning, and, being a friend, was given +the privilege of looking him up. He went from room to room, and finally +found him in his bedroom. He was just beginning to dress, his face +thickly lathered with soap that had been put on the previous evening and +had dried there; he had prepared to shave, but in the process had +forgotten to go on with it. + +His sketch-books are interesting as showing his frame of mind and +temperament, while at work. In his abstraction he occasionally scribbled +beautiful thoughts on the margin of his manuscripts. Thus, in the +sketch-books of the Pastoral Symphony, we find this record of his joy in +nature, showing how thoroughly his mind was imbued with his subject. + +"Almaechtiger, im Walde ich bin selig, gluecklig im Wald. Jeder Baum +spricht durch dich!" + +"O Gott! Welche Herrlichkeit in einer solchen Waldgegend." + +In summer he usually resorted to one of the beautiful villages in the +environs of Vienna, since absorbed by the city. Thus he repaired to +Heiligenstadt to write his first mass. "Oh, the charm of the woods, who +can express it!" he writes, and in many of his letters from the country, +he expresses his joy at being there. "No man on earth can love the +country as I do. Thickets, trees and rocks supply the echo man longs +for." His best ideas came to him while walking through the fields and +woods. At such times his mind became serene and he would attain that +degree of abstraction from the world which enabled him to develop his +musical ideas. He always carried note-books and would jot down a thought +as it came to him. When he got home he would elaborate it and work it +into shape. He would walk for hours in all sorts of weather. Like +Thoreau, he generally preferred to be alone in his walks, the presence +of a companion preventing him from working out his thoughts. + +Very properly, he occupied himself but little with the music of other +composers. To a man of his individuality, inspiration from the outer +world was not to be had or desired. His own inner wealth was sufficient. +Curiously, he set a high value on Cherubini during the period of writing +Fidelio and the Third Symphony. His own creations however, were of +paramount interest to him. He was a slow worker, continually polishing +and improving his work up to the moment that it reached the engraver's +hands. + +"The Andante" said Wagner "is the typical German style." It was not +Beethoven's best style. Essentially a man of extremes, he delighted in +swinging the pendulum to its furthest limit either way. He early in life +acquired the irrepressible joyousness in his compositions, which was +Haydn's distinguishing trait. It is the key-note to much of Beethoven's +work up to the time of composing the Grand Mass. It figures to some +extent in his subsequent work. It is a feature which Wagner never tires +of exploiting in Beethoven's work. Whenever he mentions Beethoven's name +the word _Heiterkeit_ (joyousness) is sure to follow. The two are almost +synonymous with him. Where Beethoven is unapproachable, however, is in +his slow movements, the Adagios, solemn and portentous, in which all of +world-sorrow finds expression. It is in these scenes of terror that his +powers stand out with supernatural clearness. + +His infinitude impresses one. It is as if he had penetrated other +spheres and could speak in new tongues. He delighted in startling +contrasts. The Kyrie of the Mass in D has always presented itself to my +consciousness as a series of gigantic tone-pictures, in which the +omnipotence of God, and the impotence of humanity is brought into +juxtaposition. The Coriolanus overture is another instance among the +many at hand illustrating this point. Here we see how the forceful, +aggressive, bold, masterful genius, is subdued by the power of conjugal +and filial love, a power in this case as irresistible as that of a +glacier, which will make its way against any odds. Each side in striving +for the mastery, displays its own peculiar characteristics and mode. It +is the everlasting struggle between the evil principle and that which is +good. He ranges titanic forces in opposition and lets us see the battle. +By the magic of his art we are enabled to see these pictures as on a +canvas. + +It is frequently stated that Beethoven's music shows a deficiency in +counterpoint. His originality, the wealth of his ideas, his versatility, +will explain this. The fugue, while it is ingenious and interesting, is +artificial and, indeed often arbitrary in musical composition, sometimes +introduced merely to stop gaps or for brilliancy of effect. It is not +surprising that Beethoven should have neglected it to some extent, +although he has used it with excellent effect in some of the sonatas and +in his two masses. His fertility of imagination was great and it was +hard for him to tie himself down to the formal style in composition, +after his powers had reached maturity. The fugue, in one form or +another, seems to be almost indispensable in musical composition, but it +is always characterized by learning instead of inspiration. It is +something which has to be worked out like a problem in mathematics. +Beethoven's thought in music is marked by something higher than the +disposition to divert one's attention to his talent or skill. A definite +meaning is there; he has something to reveal. + +At the beginning of his career as composer, Beethoven was not above +taking advice on the subject of his compositions. He frequently +discussed them with Prince Lichnowsky, and adopted his suggestions when +it came to alterations. As he advanced in knowledge of his art, however, +he became reticent on the subject and would discuss them with no one. He +acted on Goethe's idea that "the greatest art after all is to limit and +isolate oneself." He did not like praise or applause. Knowing +intuitively that the character is endangered thereby, he sought by every +means to ward it off. His improvising was such that often on leaving the +instrument he would find his hearers in tears. This would embarrass him, +and he would affect anger, or would laugh at them. This does not imply +that he did not care for appreciation, which is quite a different +matter. + +He was perfectly willing to listen to censure or adverse criticism. +Trifles might anger him, but this never did, and, be it said, it never +influenced him either. True artist that he was, he seldom wrote down to +his public. Like Wagner, he knew what was best in art, and if the public +did not, he gave the matter small concern. Not for one generation are +great masterpieces born. The artist lives in the future; he is always +in advance of his time. + +Beethoven's character was a prism of many facets. Wagner views him +always as the mystic, the seer, at odds with the world. Side by side +with this characterization he constantly dwells, as just noted, on +Beethoven's uncontrollable tendency to humor, gayety (_Heiterkeit_) +which shows itself not only in his life, but still more in his works. +This may have been a device deliberately assumed to enable him to escape +mental suffering. At all events it was a prominent trait of his +character, but does not seem to have added to his enjoyment of life. No +circumstance, however painful, but that he is able to extract some jest +or pleasantry from it. The paradox is before us of a man world-weary at +the core, outwardly serene, gay. In the same ratio in which those things +which serve to make life enjoyable to the average man were diminished or +withdrawn, does his tendency to incessant humor increase. + +The consciousness of being able to achieve great things, and the joy in +accomplishing them, is what gives the artist the exultant mood, the +feeling of gayety. To be sensible of such an heritage, to participate in +this God-given wealth, to run riot in it, to know that the more of it +that is used the more will be given, to be favored of the gods in a way +that the possessor of untold wealth cannot aspire to--this is what gives +the serene and joyous mood, which characterizes the man of genius for +the most part. When he comes out of this ideal world into the +commonplace every-day life, and realizes his unfitness for it, the other +side of the picture is presented to his consciousness, and then is +exhibited that strange melancholy, _Weltschmerz_, which constantly +comes to the fore in the journals and letters of men like Wagner, or +Beethoven, or Liszt. + +The Sunday morning concerts, instituted by Czerny in the winter of 1816, +call for more than passing notice. A select company of professional +musicians and amateurs had banded themselves into an organization for +the purpose of performing and studying the best class of chamber-music +with special reference to Beethoven's compositions. Czerny was the +originator and moving spirit, as stated, and the performances were held +at his house. Beethoven attended them frequently. Czerny, whose +admiration for the master was unbounded, was brought into more intimate +relations with him through these concerts, as Beethoven was consulted in +regard to the programmes and occasionally rehearsed some of his new +compositions with him. Though a brilliant performer, Czerny did not like +public life or society, and retired from the concert stage at a time +when his powers were at their best, in order to give all his time to +composition. His ability in improvising was a marvel even for those +times. He was Beethoven's successor in Prince Lichnowsky's circle, +frequently playing at concerts at his house. He is credited with being +able to play from memory all of Beethoven's works. Like Schubert, his +one pleasure was to be with a few chosen spirits, and talk on the +subject of his art. + +In these assemblages rank was ignored. Art was a leveller, or, rather, +the devotees of the art were raised to a common plane, where social +distinctions were for the time being obliterated. No special invitations +were required. Any one interested in the art was made welcome, and found +there a congenial atmosphere. Czerny, modest and retiring, had no +thought of making social capital out of these concerts. No one not +wholly devoted to the art was wanted, no matter what his social position +was, and want of social position was no bar when the artistic +qualifications were present. It was a band of chosen spirits, and the +attrition engendered by these meetings must have been advantageous to +each. They were true Concerts Spirituels, an audience of artists from +which the performers were drawn. + +Second only to Czerny as a pianist among this company was Beethoven's +friend and pupil, the Baroness Ertmann, who frequently took part in +these concerts. Madame Ertmann's virtuosity has already been commented +on in these pages. She won new laurels at the Czerny concerts through +her admirable interpretation of Beethoven's music. + +During this winter of 1816 the master composed the fine sonata in A, +opus 101, for her. It commemorates the spiritual kinship existing +between these two gifted persons. "My dear, valued Dorothea Caecilia," he +writes in his letter of dedication, "receive now what has long been +intended for you, and may it serve as a proof of my appreciation of your +artistic talents and of yourself; I regret not having heard you recently +at Cz--(Czerny's). My absence was owing to illness, which at last +appears to be giving way to returning health." Some years previously, +when the Baroness had lost a son by death during her husband's absence +on his military duties, Beethoven asked the stricken woman to call, and +comforted her, not with words, but in the language which both best +understood. "'We will talk in music,' said Beethoven, who remained at +the piano over an hour in which he said everything and even gave me +consolation." The incident is obtained from one of Mendelssohn's +letters. + +Among the important works produced in this period may be mentioned the +Sonata, opus 90, "A struggle between the head and the heart." It is +dedicated to Count M. Lichnowsky on the occasion of his marriage to a +singer. There was also the chorus set to Goethe's words, "A Calm Sea and +Prosperous Voyage." This was written in 1815 and seven years later +dedicated to Goethe. The two sonatas, opus 102, for piano and cello, one +of which is called the Free Sonata, are interesting, as in them is +foreshadowed the trend of Beethoven's mind toward religious music, which +controlled him almost entirely from this time on. + +The idea of writing another oratorio seems now to have taken possession +of his mind. A preference for this mode appears in his journals and +letters and was probably the subject of conversation on his part. At all +events, the newly established Society of Friends of Music of Vienna +(which Beethoven, with his usual aptitude for punning, used to refer to +as the society of _Musikfeinde_, enemies of music) made him a +proposition to write an oratorio for them, which he accepted. No +stipulations were made as to subject or treatment, and the society +agreed to pay the handsome sum of three hundred gold ducats, merely for +the use of the work for one year. So far as known, this work was never +begun. The Archduke soon after obtained his appointment as +Cardinal-Archbishop, and the work on the mass for the Installation +occupied Beethoven to the exclusion of other works. + +The loss by death of three of Beethoven's old friends must have been +greatly felt by him in these years. Prince Lichnowsky, who died in +1814, was the first, and was followed two years later by Prince +Lobkowitz. Hardest of all, however, for the master was the loss of his +friend, Wenzel Krumpholz, who died in 1817. His relations with the +latter were more intimate than with the noblemen, and had continued +without a break almost from the time of his advent in Vienna. Czerny, in +his autobiography, gives an interesting picture of the devotion of +Krumpholz, who attached himself to Beethoven much the same as did +Boswell to Dr. Johnson. He was somewhat older than Beethoven, and his +position as first violinist at the Court Theatre enabled him to be of +much practical service to Beethoven, as he was widely known among the +professional musicians, as well as the rich amateurs. He sounded +Beethoven's praises far and wide: he encouraged him to begin +composition, making propaganda for him among the wealthy dilettante, and +spent a good portion of each day in his company. Beethoven, who at a +later period said of himself that he was too strong for friendship, did +not take kindly to this intimacy at first, but Krumpholz's persistency +was not to be gainsaid. He gave him lessons on the violin, and +identified himself in many ways with Beethoven's advancement. Beethoven +finally became so accustomed to him, that the presence of the other did +not disturb him, and he would improvise before him as if he were alone. +Krumpholz though devoid of genius himself, intuitively recognized its +presence in Beethoven, and led the younger man to discuss his musical +plans and ideas with him. The compositions as they took form in the +young man's mind, were played to Krumpholz, who advised and encouraged +him. The extravagant admiration of the latter sometimes acted on +Beethoven's sense of humor to such an extent that he would make fun of +him, and call him his fool, but this did not deter Krumpholz, who seemed +to think he had a divinely appointed task set him, in aiding the +development of this young genius, and was willing to put up with some +vagaries from him. + +In truth, Beethoven needed a champion, for, from the first, a certain +originality, a strenuousness, showed itself in his work, which put the +art on a new and different footing. That the young man was reaching out +for higher things his public may have been aware of, but only a few, +here and there, kindred spirits, cared for this. The average person was +unable to recognize any higher function in music than that of simple +enjoyment; anything aside from this was irrelevant, and could but lead +to deterioration. Although at the beginning of his career as composer, +he made Mozart and Haydn his models, this originality showed itself, and +when it was continued in subsequent works, it awoke the strongest +opposition in certain quarters. The strong partisanship which Krumpholz +brought to bear on the situation, was invaluable to the young man, whose +views needed confirmation and indorsement. Krumpholz seems to have had +an affinity for discovering talent in others. He brought Czerny, at the +age of ten years, to Beethoven, who immediately recognized his genius, +and offered to give him lessons. That Beethoven deeply felt the loss of +his old friend and teacher is evidenced by his writing music to the Song +of the monks, + + Rasch tritt der Tod den Menschen an, + +from Schiller's Wilhelm Tell, in commemoration of him. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +SENSE OF HUMOR + + In tristitia hilaris, in hilaritate tristis. + --MOTTO OF GIORDANO BRUNO. + + +Beethoven did not have much in the way of enjoyment, as the word is +generally understood, to compensate him for the pain of existence. The +resources vouchsafed others in this respect, family affection, love, +friendship, generally failed him when put to the test. Out of harmony +with the general order of things in the material world, the point in +which he could best come to an understanding with his fellow-creatures +was by the exercise of his sense of humor. The circumstances of his life +tended to make a pessimist of him. He did not understand the world and +was misunderstood in return. To counteract the tendency toward +pessimism, his resource was to develop his sense of humor, to create an +atmosphere of gayety, by which he was enabled to meet people on a common +plane. But not only in the ordinary affairs of life does it stand him in +good stead, this sense of humor. It comes out finely in his creative +work in the sonatas and the Scherzo movements of his symphonies. He +originated, invented the Scherzo, developing it from the simple minuet +of the earlier composers. The primary object of the Scherzo was +recreation pure and simple. It was introduced with the object of resting +the mind. + +The evolution of humor in music is an interesting subject of study. It +is something foreign to it, an exotic, of slow growth, gaining but +little in the hands of the earlier composers from Bach on. Even with +Haydn it never advanced much beyond geniality. They had essayed it +chiefly in the minuet, but succeeded only in producing something +stately, in which the element of fun or humor, to modern ways of +thinking is hardly appreciable. It found a sudden and wonderful +expansion, an efflorescence in Beethoven, with whom every phase of the +art was developed to colossal proportions. He has made of the Scherzo a +movement of such importance that it lends a distinctive character to his +symphonies. In this form he is unapproachable. In the whole range of +music there is nothing like it elsewhere. It is peculiar to Beethoven, +and is another example of the many-sidedness of the great composer. +"Happiness is a new idea in Europe," said St. Just, speaking of the +period immediately following the French Revolution. Whether or not +Beethoven ever met with this remark, its significance at least was taken +to heart. The word Scherz--joke, sport, is sufficiently obvious. He goes +much farther at times than simply to play pranks, however. A wide range +of expression is possible in the Scherzo when manipulated by a +master-mind like that of Beethoven. The satirical, sarcastic humor which +escaped him in social intercourse at times, is vented on a colossal +scale in the Scherzo, in which he often makes sport of humanity itself, +making it the subject of his jest, his ridicule--its foibles being +shown up, its follies exposed. When projected in this mood, the movement +calls for intellectual co-operation, and is of equal importance with the +others. + +Humor has been defined as the outcome of simplicity and philosophy in +the character. It can exist independently of genius we know, but genius +is never without humor. In other words, wherever there is a work of +genius, it transpires that the author has a fund of humor with which he +occasionally enriches his work. The profoundest philosophical treatises +have it. It is a part of the stock in trade of every great novelist; +Fielding, Thackeray, George Eliot, Walter Scott. It frequently comes to +the surface in Schopenhauer pessimist though he be; it pervades +Shakespeare. Few men regarded life with greater seriousness than +Thoreau, but humor sparkles all over his works. It is only where this is +in excess that it detracts from the value of the work. Not important in +itself when separated from the deeper work which it accompanies, it is +yet, all in all, one of the infallible tests, though a minor one, of the +work of any man of genius. A sense of humor exists in the man even +though he keep it out of his work, if he is good for anything. + +Beethoven's humor was titanic, heroic, on a grand scale, always with +what might be called a certain seriousness about it like that of a lion +at play. Mozart gives many instances of humor in his compositions, but +with a great difference in the character. His disposition was all +gentleness and sweetness, and his humor is characterized by these +attributes. It is on a small scale, and though enjoyable, has nothing +commanding about it. The musician, more than any artist, reflects his +character and trend of life in his work. + +This sense of humor, inherent in the mental equipment of Beethoven, +enabled him to enjoy a joke as well as give it, to perceive a ridiculous +situation and extract due amusement from it, to appropriate it wherever +he found it. But singularly enough, when the point of a joke was turned +against himself, his sense of humor failed him utterly. He would often +become angry in such cases and the perpetrator would come in for a round +of abuse which made him chary of attempting it again. + +Very bad music of which there was a sufficiency already in those times, +gave him great amusement, which he manifested by roars of laughter, we +are informed by Seyfried, who saw more or less of him during a period +covering a quarter of a century. "All his friends," says Seyfried, +"recognized that in the art of laughter, Beethoven was a virtuoso of the +first rank." He often laughed aloud when nothing had occurred to excite +laughter, and would in such case ascribe his own thoughts and fancies as +the cause. Naive and simple as a child himself, he could only see the +naivete in the worthless compositions above referred to, and could not +understand the small ambition back of the pitiful effort. He often +unintentionally afforded equally great amusement to others by his own +naivete. Thus he once told Stein, of the noted family of pianoforte +makers that some of the strings in his Broadwood were out of order or +lacking, and to illustrate it, caught up a bootjack and struck the keys +with it. Ries states that Beethoven several times in his awkwardness +emptied the contents of the ink-stand into the piano. On this same piano +the master was often begged to improvise. The instrument was a present +from the manufacturers, and when made, was probably the best example of +its kind extant. It later came into the possession of Liszt. + +Beethoven's love of a joke was such that it appears in the title to one +of his works, the opus 129. It is a rondo a capriccio for piano, with +the title, Die Wuth ueber den verlorenen Groschen (fury over a lost +penny), of which Schumann says "it would be difficult to find anything +merrier than this whim. It is the most harmless amiable anger." + +Beethoven was ready in repartee, and full of resources, with a wit that +was spontaneous and equal to any emergency. One New-year's day, as he +and Schindler were sitting down to dinner, a card was brought in + + JOHANN VAN BEETHOVEN + _Gutsbesitzer_ (Landed proprietor). + +Beethoven took the card and wrote on the back of it-- + + L. VAN BEETHOVEN + _Hirnbesitzer_ (Brain proprietor). + +and sent it back to Johann. Cold-blooded, selfish, always ready to +profit by his talented brother, and never caring how he compromised him, +it was not to be expected that Johann would have the master's approval, +or that there could be any accord between them. In any encounter, the +composer generally managed to be master of the situation, through the +exercise of his wit, something which the duller Johann could neither +appreciate nor imitate. It may be said in passing, that the master +supplied the funds which enabled Johann to start in business. This was +in 1809. He made money rapidly in army contracts, a business for which +he was well qualified, and finally bought an estate and set up for a +landed proprietor. + +Beethoven's waggishness was frequently vented on a young friend, +Zmeskall, who was court secretary. Zmeskall undertook the task of +keeping the master supplied with pens, which he cut from goose-quills. +Beethoven used up large quantities of them and was incessant in his +demands on him. A certain drollery characterizes all his letters to him. +He knew how to hit the vulnerable points in the other, and they were +often made the subject of attack. Zmeskall being a member of the +nobility, is often addressed by him, "Most high-born of men." He was +useful to Beethoven not alone on the subject of pens, but was appealed +to by him for advice and assistance on all sorts of matters. Zmeskall, +though a bachelor, lived in fine state, and maintained several servants. +He was thus in a position to procure the right sort of one for +Beethoven. Many of the letters are either on this theme or in regard to +securing him another lodging. Zmeskall is his resource in many of the +small matters of every-day life, perplexing to him, but simple enough to +the practical man. The master's helplessness is shown with pathos and +unconscious humor in the following note: + + LIEBER ZMESKALL,-- + + Schicken sie mir doch ihrem spiegel, der naechts ihrem fenster haengt + auf ein paar stunden der meinige ist gebrochen, haben sie zugleich + die Guete haben wolten mir noch heute einen solchen zu kaufen so + erzeigten sie mir einen grossen Gefallen. Ihre Auslage sollen sie + sogleich zuruek erhalten. Verzeien sie lieber Z meiner + zudringlichkeit. Ich hoffe sie bald zu sehen. + + Ihr, + BTHVN. + + DEAR ZMESKALL,-- + + Won't you kindly send me the mirror that hangs next to your window + for a few hours. Mine is broken. If you will at the same time have + the goodness to buy me such another you will do me a great favor. + Your outlay will be immediately returned to you. + + Pardon dear Z my importunity. I hope soon to see you. + + Your, + BTHVN. + +Beethoven's lapses from grammar (untranslatable into English), indicate +his impatience at the trivial wants and necessities which interrupt his +creative work and take his thoughts from his compositions. Instances of +bad grammar in his letters are frequent, when dealing with ordinary +topics. In no sense a polished man, he could, however, when the occasion +required it, assume in his grammar and diction the grace and elegance of +the scholar, but it does not often come to the front. He was too rugged, +too headstrong, to pay much attention to the little niceties of life. + +In common with his contemporaries, Zmeskall found his principal +enjoyment in music. He gave musical parties at his quarters, playing the +cello himself, and gathered about him many of the most distinguished +artists and amateurs of the day. Beethoven was always interested in +feats of virtuosity, but he cared little for the compositions of +others. He occupied himself with his own work to the exclusion of that +of his contemporaries. His musical library was scant, consisting of a +small collection of the works of the early Italian masters, bound in one +volume, some of Mozart's sonatas--which must have seemed to him +curiously stunted and commonplace in comparison with his own--and a +portion of Don Giovanni. In addition, he possessed all of Clementi's +sonatas, which he greatly admired and which formed the basis of the +musical studies of his nephew for several years. Lastly there were a few +works of Bach, consisting of the Well-tempered Clavichord, some motets, +three volumes of exercises, some inventions, symphonies and a toccato. + +In speaking of Weber he said that he began to learn too late, and makes +the curious criticism that Weber's only apparent effort was to attain +the reputation of geniality. In reading Freischutz, he said he could +hardly help smiling at certain parts, but afterward qualified this by +saying that he could judge it better if he could hear it. Schindler +says, that when Rossini came to Vienna in 1822, and endeavored to call +on Beethoven, the master succeeded in escaping his visits. His opinion +of Haendel is high. He once remarked to a friend who called on him, +"Haendel is the greatest composer that ever lived." Continuing the +narrative this friend, J.A. Stumpf of London, says, "I cannot describe +the pathos and sublimity with which he spoke of the Messiah of that +immortal genius. We all felt moved when he said, 'Ich wuerde mein Haupt +entbloessen und auf seinem Grabe niederknieen.' (I would kneel at his +grave with uncovered head.)" + +Of Mozart, he said, near the end of his life, in a letter to the Abbe +Stadler, "All my life I have been esteemed one of the greatest admirers +of Mozart's genius and will remain so until my latest breath." Czerny +said that he was at times inexhaustible in praise of Mozart, although he +cared nothing for his piano works and he makes a severe criticism on Don +Giovanni. "In this opera Mozart still retained the complete Italian cut +and style. Moreover, the sacred art should never be degraded to the +foolery of so scandalous a subject. The Zauberfloete will ever remain his +greatest work, for in this he showed himself the true German composer." +Of Cherubini's Requiem he said, "as regards his conception of it, my +ideas are in perfect accord with his and sometime I mean to compose a +Requiem in that style." (Later in life his opinion of Cherubini was +greatly modified). He seldom spoke of Haydn, and had nothing of that +master's compositions in his library. + +Beethoven's collections in literature were far more extensive and +interesting than in music. He was essentially a student. His +predilections and thoughts all tended toward the acquisition of +knowledge. This was a veritable passion with him. His mind ranged +through almost every department of literature. In the intervals of his +work, worn by fatigue, he was in the habit of resting his mind by +reading the classics, or Persian literature. Schindler, who was near him +for the last ten years of his life says in relation to Beethoven's love +of the Greek classics. "He could recite long passages from them. If any +one asked him where this or that quotation was to be found he could find +it as readily as a motive from his own works." Elsewhere he says, +"Plato's Republic was transfused into his very flesh and blood." He was +an insatiable reader of history. As may be supposed Shakespeare was an +especial favorite with him. There is a curious little work published +called Beethoven's Brevier, made up of those portions of Shakespeare and +the classics for which he had a particular regard. Here, Shakespeare is +first on the list. There are also many selections from the Greek, and +from Schiller, Goethe, Herder and others. + +Although a man of considerable culture, he was not an educated man, all +his available time and strength having been required for his musical +training. He was, however, the equal or superior in mental attainments +of any of the great musicians, with the exception of Wagner. He had the +strongest faith in his own powers. It was his belief that almost +anything could be accomplished by trying. Side by side with this belief +was the ineradicable conviction that intellectual culture was of more +importance than anything else in the universe. He stated his views +finely on this subject in a letter to a young girl, unknown to him, who +had sent him a present with a letter expressing her appreciation of his +music. "Do more than simply practice the art (of music), penetrate +rather, into the heart and soul of it. It will be found well worth +while, for art and knowledge alone have the power to elevate mankind up +to Deity itself. Should you want anything of me at any time, write me +with entire confidence. The true artist is never arrogant; rather he +sees with regret how illimitable all art is, and how far from the goal +he remains. While he may be admired, he only grieves that he cannot +reach the point toward which his better genius beckons him." + +We read of his ordering complete sets of Schiller and Goethe in the +summer of 1809. The study of these authors carried on under most +unfavorable conditions, bore good fruit subsequently, as some good work +was inspired by them. The Egmont music, which appeared the following +year, the Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, Bundeslied, the different +settings of Erlkoenig, the four settings of Sehnsucht are instances, +although this does not by any means complete the list of his settings +from the works of the authors just named. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +MISSA SOLEMNIS + + Christianity is the doctrine of the deep guilt of the human race + through its existence alone, and the longing of the heart for + deliverance from it. + --SCHOPENHAUER. + + +To Christianity and the spirit of religion in man we are indebted for +some of the finest arts which adorn our civilization. It was the +religious principle which brought into being the temples and statuary of +ancient Greece, as well as the splendid examples of Gothic architecture, +which have come down to us from the middle ages. It is this which has +given us those masterpieces in painting and sculpture, which have so +enriched the world; but above all it has given us music, highest of all +the arts. Here its influence has been most potent. Originating outside +the church, it found its best development within it. Religious fervor +had inspired some imperishable works of genius at a period when nothing +much had yet been done in secular music. The Masses of Palestrina, the +entire life-work of Sebastian Bach, the oratorios of Haendel, are cases +in point. The old masters with hardly an exception gave their best +thought to sacred music. Bach has been mentioned. Haydn's important work +comes under this classification. Of the works of Haendel, only those of +a religious nature have survived to the present day, although he +composed many operas. + +The Masses and Passion-music of the old composers were often written +without hope of reward, entirely from love of the subject; they were +impelled to it, either through religious ardor, or from the force of +their artistic perceptions. The stateliness and solemnity of the Mass, +the tragic possibilities of the Passion, appealed to them, and satisfied +the tendency toward mysticism, which is so often a part of the artistic +nature. + +As an art, music finds its best development when of a religious +character. While operatic and even orchestral music in general, is +written more for the sake of giving pleasure than with any clearly +defined ethical purpose, the music of the Mass and Passion, religious +ceremonies, entering into man's profoundest experiences, is given for +spiritual enlightenment, and, being a part of the soul's needs, demands +and receives higher treatment and more serious consideration than +secular music. The very frame of mind which takes possession of a person +while listening to music of a religious character, is favorable to a +true appreciation of it. The listener is more in earnest, and the +emotions called up by the subject impress him more strongly than when +listening to secular music. These considerations have their influence on +the composer also. We usually find in religious music of the best class, +depth and earnestness of purpose commensurate with the expectation of +the listener. + +These few words are preliminary to a consideration of the Mass in D, the +work in which Beethoven reached his culmination as an artist. He himself +so regarded it, declaring it to be his greatest and best work. It is +certain that he spent more time on it, and gave it a larger share of his +attention than was devoted to any other of his works. + +For several years prior to this, Beethoven's muse had been silent for +the most part. No important work since the completion of the Eighth +Symphony had been achieved, with the exception of the sonatas mentioned +in a previous chapter. This was owing to the various lawsuits in which +he found himself involved. His troubles had now been adjusted, however, +to such an extent as to enable him to again turn his attention to large +works. The pension which had been settled on him in 1809 had been +imperilled by the death of Prince Kinsky and the bankruptcy of Prince +Lobkowitz. The portion of it which had been pledged to him by these +gentlemen had been discontinued or greatly reduced, and Beethoven had to +have recourse to the law to protect his rights. A compromise was finally +effected, which resulted in the pension being paid in part. Although the +litigation, in regard to his nephew was still on, it was becoming more +and more apparent that the outcome of it would be in his favor. His mind +at rest on these points, we find him once more in good health and +spirits, with creative energy not only unimpaired but greater than ever. +"In general, every evil to which we do not succumb is a benefactor," +said Emerson. + +The announcement of the Archduke's appointment as Archbishop of Olmuetz, +had been definitely made during the summer of 1818. It was well known +for years previously that he would receive this appointment, and it is +quite likely that Beethoven had always intended writing a mass to +commemorate it. Considering the close relations existing between master +and pupil for so many years, and Beethoven's obligations to Rudolph in +money matters, he could hardly have let so momentous an event go by, +without writing a mass for it. A mass was probably always intended, but +not such a one as eventually grew out of his original idea, which, +expanding, augmenting in force and grandeur as the significance of the +work took possession of his mind, finally became an apotheosis of +friendship, a message to the world. + +That the Archduke appreciated Beethoven and valued his friendship is +plain. He carefully preserved the letters written him by the master and +dedicated to him some of his own compositions. He had as complete a +library of Beethoven's works as was attainable, and was thoroughly +familiar with the master's music. That Beethoven responded to this to an +equal degree is not likely. He lived too abstracted a life for that. He +valued this friendship as much as such a man could, considering the +disparity in rank and the difference in mode of thought of the two men. +In dedicating so many of his compositions to him, and in consenting to +teach him for so long a period, he showed the esteem in which he held +him. Probably no other person, man or woman received the deference and +consideration from Beethoven, which he accorded the Archduke. The +republican, socialistic Beethoven was not specially influenced by his +rank; rather, it was his personality and devotion to music, which won +the regard of the master and formed the bond between them. + +In the composition of the mass, Beethoven was on familiar ground; the +work was congenial to him. The emotions called up by the subject swayed +him to such an extent that he had difficulty in keeping it within +bounds. The mass was a form of music with which he had been associated +from childhood. It will be remembered that he played the organ at the +age of twelve years at church services, a practice which was kept up for +some years. His earliest impressions on the subject of music were in +this style. He was, in addition, inclined to it by temperament. + +The beautiful text appealed to him strongly. It is related that when the +German version of his first Mass (in C) was brought him, he quickly +opened the manuscript and ran over a few pages. When he came to the Qui +tollis, the tears trickled from his eyes and he was obliged to desist, +saying with the deepest emotion, "Yes, that was precisely my feeling +when I composed it." + +His journal entries at the time of beginning work on the Mass in D show +how completely the subject had taken possession of him. "To compose true +religious music, consult the old chorals in use in monasteries," he +wrote, which gives the clew to his frequent lapses into the ancient +ecclesiastical modes, the Lydian and Dorian, in this mass, a practice +for which Bach furnished a precedent. "Drop operas and everything else, +write only in your own style," is another entry of this time, showing +his predilection for church music. + +The summer of 1818 was spent at Moedling. He was in the best of health +and spirits as stated, and began the work with great energy and +enthusiasm. His whole nature seemed to change, Schindler states, when he +began the great work. His interest and absorption in it was +extraordinary, as is shown by the sketch-books from the beginning. +Enthusiasm carried him on to the consummation of a greater work than +any he had yet accomplished. Hitherto, every achievement was merely a +resting-place up the mountainside, the prospect acting as a spur to him +to go yet higher, well knowing what Emerson finely stated, and was +putting into practice at this very time, that new gifts will be supplied +in proportion as we make use of those we have. _Dem Muthigen hilft +Gott!_ said Schiller. Beethoven seemed to have some prevision that only +a few more years would be allotted him for work; when he began on the +mass his inspiration was like a river that had broken its bounds. Every +nerve and fibre of his being called him to his work. He was like a +war-horse that scents the battle. He now abandoned himself more than +ever to the impulse for creating. For the next few years he lived the +abstracted life of the enthusiast to whom every-day concerns are but +incidental and unimportant things, and his art the one great matter. The +gigantic tone-pictures which were constantly forming themselves in his +inner consciousness were of so much greater importance than the events +of his external life, that the latter were dwarfed by comparison and +lost their significance. He now made a greater surrender of the ties +connecting him with every-day life than ever before. His industry was +phenomenal, but it soon became apparent that the work would not be ready +for the Installation, the date of which was set for March 20, 1820. It +was in reality not completed until nearly two years after this event. + +We have a good description of the master at this time by the artist +Klober, who had been commissioned by a wealthy relative who was forming +a gallery of famous Vienna artists, to paint a portrait of Beethoven. + +"Beethoven had a very earnest look; his vivacious eyes were for the most +part turned upwards, with a thoughtful and rather a gloomy expression, +which I have tried to represent. His lips were closed, but the mouth was +not an unkindly one. He was ready enough to expatiate on the arrogant +vanity and depraved taste of the Viennese aristocracy, by whom he feels +himself neglected, or at least underrated." + + * * * * * + +"Beethoven sat to me for nearly an hour every morning. When he saw my +picture, he observed that the style of hair pleased him very much; other +painters had always dressed it up as if he were going to court, not at +all as he generally wore it." + + * * * * * + +"His house at Moedling was extremely simple; so, indeed, was his whole +manner of life. His dress consisted of a light-blue coat with yellow +buttons, white waistcoat and neckcloth, such as were then worn, but +everything about him was very negligee. His complexion was florid, the +skin rather pock-marked, his hair the color of blue steel, for the black +was already changing to grey. His eyes were a bluish-grey and +exceedingly vivacious. When his hair streamed in the breeze there was a +sort of Ossian-like daemonism about him. But, when talking in a friendly +way, he would assume a good-natured, gentle expression, particularly if +the conversation was agreeable to him." + +As we have seen, it had been a favorite project of Beethoven for years +to write a mass. When he started to carry out his ideas, one course only +seems to have been possible to him. This was, to project it on the +principle of his Symphonies, in which the orchestra should take the +commanding part in interpreting the emotional and dramatic possibilities +of the text. His experience with his first mass had confirmed him in the +belief that he could give the best expression to his ideas by the use of +the orchestra, on account of its greater range, its mobility, the +variety of its tones. The idea of making it of more importance than the +voice, upset all preconceived theories on the subject. The orchestra was +emphatically the tool best adapted to Beethoven's powers; he developed +it into something wholly different from what it was when he found it. He +put it to exquisite uses. His effects are the happiest imaginable and +they are introduced with a prodigality and lavishness suggesting a +reserve as of oceans from which to draw. Much of his vocal music is +dominated by the orchestra. + +It took a long while to make people understand that music instead of +being the handmaid of poetry, whose function is merely to reflect the +ideas of our spoken language, has a language of its own, which can +convey ideas in itself, and that there are subtilties that can be +expressed in this manner, which evade one when we come to use our +coarser mode of expression. This is specially in evidence in Beethoven's +later work, particularly in the mass we are now considering. Wagner +frequently compares it to a symphony. In _Zukunftsmusik_, he says: "In +his Great Mass Beethoven has employed the choir and orchestra almost +exactly as in the symphony;" and elsewhere he cites it as being a +"strictly symphonic work of the truest Beethovenian spirit." + +In this work, however, he reaches out toward the infinite to a degree +not attempted in the symphonies; his spirit takes a bolder flight; more +of the inner nature of the artist is revealed; for the limits which +bound him in the symphony were not operative in the mass. The very mode +of projecting the first movement, the Kyrie, shows the splendor of the +conception as it took form in his consciousness. The scheme of the +movement can be summed up by the antithesis being presented of humanity, +weak and sinful on the one side, and the overwhelming majesty of a just +God on the other. It is a prayer for mercy, the cry of the soul in its +extremity; the underlying thought being repentance. Here we have the +embodiment of prayer, of supplication. A devotional feeling of the most +exalted kind pervades it. The first of the three parts comprising the +movement is storm and stress, a knocking on the gates, a De Profundus, +an accusing conscience arraigning humanity. He works out of this vein to +some extent in the second part, the Christe eleison, in which the appeal +is made directly to the human element of the Godhead. In the third part, +the themes of the first are again taken up, but by modulation they are +made to take on a new significance, and bring peace in the end. Although +the movement is cast for double chorus as regards the vocal part, the +voices are given a subordinate place, the portrayal being carried on by +the orchestra in true symphonic style. Notable in this movement is the +rhythm. In all the storm and stress, a rhythmic motion, a systole and +diastole, a surging to and fro, as of vast masses of beings in the last +extremity of peril, is apparent. + +To read meanings and design into the work of such a composer as +Beethoven is the inevitable result of the transcendent nature of it. It +was seldom that he vouchsafed any explanation of his musical intent in +his compositions. Schindler, who thoroughly appreciated his genius, and +who was eager for enlightenment on this phase of his art, was in the +habit of drawing Beethoven out, as occasion offered, but it was always a +difficult process. Simple and childlike in most matters, the master was +wary and suspicious to an incredible degree when the conversation +touched on the subject of his compositions. At times, however, this +reserve gave way to Schindler's persistency. When he asked him about the +opening bars of the C minor Symphony (the Fifth) it brought out the +well-known remark, "thus fate knocks at the door." At another time, he +asked him for an elucidation of the Sonatas in F minor (opus 57) and D +minor (opus 29), and received the answer "read Shakespeare's Tempest," +which was only half an answer. More definite is his meaning in the two +Sonatas (opus 14), which represents the entreating and resisting +principle in the conversation of a pair of lovers. + +[Musical notation.] + +Men of genius seldom care to explain their utterances. "The spirit gives +it to me and I write it down" is a remark attributed to Beethoven, and +this stated the case sufficiently from his point of view. + +Zelter, director of the Singakademie of Berlin wrote Beethoven on +completion of the Mass, asking him to arrange it for voices only, as +nothing but _a capella_ music was permitted by the institution. To this +Beethoven gave a favorable reply, saying that with some modifications +the project was feasible. It, however, was not carried out. + +It is significant that Beethoven gives the German direction throughout +in this Mass. At the Kyrie the direction is Mit Andacht. At the soli of +the Agnus Dei he writes Aengstlich, denoting great agitation or anxiety. +It may have been done as a kind of protest to the Italian cult in music, +which had at this period taken complete possession of the Vienna public. +The more solid German music was neglected in favor of Rossini, and +Beethoven felt this change of front keenly, making it the subject of +remark to Rochlitz and to others. + +It can readily be supposed that works like the Mass in D are not easily +produced. To get his materials for it Beethoven penetrated deeply the +mystery surrounding life. The ideas which he voices seem always to have +existed, like other great forces in the universe; he impresses one as +being the discoverer, rather than the creator of them. + +Schindler, who saw much of him during these years, says of his +absorption in this work: "He actually seemed possessed, especially +during the composition of the Credo." It was while he was at work on +this portion of the Mass, notably the great fugue, et vitam venturi (the +life everlasting), that Schindler called on him one afternoon, but could +not gain admission. He knew the master was at home as he could hear him +stamping and shouting, singing the different parts as if mad. Finally +the door was opened and Beethoven appeared. He was faint from hunger and +overwork, having eaten nothing since the previous noon. His servants +had, indeed, prepared some food for him the previous day, but he was too +much interested in his work to think of it, and they were afraid to +urge it on him, or indeed, go near him, while in the stress of +composition. He had worked the previous night until overtaken by +exhaustion and on awaking in the morning had at once resumed his work, +continuing it until interrupted by Schindler's arrival. + +A work so transcendental in character as is this, calls for close and +sympathetic study even to get an approximate understanding of its +marvels. It is a characteristic of works of this nature, that although +not easily comprehended, they are likewise not readily exhausted. Much +study, many renderings only serve to bring out new values. Only by +bringing to them of our best will they be revealed. + +It must have been with a feeling of relief that he finally delivered a +copy of the Mass complete into the Archduke's hands in March of 1822, +just two years after the Installation. + +Beethoven wrote the sovereigns of Russia, France, Prussia and Saxony, +proposing a subscription of fifty ducats, about $115 each, for the Mass. +The first acceptance came from Prussia. One of the minor officials in +Vienna was commissioned by Prince von Hatzfeld, the Prussian Ambassador, +to ask Beethoven if he would not prefer a royal order instead of the +fifty ducats. Beethoven's reply was characteristic. Without a moment's +hesitation he said with emphasis, "fifty ducats!" showing the slight +value he placed on distinctions of this kind. A reply that must have +gratified him very much was that received from the King of France. In +his letter to him, Beethoven refers to the Mass as "_L'oeuvre le plus +accompli_." Louis XVIII, not only forwarded his acceptance (and the +fifty ducats), but had also a gold medal struck off, containing his +portrait on one side, and on the other, the following inscription: +"_Donne par le Roi a monsieur Beethoven_." The King of Saxony delayed +his remittance for a long while, and Beethoven was greatly irritated +thereby. + +But little other work was undertaken during the four years he was +occupied on the Mass unless we except the three grand piano sonatas, +opus 109, 110 and 111, which were composed during the intervals. A mere +by-product so to speak, undertaken with the object of resting his +faculties jaded by the strain of the greater work, his mind +notwithstanding was keyed up to a high pitch, while engaged on them. The +lofty imaginings which occupied his thoughts while on the Mass are +reflected in them, rendering them unapproachable as piano sonatas. The +master himself, set a great value on them. + +Now that the Mass was completed he began to give his attention to other +works. To celebrate the opening of the rehabilitated Josephstadt theatre +which occurred in the autumn of 1822, Beethoven wrote a new overture, +Weihe des Hauses. He also worked over for this occasion his Ruins of +Athens, written in 1812, for which the text was altered to suit the new +conditions and several new numbers added. Another representation of the +almost forgotten Fidelio, which was selected by Fraeulein +Schroeder-Devrient for her benefit, and which was a pronounced success +through the genius of this remarkable woman, led to a commission for a +new opera from a Vienna manager. This was followed shortly after by a +similar order from Berlin on his own terms. There had also been some +talk before this about an opera on an American subject, the Founding of +Pennsylvania. It was suggested by a minor poet and government official, +Johann Ruprecht, whose poem, Merkenstein, Beethoven had set to music +previous to 1816. In 1820 Beethoven had planned an Italian tour and had +intended taking Ruprecht with him. They must have quarrelled later, as +in a letter to Schindler in 1823 Beethoven refers to Ruprecht in the +most abusive terms. + +A commission that must have gratified Beethoven exceedingly, but which, +however, was not acted upon, was that which emanated from Breitkopf and +Haertel, who sent the famous critic Friederich Rochlitz to Vienna in +July, 1822, with a proposition that he write some Faust music in the +style of the Egmont music. It is narrated that Beethoven received the +proposition with joy, but gave only a qualified assent. There is no +doubt that he would have found inspiration in the text, and that a noble +work would have resulted, but he feared the nervous strain of such an +undertaking. "I should enjoy it," he said to Rochlitz, "but I shudder at +the thought of beginning works of such magnitude. Once engaged on them, +however, I have no difficulty." His labors on the Mass aged him. In his +prime on its inception, he emerged from his seclusion on completing it, +infirm and broken in health. The idea of the Faust music attracted him, +as it would have been strictly symphonic in character. He occasionally +refers to it subsequently, but never got so far as to enter themes for +it in his note-books. Wagner essayed it, but went no further than to +write the overture. The subject of Faust still awaits a capable +interpreter. + +His next commission was a simple one, consisting of an order early in +the spring of 1823 from Diabelli, composer and head of a large +publishing house in Vienna, for six variations on a waltz by him +(Diabelli). The dance was always a favorite musical form with Beethoven +in his lighter moments, and the variation form,--capable of a degree of +sprightliness, vivacity and originality in the right hands which give it +an entrancing effect, to which we come again and again with pleasure, +was something peculiarly his own at every stage of his artistic career. +His earliest essays in composition are in this form. Variations occupy a +prominent part in all his works, whether chamber-music, sonatas or +symphonies. They are introduced perhaps with best effect in the works of +his last years, in the Ninth Symphony, and in the last quartets. + +He accepted the order with pleasure and began work on it at once on +reaching his summer quarters. This was congenial work, affording him +relief from the mental strain imposed on him by his labors on the Ninth +Symphony, which was then under way. A price of eighty ducats ($180) was +fixed by the publisher at the outset for the set, but the master enjoyed +his work so much, that the six, when completed, were increased to ten, +then to twenty, and twenty-five, and so on until the number grew to +thirty-three. These variations are extremely elaborate and difficult, a +characteristic of most of his work in these years. + +Wagner never tired of exploiting the variation form in his operas, +particularly in the Tetralogy. He frequently refers to Beethoven's +masterly use of it. "Haydn first, Beethoven last, have conferred +artistic value on this form," he says in the article on conducting; +later on in the same work, he says, "the wondrous second movement of +Beethoven's great C minor Sonata" (opus 111), "and the last movement of +the Eroica Symphony should be grasped as an infinitely magnified +Variation section." Bach also excelled in it, the Variation form being +constantly met with throughout his works. + +The summer of 1823 was spent at Hetzendorf, a village of which Beethoven +was always fond. He had secured large and comfortable quarters in the +house of a Baron Pronay, which, from Schindler's account was a fine old +mansion in the centre of a large park. It suited Beethoven admirably. +There was a fine view of the surrounding country from his windows, the +situation was healthful, and he delighted in walking about when not at +work. But he gave up this comfortable home before the summer was ended, +simply on account of the extravagant politeness of his landlord, who, +conscious of the value of so distinguished a tenant, always greeted him +with "profound obeisances" when they met. This opera bouffe deportment +though undertaken with the best of motives on the Baron's part, became +so embarrassing that Beethoven finally fled to Baden with all his +belongings, including the grand piano, although his rent had been paid +in advance for the entire summer. Schindler assisted in this migration, +joining him at five o'clock one morning. + +The year 1823 in which Beethoven practically completed his life-work +(with the exception of the last quartets) is the dawn of a new musical +genius, versatile, accomplished, many-sided, who as performer was +qualified to rank with the older master. On New-year's day of this year, +Franz Liszt, who had been studying under Czerny for two years past, +made his first appearance in Vienna in concert, in which he took the +public by storm. Beethoven seems not to have been present, and +strangely, when we reflect on his intimacy with Czerny, seems to have +been unaware of the existence of this talented youth. During the autumn +of this year, the elder Liszt called on Beethoven, bringing with him the +young Franz. Beethoven held himself aloof at first, receiving his +visitors coldly. He unbent however, on hearing the youth perform, and +stooped and kissed him. During this autumn he also received a visit from +Weber and young Julius Benedict, his pupil. Weber was preparing his +recently completed opera Euryanthe, for a first production in Vienna. He +had produced Fidelio in the foregoing spring season at Dresden, where he +was officially stationed, and had made a success of it with Frau +Schroeder-Devrient. Considerable correspondence must have passed between +the two composers on this matter, and Weber could hardly have omitted +calling when coming to Vienna, although the memory of his former +strictures on Beethoven's music must have embarrassed him. Weber had +stated on hearing the Seventh Symphony for the first time that Beethoven +was now fit for the madhouse, and his criticisms in general had been +adverse. This, however, was something which Beethoven had never objected +to; moreover, time had amply vindicated him as to the symphonies, so he +could afford to be generous to his youthful critic. Beethoven was genial +and kindly, and the younger man was deeply impressed by the master's +reception of him. Euryanthe proved a failure and Weber called again to +ask Beethoven's advice as to remodelling the work. + +The libretto Melusina, which was submitted to him by Grillparzer found +such favor in his eyes as to lead to its acceptance, but when he came +face to face with the project, his former experience with opera was +sufficient to deter him, and he abandoned the idea, giving as an excuse +the inferiority of the German singers. That this was only an excuse, is +plain, since only a short time afterward Mlle. Sontag was intrusted with +the exceedingly difficult soprano parts of the Mass in D and the Ninth +Symphony. He was hard at work on this Symphony at the time, which will +serve to explain and accentuate his reluctance to again attempt operatic +composition, a style of work diametrically opposed to that which had +engaged his attention for many years previously. It would too, have +necessitated shelving the Symphony indefinitely, and, although he needed +the money which the opera would have yielded, his interest in the +Symphony was paramount; he could not bring himself to abandon it. With +failing powers superinduced by his excessive labors on the Mass, it was +being borne in on him that he was nearing the end of his life-work. +Under such circumstances the Symphony was sure to have the preference. +The long cherished plans for another oratorio, and for a Requiem Mass +also insistently came up for consideration, crowding out all serious +intention of an opera. + +The project of a Requiem Mass was of particular interest to him; it +comes to the fore frequently. He mentioned it shortly after the +completion of the Mass in C. Then, when his brother Karl died it is +again considered. It is also mentioned on the occasion of the tragic +death of Prince Kinsky, who had acted so liberally by him in the matter +of the pension. It is probable that the work of writing a Requiem Mass +would have proved congenial to him. He was in the right mood for it on +completion of the Mass in D, and it is rather singular that he did not +undertake it instead of the Symphony. Religious questions were occupying +his mind more and more in these years. It must be admitted that his +religion was as peculiar to himself as was his music. He affiliated with +no church, although baptized as a Catholic, and brought up in that +church; but the frequent appeals to the Divinity in his journals, show +his belief in, and reliance on, a higher power. He formulated his own +religion as did Thoreau. The man who could write, "Socrates and Jesus +were patterns to me" lived a correct life in its essentials. His +asceticism, his unselfishness, the sympathy which he continually showed +for others, his unworldliness,--what else is this but the gist of New +Testament teaching? Like a tree nourished on alien soil, which yet +produces fairer and better fruit than the native ones, and becomes the +parent of a new variety, this man achieved his high development of +character by being a law unto himself like the anchorites of old. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +NINTH SYMPHONY + + We stand to-day before the Beethovenian Symphony as before the + landmark of an entirely new period in the history of universal art, + for through it there came into the world a phenomenon not even + remotely approached by anything the art of any age or any people + has to show us. + --WAGNER. + + +During the period of his work on the Mass, and for some time before, +Beethoven's thoughts were occupied more or less with that stupendous +work, the Ninth Symphony, sketches for which began to appear already in +1813, shortly after his meeting with Goethe. That Beethoven looked up to +Goethe ever after as to a spiritual mentor, studying his works, +absorbing his thought, is plain. In projecting this symphony he may very +well have designed it as a counterpart to Faust, as has been suggested. +Actually begun in 1817, it had to be laid aside before much had been +accomplished on it, in favor of the Mass in D. This gave him plenty of +time to mature his conception of the work; and this ripening process, +covering a period of ten years from its first inception, was one of the +factors which helped him achieve his wondrous result. His work on the +Mass was a good preparation for the psychological problems expounded in +the Symphony. + +Here is a work so interwoven into Beethoven's very life and spirit, that +the mention of his name at once calls to mind the Ninth Symphony. It is +the work of the seer approaching the end of his life-drama, giving with +photographic clearness a resume of it. Here are revelations of the inner +nature of a man who had delved deeply into the mysteries surrounding +life, learning this lesson in its fullest significance, that no great +spiritual height is ever attained without renunciation. The world must +be left behind. Asking and getting but little from it, giving it of his +best, counting as nothing its material advantages, realizing always that +contact with it had for him but little joy, the separation from it was +nevertheless a hard task. This mystery constantly confronted Beethoven, +that, even when obeying the finer behests of his nature, peace was not +readily attained thereby; often there was instead, an accession of +unhappiness for the time being. Paradoxically peace was made the +occasion for a struggle; it had to be wrested from life. No victory is +such unless well fought for and dearly bought. + +This eternal struggle with fate, this conflict forever raging in the +heart, runs through all the Symphonies, but nowhere is it so strongly +depicted as in this, his last. We have here in new picturing, humanity +at bay, as in the recently completed Kyrie of the grand mass. The +apparently uneven battle of the individual with fate,--the plight of the +human being who finds himself a denizen of a world with which he is +entirely out of harmony, who, wrought up to despair, finds life +impossible yet fears to die,--is here portrayed in dramatic language. To +Wagner the first movement pictured to him "the idea of the world in its +most terrible of lights," something to recoil from. "Beethoven in the +Ninth Symphony," he says, "leads us through the torment of the world +relentlessly until the ode to joy is reached." + +Great souls have always taught that the only relief for this +_Weltschmerz_ is through the power of love; that universal love alone +can transform and redeem the world. This is the central teaching of +Jesus, of Buddha, of all who have the welfare of humanity at heart. It +was Beethoven's solution of the problem of existence. Through this magic +power, sorrows are transmuted into gifts of peace and happiness. +Beethoven loved his kind. Love for humanity, pity for its misfortunes, +hope for its final deliverance, largely occupied his mind. With scarcely +an exception Beethoven's works end happily. Among the sketches of the +last movement of the Mass in D, he makes the memorandum, "Staerke der +Gesinnungen des innern Friedens. Ueber alles ... Sieg." (Strengthen the +conviction of inward peace. Above all--Victory). The effect of the +Choral Finale is that of an outburst of joy at deliverance, a +celebration of victory. It is as if Beethoven, with prophetic eye, had +been able to pierce the future and foresee a golden age for humanity, an +age where altruism was to bring about cessation from strife, and where +happiness was to be general. Such happiness as is here celebrated in the +Ode to Joy, can indeed, only exist in the world through altruism. +Pity,[B] that sentiment which allies man to the divine, comes first. +From this proceeds love, and through these and by these only is +happiness possible. This was the gist of Beethoven's thought. He had +occupied himself much with sociological questions all his life, always +taking the part of the oppressed. + +[B] The German rendering _Mitleid_ has a higher significance than its +English equivalent. Literally it means sharing the sorrow of the +afflicted one. It may be said in passing that this sentiment is the +central idea in Parsifal. + +Schindler, who was almost constantly with Beethoven at this time, tells +of the difficulty the master experienced in finding a suitable way of +introducing the choral part. He finally hit upon the naive device of +adding words of his own in the form of a recitative, which first appears +in the sketch-book as, "Let us sing the immortal Schiller's Song, +'Freude schoener Goetterfunken.'" This was afterward changed to the much +better form as now appears, "O Freunde, nicht diese Toene! sondern lasst +uns angenehmere anstimmen, und freudenvollere." (O friends, not these +tones. Let us sing a strain more cheerful, more joyous.) + +The whole character and design of the Ode to Joy will be better +apprehended when it is stated that it is in reality an Ode to Freedom. +With its revolutionary spirit Beethoven was entirely in accord. Already +in his twenty-third year he contemplated setting it to music. Later, in +the note-book of 1812, the first line of the poem appears, in connection +with a scheme for an overture. It is worthy of remark that the Symphony +was well under way before he decided on incorporating the Ode in it. + +The Ninth Symphony was first performed in this country in 1846 in Castle +Garden, by the New York Philharmonic Society, which had been organized +four years previously. George Loder conducted it. When we consider the +herculean efforts Wagner was obliged to make to get permission to +perform it in Dresden in this selfsame year, it speaks well for "North +America." Subsequent performances of it in New York by this Society are +as follows: + +PERFORMANCE CONDUCTOR + +Second April 28, 1860 Theo. Eisfeld. +Third April 29, 1865 " " +Fourth February 1, 1868 C. Bergmann. +Fifth April 28, 1877 Dr. L. Damrosch. +Sixth February 12, 1881 Theo. Thomas. +Seventh April 10, 1886 " " +Eighth April 12, 1890 " " +Ninth April 23, 1892 Anton Seidl. +Tenth April 11, 1896 " " +Eleventh April 2, 1898 Vander Stucken. +Twelfth April 7, 1900 E. Paur. +Thirteenth April 4, 1902 " " + +It was not performed in New York during the years 1903 and 1904. + +Beethoven's correspondence with Count Bruehl of the Berlin Theatre in the +matter of an opera for that city, led him, owing to the apathy of the +Vienna public at this time toward his works, to offer the new Symphony +and the Mass for a first hearing in Berlin. At this time, and for some +years previously, Rossini's music had captured the Vienna public so +completely that no other was desired. That this light evanescent work +should be preferred to his own, was resented by the master. He decided +to offer the new works to Count Bruehl, the Italian craze not having yet +penetrated Berlin. As soon as this became known however, a reaction +followed, and a memorial was addressed to Beethoven by his friends, +begging him to reconsider the matter, and produce the new works in +Vienna, as well as write a new opera for them. The appeal was signed by +thirty of the most prominent men of affairs in the city. The list of +names is a noble one, each being prominently connected in some way with +music. Among composers and performers may be mentioned Czerny and the +Abbe Stadler. Artario & Co., Diabelli and Leidersdorf, were music +publishers. Count Palfy and Sonnleithner were operatic managers, while +counselor Kiesewetter and J.F. Costelli were authors of libretti and +songs. The others were prominent in court circles, and their devotion to +music was such as to give weight to the communication. The memorial +itself is discursive to a point which taxes one's patience, but the +expressions of appreciation and friendship are genuine, and must have +gratified Beethoven extremely. Naturally but one outcome was probable as +a result of this memorial. Shortly after receiving it, he announced to +his friends that the initial performance of these works would be held in +Vienna. Strangely, a difficulty at once arose, in the matter of +selecting a suitable place for the performance. Had Beethoven left the +management of the affair in the hands of his friends, and given his +attention to securing sufficient rehearsals for the new Symphony, which +finally had to be produced after being rehearsed twice only, it would +have been better all around. With the vacillating disposition which +characterized him in all business matters, he was not only of no aid, +but so complicated matters by his indecision on every point, that the +arrangements finally came to a standstill, his friends who were +assisting him being at their wits' end. These were Schindler, Count +Lichnowsky, and the violinist Schuppanzich. At this juncture, these old +and tried friends, thinking that strategy might succeed where diplomacy +had failed, hit upon the following plan to bring matters to a focus. +Schindler was at this time living at Beethoven's house, and the plan +decided on was to have Count Lichnowsky and Schuppanzich call there as +if by accident. The conversation would naturally turn to the approaching +concert and leading questions were to be asked Beethoven. His answers in +these years were usually in writing. The gist of these was to be written +out by one of the party, who would then carelessly, or as if in jest, +ask Beethoven to sign the paper, thus committing him to a definite +course. These praise-worthy intentions were carried out with so much +tact and skill that Beethoven not only saw through their innocent ruse, +but discovered in the whole proceeding a deep-laid plot on the part of +these arch-conspirators, whereof he was to be the victim of villainy and +treachery. This dawned on him shortly after the friends had taken their +departure, upon which he wrote the following notes, leaving them on the +piano as was his custom, for Schindler to deliver. + + TO THE COUNT MORITZ VON LICHNOWSKY,-- + I despise these artifices, visit me no more. Academy (the concert) + will not take place. + BEETHOVEN. + + TO M. SCHINDLER,-- + Do not come near me again until I send for you. No Academy. + BEETHOVEN. + + TO M. SCHUPPANZICH,-- + Do not visit me again. No concert. + BEETHOVEN. + +From the above it will readily be seen, as Schindler plaintively +asserts, that the office of friend to Beethoven was no sinecure. But he +appreciated the advantage of living in the reflected glory of the great +master, and such tact as he possessed was brought to bear, to continue +the relations of friend, counsellor and general factotum, which were +maintained to the end. Beethoven at times spoke slightingly in his +letters of his humble follower, but there is no doubt that Schindler was +of great service to him, and that this was appreciated by the master is +equally true. Schindler did not deliver the letters just quoted, and the +affair did not sever the relations of the parties concerned. + +Beethoven's contention all along was for an advance in price of +admission to the concert, owing to the heavy expense for theatre hire, +copying, etc. As the works to be performed had not yet been published, +it was necessary to copy out the separate parts for the members of the +orchestra and chorus,--an immense task. The manager objected to any +advance in prices, and insisted also that the concert be held on a +subscription night--a good arrangement for the patrons of the theatre +who would thus have free admission, but a bad one for the master. He +finally had to submit, however. "After these six weeks' squabbling," he +writes to Schindler toward the end of April, "I feel absolutely boiled, +stewed and roasted," a state of mind brought about by his conflict with +copyists, managers and performers. + +The concert which took place on May 7, 1824, was the occasion for great +enthusiasm. The programme consisted of the Overture Weihe des Hauses, as +well as the Kyrie, Credo and Agnus Dei of the Mass in D, and the Ninth +Symphony. The solo parts were taken by Madame Sontag and Fraeulein Unger, +who protested more than once at the unsingable nature of some of the +parts in the Choral Finale when practising them at Beethoven's house. + +The applause from the very beginning was phenomenal. The people became +vociferous on seeing him, and this enthusiasm was continued throughout +the evening. At the close of the performance the demonstrations became, +if possible, more forcible than before, owing, perhaps, to the fact that +Beethoven maintained his former position, facing the orchestra and with +his back to the audience, as if unaware of the applause. At last +Fraeulein Unger turned him about so that he could see the demonstrations +of the audience. The picture is presented of excited masses of people +carried away by the emotions of the moment, rending the air with +boisterous applause, and in the midst this great one, unresponsive to +the homage showered on him, unconscious, seeing visions, perhaps +planning a Tenth Symphony. + +Beethoven's deafness was not total. He was no doubt able to hear some of +this extraordinary applause, and, in any event, must have known that it +would be forthcoming. He had probably become wearied with it all, and +let his thoughts go far afield. The utter vanity of this kind of thing +must often occur to great minds at such a time. These frenzied people by +their very actions showed their inability to comprehend his work, and +could not confer honor in this manner. + +But the enthusiasm of the audience had the practical effect of leading +the manager to make an offer to Beethoven for another concert, +guaranteeing him five hundred florins ($250). It was held on May 23, at +noon. On this occasion all of the Mass but the Kyrie was omitted, some +Italian music being substituted. The house was only half filled at the +second concert and the management lost money. Beethoven's apprehensions +as to the profits from the first concert were well founded. He made less +than two hundred dollars from the undertaking, and was so disappointed +with this pitiful result after all the work of preparation, that he +refused to eat any supper, and would not go to bed, but remained on a +couch with his clothes on for the night. When he learned that the +management lost eight hundred florins on the occasion of the second +concert, it was with difficulty that he could be prevailed on to accept +the amount guaranteed him. It is not likely that this reluctance was +owing to any consideration for the manager, but rather to umbrage at the +course of things in general. His temper was not improved by these +disappointments, and he even charged Schindler with having conspired +with the manager to cheat him. This led to a rupture between the two of +several months' duration. Beethoven at length called on Schindler and +apologized for the offence, begging him to forget it, upon which the old +relations were restored. + +Notwithstanding that Beethoven had personally solicited the attendance +of the members of the Imperial family, and had promises from some of +them, not one came, the Emperor's box being the only empty space in the +theatre. The slight was no doubt intentional, and affords the last +instance of which there is record, of the lifelong contest waged between +Beethoven and the court. He was usually the aggressor, making it +impossible for the Imperial family to favor him, or even to show him +much attention. They could not have been insensible to the historical +importance of having in their midst such a man; they must have had the +prescience to know that Beethoven's achievements, if furthered by them, +would place them in the lime-light for the admiration of future ages; +but they were thwarted by the man himself, who went out of his way more +than once, most unjustifiably, to offend them. + +There is a letter from Count Dietrichstein, court chamberlain, on the +subject of a mass which Beethoven was invited to write for the Emperor, +which is unintentionally humorous. In it, all sorts of suggestions are +made as to the style of the music, the length of the mass (it being +enjoined on him that the Emperor did not like long church services) and +other like stipulations. Beethoven's remarks in answer to this letter +are not recorded, but the mass was not written. Here was a case where +kingly prerogative did not avail. + +Simultaneously with the appearance in the sketch-books of motives for +the Ninth Symphony, another is projected, as was the case when composing +his previous ones, which generally appeared in pairs, as already noted. +A wealth of ideas flowed in on him while engaged on any great work, much +of which, when not available for the one, could be utilized on the +other. While working on the Mass in D, he had in mind composing another +mass, as is evidenced by the following memorandum in the sketches of the +Agnus Dei: "Das Kyrie in der neuen Messe bloss mit blasenden +Instrumenten und Orgel." (The Kyrie in the new Mass only with wind +instruments and organ.) The new Symphony was to be religious in +character, and was projected on a broader scale even than the Ninth. A +memorandum on the subject of the Tenth Symphony appears in the +sketch-books of the latter part of the year 1818. It is as follows: "The +orchestra (violins, etc.) to be increased tenfold, for the last +movements, the voices to enter one by one. Or the Adagio to be in some +manner repeated in the last movements. In the Allegro, a Bacchic +festival."[C] His labors, however, on the Mass and Ninth Symphony had so +exhausted him that no strength was left for this great work, and no part +of it was even drafted. Later he thought to substitute a shorter work, +something which would not have taxed him so much physically. He then +makes the memorandum, "also instead of a new Symphony, an overture on +Bach." Sehr fugirt (greatly fugued.) + +[C] Nottebohm's _Zweite Beethoveniana_. + +Now that the concerts were over and summer approaching, Beethoven's +thoughts turned to the country. A comfortable house was secured for him +at Schoenbrun on the bank of the river, but his stay here was short. A +bridge near the house made it possible to obtain a good view of the +master, and it soon got to be the custom for people to station +themselves on it and watch for his appearance. He stood the ordeal for +three weeks, and then fled to his beloved Baden, where he appears to +have been safe from such annoyances. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +CAPACITY FOR FRIENDSHIP + + Genius lives essentially alone. It is too rare to find its like + with ease, and too different from the rest of men to be their + companion. + --SCHOPENHAUER. + + +For many years Beethoven had not been on speaking terms with the friend +of his youth, Stephen von Breuning. The year 1815, which had cost him +his brother Karl, also deprived him of Stephen's friendship. Two +versions are given as to the cause of the quarrel which estranged them. +One is that Stephen had warned him not to trust his brother Karl in +money matters. Another, and probably the correct one, is that Stephen +endeavored to dissuade the master from adopting the young Karl in event +of his brother's death. In either case Von Breuning acted entirely in +Beethoven's interest without considering the possible consequences to +himself; his disinterestedness was poorly rewarded however. Beethoven +was bound by every obligation of friendship to him, but, with his usual +want of tact, told his brother just what Stephen had said. Naturally +Karl resented this interference in their family affairs, and succeeded +in inflaming his brother's mind against Von Breuning. The estrangement +resulted. Karl died shortly after, and a mistaken sense of loyalty +toward his dead brother helped to keep alive Beethoven's anger against +his former friend. There is no record of his having so much as mentioned +the latter's name in the following ten years, although he and Von +Breuning lived in the same city and had many friends in common. + +As time passed, and one after another of Beethoven's friends were lost +to him--through death or otherwise--his thoughts no doubt often reverted +to this old friend. It must often have occurred to him that Breuning's +companionship would be more enjoyable than that of some of the friends +of these years. An accidental meeting with him on the bastion one +evening in August of 1825, happily led to a reconciliation. Beethoven's +eyes were at last opened to the injustice done Von Breuning, upon which +he wrote him a letter, so imbued with penitence, so fraught with the +desire of obliterating his past unkindness, so filled with yearning and +tenderness, that it must have compensated Stephen for all the pain of +the past years. + +Accompanying the letter was his portrait painted many years before. The +letter has been frequently published. It is so characteristic of the man +that it can hardly be omitted: + +"Behind this portrait, dear, good Stephen, may all be forever buried +which has for so long kept us apart. I have torn your heart I know. The +agitation that you must constantly have noticed in me has punished me +enough. It was not malice that prompted my behavior toward you. No! I +should then be no longer worthy of your friendship. I was led to doubt +you by people who were unworthy of you and of me. My portrait has long +ago been intended for you. You know that I had always intended it for +some one. To whom could I give it so with warmest love as to you, true, +faithful, noble Stephen. Forgive me for causing you suffering. My own +sufferings have equaled yours. It was not until after our separation +that I realized how dear you are and always will be to my heart." + +All this in English sounds cold and stunted when compared with the fire +of the original. Beethoven never spared himself when making amends for +past misconduct. + +From this time on the name of Von Breuning appears again in his letters +and he found much comfort in intercourse with his family. He was always +a welcome guest at Breuning's house. A friendship was soon inaugurated +between the master and Stephen's son, a bright lad of twelve years. He +nicknamed him Ariel, when sending him on errands, probably with +reference to his agility. + +Such incidents as the quarrels with Breuning, his dismissal of +Schindler, Schuppanzich, and Count Lichnowsky during the preliminary +work of the testimonial concert, his suspicions of his friends at the +second concert when he invited them to a dinner, and then charged them +with an attempt to defraud him,--these at first glance, especially if +considered apart, lead to the conclusion that Beethoven was not intended +for friendship. This was not the case however. His deafness and +preoccupation with his work, led him to keep aloof to some extent from +others, but it is undeniable that he greatly valued this sentiment and +actively fostered it. Perhaps, like Thoreau, he expected too much from +it, and could find no one to respond to the measure of his +anticipations. He was probably disappointed one way or another, with +every friend that came to him, but to the end kept alive his faith in +humankind, and managed always to maintain intimate and friendly +relations with one or more persons. There is no interval from his +twentieth year up to his death, of which this cannot be said. He was +essentially gregarious and recognized the need of friendship. That he +was unlike his fellow human beings--essentially different--he knew. He +often sought to bridge these differences, in order to make friendly +intercourse with others possible. + +Among the friends of this period may be mentioned Huettenbrenner, +Schubert's friend. Schubert himself would have prized Beethoven's +friendship in the highest degree, but he was too modest to bring it +about. The junior by twenty years, and in Beethoven's lifetime unknown +to fame, it devolved on him to take the initiative in this matter. A +meeting could easily have been arranged as both dined at the same +restaurant, and Huettenbrenner could have managed to bring them together. +Beethoven was generally approachable when not at work, and was always +well disposed toward young musicians of talent, but the habitually +modest estimate which Schubert placed on himself, coupled with the +regard amounting to reverence which he entertained for Beethoven, was +sufficient to deter the younger man. He indeed attempted a meeting in +1822, but the result was a fiasco owing to his extreme diffidence. +Having composed some variations on a French air (opus 10) he desired to +dedicate them to Beethoven and prevailed on Diabelli to arrange a +meeting, as well as call with him on the master, since he feared to go +alone. Beethoven's demeanor toward him was genial and friendly. When +Schubert attempted conversation the master handed him a pencil and +paper. He was too nervous to write in reply, but managed to produce his +composition, which Beethoven examined with some appearance of interest. +The master finally came upon some incorrect harmonization (Schubert had +never received a proper technical training) and in mild terms called the +young composer's attention to it. This so disconcerted him that he fled +to the street, regardless of consequences. The incident is related by +Schindler, but is called into question by Kreissle, who wrote an +exhaustive biography of Schubert. Kreissle says that Beethoven was not +at home when Schubert called. + +Excessive diffidence was not the distinguishing trait of another young +man, Karl Holz, who had ingratiated himself into the master's favor in +these years. Holz had a post under government, was of good social +position, possessed fine conversational powers, and was an all-round +entertaining and agreeable person. He was a musician of first-rate +attainments, a member of the Schuppanzich Quartet, and occasionally +acted as director of the Concert Spirituel of Vienna. + +Holz's gayety and light-heartedness helped to dispel the melancholy +which had become habitual with Beethoven at this time. He had the +discernment to see that such an atmosphere was unsuited to a young man +of Karl's temperament, and may very well have encouraged Holz's visits +on his nephew's account. The situation had its defects however, as +Holz's convivial habits were communicated to Beethoven, who was led at +times to drink more wine than was good for him. Beethoven, in one of his +letters to his nephew, reproached him with being a thorough Viennese, to +which the young man retorted in kind, alluding to the master's +friendship with Holz. This was before the reconciliation with Von +Breuning had been effected. After that event he saw him less frequently. +The young man however, retained his hold on the master's regard and +maintained the footing of an intimate friend for the remainder of his +life. Flashes of the old humor constantly appear in his letters to Holz, +which, though tinctured somewhat with coarseness, make pleasanter +reading than his remark to Fanny del Rio--"My life is of no worth to +myself. I only wish to live for the boy's sake." Holz took him out of +this mood. + +In the last year of his life Beethoven, at Holz's request appointed him +his biographer as follows: + + VIENNA, _Aug. 30, 1826_. + I am happy to give my friend, Karl Holz, the testimonial he + desires, namely,--that I consider him well qualified to write my + biography if indeed, I may presume to think this will be desired. I + place the utmost confidence in his faithfully transmitting to + posterity what I have imparted to him for this purpose. + LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN. + +Holz, however, was not equal to the requirements, and this duty was +relegated to Schindler. + +A curious change affected Beethoven in his later years on the subject of +money. It was not avarice, that "good old-gentlemanly vice" of Byron's +which influenced him, but it resembled it at times. With his nephew as +the inciting cause, money, to which he had hitherto been indifferent, +now assumed a new value to him. This is evidenced by absurd economies +(alternated it is true by occasional extravagances), which are a feature +of this time. The diminution of his pension, the nature of the +compositions of these years from which for the most part no money was +available, the cessation of his teaching (Von Frimmel mentions a pupil, +Hirsch, who had a few lessons from him in 1817, which was probably the +last of Beethoven's sporadic attempts in this direction, as his deafness +must have made teaching extremely difficult), were all factors which +rendered money a scarce article with him. In the same ratio in which his +income had been diminished, his expenses were increased by the +maintenance and education of his nephew, which in large part was borne +by Beethoven. + +This new estimate of the value of money was strengthened by the +conviction that Karl would never do anything for himself, and that +provision must be made for his future. To this must be attributed his +solicitude for money which is constantly in evidence in his letters to +his friends, as well as to his publishers, in which latter the +disposition to drive a good bargain comes to the fore now for the first +time. His letters to Ries are full of the subject of making money. "Waere +ich nicht noch immer der arme Beethoven," he says with unconscious +humor, in one of the letters. "If I could but get to London, what would +I not write for the Philharmonic Society. If it please God to restore my +health, which is already improved, I may yet avail myself of the several +propositions made me, not only from Europe, but even North America, and +thus my finances might again prosper." + +His naive reference to this country[D] refers to the offer made him by +the Haendel and Haydn Society of Boston for an oratorio, the text of +which was to be furnished by them. His work on the Ninth Symphony +prevented him from accepting it, but it is something that will always +redound to the credit of the society. That the critical faculty should, +already at that time, have been sufficiently well developed in this +country as to lead to such a commission, augurs well for its future +art-history. While one portion were engaged in subduing the wilderness, +fighting Indians, extending the frontier, others were already reaching +out for the highest and best in art and literature.[E] It is a pleasant +reflection that this country is no longer the terra incognita in musical +matters that it was in Beethoven's time. The ready recognition extended +Wagner from the first here, has, no doubt, helped to bring this about. + +[D] When writing this letter Beethoven could have had no prevision that +in this aboriginal North America, in a little village called Natick, +there was then living a five-year-old boy, answering to the name of +Alexander W. Thayer, who was eventually to furnish a biography of the +master, so painstaking, exact and voluminous, that it is unique in its +class. The Beethoven biography was Thayer's life-work, to which he +gladly sacrificed his means as well, and was then only brought down to +the year 1816. Thayer's name will always be associated with that of +Beethoven, it is such a record-making work. It is published only in +German at this writing (1904), but an English translation is promised on +completion of the second edition, one volume of which has appeared in +1902. Mr. Thayer died in 1897. + +[E] That Beethoven's genius had at an early date impressed itself on the +minds of Americans, was commented on by Margaret Fuller in 1841. She +says: + +"It is observable as an earnest of the great future which opens for this +country, that such a genius (Beethoven) is so easily and so much +appreciated here, by those who have not gone through the steps that +prepared the way for him in Europe. He is felt because he expressed in +full tones the thoughts that lie at the heart of our own existence, +though we have not found means to stammer them as yet." + +Meanwhile Ries, in London, was making active propaganda for him, with +the result that an offer had come to him from Charles Neate asking him +to come to London with a symphony and a concerto for the Philharmonic +Society. Neate was a great admirer of Beethoven. He had spent eight +months in Vienna some years previously, and the two became good friends +during this sojourn. Three hundred guineas, and a benefit concert in +which five hundred pounds more was to be guaranteed him, was the +inducement held out for coming. This large sum tempted him strongly, +placing him, so to speak, between two fires. The character of his nephew +was such that he could not be left behind, while his education would be +interrupted if he took him along. His entries in his journal show with +what dread and apprehension he faced the ordeal of going among +strangers. The project never would have been considered but for his +desire to provide for Karl's future. The journey was never undertaken, +but the project was never abandoned. It occupied his thoughts even in +his last illness. + +The scores of the Mass and Symphony were sold to Messrs. Schott of +Mayence, one thousand florins having been obtained for the Mass, and six +hundred for the Symphony. This put him in easy circumstances for a +while, although the money question was a source of anxiety to him, more +or less, for the remainder of his life. The ten thousand florins +invested in Bank of Austria shares in 1815 was almost intact. He had +drawn on it once or twice when matters had come to an extremity with +him, but to touch it in any other case seemed to him like betraying a +trust, since it had been set aside as a provision for his nephew. Just +before the testimonial concert, he was at times absolutely without +funds, his housekeeper being occasionally required to advance money from +her savings to tide him over until a windfall should happen. The +proceeds from the seven subscriptions to the Mass in D, amounting to +three hundred and fifty ducats (about eight hundred dollars) helped him +out to some extent, and something must have been coming in all the while +from his previous publications. With good management there would have +been sufficient for a man of his simple requirements, but in nothing was +he so deficient as in business ability, or the faculty of looking after +his worldly concerns. He was probably cheated right and left in his +household matters. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE DAY'S TRIALS + + Those who are furthest removed from us really believe that we are + constituted just like themselves, for they understand exactly so + much of us as we have in common with them, but they do not know how + little, how infinitesimally little this is. + --WAGNER: _Letter to Liszt_. + + +Beethoven was in no sense a hero to his servants. In their eyes he was +not the great artist, whose achievement was to go ringing down the ages; +he was simply a crank or madman, who did not know his own mind half the +time, from whom abuse was as likely to be predicated as gratuities, who +could be ridiculed, neglected, circumvented with impunity. When the +dereliction became glaring enough to arrest his attention, he would +deliver himself of a volley of abuse which sometimes had to be made good +by presents of money. At other times, he desired nothing so much as to +be left alone. + +That he found the world a more difficult problem than ever in these +later years, goes without saying. "Have you been patient with every one +to-day?" he asks himself in one of the note-books of this period, +indicating the dawn of a perception that fate is too much for him, that +it can be defied no longer, but rather must be propitiated. Had he +answered his question, it would no doubt have been in the negative; but +this attitude, so new to him, is significant. It comes up also in his +letters to Zmeskall, in which he speaks of his patience in enduring the +insolence of a butler, who had been sent him by Zmeskall. + +Complaints about servants appear frequently in his correspondence. +Peppe, the "elephant-footed," and Nanny, who seems to have had a +particular faculty for making trouble, are specially in evidence. "I +have endured much from N. (Nanny) to-day," he writes in a letter to his +good friend Madame Streicher, who was very helpful to him in his +domestic matters. On one occasion, when her conduct became unbearable, +he threw books at her head. Strangely, this method of disciplining the +refractory Nanny produced better results than could have been expected. +He reports soon after to Madame Streicher, "Miss Nanny is a changed +creature since I threw the half dozen books at her head. Possibly, by +chance some of their contents may have entered her brain, or her bad +heart. At all events we now have a repentant deceiver." + +In another letter of this time he writes to the same lady, "Yesterday +morning the devilry began again, but I made short work of it, and threw +the heavy settle at B (another servant), after which we had peace for +the remainder of the day." "Come Friday or Sunday," he writes Holz. +"Better come on Friday, as Satanas in the kitchen is more endurable on +that day." This advice to come on Friday when purposing to dine with +him, is repeated in a subsequent letter to Holz. "If I could but rid +myself of these _canaille_," he writes to another person, when +complaining of the hostility and insolence of his servants. + +That his own mode of life helped largely to bring about this state of +things, did not make it any easier to bear. As stated, system was out of +the question in this household. There was no regular time for meals, +often no meals were thought of by the master while occupied with his +work. When hungry, if nothing were forthcoming at home, he sought a +restaurant. Careless in general as regards his food, abstemious to a +degree in this respect, he was particular only on one matter, his +coffee. He delighted in making it himself, often counting the beans that +were required for each cup. + +"My house resembles very much a shipwreck" is a remark attributed to him +by Nohl. Even under favoring conditions, discipline was not to be +expected, but matters were further complicated by Karl's mother, who +made a practice of bribing the servants to get information about the +young man. There is no doubt her influence tended to increase the +discomfort and disorder that would have existed in any event. "Some +devils of people have again played me such a trick that it is almost +impossible for me to mix with human beings any more," he said in a +letter to Madame Streicher, which remark Mr. Kalischer (_Neue +Beethovenbriefe_, Berlin, 1902), attributes to intrigues against him by +his sister-in-law. + +To illustrate the slight regard his servants had for Beethoven and their +absolute ignorance of the value of his work, an incident related by +Schindler about the loss of the manuscript of the Kyrie of the Mass in D +is in point. On reaching Doebling in 1821 on his annual summer migration, +he missed this work and the most diligent search failed to bring it to +light. Finally the cook produced it; she had used the separate sheets +for wrapping kitchen utensils. Some of them were torn, but no part was +lost. No copy had yet been made, and its loss would have been +irreparable. + +The difficulties which he experienced with the world in general existed +with his copyists and engravers to an exaggerated degree as may be +supposed, since proofreading was a matter on which he was extremely +particular. He was apt to make unreasonable demands on them, not +understanding human nature. He wanted them to work quickly and +accurately and they were very often slow and careless; they tried his +patience more than his servants did. A little deftness on his part when +in contact with them, would have made things easier all around. As it +was, they received little consideration from him, and gave but little in +return. He was so deeply interested in his compositions that he +frequently recalled them after they were in the engraver's hands, in +order to make alterations and additions. The Sonata, opus 111 was +withdrawn twice, after the engraver had actually begun work on it. It +had been sold to Diabelli, who finally refused to return it again, as +the engraver's work in each case was thrown away. This called out a +sarcastic letter from Beethoven to Schindler, in which he refers to +Diabelli as an arch-churl (_Erzflegel_), and threatens him (Diabelli), +if he is not more amenable. + +"I have passed the forenoon to-day, and all yesterday afternoon in +correcting these two pieces and am actually hoarse with stamping and +swearing," he wrote the copyist in reference to the A minor Quartet. +Elsewhere he complains about the carelessness of the publishers of his +earlier quartets, which are "full of mistakes and errata great and +small. They swarm like fish in the sea, innumerable." + +When referring to the testimonial concert, allusion was made to the +enormous labor involved in copying out all the parts required for the +occasion, in which over one hundred persons participated. To examine and +correct each copy before placing it in the hands of the performers was +in itself no slight task. The labor of making the seven subscription +copies of the Mass, was probably a still greater one. In these days of +cheap publications, one can hardly form an estimate of what it really +meant. Many months elapsed after the Mass was completed, before a clean +copy could be gotten for the Archduke even. + +No doubt the copyists often misunderstood the master's instructions, +always given in writing in his later years. He was so careless with his +handwriting that some of his letters are undecipherable in part, to this +day. Schindler, with good common-sense made a practice of transcribing +Beethoven's words on the back of any letter received from him before +filing it away. The master's extraordinary carefulness in proof-reading +has already been mentioned. This was to him a matter of the utmost +importance, second to none. Press of work, illness even, was not allowed +to interfere with the careful revision of his work. + +He might write about patience in his note book, but it was exercised +very little when dealing with his copyists. There were times in this +connection in which the situation became so strained that they refused +to work for him. In one such instance a man, Wolanck by name, returned +the manuscript which the master had sent him, writing him at the same +time an impertinent letter. This copyist was evidently of a literary +turn, with a talent for satire. He begins by begging to be permitted to +express his gratitude for the honor which Beethoven has done him in +being allowed to drudge for him, but states that he wants no more of it. +He then proceeds to philosophize on the situation, saying that the +dissonances which have marked their intercourse in the past have been +regarded by him with amused toleration. "Are there not" asks this +Junius, "in the ideal world of tones many dissonances? Why should these +not also exist in the actual world?" In conclusion he ventures the +opinion that if Mozart or Haydn had served as copyist for Beethoven, a +fate similar to his own would have befallen them. + +A wild Berserker rage took possession of Beethoven on receipt of this +letter which he appeased characteristically by writing all sorts of +sarcastic comments over the sheet, and by inventing compound invectives +to suit the case. He heavily criss-crossed the whole letter, and across +it in heavy lines wrote, "Dummer Kerl" (foolish fellow), "Eselhafter +Kerl" (asinine fellow), "Schreibsudler" (slovenly writer). On the edges +at the right: "Mozart and Haydn you will do the honor not to mention"; +at the left: "It was decided yesterday, and even before, that you were +not to write for me any more." On another spot he writes: "correct your +blunders that occur through your fatuity, presumption, ignorance and +foolishness." (Unwissenheit, Uebermuth, Eigenduenkel, und Dummheit). "That +will become you better than to try to teach me." + +In better vein is a letter from Beethoven to the copyist Rampel, who had +worked for him during a period of many years. He had Beethoven's favor +more than any other copyist, on account of a peculiar faculty he +possessed for deciphering the master's handwriting. + + _Bestes Ramperl,-- + + Komme um morgen frueh. Gehe aber zum Teufel mit deinem Gnaediger + Herr. Gott allein kann nur gnaedig geheissen werden._ + + BEST RAMPEL,-- + + You can come to-morrow morning, but go to the devil with your + "Gracious Sir," (Gnaediger Herr). God alone should be addressed as + "Gracious Lord." + +This letter was published in the Beethoven number of _Die Musik_, +February, 1902. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +LAST QUARTETS + + Every extraordinary man has a certain mission, which he is called + upon to accomplish. If he has fulfilled it he is no longer needed + on earth, in the same form, and Providence uses him for something + else. But as everything here below happens in a natural way, the + daemons keep tripping him up until he falls at last. Thus it was + with Napoleon, and many others. Mozart died in his thirty-sixth + year. Raphael at the same age. Byron a little older. But all these + had perfectly fulfilled their missions, and it was time for them to + depart that others might still have something to do in a world made + to last a long while. + --GOETHE, _Conversations with Eckermann_. + + +In the midst of these ironies of fate, this satyr-play of the nether +forces with the master, in which he occupies at times so undignified a +position, it is gratifying to note that the artist-life goes on apace. +In the last quartets which now come up for consideration, the labors of +the tone-poet are brought to a close. + +The quartet was a favorite musical form with the master. Here the more +intimate side of his nature is revealed. A more personal relation is +established between composer and audience than is the case in the other +forms in which he worked. As we have seen, the quartet, in the time of +which we write, was universally in use at informal gatherings for the +delectation of friends in the privacy of the home, and was not intended +for concert use. The stateliness which characterizes the large +symphonic forms is absent in chamber-music, but it has qualities of its +own which we value as much. + +The last quartets owe their existence to Prince Galitzin, a Russian +nobleman, who had spent some time in Vienna in 1805, and became +acquainted with Beethoven at the house of the Russian Ambassador, Count +Rasoumowsky, for whom it will be remembered Beethoven composed three +quartets, opus 59. In November of 1822 the Prince wrote Beethoven in the +most flattering terms, asking him to compose three quartets at his own +price, which were to be dedicated to him. The master accepted the +commission gladly, fixing the modest sum of one hundred and fifty ducats +(about $330) for the three, reserving, however, the right to sell the +quartets to a publisher. Prince Galitzin was then living in state in St. +Petersburg. His wife was a fine pianist, he himself a first-rate +performer on the cello. They occupied a prominent position in the +musical life of the city. The Prince was one of the original subscribers +to the Mass in D, and has the credit of having brought about the first +complete performance of this colossal work ever given. + +When we consider the enormous expense of this undertaking, the copying +of the many parts, as well as the sums paid for soloists, chorus and +orchestra, most of which was probably borne by the Prince, and reflect +that this is only an instance among many of his extravagant mode of +living, it is not surprising to find that he became financially +embarrassed, and was unable to carry out in full his obligation to +Beethoven as regards paying for these works. + +The Oratorio, "The Victory of the Cross," which had already been begun, +was laid aside in favor of the quartets; it was never resumed. +Notwithstanding his enthusiasm, work on the new commission made but slow +progress. Ill health and preoccupation in his nephew's concerns took up +much of his attention. Occasional sketches were made, but it was more +than a year and a half before the first one was actually begun. It was +outlined at Baden in the autumn of 1824, and finished on his return to +Vienna. Mention is made of this quartet by the master in an interesting +letter to Messrs. Schott of Mayence, who had bought the mass and +symphony, and had also purchased the quartet, paying fifty ducats for +it. Cordial relations had been established with these gentlemen, dating +from the time of selling them the two great works just mentioned. Some +of Beethoven's best letters are those written to his publishers. An +extract from the letter above referred to follows: + +"The quartet you shall also receive by the middle of October. +Overburdened by work, and suffering from bad health, I really have some +claim on the indulgence of others. I am here on account of my health, or +rather to the want of it, although I already feel better. + +"Apollo and the Muses do not yet intend me to become the prey of the +bony scytheman, as I have yet much to do for you, and much to bequeath, +which my spirit dictates and calls on me to complete before I depart +hence for the Elysian Fields; I feel as if I had written scarcely more +than a few notes." + +The initial performance of the first of the Galitzin Quartets took place +in the spring of 1825. Beethoven regarded the event as a momentous +occurrence and required the four performers, Schuppanzich, Weiss, Linke +and Holz, to sign a compact, each to "pledge his honor to do his best +to distinguish himself and vie with the other in zeal." + +The quartets once begun were carried on with ardor in the midst of most +distressing occurrences, chief of which were ill health and its twin +demon, poverty, as well as the waywardness of his nephew, all of which +tended to draw him to the spiritual life. The character of Beethoven's +work changed from the period of the Mass in D. An altered condition, an +altogether new, different strain is apparent thenceforth. The deeply +religious, mystical character of the first movement of the Ninth +Symphony can be attributed to his previous absorption on the Mass. He +worked out of this vein somewhat in the other movements as not being +adapted to the uses for which the symphony is designed, but it reappears +again in the quartets to the extent of dominating them. + +The one in B Flat, opus 130, completes the three for Prince Galitzin. Of +the Cavatina of this quartet, Holz is authority for saying that +Beethoven composed it with tears, and confessed that never before had +his own music made such an impression on him; that even the repetition +of it always cost him tears. In this movement Beethoven used the word +_Beklemmt_ (_Beklommen_) (oppressed, anxious) at a point where it +modulates into another key. His loneliness, superinduced by his life of +celibacy, by his deafness, his disappointment in his nephew, all had the +effect of separating him from the world. The spiritual side of his +nature, always active, had been brought into new life during his work on +the Mass, as we have seen. It was never thenceforth allowed to fall into +abeyance, but was developed in direct ratio with his withdrawal from +the world. An atavism from some remote Aryan ancestry inclined him, as +in the case of so many Germans, to mysticism and the occult. It was a +condition which had its compensations. That there were periods when he +saw visions may be conjectured by the character of the last quartets. +When they were written, Beethoven was in the shadow of death, on the +border-land of the other world, and from that proximity he relates his +experience. These works receive the reverence of all musicians for their +spirituality, their mysticism, their psychological qualities. They are +the revelations of the seer, awe-inspiring mementos of states and +conditions of mind which transcend the experiences of ordinary life. In +these last impassioned utterances of the master, we find a strain +holier, more profound, different from anything which the art of music +has yet produced. + +The Cavatina on its first performance, on March 21, 1826, was received +with indifference, and the finale, which was an exceedingly long and +difficult fugue, fared even worse. Self-sufficient as Beethoven was on +all matters connected with the working out of his musical thoughts, he +coincided for once with his friends and the publisher on the matter of +the fugue. He wrote a new finale for the quartet, and published the +fugue separately as opus 133. Joseph Boehm, the noted violinist, then in +his twenty-eighth year, rehearsed this fugue under Beethoven's +direction, and often played the violin part subsequently. + +The great C sharp minor Quartet opus 131, is the next one to claim our +attention. Beethoven characterized it as a piece of work worthy of him. +This colossal work was one which Wagner continually held up for the +commendation of mankind. It occupies among quartets a position +analogous to that of the Ninth Symphony in its own class. The summer of +1826 in which it was composed, was a period fraught with momentous +occurrences to the master, chief of which was the attempted suicide of +his nephew. The circumstances which led up to this catastrophe can be +briefly narrated. Beethoven had been disappointed in any and every plan +formed for the future of the young man. He at first looked for great +things from him; by gradual stages his expectations were so modified +that at last he began to fear that he would never be able to provide for +his own maintenance. + +The musical education of the young man had first engaged the master's +attention, in the hope that some of the family talent might have been +transmitted to him. When it became plain that nothing could be achieved +by him in a musical career, he was entered at the university of Vienna +with a view of making a scholar of him. Here he was unable to keep up +with his studies, owing to inattention. He failed to pass his +examination and left the school in consequence. Literature being closed +to him, he entered the Polytechnic school, intending to fit himself for +business life, but failed here also. That Karl's conduct caused the +master much anxiety appears in his letters to him. In some of them he +entreats him to do better, in others he upbraids him. Both lines of +reasoning seem to have been equally obnoxious to this careless, +indifferent young man, who objected to being taken to task for his +misdeeds, and hated "rows" and "scenes" with his uncle. When he failed +the second time he was at his wits' end in dread of his uncle's +reproaches. Many a stormy scene had occurred between them during the +two preceding years. So violent had these become, that the master was on +one occasion requested to find another apartment on account of the +complaints that came from other occupants of the house. It may very well +be that Beethoven expected too much from this carelessly reared youth, +whose mother lost no opportunity of embittering him against the master. +The young man probably never seriously contemplated suicide, but wanted +to give his uncle a scare. By working on his fears he reasoned that he +would be able to have his own way for a long while to come. He +threatened suicide, and the day following this threat actually went so +far as to shoot himself. He was not severely injured, but the attempt on +his life rendered him amenable to the laws of his country, and a short +confinement in the government hospital followed. + +Beethoven was greatly agitated on learning of the rash act. He had some +difficulty in finding him, as the young man had left his quarters and +went to another part of the city before carrying out his threat. With +the aid of friends he was finally located and an affecting scene +followed in which the master loaded him with kindness, treating him very +much as that other prodigal son was treated by his father. + +Beethoven's personal intervention with the magistrate eased the +situation for the nephew. Two very interesting letters from the master +in this connection were published some years ago in the Neuen Freien +Presse of Vienna, and are included in Herr Kalischer's Beethovenbriefe +published in Berlin in 1902. The following one shows Beethoven's ethical +character in strong light: + +To the Magistrate Czapka: + + DEAR SIR: + + Hofrath von Breuning and I have carefully considered what is best + to be done. We think for the time being no other course is + practicable than that Karl should remain with me a few days (during + the interval until he can enter the military service). His language + is still excitable under the impression that I would reprimand him + since he was capable of making an attempt on his life. He has, + however, shown himself quite affectionate toward me. Be assured + that to me fallen humanity is still holy. A warning from you would + probably have good results. It would do no harm to let him know + that unobserved he will be watched while with me. Accept my highest + esteem for yourself, and consider me as one who loves his kind, who + desires only good wherever possible. + Yours respectfully, + BEETHOVEN. + +In accordance with the English custom of putting the fool of the family +into the army, Stephen von Breuning had hit upon the plan of a military +career for Karl since all others seemed closed to him. Von Breuning, who +always had a faculty of being of service to Beethoven, was a counsellor +in the war-office. He urged on Beethoven the feasibility of procuring an +appointment for Karl in the army, and interested his superior, +Field-marshal Lieutenant von Stutterheim, in the matter. Beethoven was +not greatly in favor of a military career for the young man. "Uebrigens +bin ich gar nicht fuer den Militaerstandt," he says in a letter to Holz of +September 9, when the subject was first broached. He opposed it for a +while, but finally bowed to the inevitable. + +Toward the end of October, and before the negotiations in regard to the +army appointment were concluded, the young man was released from the +hospital, and placed under the control of the master, with the +injunction that he be removed from Vienna at once. At this juncture +brother Johann placed his country house at Gneixendorf at the disposal +of the master and nephew, and thither the two repaired, the elder, +stricken, bowed with grief; the youth, sullen and indifferent. The +master had never entered Johann's house since the summer of 1812, when +he had tried so ineffectually, as noted in a previous chapter, to break +up the relations existing between the pair while the lady was as yet +only the housekeeper. It must have been with great reluctance that he +considered visiting him at all. The sacrifice, if such there was, was +made in the interest of Karl; where this young scapegrace was concerned, +the master was generally willing to sink his own preferences. The +situation must have been embarrassing for all concerned, less so in +reality for the master than for the others. Absorbed in the composition +of the new finale, and also in the finishing up of the great C sharp +minor Quartet, he was for the most part oblivious to anything unusual in +his surroundings. Johann's wife, with the policy of her class, bore no +resentment, or at least showed none outwardly. A pleasant room on the +ground floor was fitted up for him, but the welcome must have been a +cold one at best. + +No doubt the Gutsbesitzer took much pleasure in showing off his +possessions to the brother whom he knew had little esteem for him at +heart. He paraded his own importance in the neighborhood, taking the +composer on business visits to prominent people. On these occasions he +would not usually introduce his brother, treating him as a kind of +appendage. The master, deep in the thought of creative work, was, no +doubt, to a great extent unconscious of this sordidness. At all events +he gave no sign. But he contributed very little to the social well-being +of the family. Two aims only seem to have occupied his mind at this +time: the welfare of his nephew, and the carrying to completion of a few +great works already sketched or begun. These included a Tenth Symphony, +(for the Philharmonic Society of London), the Oratorio, The Victory of +the Cross, for the Vienna Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, music to +Goethe's Faust, which latter he must have been in good mood for,--as +well as an overture on Bach. "I hope yet," he writes from Johann's home, +"to bring some great works into the world, and then like an old child, +to close my earthly career somewhere among good people." He worked with +feverish haste in the latter years of his life, whenever his health +permitted, even abandoning his books in favor of his work. Failing +health prevented him from forcing it ahead as in former years, but he +worked up to the limit of his powers. + +His habits while composing have been referred to in a previous chapter, +namely, that he was in the habit of singing, stamping, gesticulating, +while under the spell of his inspiration. This kind of thing was new to +the maid who looked after his room, and she managed to extract amusement +from it. Beethoven finally discovered her laughing at him, and forthwith +bundled her out of the room, giving orders that no female would be +admitted again. One of the men about the place, Michael Kren, was then +engaged, who performed his duties faithfully, and helped materially to +establish a more comfortable existence for the sick, helpless man. He +has narrated circumstantially the master's mode of life while at +Gneixendorf. He was up and at work at half-past five, beating time with +hands and feet, singing, humming. This went on until breakfast time, +half-past seven. This meal over he would hurry out of doors, (the +weather was fine that particular autumn) spending the morning going +about the fields, note-book in hand, his mind intent on his musical +thoughts, occasionally singing or calling out, going now slowly, then +very fast, at times stopping still to write out his ideas. This would go +on until noon, when he would return to the house for dinner. This was +served at half-past twelve, after which he would go to his room for +about two hours, then again to the fields until sunset. He was never out +in the evening as night air was considered bad for him. Supper was +served at half-past seven. His evenings were spent in his room, and at +ten o'clock he went to bed. + +This simple, regular life, with the healthful country air, should have +restored Beethoven's health in some measure could it have been continued +longer. His letters from here indicate that he expected some improvement +in this respect. Had not some untoward circumstances intervened, the +master's life might have been spared long enough to enable him to carry +to completion the list of works outlined above. + +That Johann had an ulterior object in asking his brother to visit him is +quite probable. The growing fame of the composer and the ever-increasing +value of his copyrights was well known to him. He had made money in his +dealings between composer and publisher in the past, and could have +made still more had he possessed his brother's confidence in a greater +degree. His cupidity however, prevented him from keeping up for long +even the semblance of kindness or hospitality. Fuel was so scantily +provided the sick guest that he suffered from cold, and he was told that +a charge would be made for the room. Other circumstances may have +contributed to bring about a climax. At all events the situation became +so unpleasant that he suddenly decided to return to Vienna. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +IN THE SHADOWS + + As a day well spent gives joyful sleep, + So does a life well spent give joyful death. + --LEONARDO DA VINCI. + + +The C sharp minor Quartet and the one in F, opus 135, which rounds out +this wonderful series, were all but completed before leaving Vienna on +the visit to Johann. That there was some polishing still to be done on +the latter is apparent from the fact that it has the superscription in +the master's handwriting, "Gneixendorf am 30 Oktober 1826." The finale +has these curious sentences: "Der schwergefasste Entschluss. Muss es +sein? Es muss sein." Question and answer turn on the subject of paying +his room rent according to Schindler, the dialogue being a reminiscence +of previous times. Beethoven often made some discussion when his rent +was demanded, either from the desire to extract some sport from the +situation, or from fear of being cheated. It often had to be +demonstrated to him by the aid of an almanac that the time was up and +the money really due. + +The only work begun and completed by the master while at Gneixendorf was +the new finale, which replaced the long fugue of the B flat Quartet. It +proved to be his last work. The series of unpleasant events referred to +in the last chapter ensued, and, without considering consequences, he +returned to Vienna. + +It is not likely that Johann or his wife exerted themselves much to keep +him longer. They intended spending the winter in Vienna themselves, and +were probably relieved to have the visit ended so that they could make +their preparations for the journey. With his usual impatience, he must +needs take the first conveyance which was to be had. Johann had a closed +carriage, but would not let him have it, and the journey was made in a +light open wagon. December had arrived and the weather, which had been +fine all the fall, was now bad. He was insufficiently clothed for the +two days' drive in such weather. He contracted inflammation of the lungs +on the way, and reached his quarters in the house of the Black +Spaniards, a very sick man. + +This house, his last earthly abiding-place, had been his home for the +past year. It was a disused monastery, which had been established in +1633 by the daughter of Philip III of Spain on taking up her residence +in Vienna after her marriage. The original building was destroyed in one +of the wars of that turbulent time, but was rebuilt at the end of the +seventeenth century. The building was demolished in 1904. It was +situated on the glacis, in a part of the city where Beethoven had lived +much of the time since coming to Vienna. + +The fates seem to have been against him from the beginning of his +journey. His sleeping-room was an enormous one on the second floor, +which, with two small anterooms, composed the apartment. The facilities +for heating a room of that size, in those times must have been wholly +inadequate. Several days elapsed before a physician could be found to +attend him. He had quarrelled with two of his former physicians and each +refused his aid. Finally, a professor from the medical college, a Dr. +Wawruch, was summoned, who took the case in hand. Schindler states that +it was several days before he or any of the master's friends knew of his +arrival in Vienna, and leaves the inference that he was unattended +during this interval except by his nephew. When they learned of his +return, Schindler and Stephen von Breuning were unremitting in their +attentions. + +As Beethoven had taken a violent prejudice against Dr. Wawruch, another +physician, Dr. Malfatti, was engaged, who acted in conjunction with the +former. The treatment was now changed, large quantities of iced punch +being administered, probably with the view of relieving the congestion +of the stomach. This mode of treatment exactly suited the sick man, a +result which was probably foreseen by the astute Dr. Malfatti, who had +prescribed for Beethoven during previous illnesses and knew his +patient's idiosyncrasies. Beethoven's childlike simplicity is +illustrated in the difference of his demeanor toward his two physicians. +He always had a warm welcome for the one who had administered the iced +punch, remembering no doubt its immediately alleviating and beneficial +results, but Dr. Wawruch fared poorly at his hands, especially when he +was in a bad humor. On more than one occasion when the latter appeared +the patient turned his face to the wall with the remark, "Ach der Esel." + +Everything possible was now done to add to his comfort. Two servants +were engaged to attend him. His friends cheered him by their visits. +Huemmel called, bringing his young pupil Ferdinand Hiller. Some of +Schubert's songs were brought him, probably by Huettenbrenner. They +consisted of Die Junge Nonne, Der Taucher, the Ossian songs, Die +Buergschaft. Schindler states they awakened the master's surprise and +delight, eliciting from him the remark, "Truly, Schubert has the divine +fire." + +Beethoven was so eager for work that he attempted composition again in +the intervals of his illness, but his strength was not sufficient to +enable him to go on with it. Hitherto his one resource in every +difficulty had been his work. The injunction of Saint-Simon, to lead +during the whole of the vigorous portion of manhood the most original +and active life possible, had been perforce carried out by him. Now that +his one resource, work, failed him, he was bereft. He sought to pass the +time by reading, and began with Kenilworth in a German translation, but +soon threw it down saying: "The man writes only for money." + +The volatile Holz did not fail him in his need, but manifested his +friendship by many kind acts. His former publishers the Haslingers, +Tobias and Karl, as well as Diabelli, called occasionally. The Archduke +at Olmuetz could hardly have been expected to come, especially as a fatal +termination was not for some time considered probable. We hear nothing +of Czerny, of Schuppanzich, of Linke, or of Zmeskall, which to say the +least, is singular. Schindler's omission of these names, however, has no +particular significance; he wrote many years after the event, and forgot +or omitted the mention of circumstances of greater importance than +this. It is not like what we know of the character of Czerny, or +Zmeskall, to neglect Beethoven in his extremity. The master's old +friend, Stumpf, of London, sent him a splendid edition of Haendel's works +in forty volumes, with which he occupied himself a good deal. They +afforded him much enjoyment. + +Anxiety on account of money, so prevalent all through these latter +years, was increased by his enforced abstinence from work. What he +chiefly desired now was sufficient ready money to carry him through, so +that he would not have to break into the little hoard put by for Karl +many years before. At this juncture the Philharmonic Society of London +sent him one hundred pounds, being an advance payment on account of a +concert they intended giving for his benefit. The initiative in this +matter was taken by Beethoven himself, and it is safe to say that +nothing that was done for him during this period was so appreciated, or +gave him so much pleasure, as this act of kindness from the Society. The +money reached him about ten days after an operation had been performed +on him for the relief of the dropsical accumulations incidental to his +liver trouble. Four such operations had been found necessary during this +illness. They were at best only palliative. His joy on receiving the +letter and money from London was such that the wound, not yet healed, +opened, and a great discharge followed. A letter of thanks was sent to +the Society, dictated by the master, but he was too weak even to sign +it. + +Schindler relates that Beethoven on nearing middle-age, was wont to +indulge himself in day-dreams of a prosperous future, in which he could +have sufficient means to enable him to live in comfort, keep his +carriage like brother Johann, and have leisure for the refinements of +life. This illusion, maintained by most workers, no doubt brightened his +prosaic, solitary life. Pity that he could not have realized it in some +measure: after the heat and burden of the day, in which he had so well +acquitted himself, it would seem fitting, had he had an evening of life +such as was vouchsafed Wagner, with opportunity for completing his +life-work in peace and contentment. + +One result achieved by the master as a consequence of his visit to +Gneixendorf would have afforded him great satisfaction could he have +known it. The matter of making suitable provision for Karl in event of +his own death had lain on his conscience for some time before this +visit, as already stated. While there, he begged his brother Johann to +make a will in Karl's favor, which eventually came to pass. + +The army appointment, of which mention has been made, became an +established fact early in December, and the young man soon after left +Vienna to join his regiment. Beethoven never saw him again. He by this +time concurred with his friends in the opinion that the discipline of +military life might be beneficial to him, and was resigned to the +separation. + +The great C sharp minor Quartet is indelibly associated with Karl, +through its dedication to Baron von Stutterheim, through whom the +appointment came. The decision to dedicate this work to the Baron, was +arrived at only two weeks before the master's death. The work had been +for some time in the hands of the publishers, Messrs. Schott of Mayence. +Beethoven, finally becoming aware that no more works could be produced +by him, and wishing to reward the Baron in the only way possible, +dictated an urgent letter to Messrs. Schott on the subject. "The +Quartet," he said, "must be dedicated to Field-marshal von Stutterheim, +to whom I am under great obligations. Should the first dedication by any +possibility be already engraved, I beg of you, on every account, to make +this alteration. I will gladly pay any extra expense connected with it." + +The last Quartet, opus 135, is dedicated to Johann Wolfmayer, a merchant +of Vienna with whom he had much friendly intercourse. Wolfmayer showed +his interest in the master's work in many ways. It may be mentioned that +he offered him a sum equal to several hundreds of dollars to carry out +his project of writing a Requiem Mass. "Write to Stumpf and Smart," he +said to Schindler a few days before his death, when already too weak to +speak above a whisper. His consideration for others was paramount even +in the face of approaching death. + +Notwithstanding the hopeful tone which characterized the letters written +during his last illness, there were times when he knew that he was +making a losing fight. Already on January 3, a month after his return +from Gneixendorf, he wrote a letter to his attorney, Dr. Bach, in the +form of a will, in which as may be supposed, his nephew is his sole +heir. No conditions were imposed on the young man, who, had the will +remained in this form, might have squandered the entire amount. (The +estate netted $5000). This was pointed out to Beethoven by his +counsellor, Dr. Bach, and also Von Breuning, who urged on him the +necessity of adding a codicil to the will, in which the principal would +be tied up for life, leaving only the income available. This he resisted +to within a few days before the end, but finally gave in, and, not +without great difficulty, wrote with his own hand a codicil, consisting +of but three lines, in which the income only was to be enjoyed by the +nephew, the principal to revert to his natural or testamentary heirs, +after Karl's death. Breuning, true to his sense of duty, not satisfied +with having gained his point, endeavored, at the risk of antagonizing +the master, to change the words "natural or testamentary heirs," to +"legitimate heirs." Beethoven was obdurate on the point, however, +saying, "the one term is as good as the other." Von Breuning, good +faithful friend that he was, survived Beethoven but one year. + +Schindler dwells on the perfect tranquillity of Beethoven in the face of +approaching death. "Plaudite amici, comoedia finita est," he said on +the day when the codicil was written. On the following day at noon, he +received the last rites of the church. The event was no doubt a solemn +one. Soon after, the death-struggle began, and continued without +interruption for two days. Huettenbrenner was a faithful attendant during +these last days. His friend Schubert also called, at least once, and, it +is said, was recognized by Beethoven, although he was unable to speak to +him. + +The nervous strain on his friends in witnessing this struggle between +life and death, in which but the one issue was possible, must have been +great. It was, no doubt, a relief to Schindler and Von Breuning to leave +the master in Huettenbrenner's charge on the afternoon of the 26th of +March, and go to Wahring in order to secure a burial-place. While on +this necessary errand, a terrific storm arose, which prevented their +return until night. Meanwhile, Huettenbrenner, left alone with the +master, endeavored to ease his position by sustaining his head, holding +it up with his right arm. His breathing had been growing perceptibly +weaker, carrying the conviction that the end was near. The storm was of +unusual severity, covering the glacis with snow and sleet. The situation +of the building was such that it was exposed to the full fury of the +tempest. No sign was given by the master that he was conscious of this +commotion of the elements. With the subsidence of the storm at dusk, the +watcher was startled by a flash of lightning, which illumined +everything. This was succeeded by a terrific peal of thunder which +penetrated even Beethoven's ears. Startled into consciousness by the +unusual event, the dying man suddenly raised his head from +Huettenbrenner's embrace, threw out his right arm with the fist doubled, +remained in this position a moment as if in defiance, and fell back +dead. + +The two friends returned some hours after all was over. The master died +at a quarter before six o'clock on the evening of March 26, 1826. He was +in his fifty-seventh year. + +The funeral took place on March 29 at 3 P.M. from the church of the +Minorites and was attended by many of the most prominent people of the +city. Eight musicians bore the coffin from the house to the church, +while thirty-two torch-bearers followed it, among the number being +Czerny and Schubert. This was followed by a choir of sixteen male +singers, and four trombones, which alternated in singing and playing. +The music consisted of two equali composed by Beethoven many years +before, arranged for this occasion by Seyfried, to the words of the +_Miserere_ and _Amplius_. + +Notwithstanding the immense concourse of people assembled at the +obsequies, estimated at twenty thousand, there was but one relative to +occupy the position of mourner, and that was Johann. + +On April 3, Mozart's Requiem was sung at the church of the Augustines, +and shortly thereafter, Cherubini's Requiem was sung for him at the +Karlskirche. + +The magnificence of his funeral, when compared with his simple mode of +life, calls to mind the great contrasts which he was always producing in +his music. Equally great contrasts had always come up in his life. +Living in the proudest most exclusive and bigoted monarchy in Europe, at +a time when feudal authority had not yet been entirely abolished, he +held himself to be as good or better than Emperor or Cardinal. On +receiving a request one morning from the Empress of Austria to call on +her, he sent back word that he would be busy all that day, but would +endeavor to call on the following day. There is no record of his having +gone at all. His unjustifiable conduct toward the Imperial family, while +at Toeplitz with Goethe, has been touched on in a previous chapter. +Frimmel states that something similar occurred at Baden, but does not +give his authority. Beethoven arraigned the Judiciary, even when writing +conciliatory letters to the judges. In his letters to the different +magistrates during the litigation over his nephew, he is often satirical +and sarcastic in spite of himself. His criticisms of other judges, his +references to the manner in which justice is administered in Austria, +illustrate his temerity and independence. His scorn of the King of +Saxony, on account of being dilatory in paying the subscription for the +Grand Mass, was pronounced. He alludes to him as "the poor Dresdener" in +his letters, and he even went so far as to talk about suing him when the +payment was still longer withheld.[F] All this from a man who at times +did not have a decent coat to wear, or a second pair of shoes; who +sometimes accepted advances from his housekeeper for the necessaries of +life. His life was so simple and circumscribed that he never saw the +ocean, or a snow-covered mountain, although living within sight of the +foothills of the Alps. He never returned to his native city though +living not a great distance from it. + +[F] Kalischer. _Neue Beethovenbriefe_. Berlin, 1902. + +The immediate cause of death, as demonstrated by the post-mortem held +the day after his decease, was cirrhosis of the liver, the dropsy, of +which Schindler makes such frequent mention, being an outcome of, and +connected with, the liver trouble. The organ showed every indication of +chronic disease. It was greatly shrunken, its very texture being changed +into a hard substance. That alcoholism is the commonest cause of +cirrhosis is well known, but in Beethoven's case some other cause for +the disease must be found. He was in the habit of taking wine with his +meals, a practice so common in Vienna at that time that not to have done +so would have been regarded as an eccentricity, but he never indulged in +it to excess, except possibly on a few occasions when in the company of +Holz. It can hardly be brought about by the use of wines, but is +produced by the inordinate use of spirituous liquors, something for +which Beethoven did not care. Cirrhosis was probably the cause of his +father's death, as he was a confirmed inebriate; but this cannot be +connected with the cirrhosis of the son; the disease is not +transmissible. + +Beethoven's deafness probably began with a "cold in the head" which was +neglected. The inflammatory process then extended to the Eustachian +tubes. When it reached this point it was considered out of the reach of +treatment in his time, and for long after. Even in our own time, in the +light of advanced medical science, such a condition is serious and is +not always amenable to treatment, some impairment of the hearing +frequently occurring even with the best of care and under conditions +precluding the thought of a congenital tendency. The difficulty as +revealed by the post-mortem, lay in a thickening of the membrane of the +Eustachian tubes. The office of these tubes is to supply air to the +cavity on the inner side of the drum-membrane, known as the middle ear. +As is well known, a passage exists from the outer ear to the drum. The +Eustachian tubes connect the middle ear with the upper portion of the +throat from whence the air supply to the middle ear is obtained. We +cannot imagine a drum to be such unless there is air on both sides of +the membrane. Exhaust the air of an ordinary drum, and its resonance +would be gone. A similar condition obtained with Beethoven. With the +closure of the Eustachian tubes the air supply to the middle ear was cut +off; the air in the cavity finally became absorbed, and a retraction and +thickening of the drum-membrane with consequent inability to transmit +sound vibrations followed. + +The hypothesis of heredity, sometimes brought forward to account for +his deafness, would have more weight had the lesion shown itself in the +case of either of his other brothers. As it is, there is no hint to be +found of even a tendency to deafness in any other of the Beethovens, +whether Johann, Karl, or the nephew. In any event a congenital tendency +of this kind would have been more likely to develop itself in Karl, the +weakling, than in the sturdy Ludwig. + +The master's known impulsiveness and carelessness in matters connected +with the preservation of his health, lead to the conclusion that he +himself contributed much to his deafness. He was fond of pure air +outside, but sometimes had for a sleeping room an alcove wholly without +ventilation, so dark that he had to dress in another room. We hear much +of his practice of taking brisk walks on the ramparts or in the suburbs, +in the intervals of his work. There is at least one instance on +record,--there were probably many such cases,--of his coming in after a +walk, overheated, perspiring, and seating himself before an open window +in a draught. Another hygienic measure which he abused was his custom of +frequently bathing his head in cold water while at work, probably to +counteract the excessive circulation of the blood in the head brought +about by his brain-work. A chilling of the body, particularly in the +neck and the back of the head when overheated is a frequent cause of +inflammation of the middle ear. Von Frimmel calls attention to the +dust-storms which are a feature of Vienna. They were probably worse in +Beethoven's time than now, as but little attention was paid to hygienic +measures in those days. This no doubt aggravated the trouble. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +LIFE'S PURPORT + + Das Grenzenlose braust um mich. Weit hinaus glaenzt mir Raum und + Zeit. Wohlan! Wohlauf! altes Herz. + --FRIEDERICH NIETZSCHE. + + +Beethoven's life in its devotion to the attainment of a single end, the +perfection of his art, affords an object lesson, which cannot fail to +encourage and stimulate every one engaged in creative work of any kind. +His earnestness and industry is the key-note to his achievement. He +worked harder than any composer we have any record of, with the possible +exception of Wagner. If we consider how the compositions improved in his +hands, while being worked over, as is shown by the sketch-books, a +simple process of reasoning will convince the reader that any man's +work, in any line, can be improved by adopting the same methods. +Beethoven's own words in this connection are, "the boundary does not yet +exist, of which it can be said to talent cooperating with industry, +'Thus far shalt thou go and no farther.'" The more he worked over his +compositions the better they became. When he required a theme for a +particular purpose, if the right thought did not at once come to mind, +his practice was to write as near it as possible. By the time this was +done an improvement would suggest itself. He would then write it again, +and before the ink was dry, would start at it yet again, each effort +bringing him nearer the goal, and this progress was the incentive that +led him to continue until the idea he was reaching for became a reality. +His intuitive faculties were highly developed, and he had Goethe's +"heavenly gift" of imagination, but this would have been as nothing +without his power of concentration. All his abilities were focused on +his art. He made everything else subservient to the one idea of +attaining perfection in it. He succeeded too, by giving his genius free +play, by allowing his individuality to shape itself in accordance with +its own laws. The circumstances of his life favored this action. +Responsible to no one for years before reaching maturity, he was nowhere +hampered or repressed as might have been the case had he had a home +life. Strong characters are best left alone to work out their own +development. It is only the weak ones that have to be supported. He met +every demand that his art made on him. It was only by a complete +surrender, by a concentration of all his forces into one channel, that +he attained his results. By losing the world, he gained it. The great +ones in every age, in every art or calling,--those who attained to +saintship,--seers,--prophets,--all went this road. + +He had absolute confidence in his judgment. He seldom considered what +his audience would like. The best that was in him was what he gave to +the world. He knew its value, and if others could not understand it, he +knew the time would come when it would be appreciated. In art as in +religion, faith is a necessary preliminary to all great achievements. + +In going so far beyond us, in pushing the art to the limit of its +possibilities, Beethoven has made portions of his work inaccessible to +the large body of people who look upon music as an art for enjoyment +only. The same kind of problem that is presented to this generation in +the works of his last years, confronted his contemporaries in those of +his middle life, which were as far beyond the comprehension of his own +generation as the more abstruse works of his last years are beyond the +ability of the present. To a future age, seemingly, has been relegated, +as an heritage of the past, the best fruit of Beethoven's genius. When +the Mass in D and the last Quartets can be heard frequently, a new era +in the art will have been inaugurated. + +It would be a mistake to suppose that Beethoven was a pessimist, or a +misanthrope. Placed here to live and suffer, not knowing why it should +be so, he yet teaches that relentless fate cannot prevail against those +who make a good fight. "I did not wish to find when I came to die that I +had not lived," said Thoreau, paraphrasing from Voltaire, (most men die +without having lived). "I did not wish to live what was not life, living +is so dear." Beethoven's idea of the purport of life was similar. He +believed, and put his theory into practice, that each man has within +himself the potentialities with which he shapes his own destiny. Fate +and Destiny are verities that have to be faced, but they do not have all +their own way with us. Each of us has the power to control his destiny +to some extent. By willing it so the tendency is toward betterment. +Always the highest powers are on our side. Life, after all, is worth +while. This was the gist of his philosophy. He sought to establish an +optimistic view of life, with the object of making the problem easier to +solve. + +Fichte, in his work "Ueber das Wesen des Gelehrten", gives the literary +man the place of priest in the world, continually unfolding the Godlike +to man. This was also Beethoven's aim. Haydn charged him with being an +atheist, but his works as well as his life refute this charge. The Kyrie +and the Agnus Dei of the Mass in D, could never have been produced had +he been other than a devout, religious man. In his journals he +continually addresses the Godhead. Outwardly, however, he gave no sign. +"Religion and general-bass," he said once, with a touch of humor, "are +in themselves two inscrutable things (_abgeschlossene Dinge_) about +which one should not argue." + +He was solicitous that his nephew should receive proper religious +instruction, and made this a point in his letters to the magistrates +while the lawsuit over him was in progress. After giving his ideas as to +the proper education of the young man, in which French, Greek, music and +drawing take a prominent place, he adds, "I have found a holy father who +has undertaken to instruct him in his duties as a Christian, as well as +a man, for only on this foundation can we bring up genuine people." +Again, "It is for his soul's welfare that I am concerned. Wealth can be +achieved, but morality must early in life be inoculated" (_eingeimpft_). +He saw the necessity of religion; that it has been called forth through +the consciousness of utter helplessness in the individual. Man is +encompassed on all sides by inexorable laws, produced and perpetuated by +a power beyond and outside the comprehension. The expression of the +religious sentiment is his effort at propitiation, and is his one +resource. This is the point of view on which Beethoven projected the +grand mass. It is what governed his life. + +An inner pressure led him to choose a life of self-abnegation and +rectitude. He saw through and over and beyond the illusions and +allurements of the senses, and so was enabled to live entirely in +harmony with the moral order of the world, in an age, and among a +people, largely given over to the pursuit of pleasure. + +A long life is generally considered the best gift which the Fates have +to bestow. In the summary of a man's life it is usually treated of as +implying special virtues in the subject. But a long life in itself is as +nothing in comparison to the quality of the life that is lived. It is by +achievement only that its value can be determined. + + + + +WAGNER'S INDEBTEDNESS TO BEETHOVEN + + +FOREWORD + +Beethoven, in Wagner's estimation, is a landmark in music, just as +Shakespeare is in literature, as Jesus or Buddha in religion. He is the +central figure; all others are but radii emanating from him. To +Beethoven was it given to express clearly what the others could but +dimly perceive. The relation of men like Bach or Haendel toward +Beethoven, Wagner held to be analogous to that of the prophets toward +Jesus, namely, one of expectancy. The art reached its culmination in +Beethoven. This is Wagner's summary of the significance of Beethoven's +work, and he proclaimed it continually, from the housetops. It was in +some sort a religious exercise to him to make propaganda for the master +to whom he felt himself so deeply indebted. The burden of his utterances +on the subject of the musician's art is, "A greater than I exists. It is +Beethoven." + + + + + Chiefly, perhaps, of the philosopher and the poet must we needs + feel that if any genius reaches out into an interpenetrating + spiritual world, _theirs_ must do so.--F.W.H. MYERS, + Human Personality, Chapter on Genius. + + In art the best of all is too spiritual to be given directly to the + senses; it must be born in the imagination of the beholder, + although begotten by the work of art.--SCHOPENHAUER. + +Wagner's achievement can be attributed, in part, to a certain quality of +intellectual receptivity, by virtue of which he was enabled to +appropriate to himself the genius of two of his predecessors for whom he +had a special affinity. His epoch-making work was rendered possible +through Shakespeare and Beethoven, who served him as models all his +life. + +Every great achievement is referable to some preceding one often quite +as great but more obscure. No man stands alone in his deed. The doer of +every great work has been helped thereto by his predecessors working the +same soil. The greater the performance, the more prominently this comes +out sometimes, as in the case of Shakespeare whose indebtedness to +Christopher Marlowe and others will at once come to mind. + +To Beethoven and to Shakespeare, Wagner paid tribute on all occasions. +Especially is this true in his relation to Beethoven, to whom he readily +yields the palm in the realm of music. In the eight volumes of his +_Gesammelte Schriften_, no single fact stands out more clearly than his +recognition of Beethoven as his chief, his master, from whom proceeds +all wisdom and knowledge and truth. One can hardly read any of Wagner's +prose writings without seeing how readily he falls into the place of +disciple of Beethoven. "I knew no other pleasure," he says in A +Pilgrimage to Beethoven, "than to plunge so deeply into his genius that +at last I fancied myself become a portion thereof." The Pilgrimage, +though an imaginative work, is the medium he employed to give utterance +to his regard for Beethoven. His letters to musical friends, to Liszt, +to Fischer, especially those to Ulig, are filled with praise of the +older master. In a letter to Meyerbeer, in 1887, he states how he came +to be a musician. "A passionate admiration of Beethoven impelled me to +this step." The only one who was good enough in Wagner's eyes to be +compared with Beethoven, was Shakespeare. These two names are frequently +brought into juxtaposition in his works. No musician is worthy of +comparison with his demigod. "Mozart died when he was just piercing into +the mystery. Beethoven was the first to enter in," he says in his +Sketches. As if even this praise were too great, he severely criticises +Mozart's operas and symphonies elsewhere. + +The deferential attitude which Wagner assumes toward Beethoven is not +accorded any other musician. Consciously or not, when he talks about +other musicians (except Bach) he, for the most part, assumes the role of +censor. But Beethoven comes in for unstinted praise. "It is impossible," +he says, "to discuss the essential nature of Beethoven's music without +at once falling into the tone of rhapsody." + +Wagner seems hardly to have been able, when writing about music, to +refrain from mention of Beethoven, he is so full of the subject. It has +a bearing on every important event in his life. At the ceremonies +attending the laying of the foundation-stone of the Festival Play House +at Bayreuth, the Ninth Symphony was performed, and in a little speech he +says: "I wish to see the Ninth Symphony regarded as the foundation-stone +of my own artistic structure." In "Religion and Art" we find these +words: "to whom the unspeakable bliss has been vouchsafed of taking one +of the last four symphonies of Beethoven into his heart and soul." + +Many enthusiasts have worked in Wagner's cause from Liszt down, but none +have equalled Wagner in this respect--in enthusiasm for _his_ master. He +pays tribute to Beethoven in all conceivable places. He first heard of +him when told of his death. His first acquaintance with Beethoven's +music was a year after the master's death, on his arrival at Leipzig at +the Gewandhaus concerts. Wagner was then in his sixteenth year. "Its +impression on me was overpowering," he says. "The music to his Egmont so +inspired me that I determined not to allow my own completed tragedy to +be launched until provided with such like music. Without the slightest +diffidence I believed that I could write this needful music." He had up +to this time no special leaning toward music. He had not previously +entertained a thought of it as a career, but his first hearing of +Beethoven's music decided him to adopt it, such was the kinship between +these two minds. Through Beethoven he discovered that "music," to use +his own words, "is a new language in which that which is boundless can +express itself with a certainty impossible to be misunderstood."[G] + +[G] Thoreau, in 1840, expressed himself similarly. We quote from the +recently published Service. "Music is a language, a mother tongue, a +more mellifluous and articulate language than words, in comparison with +which speech is recent and temporary. There is as much music in the +world as virtue. In a world of peace and love music would be the +universal language and men greet each other in the fields in such +accents as a Beethoven now utters at rare intervals at a distance." + +The episode made a turning-point in his life. Hitherto his whole mind +and thought had been placed on literature, the drama in particular, as a +career. Through Beethoven he first learned what a power music possesses +in the portrayal of the emotions and passions. He had, as he says, an +intimate love and knowledge of Mozart without apparently being much +influenced thereby. Up to this time Shakespeare had been his archetype. +Now, with a fine discriminating intelligence, marvellous in a youth of +sixteen, Beethoven is to be included in this hero-worship, and is +eventually to supplant his former ideal. "It was Beethoven who opened up +the boundless faculty of instrumental music for expressing elemental +storm and stress," he says in the "Art-Work of the Future," and +elsewhere in the same article, "the deed of the one and only +Shakespeare, which made of him a universal man, a very god, is yet but +the kindred deed of the solitary Beethoven, who found the language of +the artist-manhood of the future." + +Wagner's criticisms on music are admirable. Here he expresses his +thoughts as plainly as in his compositions. His disquisitions on music +as an art and on Beethoven in particular, are always lucid and forcible. +He may be misty in his philosophical speculations, but when he speaks +on music it is in the authoritative tone of the master, familiar with +every phase of his subject. He always contributes something of value, +and his thoughts are an illumination. + +Had Wagner never written a line of music, had he elected to be a +literary man, a poet, a dramatist, philosopher, his fame to-day would +still be world-wide. Had he confined his genius into this one channel of +literary expression, as was his original intention, with his mental +equipment, and a Napoleonic ambition that balked at nothing, the product +would have been as original and extraordinary, we may be sure, as is his +art-product in music. Wagner, the musician, is so commanding a figure +that the literary man is obscured; but when we consider the magnitude of +his literary achievement, the dramas Tannhaeuser, Lohengrin, Flying +Dutchman, Tristan, Parsifal, the stupendous Ring of the Nibelung, the +essays on music, philosophy, criticism and sociology, and reflect that +it is, so to speak, a by-product, it becomes apparent that, had he made +literature his chief aim in life, the result would have been notable in +the annals of the century. + +Wagner seriously contemplated writing a biography of Beethoven at one +time, and devoted several months to collecting materials for it. But his +finances were still in bad shape, and he was unable to undertake it +without an order from some publisher, who would have been required to +advance money. He was unable to find such a party, and the project was +abandoned, most unfortunately, as he would have made a valuable +contribution to the subject. The short biographical sketch he wrote on +Beethoven on the centenary anniversary of the master's birth, shows +marvellous insight, especially in relation to the critical and +analytical parts of it. This work, instinct with worship of the master, +is a product of Wagner's mature years. Here, as in his earliest +utterances on Beethoven, he is the disciple glad to do homage to his +master. + +"A century may pass," said Schopenhauer in a letter to the publishers of +the (English) Foreign Review and Continental Miscellany, offering to +translate Kant for them, in response to a wish he had seen expressed in +their journal that England might ere long have a translation of Kant, "a +century may pass ere there shall again meet in the same head so much +Kantian Philosophy, with so much English, as happen to dwell together in +mine." Likewise centuries may elapse before another such musician will +appear possessing the literary ability, critical faculty, ardor and +enthusiasm that Wagner had for this work. + +There is an affinity between them in which mind speaks to mind. When +writing on Bach's influence on Beethoven, he says:[H] "If Haydn passed +as teacher of the youth, for the mightily unfolding art-life of the man, +our great Sebastian Bach became his leader. Bach's wonder-work became +his Bible; in it he read, and clean forgot that world of clangor heard +no longer." This describes Wagner's own spiritual relationship to +Beethoven, and the exaltation that must have been his on reading the +symphonies, the Mass in D, the overtures. He exhausts himself in praise +of each. He makes the Third Leonore Overture of as much account as the +entire opera; he continually refers to the Egmont and the Coriolanus +Overtures, and says that in the latter and in the Third Leonore, +Beethoven stands alone and beyond all imitation. + +[H] Mr. Ellis's translation. + +An evidence of Wagner's overpowering genius exists in the originality +and unique character of his work, while giving himself up so +unreservedly to this spiritual guidance. The two, however, were quite +unlike in many respects. Neither could have done the work of the other. +Beethoven, almost a failure in operatic composition, undertook it no +more after one trial, while Wagner was irresistibly drawn to this style +from the beginning. He felt that with Beethoven the last word had been +said in pure instrumental music, while his literary talents also served +to draw him into this field of operatic composition where they could +find their proper outlet. With that unerring poetic sense which guided +him in the selection of his subjects, he always has the romantic element +to the fore. The atmosphere of romanticism which invests all his works, +is what gives them much of their value. Through the force and purity of +his literary instinct, he was enabled to select topics of supreme +interest, so that his imagination was kept at white heat while +composing. His originality and absolute confidence in himself prevented +him from following Beethoven to any marked extent. He was forced to hew +out a new path for himself. He was, however, not averse to occasionally +taking a hint from him when it would serve his purpose. It is the +prerogative of genius to take its material wherever it can be found. +"Plato," said Emerson, "plays sad havoc with our originalities." +Beethoven's influence is plainly discernible in the preludes and +overtures of the Wagner dramas, which are symphonic throughout. The +frequent use Wagner makes of the trombones, when he wishes to be +particularly impressive, recalls Beethoven. Each had a high opinion of +the trombone where solemnity was required, and made constant use of it. +Beethoven applied it with peculiar effect in the Benedictus of the Mass +in D, and in the Ninth Symphony, which is paralleled by Wagner's use of +it in Parsifal, and in the Funeral march in Siegfried. The extraordinary +uses to which he puts the pedal-point, as well as the variation form, +are instances which show the influence of the older master. + +When, however, he takes an idea from Beethoven, he improves on it, +broadening and amplifying it, in general putting it to a better use than +it was where he found it. A great dramatic work admits of fuller and +longer treatment of an idea than is possible in the other forms in which +music can be embodied. The instances just quoted are minor ones of +general application. Of the conceptions in which he is specially +indebted to Beethoven, the most important come from the Mass in D. Here +the older master, by the very form in which the ideas are cast, had to +hold himself in. He was not able to give them the significance in the +Mass, which is perfectly proper in great music dramas; and this +enlarging and widening of the poetic conception,--this splendor in which +it is portrayed,--not only justifies the course of his follower in +adopting it, but also calls attention anew to the commanding genius to +whom such things are possible. + +Some of Wagner's most entrancing effects have their origin in Beethoven. +His method of using the violins and flutes in the highest register in +prolonged notes, as in the Lohengrin Prelude, and in general when +portraying celestial music, are obtained from this source. The Mass in D +gives several instances where this idea is presented, not by harp (the +customary way), but as Wagner has done in Lohengrin, by the violins and +wood-winds in the highest register, beginning pianissimo, gradually +descending and augmenting in volume and sonority as the picturing merges +from spiritual to worldly concerns. Beethoven's work abounds in +intellectual subtleties of this kind. Wagner is sometimes credited with +having originated this method for the portrayal of celestial music. Mr. +Louis C. Elson says: "Wagner, alone, of all the great masters, does not +use the harp for celestial tone coloring, but violins and wood-winds, in +prolonged notes in the highest positions. Schumann, Berlioz, +Saint-Saens, in fact all the modern tone colorists who have given +celestial pictures, use the harp in them, purely because of the +association of ideas which come to us from the Scriptures, and this +association of the harp with heaven and the angels, only came about +because the instrument was the most developed possessed by man at the +time the sacred book was written. Wagner's tone coloring is +intrinsically the more ecstatic.... Wagner is the first who has broken +through this harp conventionality." + +In the Wagner-Liszt correspondence, Wagner states that the Lohengrin +Prelude typifies choirs of angels bearing the Holy Grail to earth. This +idea and the method of its development can be found in the symphonic +thought which follows the Preludium to the Benedictus of the Beethoven +Mass. + +It will be necessary to make a short digression and explain a portion of +the canon of the Mass to enable the reader to understand what follows. +During the office of the Eucharist the celebrant repeats certain prayers +inaudible to the congregation. These begin during the latter part of the +Sanctus, which immediately precedes the Benedictus, and are connected +with the ceremony of the consecration of the Host. A part of them are +conducted in absolute silence. The choir is not required to be silent +during all the prayers said by the celebrant, and the occasion is +frequently utilized, particularly at high festivals, by the introduction +of orchestral music or a brilliant chorus. The choir is silent during +the elevation of the Host and chalice, which takes place immediately +after the consecration. It is a period of peculiar solemnity, the +congregation kneeling in silent prayer at the signal of a gong. After +the consecration the priest elevates the Host and chalice, and with the +people still kneeling, offers up a prayer silently, the conclusion of +which is as follows: "We most humbly beseech Thee, Almighty God, command +these things to be carried by the hands of Thy holy angels to Thy altar +on high, in the sight of Thy Divine Majesty, that as many as shall +partake of the most sacred body and blood of Thy Son at this altar may +be filled with every heavenly grace and blessing." The central thought +of this prayer is that the sacred elements are borne to heaven by +invisible hands. + +In the Beethoven Mass a Preludium for orchestra is introduced, to fill +in the interval while the celebrant is occupied with these silent +prayers. It is an innovation, showing how thoroughly alive Beethoven was +to the development of every phase of his subject. Ordinarily, no +provision is made for this by the composer, the organist being permitted +the privilege of interpolating hymns like the O Salutaris or the Tantum +ergo. The Preludium is so timed that it ends at the conclusion of the +prayer we have quoted, when the sacred elements are in heaven and are +about being returned to earth. It is at this point that the symphonic +thought begins, which at the first bar calls to mind celestial +harmonies. Here we have the tone-figure, as in the Lohengrin Prelude, +given by the violins and flutes in the highest register, beginning in +faintest pianissimo. At the second bar the melody begins to descend, +being augmented in force by the gradual addition of the more powerful +instruments as well as voices when the elements are again on earth. The +Lohengrin Prelude has the same idea, but it is developed to a greater +extent, with a richer orchestration, the idea being carried to greater +length, and rendered more significant in every way, as befits its +dramatic character. In both cases, however, the orchestral figure is +introduced by the same instruments, and in much the same manner. + +The Mass in D furnishes another instance where the celestial harmonies +are introduced to still better purpose than in the Benedictus. It is in +that portion of the Credo, beginning with the Et incarnatus. The +delicate ethereal nature of this music, as indicated by the violins and +flutes in the highest positions, is so transcendental, so imbued with +spirituality, as almost to evade analysis. By the magic of Beethoven's +art the impression is conveyed that the listener overhears far-off angel +voices from other spheres, when the heavens were opened for the descent +of the Son of God to earth. The instruments give out the merest +intimations of sound, scintillations that suggest it rather. In the +opening bars of the movement, just before the introduction of this +tone-figure, he uses an ancient ecclesiastical style, the Plagal, a mode +that obtained centuries before Palestrina. Harsh and strident, +inharmonious, are the tones, which in the opening Adagio typify the +dread, the foreboding and dismay, that can be supposed to have been felt +by the Son of God when the time came to give up a beatific state and +enter on the actualities of earthly existence. The sin of the world is +already being borne in anticipation. Suddenly we are in the midst of +celestial harmonies, delicate gradations and mergings of tones, +subtleties of expression, ethereal, evanescent, that come faintly at +first on the senses, giving us revelations of spiritual heights, of +transcendent states and conditions of the soul. Mankind is here afforded +a glimpse beyond the veil. These strains continue until the words _et +homo factus est_ (and was made man) are reached. At this point the +melodies are suddenly cut off, the doors are closed, and we are excluded +from further participation in things not meant for mortal ears. A change +of tonality and time further accentuates the changed conditions that +prevail as the story goes through the events of the crucifixion, death +and burial of Christ.[I] + +[I] Beethoven's love of strongly defined contrasts is nowhere better +illustrated than here. The sharp discordant tones, which characterize +the opening bars of the movement, are simply pushed aside by the new. It +is the subjugation of the worldly by the spiritual, of suffering by +happiness. + +The Mass in D can be said to be the parent of some of the Parsifal +music. Wagner had the discernment to seize on the intellectual +subtleties he found there, and to put them to happiest uses. If we +compare the instrumental effects just noted with the exquisitely +delicate music that opens the Parsifal Prelude after the introductory +_leit motif_, we find a solution to each, as well as an affinity, in the +religious mysticism in which each is enveloped. There is a central +theme, but so shadowy and unreal as to be hardly apparent. Like a nimbus +these shimmerings of sound from the violins surround and permeate it, so +that one is not aware of any particular melody, but rather it is +perceived that the atmosphere is full of a divine melody, as if by +spiritual insight the listener had attained to a state of mind akin to +that of the seer, and had, for the time being, become one with the +composer. The effect is produced of being in the presence of something +holy. + +The _Naturlangsamkeit_ necessary to the birth of any great art-work +sometimes extends to its recognition and appreciation by the public. +Beethoven considered the Mass in D his greatest achievement, but it +gains ground very slowly. It is rarely mentioned, and seldom performed. +Similarly Bach's greatest works slumbered nearly a century until brought +to light by Mendelssohn. + +It is significant that Wagner was as world-weary from middle-age on as +was Beethoven. Like him he took refuge in creative work. Both were +pioneers, always in advance of their time, cheerfully making the +sacrifices which this position entails, diverging ever more and more +with advancing years from beaten paths and the ideas of others on the +subject of their art. Resignation and asceticism, the goal of mankind, +was Wagner's solution of the problem of existence, a conclusion arrived +at after reading Schopenhauer. Beethoven had also come to it long before +reaching middle-age. Wagner was, in his later years, a mystic, as was +Beethoven; and like Beethoven his most congenial work in those years was +of a religious character. + + + + +INDEX + +Adagio, the, 62. +Adversity, school of, 6. +Altruism, 43, 164. +American Revolution, 3, 4. +Andante, the, 123. +Antwerp, 4. +Appassionata Sonata, 14, 44, 63, 66, 70, 71. +Archduke Rudolph, 80 et seq., 84, 93, 107, 108, 129, 188, 206, + Appointed Archbishop, 145-146, + Disciple of Beethoven, 81, + Installation of, 148, 154, + as performer, 81, + regard for Beethoven, 146. +Aristocracy, of Vienna, 41. +Art, office of, 4. +Art-history (this country), 181. +Artist-manhood, of Beethoven, 227. +Artistic temperament, 87. +Art-work, 236. +Art-workers, 39. +Aryan ancestry, 195. +Aspern, battle of, 83. +Atterbohm, 121. +Attrition, of mind on mind, 15. +Augustines, church of, 212. +Austria, Emperor of, 42, 81, 172. +Austria, Empress of, 5. +Austrians in Italy, 42. + +Bach, Dr., Beethoven's attorney, 209. +Bach, J.S., 8, 20, 27, 28, 32, 73, 75, 147, 173, 220, 225, + Beethoven's regard for, 20, + and humor, 133, + Leader of Beethoven, 236, + Life-work of, 143, + Mathematician of music, 1, + Mass in B minor, 51, 74, + Overture on name of, 172, + Protestant, 52, + and old ecclesiastical modes, 147, + and Variation form, 158, + Well-tempered clavichord, 139, + "Wonder-work," 229. +Baden, 116, 158, 173, 193. +Battle Symphony, 103 et seq. +Bautzen, battle of, 102. +Bavarian soldiers, 104. +Bayreuth, 226. +Beautiful in music, 4. +Beethoven: Altruism of, 40, 164, + Adagios, 123, + Aim, 219, + Age of, 211, + Absorption in his work, 18, 121, + Art-life of, 229, + Artist-life, 191, + Artistic instinct, 34, + Approachable, 177, + Asceticism, 111, 116, 161, + Adopts nephew, 110, + Awkwardness, 134, + Bach's influence on, 229, + Brevier, 141, + Catholic, in religion, 161, + Creative talent, 27, + Conduct of life, 39, + Court suit, buys a, 38, + Concert for Philharmonic Society of London, 182, + Copyrights, 201, + Consideration for others, 209, + Copyists, his, 187, 188, + Church music, predilection for, 147, + Concept of life, 7, + Drama, and the, 14, + Dancing, and, 39, + Destiny, accepts his, 100, + Deafness, progress of, 96, + Ethical character of, 126, 197, + Every-day life, 96, + Father, his, 4, + Favorite authors, 13, + Failing health, 200, + Forecasts his future, 37, + Friendship, need of, 177, + and Goethe, 90-92, + Gastro-intestinal disturbances, 88, + Grandfather, 4, 5, + Grammar, lapses from in letters, 138, + Habits, at Johann's, 201, + and Happiness, 38, + Helplessness, his, 137, + Humor, 126, 133, 135, + History, insatiable reader of, 140, + Intellectual bias, 14, 28, 141, + Infinitude, 124, + Introspection, 37, 97, + Illnesses of, 88, 204, 207, + Individuality, 27, + Intuitive faculties, 41, 217, + Improvising: in Allegro movements, 29. + Improvising: in Variations, 29, + Improvising at a charity concert, 93, + Journal, his, 101, 116, 147, 161, 182, 184, 219 (note-book), 71, + 123, 165, + Kindliness and humility, 88, + Lawsuits, 145, + Line extinct on male side, 118, + Laughter, virtuoso in, 135, + Last words of, 210, + Library, 140, + Life-work of, 71, 160, + Life-drama, 162, + Letters to publishers, 193, + Litigation over nephew, 111, + Life, a difficult problem, 101, + Love affairs of, 60, 87-88, + "Last five symphonies," 226, + Landmark in music, 223, + Menage, the, 111, 116, + Mother, his, 6; death of, 9, + Muse, his, 145, + Musical library, 139, + Mental processes of, 15, + Mysticism, his, 96, 195, + Nature, love of, 122, + Naivete of, 135, + Optimism, his, 98, + Opera, early familiarity with, 14, + Orchestra, and the, 3, 14, 75, + Organist, as, 7, + the Philosopher, 52, + as Patriot, 104-105, + Philosophy, gist of, 218, + and Persian literature, 140, + Quartets, his, 98, + Republicanism, his, 41, 81, 146, + Repartee, ready in, 136, + Religion, his, 219, + Rhenish ancestry, 121, + Servants, difficulties with, 184, 186, 188, + Seer, the, 163, 195, 217, 236, + Scherzo, and the, 33, 34, + Sarcastic moods, his, 187, + Spiritual insight, 97, 194, + Strenuousness, his, 121, + Sonatas, 98, 145, + Social successes, 27, + Symphonies of, language of buoyant mood, 98, + Sociological questions, 165, + Solitary life, 86, 208, + Subtleties, in works of, 232, + Sketch-books, 18, 27, 32, 49, 85, 97, 122, 123, 147, + the Symphonist, 49, 75, + Two masses, 124, + Teaching, dislike of, 80, + Tone-poet, 191, + Unique work of, 38, + Virtuosity of, 63-64, + Works, happy ending to, 164, + Work, his one resource, 206, + Work, significance of his, 220, + Will, codicil added, 209, + World, a difficult problem to, 184, + World-weary, 236, + World, at odds with the, 24, + World, withdrawing from, 97, + World, "the play with it," 97. +Beethoven, Johann van, 93, 94, 199, 204, 208, 215, + marries his housekeeper, 95, + as Landed proprietor, 136, + Sordidness of, 200, + his cupidity, 202, + his wife, 199, 204. +Beethoven, Karl van, brother of composer, 86, + marriage of, 65, + dies, 110, + his widow, 110, 186. +Beethoven, Karl van, nephew of composer, 110, et seq., 116, 180, 182, + 198, 199, 207-208, 210, 215, 219, + after career of, 117, + Posterity of, 117, + Waywardness of, 196-197. +Beklemmt, cavatina B quartet, 194. +Bergman, C., 166. +Berlioz, 232. +Bernadotte, Gen., 43, 45; king of Sweden, 43. +Bigot, Marie, virtuosity of, 63. +Black Spaniards, house of, 204. +Boehm, J., violinist, 195. +Boehme, Madame, 13. +Bohemia, Baths of, 88. +Bonn, 13, 16, 17, 18, 23, 31, 37, 80, 82, 88, + University, 10, + Old Roman city, 4. +Boswell, 130. +Bouilly, 49. +Brahma, 97. +Brentano, Bettina, 87. +Breuning, Stephen von, 11, 13, 56, 174 et seq., 198, 205, 209, 210, + Madame von, 11-13, + family, 17. +British Museum, 27. +Broadwood piano, Beethoven's, 135-136. +Brotherhood of man, 40. +Browne, Count, 26, 62. +Bruno, Giordano, 73, 132. +Brunswick, Count, 27, 44, 68, 71, + Therese, 60, 66, 67, 86-87, + engaged to Beethoven, 71-72, + founds home for children, 72. +Buddha, 164, 223. +Bundeslied, 142. + +C minor Symphony (see Fifth Symphony). +Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage, 141. +Carlsbad, 92, 93. +Carlyle on Goethe, 90, + on Jean Paul, 101. +Castle Garden, 165. +Celestial music, 232, 235. +Chamberlain, H.S., 120. +Chamber-music, 46, 63, 65, 85, 192, + Variations in, 157. +Character, and environment, 116. +Cherubini, 57, 66, 123; Requiem, 140, 212. +Chopin, Improvising, 28. +Choral Fantasia, 29. +Christianity, 4, 143. +Cirrhosis, 213, + Dropsical accumulations in, 207, + Cause of, 213, + not transmissible, 214. +Clementi, Sonatas, 139. +Cologne, 17. +Concert, Spirituel, of Vienna, 178, 179, + of Paris, 14. +Congress of Vienna, 107 et seq. +Coriolanus overture, 14, 75, 124, 229. +Corsican, the young, 41. +Critics on Second Symphony, 36, + Seventh Symphony, 159. +Czerny, 29, 66, 80, 96, 127, 128, 130, 131, 140, 159, 167, 207, 211, + Teacher of young Karl, 110. + +Dance, the, 99, + the, favorite musical form, 157. +Dante, 77. +Damrosch, Dr. Leopold, 166. +De Profundus, 151. +Diabelli, 157, 167, 187. +Dietrichstein, Count, 172. +Dignity, of the artist, 2. +Don Giovanni, 9, 48, 139, 140. +Doenhoff, Graf von, 94. + +Egmont music, 92, 106, 142, 156, 226, 229. +Eighth Symphony, 95, 98, 100, 106, 145, + Dance element in, 99. +Eisfeld, Theo, 166. +Elector of Cologne, 4, 5, 13, 24, + his Orchestra, 15, 16, 18, 82. +Eliot, George, 134. +Elysian Fields, 193. +Emerson, 77, 145, 147, 148, 228. +England, 103, 106, 107. +Erdoedy, Countess, 60, 61. +Erlkoenig, Beethoven's setting of, 142. +Eroica Symphony (see Third Symphony). +Ertmann, Baroness, 60, 61, 80, 128. +Esterhazy, Prince, 75-76, + Princess Marie, 76, + the Princes, 51. +Eucharist, 232. +Euryanthe, 159, 160. +Eustachian tubes, office of, 214. + +Fate, struggle with, 163, + Relentless, 218, + Propitiated, 184, + and Destiny, 218. +Fates, the, 204, 220. +Fatherland, Poets of, 14. +Faust, 38, 156, 157, 162, 200. +Fichte (quoted), 219. +Fidelio, 11, 48, 98, 155, + libretto of, 49-50, + First production of, 54, 55, + revision of, 56, 74, 75, 98, 106, 123, 155, 159, + dedication of piano score, 107, + its Spanish background, 49. +Fielding and humor, 134. +Fifth Symphony (C minor), 14, 68, 73, 76, 77, 152. +First Symphony, 33, 34, 37. +Fischer, 225. +Foerster, teacher of Beethoven, 63. +Fourth Symphony, 66-68, + Serenity of, 67, + Philosophic import of, 68. +France, 42, 43, 107. +France, King of (Louis XVIII), 45, 154, 155. +Freemasonry, among musicians, 10. +Freischuetz, 139. +French Revolution, 3, 4, 41, 133. +Friends of music, Society of, 129. +Friendship, 176. +Frimmel von, 180, 215. +Fugue, the, 124, 125, 129, + of the C# minor quartet, 121, + Credo of Mass in D, 153. +Fuller, Margaret (footnote), 181. + +Gayety, 100. +Galaxy of virtuosi, 17. +Galitzin, Prince, and last quartets, 192-194, + and Mass in D, 192. +Genius, prerogative of, 230. +Germanic Order, 10. +Germans, the, 104. +Gewandhaus Concerts, 226. +Glacis, the, 204, 210. +Glueck, 79. +Goethe, 13, 38, 80, 88, 90, 101, 111, 125, 129, 141, 191, 212, 217, + Worldly wisdom of, 90, + as Courtier, 91, + Councillor, 92, + Spiritual mentor, 162. +Gothic architecture, 143. +Greece, 143. +Greek Classics, 140-141. +Grillparzer, 160. + +Hafiz (quoted), 102. +Hanau, battle of, 104. +Haendel, 27, 79, 139, 143, 223, + Beethoven's opinion of, 20, + Oratorios of, 143, 144, + works of, 207. +Haendel and Haydn Society of Boston, 181. +Happiness, and Beethoven, 38. +Hatzfeld, Prince von, 154. +Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 18. +Haydn, 4, 17, 18, 19, 29, 30, 33, 43, 46, 73, 76, 79, 100, 101, 123, + 140, 219, 229, + Important work of, 143, + Distinguishing trait, 123, + Kyrie of Imperial Mass, 74, + and the Minuet, 34, + Humor in music, 34, 133, + Sonatas, 34, + Teacher of Beethoven, 19-20, + Visits Bonn, 17. +Haydn and Mozart, 4, 20. +Haydn and Beethoven, life-work of, 20. +Heiligenstadt, 73. +Herder, 141, + quoted, 80, 93. +Higher law, the, 38. +Hiller, Ferdinand, 205. +Hirsch, Beethoven's last pupil, 180. +Holy Grail, 232. +Holz, 178, 185, 194, 198, 206, 213. +Homer, 13. +Host, the, elevation of, 233, + Consecration of, 233. +Humanity, 43, + at bay, 163, + Golden age for, 164. +Humor, in music, evolution of, 133, + a test of genius, 134. +Huemmel, 22, 29, 31, 63, 76, 105, 206. +Huettenbrenner, 8, 177, 210, 211. + +Imperial family (of Austria), 5, 41, 81, 91, 170, 171, 212. +Impedimenta, 39. +Improvising, 28, 125, + Bach, excelled in it, 28, + Chopin, last to exercise it in public, 28, + Beethoven, genius in, 28-29, + by Karl, 117. +Instrumental music, 227, 230. +Intellect of mankind, 2. +Intuition, 2. +Italian vocalism, 4. + +Jeitteles, 121. +Jesus, teaching of, 164. +Johnson, Dr., 130. +Joy, language of, 68. +Joyousness (quoted), 101. +Judiciary, the, of Austria, 212. + +Kalischer, 186, 197. +Kantian Philosophy, 229. +Karlskirche, 212. +Kenilworth, 209. +Keyboard, of piano, 3. +Kiel University, 16. +Kinsky, Prince, 26, 83, 84, + death of, 145, 160. +Klober, 148. +Klopstock, 92. +Kren, Michael, 200. +Kreutzer, R., 45, + Sonata, 44, 45. +Krumpholz, 38, + death of, 130-131. + +Leipzig, 92, + battle of, 102, 105. +Leonore overtures, 49, 56, + the Third, 56, 57, 229. +Lessing, 13. +Letter to a young girl, 141, + Holz, appointing him his biographer, 179, + Breuning, Stephen von, 175, + Czapka, a magistrate, 198, + Rampel, his copyist, 190, + Lichnowsky, Prince, 70, + Messrs. Schott, 193, + Zmeskall, 137-138. +Lichnowsky, Prince von, 23, 25, 26, 35, 55, 56, 59, 127, + Settles annuity on Beethoven, 24, + Beethoven visits him, in Silesia, 68, + quarrels with him, 69, + death of, 130. +Lichnowsky, Princess von, 62, 65, + as peacemaker, 25, 56. +Lichnowsky, Count Moritz von, 26, 43, 129, 168, 176. +Life, a precious gift, 98. +Life's problem, 4, 218. +Life's tragedy, 36. +Liszt, 5, 29, 52, 127, 136, 225, 226, + advent of, in concert, 159, + pupil of Czerny, 29. +Liszt's father, 159. +Lobkowitz, Prince von, 26, 44, 45, 59, 84, + bankruptcy of, 145, + death of, 130. +Loder, George, 165. +Lohengrin, Prelude, 231, 232, 234. +London, 117. +Louis, Ferdinand of Prussia, 44. +Love, 165, + Magic power of, 164. +Luetzen, battle of, 102. + +Man of genius, elation of, 98. +Mantua, Mozart at, 28. +Maria Louisa, of Spain, 81. +Marie Antoinette, 45. +Marengo, battle of, 42. +Marlowe, Christopher, 224. +Mass, the, a great art-form, 73, + Stateliness of, 144, + Canon of, 232, + Sanctus of, 232, + Benedictus of, 232. +Mass in C, Beethoven's, 73 et seq., 160, + German version of, 147. +Mass in D, Beethoven's (or Grand Mass), 39, 47, 51, 96, 100, 123, 144, + 147, 150, 160, 161, 162, 163-164, 166, 172, 183, 234, 236, + Agnus Dei, 169, 219, + Apotheosis of friendship, 146, + Benedictus, trombones in, 231, + Credo, 153, 169, 234, + Soli of, 153, + Celestial harmonies in, 235, + Congenial work to Beethoven, 146, + and the copyist, 188, + Beethoven's absorption in, 147, 160, + Christe eleison, 151, + Et incarnatus of, 234, + Interpretation by the orchestra, 150, + Lydian and Dorian modes in, 147, + Marvels of, 154, + Mysticism of, 96, + a Symphony to Wagner's view, 150, + Subscription price of, 154, + Sale of score, 182, + proceeds from, 183, + First production by Prince Galitzin, 192, + Preludium in, 232, 233, + Kyrie of, 101, 124, 151, 153, 163, 169, 171, 186, 219, + Splendor of conception of, 151, + its symphonic style, 151, + German direction in, 153, + Loss of manuscript of, 186, + its rhythm, 151. +Melusina, 160. +Mendelssohn, 232, 236. +Messiah, The, 139. +Metaphysical, 2. +Metronome, inventor of, 104. +Metternich, Prince, 102. +Meyerbeer, 105, 225. +Minorites, church of, 7, 211. +Minuet, the, 133. +Moedling, 147. +Monasteries, old chorales of, 147. +"Moonlight" Sonata, 35-36. +Moscheles, 103, 105, + and piano arrangement of Fidelio, 106. +Mount of Olives, 35. +Mozart, 9, 20, 22, 28, 33, 46, 48, 50-51, 79, 100, 134, 139, 225, 227, + Early death of, 191, + Genius of, 140, + his precocity, 8, + praised by Beethoven, 140, + Requiem, 51, 212, + Sonatas, 34, 139, + his widow, 31, + his operas at Bonn, 14. +Mozart's Mass in Bb, 51, 73, + Agnus Dei of, 73, + Et incarnatus of, 73, + Kyrie of, 75. +Mozart and Haydn, 11, 20, 33, 73, 74, 75, 131. +Music, its function, 4, + outward expression of, 39, + dramas, great, 231, + a language, 226, 227, + Religious, 144, + Origin in the dance, 99. +Musician, the, social obligations of, 39. +Mystery in life, 153, 225. +Mysticism, and the artistic nature, 144. + +Napoleon, 41, 44, 54, 83, 103, 191, + Arch-enemy of Austria, 42, + Campaign against Austria, 41, 42, + escapes from Elba, 109, + declared emperor, 44, + Greatest military achievement, 42, + In the toils, 107, + Marriage to Archduchess Maria Louisa, 102, + Marriage to Josephine, 43, + overruns Germany, 69, + takes Vienna, 54. +National opera at Bonn, 13. +Neate, Charles, 182. +Neefe, Beethoven's teacher, 6, 7, 17. +New Testament, 161. +Nietzsche, Friederich, 40, 216. +Ninth Symphony (choral), 29, 96, 100, 166, 167, 172, 181, 196, 226, + Choral finale, 170, + an outburst of joy at deliverance, 164, + First movement of, 163, + First performance in this country, 165, + Psychological problems in, 162, + Sontag, and soprano part of, 160, + Trombones in, 230, + Variations in, 157. +Nohl, 186. +North America, 166, 180. + +Ode to Joy, revolutionary spirit of, 165. +Odeschalchi, Princess, 61. +Opera, the, an alien soil to Beethoven, 49, + as a work of art, 50, + a combination of arts, 51. +Operatic composition, 52. +Orchestra, range and mobility of, 150, + More important than voices, 150, + its resources increased through Beethoven, 3. +Orchestral forms, development of, 99. +Ossian-like daemonism, 149. +Ossian Songs (Schubert), 206. + +Pain of existence, 132. +Palestrina, 234, + Masses of, 143. +Paris Conservatoire, 16. +Parsifal, 164 (footnote), 231, 235, + mysticism of, Prelude to, 235. +Passion music, 35, 144. +Pastoral Sonata, 35. +Pastoral Symphony (see Sixth Symphony). +Patriotism and altruism, 43. +Paur, Emil, 166. +Pedal-point, 231. +Pennsylvania, Founding of, libretto, 156. +Persian literature, 140. +Pessimism, 132. +Pinnacle of greatness, 40. +Pity, and the divine in man, 164. +Plagal mode, 234. +Plato, 230, + Republic, 140. +Playing from manuscript, 10. +Philharmonic Society of New York, 166. +Philharmonic Society of London 200, 207. +Philip III, of Spain, daughter of, 204. +Prague, 9, 109. +Problem of life, 77, 164. +Prometheus, Ballet, 33, 34, 35. +Prussia, King of, 154. +Psychological element, the, 27. + +Quartet, the, 98, 191, 194, + Last quartets, 96, 100, 158, 191-192, 194, 195, + Mysticism of, 96, 195, + Psychological qualities of, 195, 218, + Spirituality of, 195, + Variations in, 157, + Written in great mental trouble, 194. +Quartet, in A minor, 187, + in C# minor, 195, 199, 203, + its dedication, 208, + in Bb, cavatina of, 194, + new finale of, 203, + see chamber-music, also Rasoumowsky quartets. + +Rasoumowsky, Count, 59, 63, 65, 108, 192, + Entertains Empress of Russia, 108. +Rasoumowsky quartets, 65-66, 192, + Adagio of the second, 65. +Religion and General-bass, 219. +Religious sentiment, the, 219. +Renunciation, 163. +Requiem Mass, 140, 160, 161, 209. +Ries, Ferdinand, 44, 62, 82, 83, 84, 135, 180, + Pupil of Beethoven, 80, + Prolific composer, 85, + efforts for Beethoven while in London, 181-182. +Ries, Franz, 12, 17, 82. +Rochlitz, 92, 153, 156. +Romberg, 16, 105. +Rossini, 79, 153, 166, + calls on Beethoven, 139. +Ruins of Athens, 155. +Russia, Emperor of, 36, 107, 108, 154, + Empress of, 107, 108. + +Saint-Saens, 232. +Saint-Simon, and the strenuous life, 206. +Salieri, 105. +Satanas in the kitchen, 185. +Saxony, King of, 154, 213. +Second period, works of, 40, + characterized by gayety, 100. +Second Symphony, 26, 36, 37, + Larghetto of, 36. +Seebald, Amalie, 87, 88, + facsimile of letter to her, opp. page 88. +Sehnsucht (Goethe's), 142. +Seidl, Anton, 166. +Sensenman, the, 116. +Seventh Symphony, 95, 96, 109, + Dance element in, 99, + First performance of, 105, + Coda of Vivace of, 97, + Hungarian peasant dance in, 96, + Weber's strictures on, 159. +Scherzo, 33, 34, 132, 133, + Peculiar to Beethoven, 133, + developed by Beethoven, 132, + makes sport of humanity in, 133-134. +Schiller, 16, 131, 141, 148, 165. +Schindler, 59, 88, 127, 136, 152, 154, 156-158, 168, 169, 171, 176, + 186, 188, 203, 205, 206, 207, 209, 210, 213, + Beethoven's biographer, 179. +Schroeder-Devrient, 155, 159. +Schopenhauer, 22, 77, 143, 174, 229, 236, + and humor, 134. +Schubert, 8, 127, 177, 206, 210, 211, + Reverence of, for Beethoven, 178, + Calls on Beethoven, 178, + Songs of, 206. +Schuman, 136, 232. +Schuppanzich, 168, 176, 206. +Schott, music publishers, 208, 209. +Scott, Walter, 134, + Kenilworth, 209. +Seyfried, 22, 64, 135, 212. +Shakespeare, 13, 68, 134, 139, 141, 223, 225, + Comedies of, 68, + the Tempest, 152, + a Universal man, 227, + Wagner's archetype in youth, 227. +Siegfried, 231. +Sight playing, from Ms., 63, 64. +Sixth Symphony (Pastoral), 14, 73, 78-79, 95, 122, + Dance tunes in, 78, + Dramatization of, 79, + Nature-poem, a, 78, 79, + Storm in, 78, 79. +Socrates, 161. +Solitary, Beethoven, the (quoted), 227. +Sonata in Ab, 35, + Fantasia, language of Resignation, 61, + Kreutzer, 44, + "Moonlight," 35, + opus 111, 187, + Pathetique, 26, + Pastorale, 35, + Waldstein, 11, 18, 44, + opus, 102, 129. +Sonata, the (form), 100. +Sonatas, 33, 36, 39, + Last (opus 109, 110, 111), 155, + Lofty imaginings of, 155, + Wondrous second movement of op. 111, 158, + F minor and D minor, 152. +Sonnleithner, 49, 56. +Sontag, 160, 170. +Spohr, 105. +Stadler, Abbe, 139, 167. +St. Just, 133. +St. Stephen's, Vienna, 22. +Streicher, Madame, 185, 186. +Stumpf, 139, 207, 209. +Stutterheim, Field-marshal von, 198, 208, 209. +Suite, the, earliest orchestral form, 99. +Suesmayer, 31. +Swieten, Baron von, 27, 59. + +Tacitus, 4, 46. +Tact, woman's, 12. +Tenth Symphony (proposed), 170, 200, + Adagio of, 173, + Allegro of, a Bacchic festival, 173, + Religious in character, 172. +Tetralogy, variations in, 157. +Thackeray, 134. +Thayer, A.W., 59, 90. +Third Leonore overture, 56, 229. +Third Mass (proposed), Kyrie of, 172 +Third period, mysticism of, 100. +Third Symphony (Eroica), 11, 40 et seq., 68, 71, 73, 100, 104, 123, + Composed in spirit of altruism, 43, + First dedicated to Napoleon, 43-44, + Last movement of, 158, + Unique as a Symphony, 43. +Thomas, Theodore, 166. +Thoreau, 3, 113, 123, 161, 176, 218, 227. +Thun, Countess, 62. +Tolstoy, 45. +Tone-figure, 234. +Tone-pictures, 148. +Transposing, 31. +Treitschke, 106. +Trombones, 211, + for Solemnity, 230. +Turin, 93. + +Unger, Fraeulein, 170. +Unrest, 4. + +Vander Stucken, 166. +Variation form, 231, + in the Diabelli Waltzes, 157, + in Beethoven's Symphonies, 157, + in Beethoven's Sonatas, 157. +Vienna, bombarded by French, 85, + Conservatory of, 118, + Italian element in, 58, + Population in Beethoven's time, 58, + Musical atmosphere of, 9, 10, 65, + Society, attitude toward Beethoven, 60, + its student element, 104. +Viennese, virtuosity of, 62-63, + aristocracy, 149. +Vittoria, battle of, 102, 103. +Voltaire, 218. + +Wagner, 4, 30, 50, 51, 56-57, 64, 66, 77, 79, 96, 120, 123, 125, 126, + 127, 141, 150, 156, 157, 223, + Art-product of, 228, + biographical sketch of Beethoven, his, 228, + C# minor quartet, 195, + Criticisms on music, his, 227, + Disciple of Beethoven, 225, 229, + Early recognition of, in this country, 181, + Evening of life, 208, + Flying Dutchman, 79, + Industry of, 216, + Is influenced by Beethoven, 230, 231, + Literary achievement, his, 228, + Life's Problem, solution of, 236, + Life-work of, 208, + Mystic, a, 236, + Napoleonic ambition, 228, + Ninth Symphony, 163, 165, + Originality of, 230, + Poetic temperament, 52, 53, + Romanticism, his, 53, 230, + Seventh Symphony, and the, 96, + Tribute to Beethoven, 224, + Tribute to Shakespeare, 224, + Unerring poetic sense, 230, + Variation form, and the, 157, 158. +Wagner and Beethoven, Affinity between, 229, + Pioneers, 236, + their Spiritual relationship, 229, + World-weary, 236. +Wagner-Liszt correspondence, 232. +Waldstein, Count, 10, 11, 12, 28, 44. +Waterloo, battle of, 102, 110. +Weber, 139, 159, 160. +Wegeler, Dr., 12, 37. +Weihe des Hauses, 155, 169. +Weimar, 91. +Wellington, Duke of, 102, 106. +Weltschmertz, 126, 164. +Westphalia, King of, 83. +Wolfmayer, 29. +World's stage, 3. +World, torment of, 164, + and Beethoven's influence on it, 15, + ideal of, 15, + in transition, 3. + +Zauberfloete, 137, 185, 206. +Zehrgarten, at Bonn, 10. +Zeitgeist, the, 4. +Zelter, 91, 152. +Zmeskall, 137, 185, 206. +Zukunftsmusik, 150. + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BEETHOVEN*** + + +******* This file should be named 15141.txt or 15141.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/5/1/4/15141 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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